18.09.2014......TIME FLIES

Well I started this 13 days ago but got bogged down with explaining our delayed departure due to the untimely and completely unexpected passing away of Valerie and the subsequent events. Nothing I wrote seemed right so I am starting again without further explanation.
Of course, this trip was eagerly awaited as it was the first real run in the new van which I bought without consulting the GF after the last one pissed me off once too often. Being the longest and heaviest yet didn't over please her but I think she appreciates the change .....more anon...
So leaving Uk on 5/9, overnight at Gravelines  aire which was packed when we arrived at 21.15......seems that weekend was a big 1945 liberation memorial celebration so lots of people there for the parades. Had to do a three point turn on the quayside in the dark to slot in and my first real attempt at close manoeuvres with an automatic for a long time. ...fortunately I managed to avoid falling into the sea.
06.09.2014
To Aachen for no good reason other than not having been there before. D&M are a week ahead of us in northern Germany and we plan to meet up on the 11th in Fussen.
Find private aire for 15€ a night, walking distance of city centre. Spend Sunday in city, commemorating 600 years of something to do with Charlemagne/cathedral/potato soup/sausages/ and huge craft  market in old town where we get mistaken for pilgrims and given free potato soup/sausages/beer. Cathedral is ace and top spot contender. Excellent day.
08.09.2014
Receive text from D&M who are not in northern Germany  having damaged waste water tank on bloody Belgium potholes ( Belgian roads are an absolute disgrace and I'm not going there again. Ever.) and are on the Moselle . Agree to meet up at Bacharach on the Rhine in pleasant aire on riverbank. Meet at midday, and with new bike rack system am able to unmount bikes in 5 mins and off for ride along riverbank . Brilliant.
09.09.2014.
Original plan of going to Slovenia and lake Bled has altered as we are 2 weeks behind, but still intending to head slowly south to Fussen, through Austria into Italy and now head to Sanremo and then round to St.Tropez/Cavalaire sur mer.
Tonight we go to Bad Turkheim just to early for what is described as the biggest wine festival in the world which starts in 4 days time. Personally I'd hang around as it looks like being fun but we settle for cycling in and looking around at the festivities being assembled. Town is home of a Saltine - a huge wooden structure housing an enormous wall of blackthorn twigs 333 metres long through which saltwater from a spring is pumped, the resulting fine mist recreating  an ozone atmosphere through which you can walk for 1.50€
to benefit the respiratory system......seriously. I had 1.50€ worth and felt much improved.😇
10.09.2014
Let's go to Alsace. Pleasant run from Germany to France and pitch up at a winery in Eguiseheim  which is an extraordinarily pretty little village with the prettiest church we've ever seen anywhere. Worth a detour if you pass that way. My bike playing up.
11.09.2014
Let's go to Germany ( didn't we just come from there ?)
Head to Uberlingen on lake Constance (Bodensee) and aire but weather unpleasant. Mean to stay a couple of days but move on to.....
12.09.2014
Reutte in Austria, south of Fussen. Nondescript  campsite rather waterlogged. Move on to.......
13.09.2014
Glorenza, just into Italy. Very scenic route as given to us by Big Malc, avoiding motorways and thus the necessity for hiring  toll boxes for the cab, being over 3.5tonne. A slow route, made worse by being a Saturday and route of a long distance enduro bike race that was hell to negotiate on narrow mountain passes and for which we kept being held up by polizia where they rejoined the main road after off roading. Began to hate them.
First attempt to find aire is thwarted by 3.5m archway through town walls which I chicken out of attempting as it looks too narrow and cannot decide where the 3.5m height is measured as shoulders of arch look low.
Subsequently watch bus go through so would have been OK but track down to aire is down v.narrow rock sided alley and disaster waiting to happen. Park illegally ( as we realise later) in car park bus spaces and walk round town. Decide to push on somewhere else. On way out, M rings us from behind just as my handbrake jams on at traffic lights as the extender has worked forward and cannot depress the button. Not receiving an answer, M jumps out, and runs up to tell us she has spotted a campsite as I wrestle with handbrake on steep incline, petrified that if it releases suddenly I'll probably roll straight back into Derek. I may not have been very diplomatic but I did apologise later. Free handbrake by punching extender hard enough to shift it back a few  cms which brings it close enough to depress button. Later repositioned and bolts tightened. Am not happy bunny and drive off uphill and out of town. Spot a campsite below us in valley so take next right and work our way back to very smart campsite who want 42.50€  but have an aire in front with all amenities for 15€ which we take. Cracking views of mountains and glaciers across the valley. Walk back to town through orchards which us very old and pleasant.
14.09.2014
Bloody Italian roads and difficulty finding Aires so management decision to go Monzambano from where we cycle to lake Garda in the sunshine along the river mincio which was exceedingly pleasant.
15.09.2014
To Genoa, or Arenzano to be precise and extremely scrubby but typical Italian campsite. We pay ACSI price of 15€ which is still too much but how much worse for Brits we talk to who had not heard of ACSI and had to pay 33€ and be woken at 2am as dozens of  Polish rally cars arrive and commence noisily  putting up tents. Site has own beach which is black stone and still not worth 15€.
16.09.2015
D&M discover that campsite we have sold them at Sanremo doesn't take dogs so try to figure out Aires.. Locate one at Santo Stefano but when we get there, suddenly find ourselves committed to narrow, steep,twisty lane into the hills above town. Arrive at (totally empty) site, park outside knowing we will not be staying, awaiting D&M , when owner rushes out , insists on showing me around empty bomb site and tries to book us in at 25€ a night as big favour. D&M arrive equally shattered by approach road and when we say we're not staying, the price drops to 20€ . Almost tempted to haggle to see how low he'll go. Now have to turn round to retrace route and suddenly empty hillside becomes Piccadilly circus farm machinery and the corporation dustcart.. I lose my cool and management decision to sod Italy , I'm off to the French Riviera. So off to civilisation and aire at Ste. Maxime where we watch Czech motorhome drive off in a huff and reverse into German motorhome. Find Carrefour and excellent soupe  de poisson and tarts aux fraise to go with our trout salad..
17.09.2014
Arrive Port Grimaud and Prairie de la Mer.  Site heaving and at 9.15 there are 6 vans ahead of us waiting to get in. Ring Cavalaire to find they are full too so join queue and wait about an hour and a half but we do get 2 good pitches together so here we are for at least a week and maybe longer.

iDLE THOUGHTS

08.06.2014

We are down in the West Country for van servicing and recuperation. ....so some thoughts on America, as virgins that I am happy to throw open for discussion..and the GF & I are much in agreement
What we liked

Service. .without fail we were greeted,  served , and helped with smiles, courtesy & and a genuine attitude to be of assistance.
Everywhere , people spoke to us and started conversations, and wanted to talk.
Americans.
The museums which openly confonted their past history regarding segregation, slavery and
their treatment of Indians (now native Americans).
Burgers
Steaks
Skyscrapers
Subways (incl NY which is a pussycat)
New York,  Chicago & Washington
Las Vegas (GF)
Toilets....Don't ask
The scenery.
Motor homes and campsites. esp waste disposal systems. Details supplied if required.
Trains...brilliant.
Hotels. ..
Hotel shuttles
Ice cold water in restaurants when you sat down and constant refills
Seldom having to ask for the check and then processed quickly.
The barman at the Holiday Inn Washington who slid a beer down the bar to me and set one up without asking.

What we disliked

Tipping.....esp having 3 options shown on a restaurant bill with the largest  ringed by the waiter.
Inability to make tea.
Los Angeles.
Las Vegas (paul)
Gloopy food. ....ask and we will elaborate.
Petrol stations. ...prepayment
Credit card swiping instead of chip and pin.
Toilet Paper .....don't ask
Constant queuing
Traffic lights that stay red forever. Pedestrian crossings where the lights are red and the road is clear for 50 miles but nobody moves.
Difficulty in distinguishing currency notes.
Bank ATM s that charge for cash withdrawals and close at night and all weekends.
American tv. ..apart from baseball which is all we watched as every other channel was  adverts .
The homeless and vagrants

Other observations

Finding alcohol in Utah
Not finding alcohol in the reservations.
Amazing variety of beers and microbreweries.
Cost of home grown wine.
I still hate Starbucks but its ok for breakfast apart from the tea.
Nearly every house has an RV parked in the garden. ...many seem to be permanently parked and lived in
Everybody we got into conversation with was For Obamacare and For gun legislation so what's the problem ?
New York cabbies don't speak english let alone talk you to death or solve the world's problems.
Tipping.....everybody

So how you'all doin' now ? Have a great day an' if you need anything, just let us know....

..

9/11 AND THE AWFULY BIG ADVENTURE ENDS

02.06.2014

Monday morning,  repack the bags one last time for the homeward flight,  trying to remember what must go in the checked bags, figuring out what to wear that will be suitable for a hot day in NY, a 6hr flight and a wet Tuesday in london. Having sorted that we check out, leave the bags with the concierge and after breakfast at Starbucks ( yes I know I never set foot in them but they are better in the US ) we head downtown to pay our respects at the 9/11 memorial. Still a huge amount of construction going on but the first tower is rebuilt and will open in Nov. Two memorials are complete where the twin towers were and the new museum is open. The memorials are huge square holes in the ground  where the buildings stood lined in black marble with water cascading down (tears ?)all 4 sides and draining into a square hole in the centre. Around the sides is a parapet topped with a brass frieze into which the names of the victims are cut together with their status (fireman,policeman)  or company. Difficult to describe but we thought very dignified and moving. The GF didnt want to do the museum and the crowds mean a ticketing system is in place and the first available slot was 1pm, a bit late, so I went to the original Tribute centre which was very emotional and spent an hour or so
Lunch then down 6th Ave so the GF could do Maceys whilst I sat in the sun and had a milk shake in Herald Square.
Back to the hotel where our lift to JFK was a beautiful cadillac suv and worth every penny.
More queuing but JFK is efficient,  had a snack and I'm writing this on the bus to Ipswich.
More thoughts may well appear.

