Campsite Life and A Change of Plan In Nerja, Spain
I really don’t know where to begin with this post, quite a lot has changed since last week. We’d settled into life on the campsite in Nerja, it’s easy to do as it’s so chilled and quiet here. Our days spent running, walking, reading and writing, oh and enjoying the sunshine and ice creams. I am amazed at how everyone is complying to mask wearing here, it’s just normal. Even small kids (six years and over) are wearing them as they ride their bikes along the promenade or form a crocodile behind their teacher. Groups of teenagers hanging out by the beach, well let’s just say most of them were wearing one. It still feels strange to me to pass people wearing masks, and with sunglasses on too you simply can’t make any form of visual contact, like a smile. But it doesn’t seem unfriendly, I guess because people are wearing them to protect each other.
Sadly the town of Nerja seems to be slowly shutting down. Most of the big hotels have either closed of given a closing date. Lots of shops are empty and available for rent or sale, and while quite a few restaurants are also closed, fortunately most of them are just for staff holidays and will reopen in December. The main meeting point in the town, the Balcon de Europa is very quiet, and a few times I have had it all to myself. This is great for us, as it means it is easier to socially distance, but so very sad for all the businesses that are struggling to survive.
The first thing to go wrong this week was our electric kettle stopped working. Well that’s no biggie as we just put our hob kettle on our electric hot plate, it takes a while to heat up, but we have plenty of time – and it’s one less thing to carry in Zagan. Then last weekend Jay felt something go wrong with one of his teeth. I had a look and it seemed like part of it had chipped off. The campsite owners recommended a dentist who had an English speaking receptionist. A quick phone call, and lots of Covid related questions later and he was booked in for Monday afternoon. After a good poke around and an x-ray, it turned out that the chip was just a chip, but a crack and it went right down through his tooth – no wonder it wasn’t feeling good.
The result was he’s going to need several more visits, the first for root canal surgery. Unfortunately dental treatment in Spain isn’t covered with our EHIC card, so it’s going to cost quite a bit more than it would do at home. Looking on the bright side, it will be sorted much more quickly here, and we’re not sure if the dentists are open at home during lockdown. The root canal specialist only visits the clinic on a Friday, so he went back for the first bit of treatment and it all went well. It sounds like anaesthetic has moved on since I last had any serious dental work done, and he didn’t feel a thing. He now has a temporary cover on the tooth, so it’s soft food only for a few days and he’s back at the dentist again on Monday.
On Wednesday the weather turned, and overnight we had a cracking thunderstorm. I was woken around 1am Zagan’s interior lighting up with the lightning, but it was hard to hear the thunder over the noise of the rain on the roof. On Thursday morning we had to shout at each other to be heard, and in Zagan we’re never more than a metre apart.
Thursday morning brought bad news from home, Jay’s Mum has been taken seriously ill. We’ve been waiting for updates on her condition from his Dad each evening and talking about what to do. There isn’t anything we can do back home that we can’t do here, as hospitals are closed to visitors and the rest of England is in lockdown, but we feel that we’d rather be at home at the moment. There are a few options open to us, we could leave Zagan here and fly home from Malaga (we don’t think he would be insured while stored here but we might have to take that risk), or we could drive Zagan home, catching the ferry from northern Spain or France (although the France option will be a last resort as they are in lockdown at the moment).
As we drove here one of our wheels was making a strange noise, we had planned to leave it for a while and get it sorted at our leisure, however we now have a mechanic booked to come and look at it on Monday. The outcome from that and Jay’s trip to the dentist will determine what happens next, but either way we’re heading home for a while. It’s been a worrisome week and we’ve had a few sleepless nights, but we now have a vague plan of action (if you have read this blog for a while, you’ll know all of our plans are vague) and we are taking control of what we can control, which is all we can do at the moment.
Ju x
PS. I almost forgot to say. Earlier this week there was also good news. After a few teething problems (pardon the pun Jay!) our latest book, The Non-Trepreneurs, was published. We were really excited and all set to start promoting it, but other things have taken priority at the moment. But you can read more about it here.
Sorry to read, sending all the good vibes we can.
And yesssss, Biden is president elect!!!!!!
Just driven through france from England no problems what’s ever,only place our passports were checked was at channel tunnel English side by french police, had our I’d checked at Bordeaux by police no problems
I suppose that Jay’s mum thinks what all elderly mums in these times would think;” Stay safe where you are!Don’t take unneccesary risks for me, because you can’t help me anyway, as we even couldn’t see each other.”
all the best Heide from Herne( an elderly mum)
Hi, sorry to hear all your bad news. I can recommend “Chris Parking” near Alicante Airport. It’s undercover in a warehouse, you can leave on electric hookup. Staff on site 24hrs. Lots of security. They take you to the airport and pick you up. Chris is a German lad, very efficient, our Insurance, Comfort insured us whilst it was there. Good Luck
Sending my best wishes to Jay’s mum. My instinct would be to do exactly the same and head home. Although you can’t physically see your family, it will be a great support to them to know you’re close by. All the best xx
French lockdown wouldn’t affect your journey home as you would be transiting to your home country, and Eurotunnel are operating as usual. It’s an option if you need it as is any help we could give if you need a hand.
BTW, the roads are generally quieter than usual as expected.
Thanks Jamie. We’re thinking of flying home at the moment to avoid the drive back, but will let you know. Ju x
Hi both. Been following your blog for a few years now. In short I’m now based in Portugal near Faro Airport and can probably help with your van storage if its any help? About 4.5 hours from where you are. I also have a very good dentist who can help with your root canal issues and if necessary a very good mechanic. Get in touch if you need any help.. V happy to help..
