Vall De Laguar Alicante Spain: September 2017
Up into the mountains we go, winding our way thru villages perched on hilltops and nestled in the valleys. The campsite is situated just outside a tiny village called Campell and Tomtom takes us through the village and up an impossibly narrow and windey road. Some idiot had illegally parked so it meant squeezing ScootR past with millimeters to spare. Chris looked a little white in the face. Since then we have learned that the Spanish are parking anarchists and park anywhere that suits them, if they are in your way you just hoot and they come running out to move the car. No aggression or shouting , just a los siento( sorry!) and off they go.
The camp was terraced with pitches angled to maximize the view. The view was straight through a valley and you could see the sea in the distance. It was peaceful and shaded and absolutely the best place to be. We turned our camper side on so we could enjoy the view from inside and outside. The ablutions are simple but clean and the pool is lovely although we have yet to actually use a campsite pool.
We walked into the village of Campell discovering a covered water fountain where one imagines the town’s people originally fetched water and the woman did their washing and gossiped. The town was quite small but very pretty little houses. It has 2 bars right on the church square and we chose one to sit down and have a drink. One glass of vino and a cerveza for wait for it……€2! Now Chris is loving this for the boooodget. We bought a fresh baguette(pan) and they wrap it in piece of paper and off you go.
The next day it rained, not a storm just lovely soft soaking rain. A really good excuse for pj day. When one is on the go in the van you can be tempted to site see everyday and it’s tiring so we have got into a habit of having some downtime every few days to catch up on admin and just rest. This was one of those days, I think we did 26 steps and that was to the toilet and back!
In the morning we packed up but before we left we walked up thru an old track which connects Campell with the village of Fleix above. It was a lovely walk and that path has probably been trodden by many hundreds and thousands of people over the years. The village was nothing to talk about except again neat and well kept and centers around a church. Walking back down we watched the old men tending their olive trees and almond trees which are just everywhere.
Our next port of call was to be Moraira where we are due to hook up with Sue, a friend of ours from Cape Town, who is thinking of spending some time living in Spain.
On our way down from the mountains we stopped for a Kodak moment and at the same time found an olive tree with ripe olives on it. We picked a couple of them, squeezed and tasted the oily liquid that ran out; yep there was the beginnings of a wonderful Virgin Olive Oil somewhere in there.
Interestingly, the way that olives are harvested is that a big sheet is laid around the tree and then either by hand or mechanically the tree is given a damn good shake. The ripe olives fall to the floor and gathered up in the sheet. Of course we had to have a photo of me giving the poor olive tree a damn good shake.
Anyway, onward and downward, passing through one picturesque spot after another. As we got closer to the coast we started noticing housing developments that almost looked a parody of the Spanish style, these we soon realised were largely for expats, the majority being English. We stopped off in a town where there was a lot of activity as we drove through, it was Market Day, the market was a little disappointing although we did buy some fruit; the exciting part was the wine co-op across the road, here you could do a help yourself tasting of all the local wines and buy a two liter plastic bottle for around €3; bring your own container and you can fill up for €1.20.
The downside to this town was that it was largely British; now neither of us is anti-British, Chris being a Little England himself sometimes, but in the middle of Spain we were a little put off by Traditional Fish & Chips (Your Plaice or Mine “ouch!”), Full English Breakfasts and a shop selling “All the Latest High Street Fashions”
Time to get to Moraira, where the campsite is apparently really centrally located, close to the sea and co-incidentally really close to the villa which Sue has rented. Tomtom, as is her want, seems to think that really narrow uneven roads are the way to go. We find the campsite easily enough and although our actual pitch is tiny, once we have maneuvered ourselves in we have a really nice view down to the sea.
We contact Sue, who is on the beach with her friend Kyla.
Next time on ParsleysPursuits; wonderful pebbly beaches, great tapas and mushy peas.
Parsleys Pursuits 
Absolutely fantastic. Love the little wine co-op! And especially the prices that really fit the boodget!
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