NEARLY DONE

01.06.2014

Both getting tired and looking forward to home although not the hassle of getting out to JFK  in the rush hour. Have decided to pass on the cheap option of air shuttle via subway and train, pass on the fixed fare Yellow Cabs in case they don't want to go at that time and booked the hotel limo for $70 at 5pm.
This morning we did the Rockefeller Centre and then went to the top for the view...awesome...then took the subway to Soho, mooched around the designer stores and having difficulty finding a lunch stop ended up back in Greenwich Village where we had a pleasant brunch in  one of the many  English taverns.
Then intended doing the north part of Central Park but the trains were a nightmare due to maintenance so only got back lower part again and sat in the sun as we were both shattered. Eventually walked back to hotel for a rest before a very light supper around Times Square. Now sitting in business centre waiting to check in on line when it opens at 9.30pm and hopefully print boarding passes.

NEW YORK,NEW York, so good they named in twice

31.05.2014

Except it should be Q York as will become clear.
An inauspicious start when misdirected to the taxi rank and had to walk 3 sides of Penn station in extremely hot weather to find a 100 yd chaotic queue with no dispatcher organising the proceedings. However finally got to head of queue to get non-english speaking cab driver who appeared to have no knowledge of Times Square until I suggested that we get out and go find someone who did when he suddenly remembered ' oh that Times Square'. To give him his due he got us to 47th street kamikaze style for $8 before the gridlock occurred when we could see the hotel. .....and despite my suggestion that he pull over and we would walk, this apparently impugned his professionalism to be able to deliver us to our destination so we sat immobile in the centre lane, unable to leg it (GF) , and had to pay $12 + tip .
Hotel however is a little gem, boutique style, incredible foyer with floor to ceiling  free standing tropical fish tank and about 100yds from Times Square.. Rooms are small but TV is large and a Bose radio, and perfectly OK.
So we changed ( left Washington cool,now hot) and walked to  TSquare which was manic .,.crowds unbelievable, US soccer  team on live TV in preparation for world cup....then up to Central Park, where after an ice cream sitting on the grass we gave the GF her biggest wish and had a horse and carriage ride through the park.. Then walked back down 5th Avenue, with detour into Saks for brownie points. Back to hotel via deli next door where a very large 32oz can of Bud cost $2.75. Recommended dinner venue, Frisco's , but sudden thunderstorm forced us into Italian on 49 th  street which was good. Rain cleared by the time we left so walked back down 6th. Avenue Avenue of the Americas, which is much better than 5th. Love the skyline at night. Crowds are unbelievable.
Sat morning, decide to forego hoponhopoff which are touted everywhere but seem stuck in traffic and go native. Buy Metro card for seniors which gives 1/2 price fares. Head to Battery Park for ferries, initial problem with weekend rail maintenance forces retrace to another line but finally arrived and buy tickets for liberty island and Ellis island. Crowds are enormous. Queue for security airport style check, refuse to remove belt as shorts will fall down and make guards laugh (!), queue to get on ferry, queue to get off ferry, queue for lunch, queue to get back on boat for Ellis island, queue to get off, queue to get back on,queue to get off, queue to get into Metro........we spend 5 hours doing Statue of liberty and Ellis island but well worth it, very evocative and it means we have finished our coast to coast journey. Can't believe the crowds. From South Ferry we head to Greenwich Village and spend a couple of hours round Washington Square, great street entertainment, and Bleeker Street where I spend $50 on blues  and jazz CDs and could easily have spent $500. Have early dinner next to ex folk club now comedy club, Cafe Wha  where Dylan played his first gig  along with anybody who's anybody. All the old folk clubs long since gone, want to go to Blue Note jazz but cover charge $110 + dinner + drinks each.
Head uptown and do Empire State for sunset . queue for tickets, queue for security check, queue for lifts to 80 th floor,queue for lifts to 86th floor, shuffle round observation platform 10 deep trying to get close to edge,queue for lifts to go down even walking down stairs between 86-80 but having to go to back of queue when we got there. But it was a fantastic view .....$26 each (snr) and took 2 hrs. mainly queueing. Box ticked. Walked home up 6 th  Av and bought another big Bud.

I'm On the train .........

11am
Just leaving Washington en route NY
ON ACELA express....cool

NEW YORK ..HERE WE COME

30.05.2014

Last night in Washington and the rain stopped so we walked (very walkable town if you go in the right direction) to Chinatown which although having an impressive archway ( largest single span arch in the world) could not find an impressive looking restaurant so retraced our steps to previous nights location ( we ate at Jaleo)  we discovered the District Chophouse & Brewery where we had an excellent dinner......although lunch and dinner today cost over £100, with only 3 glasses of beer and glasses of wine. Beer is excellent, never knew they brewed so many varieties, esp. wheat beers comme Belgium. Anyway excellent dinner in atmospheric microbrewery ex first national bank building.
Probably the best 2 meals of the trip today.
Note ....our best travelling wheeze was bringing the travel kettle, our own teabags ( esp the  GF who is on decaf tea) and a bag of 100 milkstix. The Americans have tea but can't make it and don't understand milk, just like the rest of Europe. However we have tea every morning OK.
So just waiting for the GF to finish her packing before we get a cab to the station for the 11am express to NY (2 3/4 hrs)

WASHINGTON...I CANNOT TELL A LIE

29.05.2014

So after a hectic and rewarding 3 days in Chicago we left at 18.40 on the Capitol Express. Sleepers get to use the Amtrak lounge with complimentary snacks and drinks, help with baggage ( we checked the 2 large cases, only needing overnight stuff) and priority boarding. We didn't have a full bedroom on this leg, just the roomette which has 2 chairs that convert to 2 single bunks, no toilet but fine for one overnight journey. Have I mentioned that restaurant car seating is community seating so that we share a table with different people every meal ? So we had 9 meals and so 18 different dining companions. Great conversations about health care (everybody we met is for it despite the TV ads), gun laws( everybody for complete control but nobody thinks it'll happen), stop going to war across the world, etc etc.
Anyway for dinner we had Barbera  a cartoonist on the New Yorker and her daughter Lee who is a fellow at a university in NY teaching art. Barbers was a lovely lady and very funny so we had a great time.
Train passed through Toledo, Pittsburgh, Cumberland ( saw the Gap) and Harper's Ferry before arriving Washington at 13.30, Union Station which is yet another stunning building.
$10 cab ride to Holiday Inn, stones throw from Capital if you walk in the right direction.
Checked in,stowed the bags, weather horrendously humid and hot,sticky and unpleasant. Hotel top notch and tv even bigger. On advice from a nice lady we took the metro, about 100 yds away if you walk in the right direction and take the right entrance, to a place called Metro Centre, about 4 stops away where we could purchase a Senior MetroCard for $2 each which then gave 1/2 price fares....this was very useful as fares are by distance traveled and time of day.....peak rush hour starts at 3pm to 7pm and until 9.30 in the morning.
Checked out the BigBus co.  for the hoponhopoff and decided on a 48 hour ticket next morning which I could buy in the hotel and there is a stop about 200 yds away.
So looking at the map we decided to go to the library of congress for culture and it wasn't too far. Caught the metro, which is very user friendly, and walked up to the library which closed at 4pm as do all government offices so waste of time there in the heat. However, close to the Capitol, so walked over there, for photos. No congressmen or senators about so decided that since the hotel was a stone's throw away we would walk back, down Independence Ave and hang a left onto Maryland and the bob's your uncle. Stopped for a coffee as it was steaming. After at least half an hour of walking, through very leafy( but humidly hot) suburbs and just as I was thinking we might be wrong, (as we should be amongst big buildings) a very nice man  hopped off his bike to ask if we were lost which it turned out we were, having been walking in the exact opposite direction somehow. So he directed us to the nearest metro, still a good walk away, but at least we found it.......it was now 6pm and panic was setting in as Happy Hour  at hotel bar finished at 7. Got back to our stop, the aptly named L'Enfant Plaza, and immediately exited from a totally different entrance to the one by which we entered.....just as the predicted thunderstorms broke. Waited till it stopped then set off in completely wrong direction and had to retrace our steps only to find 2 women having exactly the same ' mare. Eventually got back to the hotel bar with 4 mins to go so ordered 2 beers to the amusement of the bartender..... however it paid dividends because the next night when I got in at 6pm, despite being packed, when I slid onto a stool a beer appeared in front of me like magic . .I felt  like Norm in Cheers and had to have more than several to get over the shock.
So Tues evening was a disaster, and as it rained we ate at the hotel which was OK but nothing special.
Wed morning bought tickets for the Bigbus and did Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington memorials, walked to FDR &  Martin Luther  King memorials, then Vietnam Wall, all inspiring and just as big and awesome as I expected. In the afternoon we did Arlington Cemetery, JFK grave and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at which were  lucky to see the changing of the guard which was very American and very polished. The heat was getting unbearable and Arlington is a big place with hills so very hard work. Back via the Pentagon and the White House, didn't call in, and probably other places I've forgotten.
Found a Spanish tapas bar for dinner using the TripAdvisor app that had good reviews and was only 17 mins walk away so rang up and booked for 8pm which was lucky as when we got there it was heaving with a queue and we got straight in but table not ready so drink at bar until they sent a text to say it was ready....cool ! And a great meal with lots of excellent dishes and a relief from the grills/fries/salads of late.
On  Thurs the temp dropped and rain forecast all day  but didn't start till afternoon though. Rode around and hopped off at Georgetown, explored v.nice waterfront and excellent lunch at J.Paul's pub which may have been the tastiest and best meal we have had. Rain started so spent the afternoon at the Smithsonian museum of American history, which may be one of the best produced museums we've ever seen.....except we are in the traditional period of field trips for American schools so everywhere is full of noisy crowds of teenagers of which we were not the only ones complaining.

CHICAGO. MY HOME TOWN......

26.05.2014

Up late after Saturday night and brunch at Navy Pier listening to Jazz. More hop on hop off until we were both falling asleep.....weather v.hot and Chicago crowded for holiday weekend. Had to return to base at 3pm for zzzzzzz and then out for dinner. Suddenly realised that we hadn't ridden the El so we bought 2 tickets and did the Loop  followed by Chicago by night tour until 10pm and a long walk home through the park still thronged.
Monday morning checked out but left bags at hotel and took the hotel shuttle to the planetarium where we saw 2 excellent shows and great exhibtions. Caught bus uptown to lunch at Giradanos the original and best pizza house which did not disappoint with the no.1 classic stuffed pizza....all others will be judged by this now. Back to hotel to pick up bags and taxi to Union Station. Am now esconced in the metropolitan lounge waiting for the call having checked bags and booked 8pm dinner slot...could get used to travelling like this.
Goodbye Chicago,  top town even if I do keep singing that bloody sinatra song, and may well return someday.

On the road for 30 days

Repacking for the train.