Thanks for the offer Robin. We think we are all sorted here, but it’s good to know that we can call on you for help if needed. Cheers Julie
So sorry to hear about Jay’s mum. Sending our love for her speedy recovery. Only you guys know what the right thing to do is, whatever stay safe. Will be thinking of you xx mandy and mike
Love your stories. We were in Spain for two months September and October only go back 4th November on the Bilbao to Portsmouth Ferry well that was not the best crossing we have been on. My stomach is still churning. I recognise a lot of what you are saying the Spanish people are so better at COVID-19 than us, it is heartbreaking see their businesses and towns cloth down. We did month in the Costa del Sol based in Manilva which we lived and I would love to make my permanent home one day. The second month was in the Costa Blanca. Stay Safe and take care.
So sorry to hear the news about Jay’s mum. Good luck with the journey. Just to let you know if you change your minds about driving, I came up through France last week no problems until Calais when both the new Calais aire & the one at Wissant had barricades across them. Also some of the autoroute aires were closed too. Don’t know if anywhere else will be affected by now. But I didn’t have to produce the attestation sur l’honneur for essential journey I’d copied out in my best handwriting! Anyway good luck again & all the best –
Sorry to hear about your difficulties. Have you considered the possibility of a friend or friends who may be prepared and able to come out and stay in Zagan? That way, you could return home knowing the van’s being looked after, insured or not. Just a thought.
Sorry to hear your news. Hope it all goes well.
Thank you for your insight into my home, andalucia. Unfortunately I am looked in UK and miss my home dearly. I take your advice, we can only control the times in front of us at present. So on your advice I sit in peace and dream of my home town, nerja and when all has passrd i can return home. So thank you taking me back with your descriptions of the hills
I have put a comment on your Non-Trepeneurs blog instead of here it is regarding the van which may help later.Best Wishes to you both
So sorry to read that Jay’s mum is unwell and that you need to go back to England. Today was the first time I peeked at your blog since you made it back safely in the spring. I’ve just gone back and caught up on your posts reading them all in the correct order. It was all going so great and those blue skies looked amazing. You had me all hopeful about the possibility of our own travels restarting. But this most recent post provides yet another reminder that “the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.”
Hope all goes well with the tooth, that Zagan issues are minor and easily fixed, and that you both get home safely.
Hi folks long ti e no contact. Glad to see you on the road again. Coincidence we stayed up on the cliffs near Nerja not far from one of your photos too.
Love Ali xxx
I had root canal work in the UK a couple of years ago – I also had a temporary cover so I assume you are going to have a crown made and fitted – this takes several weeks and was done at the highest band rate for NHS work – this only paid for a silver metal crown, a ceramic one will cost more at private rates. My opinion would be that it would be better to have only one dentist involved from start to finish so this may delay you if you decide the same. For you there is also the issue of once you get back to the UK how easy it will be to go back to Spain – for example, there is some worrying news about mink farming in the EU which might result in some borders being shut for some time.
Sorry to read about your mum. I hope you manage to sort everything out to get back home during these challenging times.
On a lighter note, looking forward to reading the new book x
Our fingers are crossed for you both. We had to take similar action in August and were amazed how they pack you in on the plane still. Stay safe guys. X
Wayne@chucklebus.
Hiya
Hope your mom is OK Jason,
We met you and Charlie at Alvor, we now live here with our old Charlie dog, he is now 14 years old.
We have purchased a park home on Camping Alvor, the best thing we ever did.
It’s good living here and we are so glad we decided to settle here. We are selling our Swift Kontiki 669 back in the Uk and now looking for a day van here in Portugal for weekends away.
Love reading your blogs, keep safe.
Sylv, Paul and Charlie Farley
Hi Jay, Jules and greetings from Delightful Devon. As you know, things come in threes (kettle, tooth, wheel) but in your case, fours (Jay’s Mum) but nice to know that people are willing to help, we’re just glad that we’re not in your shoes at the moment and having to weight up some difficult choices. So, sorry, no advice or suggestions from us other than to say ‘stay safe and well’. Notwithstanding all of the problems, we do actually envy you at the moment, we had our caravan just down the coast from Nerja for about 18 months when we were living in Gibraltar and we really enjoy that stretch of coastline (when you can get away from the crowds). We had planned to go back this year but we’ve now shifted right to 2021 so feel free to eat our ice-creams! Take care, Gareth and Sue
So sorry to hear of your troubles, always something isn’t there. But Nerja has been there a long time and will be waiting to nurture you again in the future.
Good luck with everything. Take care and stay safe. Xxx
Hi,
I like to follow your adventure and travel. We have just finished our two month trip through Portugal, Spain and France and are now in Italy. Our impressions about all the countries we have passed are similar in a way but anyway we didn’t experience any problems according to anounced new limitations. Roads are open nevertheless it is said there are limitations to enter\ exit towns or regions. Yes, most bars or restaurants are closed, mostly in the evening, but still there were enough of them open to get the coffee or a beer. To our experience one thing is what is written the other is what is reality. Even with crossing the borders we didn’t have any problem, or to show any certificate because there were no officials there. But the truth is native people are obeying the rules about wearing masks, keeping distance, … so, don’t be to affraid and enjoy your staying as we had.
Regards, Vesna
I would like to wish you both all the best for a speedy and safe journey home. I’m sure that you’re Dad will really appreciate your love and support Take care and look after each other.
Terrible news re mum, of course you have to go back it is without question a terrible time but a necessary sacrifice.
You can always go back again.
Hi I saw this on my news feed we’ve never met but feel compelled to drop u a line I lived in Nerja for 13 years before returning to UK in 2014 , just reading your story took me back to the happiest era in my life even the time it takes to overcome the problems u eloquently describe I hope your immediate problems are resolved in this bonkers time thank u for the happy nostalgia trip I would go back in a heartbeat if I could stay safe.