New Blog.

Well we moved on. We went further North to N.V.Cerveisa at the top of Portugal on the Portuguese Spanish border to visit “Coto Chris” off Yorkshire Divers forum..

We arrived on the 15^th of Feb at about 7 pm.. I t was a very nice ride up but the tolls were very expensive. We had a brilliant time on our stay, the weather was perfect, the town was perfect and to top it all Chris and his family were the most welcoming and easy going folk and made our stay one we will always remember and I hope we can welcome them to the UK as Sandra and I feel we have known them always....

Monday the 20^th Feb we set off again for Spain and had a good two day trip with one stop off for the night in the mountains, all was well but for one thing the silly buggers who do the Spanish road works had cut a slot in the road surface, maybe to put a cable across the road but just left it open the full width of the road, there was just a sign for road works but nothing else!. We hit it with a bang, the upshot being the Carver water heater shook itself to bits and started leaking water all over the place, the carpet was wet through, I didn't notice it until I stopped for some fuel and found water streaming down the outside of the van. A jar of coffee in the cupboard spilled its contents all over and the car door on the trailer popped open so you can tell the force of it all..

Tuesday 21^st Feb we arrived in Mequinenza and tried to get onto the camp site along with Bill and Bonny, it was not very good so we made a quick exit and came down to our usual spot on the lay by under the castle which is on top of a large hill just behind us.. Bill and Bonny left the camp site and came down to park with us and stayed until Friday when they left to get back to France to their home there, they say they will be going back to the UK at the beginning of march as they have to sort out the car tax and stuff!..

I have fished every day but have only managed one fish so far a carp of 24lbs 7 oz which is one more fish than anybody else has managed. There was a couple of English lads who called round asking if I had caught anything as they hadn't had a bite all the time they had been in Mequinenza, and guess what Keith comes from Hull and the other Paul lived in Aldbrough for a few years, they both fish the lakes at home, small world..

The weather at the moment is brilliant and very hot, but today Sunday the 26^th of Feb it is windy and if it stays like this we will not be able to put up the dish for Sky.. I have been watching the weather forecasts for home and it seems to be warming up nicely for our return at the end of March..

Steve can you go over the caravan before we get home and turn on the water and check there is nothing amiss? .. You can put the heating on by turning the thermostat in our bedroom on the end wall to the “on” position and check the boiler is set to heating and hot water and the small lever on the clock is set to constant, if everything is OK then put the lever on the clock to timed and everything should be OK for our return.. I do not know if the gas bottle outside is still full but if not there should be two full bottles. You can turn off the empty one and turn on the next bottle and switch over the outside valve for the other bottle that is connected..

We are going into Fragga tomorrow to the Vodafone shop to get some phone credit on our Spanish sim card, so you will have to use the Spanish number again instead of the Portuguese one, I will also get a Spanish dongle so I can get on the internet as the free signal in the town is too iffy and keeps coming and going, cutting out at every opportunity...

Hi.
And looking up at the mountain and the stag,,

Hi.

A couple of pictures taken from the top of the mountain overlooking Ceviera..

Hi.

We arrived safely here in NV Cerveira and what a beautiful place it is, had a walk round this morning down by the river and then round the old town.. We only had one interesting episode when I took the wrong turn in Porto which is a big city, and you guessed I chose the rush hour traffic to do it in!..  Anyway the nice Lady on the Tom Tom took charge and extracted us from it all phew!..

Some big hills round this part, one entailed first gear for about 2 miles, but the van coped well  better than me I was glad when it leveled out enough to put it into second gear...

I will take some picture and post them later, I can't be bothered at the moment as we are both chilling out as the sun is very warm and we are crashed out in the van with the radio on...

New Blogg..

Hi we are now packed up and ready to set off from Markadia in the morning to North Portugal, the van and car have been washed and Sandra hoovered them out with her new hoover, so we will sparkle all the way!..Still undecided whether to go on the toll roads or chance the non tolls, I don't fancy going through one of the small villages where the roads may become too narrow for the van and trailer and then we have to some how extract ourselves out of the mess..

Probably bottle it and go on the motorway as the distance between the two is not worth bothering about, it should be by the Tom Tom 560K or there about's..

So by Wednesday of next week we should be back in Mequinenza Spain, the forecast has got better and even though it will be cold at night the day time temperatures should be OK..

And the kitten Siluro..

I told you it was warm..

New blog.8^th Feb.

Well we are undecided on whether to go to Mequinenza as the weather on the internet there does not look so good, we are sun bathing here in Portugal at the moment and I do not get my tooth fixed finally until next Monday, touch wood!..

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Anyway we have had a count up of fish we caught in Mequinenza while we were there, some rounded to a nearest guess at the beginning as the scales packed up, but the weights will be on the conservative side of the ones shown...

19 Carp .

30lb

40lb

2 @ 25+

25lb

31lb

28lb

28.08oz

25lb

25lb

30lb

25lb

28.06oz

25lb

35.08oz

33.12oz

36.10oz

38lb

And last of all the one that got out of the carp sack 50lb+ bugger again!..

1 roach 2lb plus caught on double 24mm pellets, OK I don't know how I managed it, or should I say the roach managed it.....

2 Siluro.

1 kitten at 3lb

1 monster at 100lb + it was too heavy to pick up with out putting my back out..

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The weather here in Markadia continues to out stand, we can sunbathe most days so far when out of the wind which has been blowing during the day for the last few days, but seeing as most of the UK is shivering in below freezing temperatures and laying under a blanket of snow especially at Aldbrough with the lakes iced up, and me being able to sit here in my shorts with my shirt off fishing topping up my sun tan does not seem to bad,,

I spoke to Norman a couple of days ago and he is scratting about trying to catch a few silver fish on bread punch at a lake near him, while we have caught over 300 carp in the last 12 fishing days.. Cool.

We seem to have made a couple of new friends in Bill and Bonny, they seem to be turned on to our wavelength as Bill especially is into his fishing, he has a boat on the Ebro lower down from Mequinenza, they are planning on selling it in the near future concentrating on their new adventure motor homing in their new motor home, we are keeping in touch and they were at the last text in Gibraltar..

Sandra found a Terrapin? Yesterday but it seems on it's last legs, we don't know whether to put it back in the water or as we have left it on the edge so the sun can warm it up, if it comes round it can get back into the water, one thing is for sure if we put it back it will drown as I am sure it hasn't the strength to swim …..Oh well who said we are Terrapin experts!..

So the up shot is are we going to stay on here at Markadia or risk the colder weather in Mequinenza, currently 10degs daytime and minus 5 during the night according to the internet..

Now let me think!..