Surrealist bedroom, Chicago

I'm YOUR HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN

25.05.2014

Walked over to Buddy Guys at 7.30 to find it busy and tables hard to find. However, entry is free up to 8.30 when there is a $20 cover charge so it starts to thin out and staff usher us to a table with a lone man on it who puts up with us for 3 minutes before moving off. We watch the free acoustic set with Jimmy Johnson until 8.30 when the first of the big names, the Luke Pyetal Band comes on. Superb sound with a great alto sax, Ronnie G , and keyboard player, Brian James. Luke plays guitar effortlessly like Eric Clapton and even the GF is rocking. The place is packed and we order from the Cajun menu....Louisiana Blue Crab cakes which we share and then I bottle out of the jumbo Gumbo and the Jambalaya and settle for the Baby Back Ribs and BBQ Chicken Combo, the GF has Beef Tacos, all good. After a non stop 2hr set, there is a quick change and the main event is the great Eddie Shaw, 77 years old and 20 years as tenor sax player with Muddy Waters and another 20 with Howling Wolf....even has credits on the Howling Wolf London Sessions, great milestone for people like Clapton and the Stones....before forming his own band and recording in his own name. Absolute brilliant 2 hours non stop rocking blues, best version of little red rooster I've ever heard, likewise Hoochie Coochie Man. Lineup includes his son Vaan Shaw who plays a 3neck electric guitar that sounds sublime. We leave at 12.30, even the GF enjoys it despite us both being deaf. Absolute magical night that I've always wanted to do.

CHICAGO,CHICAGO THAT WONDERFUL TOWN (Sinatra,f)

24.5.2014
Never, in a million years did I ever think I would say this....I have fallen in love with not only a city, but an American city.
Wow. Sounds of jaws dropping and humble pie being eaten bit I love Chicago.
To recap, finally got in at 20.45, and easy enough to reclaim bags like an airport .......we were lucky, all the people who had missed connections  through being 51/2 hrs late were in dire straits and a team from PR had obviously been pulled in late on the Friday night of a holiday weekend (Memorial Day, Mon) to pacify, placate and reschedule unhappy bunnies. There may have been a question of compensation but we decided Amtrak had seen us alright so we headed to the taxi rank. Joyfully, our hotel, the Chicago Essex was a mere $10 ride away so we had checked in by 21.30 and they had a brasserie where we had a very pleasant meal. City looked good, weather mild so on finding that Buddy Guy's Legends club was a mere 2 blocks away we trotted off. We decided not linger but just went in to sort something out for Saturday night and were hit by the most glorious wall of blues that made your head hurt....can't book for sat, just first come first served so will take our chance but I don't think the GF is going to enjoy it as much as I will.
So, another excellent hotel, well above our usual pay grade and as ever, very helpful staff.
With the holiday weekend, Chicago is en fete and the hop on hop off was excellent but grid locked as streets were closed due to the huge Memorial Day parade which we watched in various places., but the city is terrific. The skyline is superb, the views along the shores of lake Michigan are stunning, everywhere is so clean and smart and from what we saw today we both agrees that we would have given up LA for another 3 days here as we will never get round to all the places we want to go back to tomorrow.. Top spot, even if I do find myself having to agree with Sinatra.

AMTRAK COMES UP TRUMPS

Loop22.05.2014

We checked out of the hotel at 10 am and took the shuttle to the metro which was very user friendly with lifts and caught the train to Union Station, about 25 mins (fares are $1.50 a journey). The grand plan was to find the left luggage office and leave the cases there for the day whilst we explored until the train left at 18.15.
Of course nothing is simple and the left luggage office turned out to be a baggage claim office for incoming trains. However as we turned away, the girl called us back and asked where we were going. On hearing that we had a sleeper booked on the Southwest Chief, she tutted and said we wanted the Amtrak lounge on the next floor and gave directions, which had we not had them we would never have found the unsignposted lounge. This turned out to be a hospitality suite for sleeper car passengers with unlimited free coffee, snacks,drinks,WiFi,TV,magazines etc. and where a) we checked in and b) checked our luggage. 2 big cases to be checked for the train and 2 carry on with stuff for 3 days/2 nights  which we could check in there and pick up before boarding.. Now, our slight concern was that when we booked all this we thought we had a sleeper with toilet and wash facilities, but it turned out that we just had  a room with chairs that converted to 2 single bunks. I had rung Amtrak to try and upgrade yesterday only to be told that we had been given a v.good  deal in December at $336  and a bedroom with facilities would sell today at $1359 so the upgrade would be over a $1000. They suggested we wait until we got on the train and then did a cash deal with the sleeping car conductor ..nudge nudge wink wink. So as the very nice Jennifer Adams checked our bags , I thought I'd ask if she could do anything. At first she came up with the same figures and same suggestion but then said what a silly price it was, she could do better and would we be able to afford $200/300 ? The GF leapt in with how  nice it would be to have our own bathroom and that's what we had been expecting,sob,sob and yes we'll pay anything reasonable. So Ms Adams got on the phone to PR where she used to work, called a friend, whispered endearments about lovely people from the UK going all the way to New York, and got us the bedroom . Free.  All we had to do was go to the ticket desk and exchange the old tickets for new ones. Result.
So with a hop skip and a jump we shot through the station ( which was the last built of the Grand Union stations and is magnificent... deep leather arm chairs, tiled floor polished like a mirror, beautiful wooden ceiling, ....) and had a glorious day sightseeing..... first the pueblo area where the first 22 Mexican families settled(22men,22women & 22 children) by order if king carloslll of Spain to provide for his soldiers; then to China Town, mooch round the fascinating markets, lunch excellent at Plum Tree , then walked to the cathedral, magnificent, modern and rehearsals for local schools graduation later this week, with choirs so nice local touch Then the state courthouse, civic centre, LA mall and finally
LAPD headquarters where I bottled out of going in and asking for Harry Bosch, but a passing fireman offered to take our photo under the sign with some bewilderment BA's not many people do that. Very nice day's sightseeing.
Back to the Amtrak lounge where things got better. At 17.30 a bunch of people burst in, grabbed our carry on bags and
took us out to golf carts which carried us over to the platform where our train which had been released from the freightyard after inspection and servicing would be arriving in 7 mins. Being sleeper clients we got priority. We were dropped at points corresponding to our ticket numbers and when the train duly arrived our bags were taken to our rooms which are v.pleasant. Big picture window with a seat on one side,fold down table in the middle and a bench seat that folds out to a double bed with another single bunk that folds down if wanted. Toilet & shower, wash basin, towels, bottled water, cups ,tissues, soap. Lots of lights and mains sockets and air con. Complimentary coffee, water and juice all the time plus breakfast lunch and dinner included and last night I had a steak which was as good as I've ever had, cooked to order...GF had the roast chicken, enormous portion.
I did however think that drinks were included and ordered a half bt white for and a half bt red for me and was somewhat shocked to get a demand for $32 afterwards...but what the hell, this is really exciting and sooooo cool. After dinner we repaired to the observation car, brilliant, to watch the sunset whilst our man Richard arranged the beds and turned us down. Glen in the bar is a  font of knowledge and has lots of cold beer and the hoi-poloi try to sleep in coach class. Ooooo!
Had to get up in the night to watch the sky! Never seen so many stars, felt you could reach up and grab a handful, and a half moon that was deep orange. Watched an amazing sunrise coming up to Flagstaff that seemed to stretch for hundreds of miles across the desert .Then Gallup and Albuquerque where we stopped to refuel and wee stretched our legs through the throng of vendors who thought we might buy something. Nice lunch.......there is  a policy of community seating which means 'tables seat 4, so you will share'. There are about 4/5 sittings for lunch and dinner which you pre book  each day and so you get to sit with different people each meal which has been really great as we have met so many people and they all think we are marvellous and wish they could do the same trip but they have all been interesting as well ..,esp the nutter from Brooklyn with his 1000 model trains in a one bed apartment who worked on the NY subway for 30 years but he was funny like new Yorkers are in films.
We have a lovely waitress called Dayzi who looks after us  as I keep stuffing $ in her hand.,.... In America I seem to do nothing but stuff tips in hands and everywhere you go there are signs saying that gratuities will be appreciated.
At Albuquerque we added 3 private, renovated Pullman coaches to be delivered to Chicago, which were so heavy they slowed us down and we lost 2 hours by next morning. We have gone through 3 time zones and adjusting clocks forward plays havoc with breakfast times. We then ran into a track problem at Cameron Junction and lost another hour whilst a points switch was repaired and another hour whilst the 100+ freight train ( I thought they were all 22 coaches long?) Crept through ahead of us.......100 coaches x 15 yds = 1500 yds plus 3 engines pulling and 2 pushing = best part of a mile !
So we are approaching  Chicago. It is 20.05 and we should have been here at 15.15. We still have 45 mins to go, find our luggage, find our hotel and I had booked us into Buddy Guys House of Blues for dinner. So that'll be buggered then, let's hope I can get in on Saturday night otherwise I shall be a very unhappy bunny as that was going to be my high spot of Chicago.

