Saturday 3rd April 2010, Roquetas and they've come and gone.

The Swans that is. Our ex partners in “getting lost in Europe, tours by motorbike”. Started 10 years ago when me and SWMBO had planned a motorbike trip to Koblenz in Germany and somehow Swanny “invited” himself along! Then it was at least once a year and we covered more or less, all of western Europe. Now, of course, me and SWMBO were doing it in more style and comfort, but a little more costly.

They arrived on Wednesday 31st and were due to leave on Saturday 3rd April. So we drove to pick them up from Almeria airport at 10:30 am, and nearly missed them because I slept in and got an earful from the present wife. We had planned various things to do in the 3 days they were here but of course we need not of bothered because they had their own ideas. It all worked out OK, well all perhaps, with the exception of “crab night”, but more of that later.

First thing back at the MS and Swanny is saying “Where's the coffee and cakes, then?”

And that basically, was what their stay, as far as male Swan was concerned, was going to be all about. We skivvied and he just lay around all the time, pictures as proof. Lunch was fried bacon sandwiches.

Walked into El Parador and guess what? Found our favourite cafe and had some coffee and cake, remember the cake eating machine of Benicassim? Well it was back!



Tricia had another go at the Moroccan lamb, this time with the right amount of cumin and it went down very well with some sherbets and beer.

Thursday, after drinking my just squeezed oranges, was a day of visiting the two local ports, which is a “must do” as far as Alan is concerned, unfortunately after getting to Aquadulce, for coffee and cake, his knees gave out and I had to run back to the car, drive back and pick them up. Evening consisted of a dose of my famed chili and salad, washed down with the usual. I had bought what I thought was a good bottle of wine, i.e. more than €5, a white Rioja, which was not approved by Pat and unfortunately I had to drink it all by myself, slept well but. Of course we had given up the major bedroom to our guests but the converted dining table and “rock-un-roll” bed were fine for us.

Thursday came and went, and then came the evening of the “Mother of all Ludo, games”.

“Kids game that, not playing, mate, I'll stick to drinking your beer”. Anyway I explained the rules and the four of us slowly began hating each other with a vengeance, especially Alan with SWMBO.

“Why do you keep taking my counters and not everyone else's?” “'Cos it's there. Mate”. Pat went on to win and the three of us were making small, barely female effigies, and looking for pins.

Friday dawned and since it was Good Friday we were going to stay meat free and Alan promised to take us to a fish restaurant we had seen earlier that day, his treat, and funnily enough his greatest regret so far this year.

Morning started with finishing off my orange juice and then lunch which was either very big prawns or dwarf lobsters in garlic butter and fresh bread, went down a treat. Alan actually managed a short bike ride and still managed to knacker his knackers while Pat had buried her head so deep in a “must finish” book that she needed a snorkel.

Also, a lot of lying around took place as the sun never stopped shining. Next is typical of Alan Swan's logical brain. He was telling a story that would cause some embarrassment to somebody he knew and mentioned that everybody at his work knew the situation. “Alan, how come everybody knew about this, did you tell them?” “No”. “Well how come they knew?” “Cos, I told them.”
More lying around, reading and sleeping.

Then, the big night! I had declared that I would drive and more importantly, would not drink either.

When everybody came too, and either, asked after my general well being, whether I was feeling myself (certainly not! I employ a wife, at some cost over the years to take care of that, may I add), or rushed off to the local asylum to take a count of the numbers.

So off I drove, we stopped for a quick drink and some tapas, as the fish restaurant was not open yet. At 8;34pm precisely the night of doom began.

Went back to the same fish place (pun), as I had mentioned to everybody that I had seen crab, or rather A crab on the display counter of this particular restaurant and I quite fancied some as I used to love it when I was a nipper (another!).

So we go in and sit inside, rather than outside on the pavement as Pat tends to fell the cold even in the tropics, although an added bonus was no cigarette smoke.

Alan opened his menu, looked at the prices and hoped they had crab because he had mentioned if they didn't, I should have a lobster instead, lobster was €100 each. Gulp! Or more importantly if Alan had his way, no gulps at all and why don't we just find a fish & chip take away.



Drinks, three beers and one glass of wine, food, four starters and four mains, nothing else, no coffees, no liqueurs, da nada. Bill €150. My crab, which was terrible, by the way, was by itself €40. God knows what it would have been if I had drank anything! At least another €50 and more for two taxis rides. Saved him a fortune really.

Next morning dropped them at 9:30 am for the flight back and we have got our double bed back.

Lots of washing and then 2 glorious days of no wind, just sun. It actually got so hot on Sunday that we had to put the awning out to cool down.

Today, Easter Monday, although it's not celebrated in Spain and therefore isn't a holiday, is grey and very windy, also most of the Spanish have gone along with some more German and Dutch so the whole site is looking very empty. The remainder of April however, is predicted to be the early summer beginning.