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

20.5.2014

Arrived LA about 1pm and taking the bus drivers advice did not get off at Union station ( which the tickets stated) but stayed on to the Greyhound terminal, where no helpful info was forthcoming to the query as to how to get to north Hollywood..... like they'd never heard of it. So mooching round the back I found the most decrepit taxi rank I've ever seen manned by evil looking Latinos licking their lips as I approached. At least they knew where north Hollywood was and the hotel. When I asked how much the big fat one said $45 or maybe 35 as I looked horrified, depends on traffic. So we hauled the bags round and he watched as I put them in the boot. Traffic was horrible then eased and he drove like a madman and the clock read $39 when we got to the Beverley Garland, across the other side of town and by what seemed a straight route so no complaints except a) we went back passed Union station and b) there is a direct metro line from the station to Universal City which is a 15min walk or $10 taxi ride from the hotel..... but we weren't to know that.
Anyway, hotel is top notch, very swanky and well above our usual level.....never had so many thick bath towels. Beautiful gardens with lovely lights at night, heated swimming pool, excellent restaurant, shuttle every hour back to the metro and Universal studios, WiFi in the room and an enormous TV.
So checked in and then took the shuttle (an old converted wooden tram) to Universal studios where there is a city walk around the studio complex and is full of shops, restaurants, and the sort of things I loathe. Had dinner in a German micro brewery....don't even ask.
Monday, up at the crack of dawn, 9am shuttle to metro, figured out the system, bought & loaded 2 oyster type cards called TAP cards. Down to Hollywood & Vine where the Hop on hop off bus co. HQ  is and bought 2x48 hour tickets for
$118. There are 4 different routes designated by colour and over the 2 days we travelled the length and breadth of LA.
All the way down to Santa Monica and walked the length of Venice Beach boardwalk, walked on the beach and paddled in the Pacific in preparation of truly going coast to coast. Bought slices of pizza and sandwiches at a stall and ate them watching people playing basketball on one of the many courts. This was going to be the GF's highlight but the place is very odd and not at all smart,chic or trendy. Absolutely packed, and the boardwalk ( not a wooden walkway but concrete) is full of hippie street vendors out of the 60's selling crap, worse than Morocco or Turkey, except that they were mostly out of their heads and couldn't bother anyone. The grass was covered in bodies in sleeping bags or bin liners and little groups of down and outs looking dirty, unkempt and stoned. The GF was very disappointed, but the beach is fabulous. Excellent sightseeing bus with great commentary pointing out who lived where,was discovered, worked as waiter,was killed,born,married, arrested etc etc.
the Farmers market was great fun and we ate pastrami and corned beef sandwiches on rye with mustard, easy on the Mayo,  from one of the many stalls which are legendary. La Break tar pits were worth the hop off and a brief look at the museum of modern art (Van Gogh to Kandinsky).
Being Mr Nice Guy, we hopped off and walked Rodeo Drive which was worth it from my point of view as a  Bugatti Veyron drove up and parked in front of me as an extremely leggy lady in extraordinary heels and tight short dress came out of Bijam ( which I am told is the most expensive shop in the world) to put money in the parking meter for the driver. I have photographs of both.
We have dined in the hotel restaurant, strangely called Warren's Blackboard  food and drink workshop, which was very good and have found a great supermarket for buying breakfast items near the metro as we walk back to the hotel as it only takes 15 mins.
More unknown charges appeared on our bank statement..2x£49.99.. but on phoning it seems they were made before the card was cancelled on the 14th and have been refunded now. I still can't get over the fact that cards are swiped without requiring a pin , so open to abuse.
Anyway LA has a lot of history, bits are terrific, bits are shit and there is a lot of conspicuous wealth here and we come across film crews everywhere. I hadn't realised so many scenes really are shot on location here and it was fun having hotels,bars,restaurants pointed out where iconic scenes were filmed for real . Didn't get to drive up Mulholland Ave or park up above the Hollywood sign as I wanted to relive Harry Bosch books but at least I've seen the rest and know where he's coming from.

GREYHOUND TO LA

Hey! How cool is this......writing  & posting my blog on a Greyhound bus to los Angeles !!!!!
So after months of concern, god knows what in phone calls and a fax to the hotel from Amtrak, we finally.....after some resistance....got on the rescheduled Greyhound with tickets for a later bus that didn't now go where we wanted to be. Our tickets were printed in Dec. and there wasn't time to have new one's sent when the schedule changed in march . what we were sent was an Amtrak voucher that had to be scanned in an Amtrak machine, of which there are non in Vegas and were now routed onto an Greyhound bus. When I showed the tickets to the Greyhound staff at the bus station 2 weeks ago they said that they weren't valid for any of their services, thus initiating endless calls to Amtrak and the american booking agents with everybody saying that there was an agreement in place for Greyhound to honour Amtrak tickets....only  nobody was telling the guys who let you on the buses on the ground. Eventually, Amtrak sent an email to the agents telling Greyhound personnel to honour the bookings which I had faxed to the Stratosphere as a hard copy.... and retrieving that was a challenge....so we turned up at 07.30 at terminal this morning which resembled a refugee camp.  My first plan had been to sit tight and then blag our way on when the bus arrived, but when I had to queue up at the ticket desk to get sandwiches I decided to open the batting straight away. Surprisingly, whilst they wanted to check us on the later bus which still runs somewhere, the fax proved invaluable and it was a stroke of luck that I had decided to queue at the desk as all stowed luggage had to be checked and tagged otherwise it couldn't go.........unlike National Express who just chuck everything in the locker willy nilly.
So we had 3 luggage tags for the 08,00 to LA ( despite our revised fax showing it as the 07.50 to LA)
the bus arrived at 07.45 at gate 5, and we were told to take all tagged luggage to gate 4, which we did, then disabled, children & seniors were allowed to board. At the desk we caused mass consternation from the ticket inspectors and lots of shouting around until someone yelled Amtrak tickets were good to go but take whole ticket and stub so with much relief  we saw our cases being loaded and we left at 8.15.
And the bus has WiFi and as the desert is endless and flat I'd thought I'd while away some time writing this. We waved to  D&M as we passed the Monte Carlo and sent them a text to say we were on the bus,; the air con was cranked up at 9am after complaints and the GF is now shivering in her fleece and stamping her feet to keep warm....... with the sun beating in through the window as it will hit 100 again today, I think its just pleasant. Due in LA at 13.25 ( v.comfy bus)  and then taxi to the Beverly Garland for 3 nights until we get the train to Chicago.

AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE........

From Beaver to Vegas, part boring part very dramatic ...... unfortunately the dramatic bit coincided with 15 miles of roadworks which were very narrow single lane and required maximum concentration. Arrived LV  at 3 pm, refueled vans ready for return and booked into Sam's RV Park, hotel and casino where we started from 2 weeks ago......still only $20 a night and the best value. Went to the hotel for end of tour dinner at Billy Bobs steakhouse which was remarkably good, esp the Fess Parker Californian red (15%) at a mere $25 (and a cdr in all but name). It was so good we ordered a second bottle but they had run out so following Oz Clark we went for a red zinfandel which they  obligingly let us have at the same price . Watched a stunning laser/water/music display in the central courtyard which was mind blowingly good. Weather over 100° so cleaning and packing was a chore.
Returned vans sat. morning without problem and happily without forfeiting any of the $1000 deposits...in fact M managed to wangle $150 payment for inconvenience of having no hot water for first 4/5 days
Back to hotel and then went downtown to Fremont centre for mooching and lunch at Golden Nugget.  Big display of vintage classics lining the street of corvettes, mustangs, deloreans,  and film cars from Batman, Knight Rider etc and the rebuilt Porsche that James dean owned and died in.
When we got into hotel room and checked with bank, discovered another 2× 49.99  charges not recognised. Rang to report and they are part of the same scam that caused the blocking as it takes some days  for all items to clear for some reason, but they will be refunded. The problem is that they take cards away and just swipe them, never having to enter a pin number so god knows who is doing what with them. However , Nationwide seem on the ball and situation appears in hand. Shudder to think what would have happened if I didn't check online regularly.
The plan had been to have a farewell meal in the revolving restaurant atop the tower but booking was either 5.30 or 9.45
so we settled for drinks in the tower cocktail lounge followed by dinner in the Italian restaurant ( a litre of house red @$20'was very acceptable)
Sadly we part company as tomorrow (we hope) we shall catch the greyhound to LA at 7.50 am and begin our second ABA ( awfully big adventure)  coast to coast. Been a cracking good 2 weeks with D&M, with lots of fun and a truly memorable journey. Shall miss them both very much .
But another challenge lies ahead.....watch this space

BEAVER......DAM FINE PLACE

We are heading home (?) to Vegas. Cracking drive from Moab through the Badlands where Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch hid out and when you look down into the canyons it all makes sense. Weather is terrific, arrived Beaver  3.30, (Butch Cassidy born here) .......refueled at Richfield but debit card wouldn't work so used credit card....I won't bother to describe the tribulations of the debit card but it has always worked eventually. Got to campsite, paid with debit card..refused so used credit card. Rang Nationwide using Skype , card was blocked......it has been cloned and they monitored 3 transactions in a computer software store called Blizzard yesterday which they thought suspicious and when I tried to put $ 116   for fuel in a Chevron station they shut it down. This is our joint card and mine is now dead and we/are assured that the GFs card is still active and if its not we might be in trouble.....only joking as we have backups for this eventuality. We ar e still in Utah where buying alcohol is quite difficult, like Morocco and anything over 3.2% can only be bought in a State liquor store which are very difficult to find as they look like abandoned shops , with no advertising or signs .Happily D&M tracked it down in Beaver and I have a 2 ltr  Concho y Toro merlot at $ 9.99 which is sublimely drinkable so goodnight......,.

MOAB.......SOUNDS BIBLICAL

The drive to Monticello was undulating and dead straight and boring, despite the herd of buffalo (they were too), the llamas and the alpacas. But then we turned west to Moab  which was much more interesting, into canyon territory.
Nice campsite 4 miles south of town with great views. Sun shining but freezing overnight and v.helpful  staff who planned a great itinerary for us. Moab, which sounds as though it was the 3rd begotten son of Lot, is at the centre of 3 National parks all of which we could visit in the vans and also has a least one microbrewery with some great beer.
The town is probably the nicest we have passed through and is the hub of off-road activity, somewhat resembling a stage of the Paris-Dakar rally, with dune buggies everywhere. We discover that there is a 4 day ATV rally taking place and the campsites are overflowing with  RVs towing trail bikes, quad bikes and serious buggies.
We then have 2 superb days: first day to Dead Horse Point park and then Canyonlands ( which is Not a Disney theme park based on the Grand Canyon) and both stunning. Mini version of the GC, at the confluence of the Colorado/Green rivers with amazing views and rock formations. We drive over a 100 miles stopping frequently and love every moment.
Next day we do the Arches National Park which is even more amazing. Take a million photos of......arches......never seen anything like it so wait till  I put pics on flicker or look it up on Google.
This is nearly it. We have to be back in Vegas on Friday, about 450 miles. One stop at Beaver .
Weather has got much warmer again especially at night.
Its been a terrific trip, met so many people,esp. the good ol  boys on trail bikes I had a beer with tonight (in a caravan bigger than our house and having a boys away trip to look at the flowers.........I think this was the bteam equivalent of parking the cars). The weather has been interesting, we only had rain once overnight and drove through a shower but it started at 102°, fell to -4° overnight, snowed just up the road, blew an almighty gale and then got lovely again.
I don't think for one moment that we have even started to scratch the surface but it has been an eye opener. Lot of poverty, lot of ramshackle, broken down towns with shut down shops and businesses and rotting property. RVs everywhere, every other house has one parked outside. Seen some fantastic scenery and love how the National Parks are run, but the roads between places are SO boring. Campsites have great facilities but are pricier than Europe at this time of year, fuel is much cheaper but the motorhomes are built like breeze blocks and only do 10 miles to the gallon, so fuel at a 1/3 price but mpg  1/3 of ours equals the same overall cost which is disappointing. We like the van, very spacious being wider, love the waste systems and all the electrics which are catered for by all sites having 30/50 amp hookups...unlike uk at 16 amp and Europe where 10 is good and 3 or 6 is not uncommon. This means we can run all the systems knowing we will not be blowing a trip switch which is luxury

CORTEZ & THE MESA VERDE

From the campsite to the visitor centre, discovered we could drive into the national park, set off and paid the entry fee $10 only to be told that to see anything interesting would require a guided tour, the tickets for which were only on sale back at the visitor centre. So drove back to the visitor centre to find that the earliest tour we could join would be at 1pm. This being too late we were then told that we didn't need to join a tour as we could do a self guided tour and they showed us where to go , where to park, where to walk so off we went again, up a mountain. Fairly hairy, needed concentration, about 18 miles and it had snowed last night. But the roads were dry and the snow on the trees made it very pretty....a god day viewing the ancient cliff dwellings in the canyons, and what we missed out on the guided tour we probably picked up in the museums.
Left the mesa a bout 2.30 and headed north toward MOAB,
which may tiurn out to be the centre of the universe.

FOUR CORNERS AND CORTEZ

Before leaving the valley we drove into the visitor centre as our tickets from the tour were valid thus saving $20 a   vehicle. The views are stunning and if I go on a bit its because I found it such an amazing place.
Headed north to Mesa Verde, stopping at 4 corners for lunch, having paid $10 to park......seemed a good idea before we knew about the $10...so called because 4 states meet here..... Utah,Colorado, Arizona & New Mexico and they have put a plaque on the ground so you can stand in all 4 states at once blah blah....anyway it was very windy, and bad weather is sweeping in, including snow. For the last week we haven't dropped below 6000 ft and the next few days are predicted as a severe winter storm ( in may????) so we have had some cold nights.
Arrived Cortez,  weather  v.cold and snow showers forecast......bloody hell it was 102° last week.
Drive was another long boring day and I can understand the necessity for the rumble strips on the shoulder and down the middle. We play country & western on the radio but stations fade out just as they get interesting.
We are out in the back of beyond and towns look impoverished, closed up, falling down and more ramshackle than Spain. Certainly doesn't look like the land of plenty so far.
More to follow.

MONUMENTAL cont

Saturday was one of the best days of my life.
The other 3 took the shuttle bus down to trading post for retail therapy and I hiked up the trail into the canyons behind the campsite. What looks like a solid wall unfolds into a wonderland.  Very hard to describe but magical almost mystical , total silence , huge rock faces carved over billions of years that you can almost feel...spent 2 hours  just sitting on a rock taking photos as the sun and clouds changed the landscape  every few minutes.
At 1pm we reconvened for a tour  into the actual valley which was led by a Linda who usually drives the school bus. She was born in the valley 1961, mother still lives in  a traditional hogan . The tours are in big Jeeps, the road is non existent and has to be the best thing I've ever done. Amazing place, maybe better than the Grand Canyon IMHO.
We rounded the day off by going back to the theatre for a showing of Stagecoach when everybody kept picking out the scenery they had visited in the afternoon. Hasn't changed ( much) in 75 years. Fascinating museum of the cinema history of the valley, the Navajo Code Talkers who developed an unbreakable code using their native language during WW2, and the culture and history of the Navajo people who as we all know , were shat upon from a  great height  and still struggling for equality. Words fail me. And if Emilio ever reads this, thanks again .

A MONUMENTAL VISIT........

10.05.14
Left Flagstaff 9am, snowcapped mountains but pleasantly warm, D&M   now smelling much nicer as they can shower in the van with hot water.
Long uninteresting roads across flat plains with only herds of buffalo to watch as you head towards the mountains 100 miles away. Occasional Indian raiding parties gallop pass but after I greet them with my now standard phrase ' How ....I bring  greetings from big queen across the water ' they gallop off to raid some poor homestead as and leave us to continue.
After Camerons Trading Post, (no relative I hope) we turn right to Tuba City where we stop for coffee in a diner and have a plate of puppies. Not my idea and I'm not going there so go look it up somewhere, and restock at a Bashas supermarket...... no alcohol available as we are now in the Nations and alcohol is banned. Bloody shades of Morocco but at least we are well  stocked.
Suddenly scenery gets interesting as we head for Kayenta ;
red mesas, massive rock formations, and the promise of things to come. As we approach our destination of Gouldings Trading Post, we cross into Utah ( clocks go forward 1 hour)  and we enter the Navajo reservation that is Monument Valley.  Gouldings is historic, go look it up on Wikipedia, and a cracking campsite in Red Box Canyon with stunning views out to the valley.  We have a jolly evening , first   having  been taken on the shuttle bus to the cinema to watch films on the history and culture. This place is John Wayne country, Stagecoach having been filmed right here after the Gouldings collared John Ford and showed him pics of the area, followed by She Wore A Yellow Ribbon.. They show JW movies every night in their cinema and have a museum.......tbc

SOUTH TO SEDONA

08.05.14

The GF recovered after a day of rest, no food and children's rehydrating fluid which I located in the Seligman  general store, there being no pharmacy or indeed a horse but lots of route 66 memorabilia gift shops after I walked the mile to town from the campsite in the teeth of a ferocious wind as a cold front moved in........the temp dropped overnight to 32 from 102 two days before and is apparently quite normal but not at this time of year.
Anyway all was well on Wednesday morning so after exploring the delights of emptying the waste tanks which in fact is an easy operation and better than the European version and I refilled the LPG tank which will be reimbursed.
Cloudy day but very scenic drive to Sedona, Arizona which surprisingly involved a very unexpected 25 mile mountainous section which was more than a little hairy around the old mining town of Jerome.
Sedona is fantastic and was the setting for over 60 westerns from the 1920s to 1970 and every cowboy you can mention filmed here. In fact, it had the only film production unit permanently built outside Hollywood.  The town is surrounded by huge red bluffs, worn into fantastic towers and as soon as you see the view you think westerns. It also houses a church, the chapel of the holy cross which rises between two red cliffs, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930s but not completed until 1957.
So we stopped at the nearest camp site in town at a massive $50 a night....it is so expensive here but sites are nearly all full, spent the next day driving around the views before heading to Flagstaff in the afternoon.
The TomTom that I hired for a huge amount of money is proving invaluable as it is preloaded with thousands of campsites , rated by stars and giving last year's prices, but wanted to take us to Flagstaff on a 64 mile route whilst the signpost said 27. If you come here in an RV, trust me, take the 64 miles........the 89a through Oak Creek is not for the faint of heart, especially when 5  miles is under repair and single file.
We only made a short distance as D&M had to call in at an RV repair shop to have their water heating system overhauled as they could only get lukewarm water.. ... it was a 5 min job  as the winterising override switch had not been reset which is another stupid oversight by El Monte who are being let down by stupid oversights. ..... we have 2 sets of crockery.... one plastic,one china; we have no dishcloths or cleaning materials and when we buy them, most of it will be thrown away unused. If we leave the unused items in the van they won't be passed on so what happens to them ?
Anyway, KOA campsite at Flagstaff, $44  even after the 10% discount we get but at least the 5 litre wine box of Californian Burgundy from Walmart at $13.99  is proving more than drinkable and I'll need another one soon.
And Americans are So nice. At the checkout in Safeway's, when the bill came to $ 80, the cashier asked if I had a loyalty card, which of course I hadn't. At which, the lady behind us said please use mine, I just luv your accent, my names Amy  and I have a friend who lives in Suffolk, England ( like,wow, small world), and the cashier swipes her card and knocks $8 off our bill !!!!!!!
And in the car park at the holy chapel a guy walked back and moved his car so that I could park without having to perform contortions. I really do like them, everyone has been polite, helpful, funny and wanting to talk to us.

ON THE ROAD JACK.....

The vans are robust, functional, wide, 25' long and poorly equipped despite paying for vehicle kits and personal kits. They could have included dish cloths and more than one toilet roll. The basic operation is OK and the pitches all have hookup to 30amp electric, fresh mains  water and usually direct waste drainage and most are drive thru so no manoeuvring.
The wing mirrors stick out a long way and give poor rear vision for reversing which is why they have drive thrus.
Handling is optional, especially in wind which we had for a couple of days and I tend to drift into the curb, but we are learning. They have full air con which is why we need 30amps and the fridges are large.
So Sunday morning we set off and went back to the Walmart for dish cloths etc and in view of the cost of phone calls I bought a cheap phone and 1000 mins for £30 which has already saved us money.
First stop at a very pretty little site at Needles on the Colorado river ....$36  a night (£22)......
Unfortunately the drive was marred by extremely hot air being pumped into the drivers foot well and I could only drive by using cruise control. When we stopped I rang the mobile assistance  and they diagnosed the problem , indicating 2 clips on the panelling that were incorrectly fastened allowing hot air from the outside ( temp over 100°) and the engine to be rammed into the footwell. Sorted and a  cold beer or two went down.
Monday 5.5.14
Getting used to driving the van and hot air problem cured.
Drove to Kingman where we refuelled.......14 gals didn't refill the tank ($50) and for only 200 miles or so we are getting less than 14mpg and petrol is about $3.50 per us gallon (or about £2.54 uk gallon). These vans are heavy,automatic and thirsty and fuel prices have risen recently and is keeping a lot of the big RVs off the road apparently although every second vehicle is an rv. From Kingman we turned onto the historic route 66 loop for 50 odd miles to Seligman a real one horse town and a campsite next to the freight rail line which ran all night with huge long trains.
We stopped at Hackberry and viewed the 1950's road house preserved as it was left when the freeway made the road obsolete complete with '57 red corvette and I'll try and post a picture and then the Grand Canyon Caverns. Massive dry caves 230' underground, complete with survival kits delivered in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis for 2000 people for two weeks. Iodine tablets were sent in 2012 to treat the drums of drinking water.
Despite being told that the 66 loop was  a 'pretty little road' I found 50 miles of dead straight road across the desert to be anything but pretty..
Unfotunatly the GF is now feeling the effects of too much excitement, too much sun, too much travelling and too much change of diet and so we shall not move today whilst we hope she recovers.

Continued 2

So Saturday was pick up RV day. We had called before to confirm everything and had said that we expected to be processed together as we were a party and that was fine. Some doubt about shuttle pick up availability but when I rang at 9am. was immediately told that we would be picked up at 12.30......I won't go in to the conversation regarding the 6 possible entrances and the fact that we only connected on the 3rd call when we both narrowed the choice to 2 and managed to get that wrong. D/m rang at the same time to be told that no shuttle pickup was available and that they should get a cab which would be reimbursed. So they got a cab and arrived at 12.30. We got picked up at 1.30, and then had to wait whilst the shuttle picked up 3 more couples, involving driving down and up the strip at midday on a Saturday, eventually getting to the Rv base at 2.30, 2 hours behind D/m. As we were first on the bus, we were last off (everybody has loads of luggage) and thus last to sign in. We were last to be processed and finally completed handover at 5pm. so a day lost.
Not happy but a few freebies thrown in. By 3.30 we all decided to get d/m off  to find a campsite and book us both in for the night which they did....at Sam's. When we got there they had gone to the Walmart across the road but unreachable by foot so when they returned we went there to stock up with food and liquor. Its good to have a travelling companion as we could laugh about it over beers and wine because  on our own we would not have  been happy. A whole day hanging around and then the handover of an rv. We are lucky as we know basics but an awful lot is different from European motorhomes,some good some bad, and the vans are automatic which I haven't driven for 20 years, lh drive and very wide and the las Vegas freeway at 6pm on a Saturday is not the ideal familiarisation ground. Hey, that was fun, and it gets better.

Continued.......

Flew back to Vegas and returned to hotel for wash and brush up before heading back down the Strip ( see how I pick up the lingo) to meet D&M for dinner. Sat outside the Venetian, on a mock canal with gondolas punting around and opposite the Mirage where a volcano erupted every half hour with a spectacular fiery spectacle...but not as good as the dancing fountains outside the Bellagio. Its hard to keep a grip on reality but I thought that the thousands of gamblers losing money whilst listening to opera in the Palazzo was the height of pretentiousness. The architecture and design is awesome until you step through the archways and gardens and waterfalls to the vast array of slot machines, craps,poker etc which is what it is really all about. Parting you from your money in the best possible taste with famous chefs, top performers and mind blowing effects all paid for by people losing. Had the best burger I've ever eaten though at Bellagio.
The GF is very taken with the place but even she doubts she would be likely to return.... Once is enough. It is so busy, noisy, frantic and that's before you start counting the cost.

3 DAYS IN VEGAS.......are you crazy ?

5.5.2014
Its hard to know where to begin. I'm sitting in a campsite next to Route 66, the temperature yesterday climbed above 100 and I'm watching a stream of bikers go past.......but I'm getting ahead of myself

30/4. Caught the Heathrow express from Ipswich at 10am, terminal 5 by 1.30pm no hassle and a fairly decent meal to while away the time. Our BA flight left from the last and furthest gate available and including the shuttle took 20 mins to reach only to discover that boarding was delayed and the 16.50 flight didn't start loading until 17.20 and didn't get off the ground until 17.45. Plane was full and the journey was enhanced by the antics of a party heading to Vegas for a wedding who stood up drinking for most of the 101/2 hrs.
I'm small and leg room was tight and the rubbish ear phones rendered the excellent choice of films unwatchable. Managed to sleep a few hours and landed on time thankfully at 19.25 feeling very weary as body clock is saying 3am.
Takes 2 hrs to unload, get through immigration, customs, walk miles and queue for a cab which charged 28$ to go a long way round to our hotel which you can see from the airport...it being the Stratosphere and the tallest....queue to check in and finally get to our room. Not luxurious but big and serviceable. First impressions are that we've landed in a theme park. Ring D&M to meet for a drink but they have crashed out having arrived at 13.30. We settle for a wander round the hotel checking out restaurants ,buffets,bars and slot machines etc and eventually (queue) to take the lift to the 108th floor after being searched. Stunning panoramic view round the tower with everything laid out below so had an expensive small can of beer and a juice and wound down.
The strip is as bright as you can imagine. However body clocks dictated that we retire early to recuperate.
Wide awake by 7 and out by 8 to walk up to the Greyhound terminal to sort tickets out for the first leg of the Amtrak journey in 2 weeks time. Good job we did as it was a complete cock up as I had suspected and a good thing we hadn't left it until we returned to Vegas . I'm not going to detail the problem as there will be a stiff letter of complaint which will be more than the usual 3 pages but we wasted many hours over the next 3 days and many £ s on phone calls at first. Fortunately the room had free WiFi so I managed to use Skype in the end at 0.014 p a minute as opposed to £1.39 on my vodaphone or 0.89 on the gf's Tesco phone......which ran out of credit and refused to load any more and said our cards were blocked which meant phoning Nationwide to check they were not and Tesco eventually to discover that their systems were down and would not accept top ups over £20  and as we  had tried unsuccessfully about 10 times to load £30  we were now blocked and finally I got through to guy called Neal who sorted it and gave us £10 credit for the hassle and I was losing the will to live and still talking to Mark Travel on one phone and Amtrak on another trying to sort the stupid mess out. So my view of Vegas was jaundiced from the start.
We met D&M for lunch and drinks at the Bellagio Thurs lunchtime at last and had a very jolly time as they showed us around. They were  still feeling a bit grim so we amused ourselves in the evening on the Strip watching the sites and had dinner at the Strat .
On Friday we had our trip to the grand canyon which was superb. Picked up at 10.30, shuttle to a small airfield and flown out to airfield in the GC National Park where we joined a coach to drive us to various locations on the south rim for the next 4 hours. Very hot weather and better than we ever expected. A breathtaking sight.

ANOTHER 10 DAYS OF FUN

23rd March 2014

Where did they go ? As after a restless night following the big mac, we headed to Almeria for no particular reason.
Malc & Christine decided to alter their original plan and come with us as we were having so much fun and alcohol was now back in centre stage. We went to Roqueta del Mar, which was a lovely resort and super campsite close to beach with cycle paths in both directions along the coast which we all explored together. M& C only stayed 3 days as they had a ferry to catch, K&J stayed till Saturday then left to meet friends at Alcossebre and we stayed 6 nights till Monday.
Stayed near Cartagena one night then to Valencia to visit Terry & Jackie who live behind us at Martlesham, have a villa in the hills and have always told us to stop off and see them.
They were home at Christmas and knowing we would be heading up the west coast this trip after Morocco rather than our usual route through Portugal ...( you're right..... no port this year)....we made tentative arrangements to call in.
Fortunately, the timing was perfect as this was the week of the Fallas  where they set fire to the town and try to lose fingers with fireworks thrown at random, with the big finale on Wednesday night......albeit at 2am.
So we arrived on Tuesday lunchtime to a magnificent valencian  paella cooked on the patio which was so delicious we took some away with us when we left 4 days later.
We were driven into the city (25km) for the evening to get a flavour of what was happening........every crossroads had a giant tableau which was a real work of art, some over 40ft high, as high as the buildings only feet away, extremely complex and colourful and satirical, exotic,....spitting image meets Wallace and grommet and the muppets....festooned with fireworks and waiting to be burnt. Every 'parish' has a committee who vie to be the biggest and best and compete for prizes in numerous categories. And making a lot of noise is paramount. Fireworks are thrown around like confetti, sold openly on the street from stalls and are incredibly loud. Children everywhere were dropping thunderflashes down the drains and walking around with a wooden box of bangers over their shoulders and a slow burning fuse in their fists.
Terry worked in Spain for ford for some 20 years, is a fluent Spanish speaker and a mine of information so was the perfect person to take us on a tour, Valencia being his patch.
We spent all day Wednesday in the city, going in by train at 9.30 and not getting back till 10pm, as a million people hit the streets for the last day. We didn't stay for the bonfires, but saw a fireworks display and the parade of fire which was unbelievable......mainly because it happened on the street 2 feet away as dragons and devils danced with huge sprays of fireworks spitting flames inches from the crowds,trees,shops lining the roads without a barrier in sight or a jobsworth with a fire extinguisher....absolute magic. And the noise of the mortars made the ground shake. I can only imagine that a barrage on the Somme might have sounded like that.
We then got shown round the area outside the city and the fabulous science museum and concert hall buildings set in pools of water, through the vineyards with a visit to the local cooperative for tasting and buying........a terrific 4 days of superb hospitality........I'll gloss over the heart stopping acrobatics of getting the van into their driveway, turning it round and then getting it out again. Suffice to say damage was minimal and easily remedied........
On Sunday to Zaragoza with intention  of crossing Pyrenees to Pau through Somport tunnel but weather forecast for heavy snow at Jaca so changed plan Sunday morning to Pamplona and St. Jean de luz.......... Ran into strong winds and snow after Pamplona over the mountains, hillsides covered but snow turning to rain as we dropped into france .

,

BACK TO CIVILISATION.....eventually

13th.March 2014

Left Chefchaouen at 8.30. Ferry from Tangier Med at 14.00.
Lovely drive over mountains, slow at first but dual carriageway from Tetouan so after last stop to fill up with fuel arrived port at 11.30 and first stop to change MD's back to € as useless outside Morocco. Check in no later than 45 mins before sailing ( is 13.15) was optimistic as it took us an excruciating hour and  a half to clear police and customs, including exiting the van whilst they ran a huge mobile MRI scanner over it to check for illegals and hidden drug compartments. On the dock at no.2 quay by 13.00 to be reunited with Malc & Christine and swap tales. Then discover  ferry will be 2 hours late like kit was coming over. At 14.00 we are moved to quay 6 where a Balearics ferry is loading. Assume we are being put on this until the ramps go up and it sails off. At 15.30 an unmarked ferry docks in front of us and unloads. During this process, an FRS ferry sails in and goes somewhere. At 16.00 we are moved back to quay 2 where we find the FRS ferry hasn't even started unloading. When it starts, it is full of trailers that have to be hauled out with tractor units.and then loaded with more of the same, reversing on laboriously. We get on last at 17.00, frontwards,meaning we will have to reverse off. Sail at 17.30
Arrive at Algeciras 18.30, or 19.30 as it is in Spain. Doesn't start unloading until 20,00 and then takes an hour and a half to clear police and customs in chaos amongst huge freight  wagons being searched. Finally clear port at 21,45 and plan of heading to restaurant with overnight parking has to be shelved as we head to Lidl carpark and grab a McDonalds at 22.00 extremely frazzled and bad tempered, especially as they refuse me a knife and fork and have no wine list after a month in a Muslim country.
Repair to Big Malc's for beer and brandy. What a waste of a day.

THOUGHTS.......

Morocco has been a journey in more ways than one.
I have never before been to a third world country and have never seen poverty on the scale that I have seen in the last month.......I have never seen so many donkeys  loaded with unbelievable burdens or people walking along the road miles from anywhere......the utter squalor of shanty towns and beggars everywhere.... the filth and stench of rubbish rotting where it's thrown and, most of all, the total neglect of even recent projects......
I would love to say now that there is a but.....but I can't.
I can't see any ' charm ' in what we've seen. Its been fascinating, the people are friendly but generally want to be paid for that very 'friendliness' and everything has to be haggled over, in some cases to an obnoxious degree.
We've never felt threatened anywhere, even deep in the souks, off the beaten track, but always felt that we were being noted as potential sources of income.
The roads apart from the toll motorways, are horrendous..especially the ring road round Rabat ( the capital) which is a disgrace, and driving in any built up area is chaotic with no order or discipline.
The food quarters of the souks are disgustingly unhygienic by any standards and best avoided before having a meal
The majority of campsites are disgusting by European standards, their only redeeming feature being that they are also cheap by comparison. Most of the ones we stayed in had had mony spent on them once and been allowed to decay almost immediately.
I have enjoyed the experience, you have to see these things in order to be able to talk about them, and I have spoken to people who love the country and have been wintering down here for 15 years or more but I doubt we shall come this way again, even though I have a bagful of tales to bore everyone senseless with.
Marrakech is nothing more than a tourist trap and Agadir is trying to be the French Riviera. In between is great scenery, good weather, poverty and a begging bowl.
So what do I like ?. Oranges for one. Great big juicy ones available at every corner from stalls, carts or off the backs of a donkey, for a few pence. Bananas are on sale everywhere by the ton, and are delicious. Smaller than usual in the uk, some like big fat fingers but very sweet and we eat 2-3 at a time. Living is cheap, prices low. I love the way children wave to us and the variety of road side stalls selling everything imaginable as and lots of things we can only guess at. We have laughed at the sights of animals on trucks, live chickens being sold off the back of vans, and shaken our heads at donkeys ploughing fields as we try to overtake a tractor whilst avoiding pot holes the size of a dustbin. Loved the spring flowers that carpet the verges and marigolds will now always remind me of Morocco.
We've had a great trip with good company and had a great many laughs and enjoyable moments even without a great deal of alcohol. If you're reading this Jackie, thanks a lot

OUR LAST STOP........

Sunday 9th march

After the tour of Fes  with our own personal shopper Idris, lamenting his loss of commission on the stalled carpet sale, we headed north on Saturday for our last stop before the ferry back to Spain on Monday.
Absoluteyl stunning drive through scenic hills. The usual driving hazards of  people, goats, sheep,  cows ,donkeys, bikes, mopeds, which populate the roadside were augmented by some of the worst road surfaces we have encountered, making progress slow. We also found convoys of tractors in a land were we could count the number of tractors we have seen on one hand. This always happened on twisty mountain climbs as sod's law dictates.
To demonstrate the friendliness of the Moroccans, at our coffee stop, a lorry emerging from a side road stopped and the driver ran across with a handful of oranges which he insisted we take ( I had just bought 6k at the roadside for £1.50 but he didn't know that) . He wished us good luck and drove off all smiles and waves. On the road, children all wave to us and jump up and down when we wave back and turn cartwheels if I blow the horn. Actually an awful lot of people wave at us in the country which is nice..
Arrived at our destination, Chefchaouen, high up on the hillside of a very fertile valley. Steep climb to campsite above town, 1st gear in places, and got excellent pitch on edge of precipice  looking down and across valley.
Chefchaouen is noted as a blue town as many buildings are painted blue but unable to say why. Founded by refugees fleeing the Spanish reconquista, until 1920,  only 2 Europeans had managed to enter it and live to tell the tale.
It is however reckoned to be the prettiest town in Morocco and we would believe it. Had lovely lunch overlooking main square in medina for £6 a head and  taxi back up the hill for 70p.
Tomorrow off to Tangier early and hope hopefully back to Spain by the evening if we're allowed out of the country.

MEKNES AND FES

7th March 2014
Campsite excellent and very full so had to pitch on lovely terrace with views. German tour below us had own mobile bar but despite every opportunity failed to invite us to join them. Campsite is typical in that it has wonderful water gardens and pools all neglected and overgrown and rubbish strewn. Somebody spent time and money and then walked away, leaving it to crumble. Can't even pick the oranges off the trees but happy for a Dutch couple to and then make marmalade in front of us.
Into town by bus and spent an enjoyable few hours followed by lunch on rooftop terrace overlooking main square and the mayhem of the traffic. A mini Marrakech but not for the tourists so had a greater charm. Back to camp by taxi.
Thursday
Intended taking motorway to Fes  as we needed to enter by south in order to find the well hidden and unsignposted campsite but signally failed in that we baulked at the thought of driving back across town, followed the signs for Fes and ended up on the N6 which took us in to the north.
Our maps are good but the scale is too large for this sort of thing but we did pick up the right road to swing south and east towards the probable area of the camp. We then hit lucky as a scooter pulled up in front of us yelling "camping international.....follow me! " and led us the 5 km . Of course, when I tried to give him 50d for his help he refused but insisted we use the services of his father who is an official guide for a tour of the town.
So we booked him and actually it was terrific value. He picked us up at 9.30 friday morning and gave us a day long tour of Fes that we could not have done ourselves, taking us through the maze of the Medina for hours, and, OK, we kept going to shops that he got commission on if we bought but we only bought stuff we wanted....some souvenirs from the pottery, leather slippers for the GF, a leather hat for me but we very nearly bought the wonderful handmade carpet from the government cooperative for £1000 after having started at £1780 and I still might regret that decision. We were shown to a lovely restaurant where we had a terrific ethnic meal for £12 a head and saw wonderful 14th C mosques etc which of course the infidels cannot enter. The streets..no alleyways...
of the souk were like stepping back in time and we often had to flatten ourselves against the wall as laden donkeys and horses passed by. A terrific day out. Now on to  the rif valley where hash is on sale on the roadside and bandit country.

AGADIR TO MEKNES

05.03.2014
The repairs completed and all agreed that a very fine job has been done and well worth the price. Terrific meal at the auberge...I had beignets aux legumes followed by skate wings in butter & capers with new potatoes and veg followed by an excellent tarte aux fraise. Everybody else had the cous cous aux trois viandes with varying degrees of satisfaction from excellent to OK. There was an enormous portion so it was difficult for most to finish. Meal worked out at £8 ph  so not expensive but no alcohol.
Into Agadir on Saturday, another squashed taxi but a very pleasant day.
The plan was always to move on Sunday to Essaouira but Malc dropped a minor bombshell and suggested that we 4 go on ahead and then visit Meknes, Fes  and Chefchaouen which we ought to see but which they had seen, didn't want to go again, and the weather and campsite at Agadir were excellent enough to stay a few more days.
This was rather disconcerting but gave us an opportunity to see more of Morocco other than retrace our route back up the coast which we were not exactly looking forward to with relish. On the down side, we did not have a satnav or a campsite book but we set to and planned a route and photographed relevant pages with directions from the book onto tablets......one problem is the lack of road numbering on the ground and the poor signposting in general but hey, this could be an adventure.
So waving goodbye and hoping to meet  at Tangier on the 10th. we set off on Sunday morning for Essaouira. Before leaving the site an amber engine warning light came on. Oh dear.. Check engine flashing on the screen. How? Need  diagnostic machine for that. Nothing for it but to cross fingers and press on.
Terrific scenic drive up coastal road and then through Argan  nut  groves, bottles of oil for sale all along the road.
At first coffee stop the water pump starts to play up, seeming to require priming before use indicating a faulty diaphragm or non return valve. Life looking grim.
But then we see 4 sets of tree climbing goats to make our day. No place to stop and photograph but an enduring image
which is seen in many paintings.
Find the campsite at Essaouira but it's full. However there is an aire( no facilities) close by, separated from the beach by a sand dune for 30d (£2.25)  a night so we park there.
Walk along the beach to the town which is very interesting and well worth the detour.  A large fishing port with dozens of open air stalls that have trestle tables to eat at after choosing your fish from the beautiful displays.
Back at the van, investigate the pump and find a loose connection on the inlet pipe, undoubtedly shaken loose by the appalling road, and letting air into the system. Problem cured.
Decide we have exhausted the pleasures of ESS. especially as the wind ( famous for) picks up and we are sandblasted so leave Mon morning for Mohammedia, just north of Casablanca. We stayed there on the way down so know we can find it, and it is then on the way to Meknes.
Road deteriorates badly so journey much longer than expected. Stop at Total garage to refuel after stopping at many that won't take a visa card, only to find that they can't make the machine work and we end up paying cash anyway.
( diesel is 68p  litre)
The bonus is that on restarting, the engine warning light disappears. The last fuel in was at a Moroccan Afriquia station (against my better judgement) and I think the 2 things are related.
The towns we pass through are what the wild west must have been like. The main streets are thronged with people, donkeys, donkey carts, horses, cows,sheep,goats,bikes,mopeds,scooters,cars,vans,lorries all moving in different directions with no order whatsoever.
It's mayhem and murder threading a motorhome through it but great fun.
The roads to and from theses towns are full of donkeys, either ridden or pulling a cart with a family and livestock, and people on foot but there is never any habitation close by so they must travel long distances. Have never seen so many donkeys. Nor so many Toyota pickups with 4 cows in the back, or a horse, or a flock of goats.
Overnight at Ocean Blue then onto Meknes.
This was always going to be a hard campsite to find, in the centre of town, and we gave it our best shot. Eventually gave up after police outside the royal palace said it didn't exist.
We thought it might have closed, and a German we spoke to at the supermarket outside town ( where we replenished our beer and wine supplies at last) said it had but that there was now an aire there at 40d a night. The policeman said not and as we had traversed a berserk city once we had had enough and headed up the road where we were assured there was a site near Moulay Idriss. No problem .  And it appears that the town site closed 5 years ago but still appears in every camping book.

SITTING IN THE SUN

I'm watching Elmudin repair the damage to the van caused by reversing into a wall at Conil when the GF failed to spot it and the hole punched in the fairing by a sharp branch in Croatia when the GF failed to spot that as well. He's filled the holes, put fibreglass around and is now sanding down ready to spray. He's been through my toolbox and bought some unwanted items and the cost will now be €220 which is reckoned to be half what it would cost in the UK and wise heads are muttering that he knows what he's doing.....I hope.
He's been doing this on the campsite for 8 years and says he's always got work and came recommended..
We are off for lunch at the nearby auberge; Friday being couscous special day but no doubt I can find a sheep's eyeball or two.
I forgot to mention the Moroccan wine. Or rather avoided mentioning it which is what happened to the wine. To be fair it may have been corked, but it went down the drain and haven't found another supermarket to try again. There is talk of a wine shop in Essouria, our next stop, but don't hold your breath. The French may have left a huge cultural legacy but a  thirst for wine was not included.......that's Islam for you.
Everywhere we've walked would have been that much better if a large beer was waiting at the end and every view would have been enhanced by a glass of red.
Elmudin has just been off on his motorbike and returned with a mobile paint sprayer.
We're now hearing that Allah is good and the only one true god and we all nod with silly expressions on our faces, probably ensuring eternal damnation from yet another affronted deity. Hey ho.
We are talking of another trip to Agadir tomorrow, squeezed into a beat up taxi driven by a maniac, no seat belts and still ignored by the ever present police checkpoint.
The promenade is a different world....miles long and could be anywhere on the med,Madeira or the canaries. Completely westernised, full of restaurants ,cafes,nightclubs & hotels and a completely different crowd of tourists who probably never see the places we've been through and think Morocco is chic. They should go 5 miles up the road.

DOWN TO AGADIR

Left Marrakech on Sunday morning with plans A,B & C, as there are stories of overflowing camp sites and we could not be sure of finding space......but there is plenty of wild camping at Tarhazoute or what is known as guardian camping without facilities but a watchman.
Took the toll road which runs along the front of the snowcapped Atlas before crossing through various gorges and passes, nothing to worry about.  The only problem was the violent headwind which meant full throttle going down hill to avoid coming to a halt and registering 13mpg instead of 99,9 mpg as would be the normal downhill readout.
Scenery changed dramatically several times until we reached the sea at Agadir in blazing sunshine. Nice city, rebuilt after earthquake in 1960, so very modern but still signs of neglect, endemic in Morocco.
Decided not to try plan A and the municipal site actually in the city which was just as well as when I found it 2 days later it was packed and scrubby.
The site at plan B, 15km up the coast was full as we had been warned, but plan C at Imi Ouaddar a further 10 km on was fine. Camping Atlantica is a large site, 790 pitches with lots of chalets, and populated with 90% french for whom the language is not a problem of course. Outside the site is a an industrial estate of small businesses offering every motorhome service imaginable.  We have all had fitted tablecloths made for our inside and outside tables at 150 dirrhum (£11), I bought a handmade hooded coat of many colours for £12 and leather slippers for £6. Malc has had 2 stunning paintings done on the van at £55 each and I would if I thought we would keep the van for a long time. Still might anyway. 5kg of tangerines cost £1.50. Someone will make silver screens to order, and bespoke bike/scooter covers for a few £s. Someone offered to repair the hole in the rear panel but hasn't turned up yet, and Malc has had a new water pump fitted. We are 25km from agadir,  the bus goes hourly for 75p each but is unreliable being often full so we squeeze into Mercedes taxis, happy to take 6, at negotiable prices. We have been in twice and the round trip for 6_is around £20.
The campsite is french riviera standard, with a huge swimming pool and slides, restaurant and pizzeria, and there is a French restaurant close by where we are eating on friday. At the beach, 10 mins walk is a small fishing community, the boats all being rowed and taken in and out of the sea by tractor on a very wide flat beach with heavy surf...
this area being famous for the surf and the next village at Tarhazoute being surf dude hippy central. The next town of Auorir is not a tourist haunt and is quite disgusting and smelly although it does boast an ATM machine , a nice hotel where we all ate for £20 , and is banana central, a kilo costing 80p, cut from the stalk.

A DIFFERENT WORLD.....

21-25 Feb 2014

Words can't do justice to the experience of Marrakech at night. A riot of noise, colour and smell that overpower the senses and envelope you totally so that you become part of it.
The central part of the square becomes a huge BBQ  pit as dozens of restaurants are erected every night and compete to entice the throng to eat at their stall. Young men roam the alleys between with menus advertising their stall and offer increasingly better deals than the others to get your custom.
Everything imaginable is being cooked on charcoal fires from snails to whole sheep's heads, tagines of every desciption, skewers of beef,chicken and fish, soups and salads followed by pastries,sweets and cakes. The smoke from the fires hangs over everything and the crowds, not at all a tourist majority, are enormous.
We started on the rooftop terrace of the Cafe de France which faces over the square towards the mosque and watched the sunset which suffuses the town with an golden hue and then strolled through the food stalls.
The area surrounding the stalls is packed with entertainers, entirely ethnic musicians, with throbbing drums, wailing stringed violin-type instruments and the modern addition of banjos. The bands play for dancers who appeared to be men dressed as women and everybody gets very excited, especially the man who had a chicken on his head as he danced the hip shaking routine which was the norm.
Taking photos is fraught as money is demanded quite aggressively, so it's easier not to bother.....in fact money is solicited for anything at any time so a handful of coins is useful to avoid hassle..…..1dirrhum is about 7p and there are 100 cents to the dirrhum so coins are not worth a great deal
Sadly, the ladies did not wish to dine alfresco so we ate ( very indifferently ) at one of the cafes around the square...I suspect the hygiene was no better than on the stalls where at least you could see the food being grilled ( and I thought the displays looked wonderful). Again, all that is missing is a decent bottle of red to wash it down.
The following day we headed into town ....actually its a city with a pop. of 1m plus...and shunning a guide, got well and truly lost in the souk. So lost that we ended up pressed against a wall as a funeral passed by, the body wrapped in a blanket, feet sticking out, and held aloft on stretcher thing.
It took a good hour to extricate ourselves, leaving little time for a late lunch as the taxi was booked for 3pm. but we found a nice place near the mosque
We have met some lovely fellow travellers, including Clive and Karen who retired 4 years ago and are travelling full time in their 6 wheel Auto-Trail Chieftain. Had a great fund of tales to tell.
Near disaster befell when the rail holding the GF's excess jumpers collapsed in the shower, caught the handle and emptied 100 litres of water into the van as the drain plug blocked, when we were out one day. Luckily the pump didn't burn out after running dry for hours but we had a very sodden van and clothes. But everybody rallied round, strung lines, and despite rain overnight we dried out the following day.
Next.....through the Atlas and onto Agadir.

Sketches of Morocco

We have been here 7 days and travelled from Tangier to Marrakech via Casablanca , and the weather is finally wonderful although cold overnight, dropping to around 4°
There are literally thousands of motorhomes over here, and the travellers talk much of overflowing campsites, the quality of which is best described as basic.
Our first stop was Cap Spartel, just south of Tangier.......
we only have one working satnav  since neither Ken nor I wanted to buy Moroccan maps at £45 and Malc already had one from his last visit. So we are following Malc and his satnav  took us through the centre of Tangier at 5 pm on a Friday including circumnavigating the roundabout outside the main mosque just in time for prayers. Roundabouts here use priority à droit supposedly and traffic on the roundabout gives way to traffic entering.....in reality it's a free for all and nobody gives an inch.. Pedal to the metal and hand on horn. I thought the arc de triomphe was scary but this was a nightmare.....3 vans in convoy trying not to lose sight of each other.....
But we survived. First impressions however were of poverty. Shanty towns, donkey carts, people walking everywhere and looking for lifts, street sellers at traffic lights quite aggressive at times.
First campsite had nice entrance and cafe but scrubby pitches and iffy electrics but that has become the norm, although sites are relatively cheap..about £6 a night.
Rain overnight  and visited local grotto of Hercules on the beach about 100 yds from camp next morning before heading south to Moulay Bousselham where we stopped 2 nights at scenic site at lagoon with entrance to sea. Hawkers on site selling crabs,clams,fish,strawberries, vegetables.. Village above on headland very poor with our first souk  selling everything from live chickens, eels to carpets and secondhand shoes. Area famous for bird life on lagoon and plenty of offers from boatmen on camp shoreline to take us out to see flamingoes but we've seen them already. Very iffy electrics.
On Monday moved to Mohammedia, 40km north of Casablanca and very neglected and poor.
On Tuesday hired taxi for 900 MD  (£70) to take the 6 of us to Casablanca and show us the sights. Good value as we got a commentary as he drove us around the city, visited the 3 rd largest mosque in the world and the largest one open to non Muslims. Cost £9 each to visit with guide but very impressive. Our first mint tea on the Corniche which I have now adopted. Lunch in a cafe our taxi guy recommended was Moroccan and interesting despite lack of alcohol.
I talked the others out of finding Rick's Bar and we settled for the Medina and souk before tiring of the constant plague of street sellers like flies and returning to site. Casablanca is ok if you want to see the mosque otherwise don't bother.... Smart tram system though.
On Wednesday headed to Marrakech, Crosby Stills & Nash on the stereo. ............
All of a sudden the terrain changed, the land become hilly and red, snowcapped mountains appeared in the  distance and seemed,through a trick of the light, to be floating in the sky and we passed villages of red mud with women washing at the well. It felt as though we had arrived in a different country and this was really Morocco, not a throwback to French colonialism.
Camp site on edge of town is packed and slightly better kept, and supplies its own minibuses into town which we did on Thursday. Magical place and everything the guidebooks say.
Main square is alive with snake charmers, tattooists, acrobats, food and drink sellers and a maelstrom of people, carts,animals,taxis,horse carts,tuktuks. We settled for tea on the rooftop terrace of a cafe overlooking all this and could have stayed there all day. Had lunch at a cafe, then Ken negotiated a tour of the Medina by horse drawn carriage for the princely sum of 100 MD (£7.75) per couple.....you have to haggle for everything, just like in Life of Brian......which took well over an hour and excellent value with running commentary in French which I have to translate......French is definitely the language over Arabic and is understandable, not pidgin.
Camp taxi back via supermarket. Alcohol on sale but expensive. Bought some morrocan wine £ 3 a bottle.......watch this space.
Going into town tonight to see sunset & the square by night