Looks like the plan of Tricia and Heather shopping in Pamplona may be put on hold. The rain is intermittent but looks like it is here for the day, being cloudy, dull and cool, does not help either. Poor Heather, all this way and the weather is better back in the UK, hay ho, may freshen up later.
Should really have guessed that it might be not good today because yesterday evening we got soaked. Although Heather had been here a few days she had not managed to have a look round Mendigorria. So about 5'ish and looking a bit cloudy up there, we decided to wander up, did the usual thing and walked up to the church, round the top paths and then back. Jeanne had asked me to get some “cheap” wine to marinade the steaks for the BBQ that evening. Got to the top and were mobbed by loads of Swifts, where they came from I don't know. Then Tricia suggested that as the café was open why not have a drink, I looked at the now, quite darkened sky and said that we should get back asap, I was outvoted. Whata mistaka to maka!
They had lemonade and I had a 7.2% beer. Picked up the cheapest and most expensive wine the store at the top possessed, €1 and €2, respectively and sure enough on the way back the heavens opened.
Heather ran ahead and the two of us, now wet through, just walked, it wasn't cold rain, Tricia dashed under shelter to join Heather in reception with instructions for me to get the car and come back for them. By the time I had scraped off my wet cloths it had brightened up and they were back.
Still raining Tuesday evening for the BBQ, but we improvised.
Sat around all morning until it was decided that a walk was required as long as the rain held off.
We all went for a walk around Mendigorria and through the local inhabitant's allotments, full of things we did not know and could only guess at, they were well tended though, and quite a lot had guard dogs. About 4 miles with a lot of ups and downs so good exercise.
Got back and sat around again, reading.
As this was getting a little boring Heather suggested we watch a video, Derek was stuck in a book so the rest of us went for it. “City of God” was chosen, which is based on a true story about the gangs in Rio De Janeiro's slums, hell's teeth it was violent! After about a hour Jeanne had had enough and went to prepare dinner for the evening. Which was chicken curry and very nice too.
Thursday 10th June 2010.
7:30 am and it looks like shopping in Pamplona may be on for the girls, weather windy but sunny, just got to get them out of bed, I'll leave it to a little later I think. SSS for me then perhaps lure them out with bacon sandwiches? 9Am and although the bacon was a no go situation because the bread was frozen, chopped apples, oranges and peaches, topped with some Greek yoghurt and honey, did the trick.
So I'm going to drop them somewhere in Pamplona and then me and Derek are going to exercise our drool glands by visiting Lidl (may God bless and keep it), Aldi, Bricomart and the local wineries to pick the odd 15 litre, €17 wine boxes.
Dropped them at the main bus depot and them did my thing and eventually got back to MS and read a book for an hour or so. Just getting ready to pick them up from the same place at the pre-arranged time of 3 o'clock. Heather rings and asks if I can make it 4 o'clock, no problemo says me. So reads a bit more, tries my super hot chilli soup again, throws it in the bin and then gets ready again. As the bus depot is on a busy dual carriageway and not really there for parking I decided to get there a couple of minutes after 4 so they will be there and pick them up straight away and off!
Got there and wait, parked in disabled parking and got out and limped around a bit. Could not find Heathers mobile because by now I figured out that they were on Heather's “English” time. Finally found her number at 4:20pm and gave her a ring, they were just about to go into the “Cote de Inglese” magic store when they spotted the Navarra, thank God because that is the most expensive store in Spain. Admittedly I did not expect to actually see any change from the €90 I had given her but if she had gone in there, no chance. Apparently they had a good time, a nice lunch and got back before the bad weather set in and were now carrying shopping bags.
As it was Heather's “last night”, we had all decided that we would try the site restaurant but my two ladies were still quite replete from their lunch so just the L's went, €16 a head inc. wine and they thought it OK. We stayed in and watched “The Departed” which starred Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and Leonardo DeCaprio, a pretty good film in which basically everyone gets killed in the end, there, spoilt it for anyone else who have not seen it yet.
Because the weather is so bad here and actually better back in the UK, Derek has been talking about going back on Monday instead of Thursday and I think he has a point as it only costs £10 to change the ticket.
Friday 11th June and Heather goes back, if the weather is good we may stop on the way for a coffee, if not I guess it's straight there. We did stop at Irun which lies on the border, a quick coffee and tapas and then we dropped her off with 1 hour to go until flight time.
Drove in and out of Biarritz, which was OK. Decided to give the old N 121A a miss mainly because I missed the turn and more probably that the GPS and SWMBO had been conspiring together as she had been banging on about giving San Sebastian a visit. So not long later “San Sebastian 10 Kms” and SWMBO suggested that as we were so close we might as well give it a whirl. Now we've passed through the city twice before on the way through France and to home, both times it rained, guess what, today was no exception although not really a downpour. The place was very impressive and although we couldn't get parked, shocker, we gave it a good drive through.
As the GPS is set to no tolls roads when we are not towing, on the way back it whipped us off the A15 and on the Na 7010 at Irutxun and then along a rather large tributary of the river Arga, which leads eventually to Pamplona. It was fantastic, the views were marvellous and we stopped a number of times along the way to take pictures, about 40 of them!
Got back to and Derek & Jeanne had re-booked to go back on Monday 14th because the weather forecast is not good and they may as well be rained on in Cambridgeshire rather than here, with the additional cost of £25 to the Caravan Club.
Saturday 12th June
Rained last night and still raining today, light drizzle really but no sun just cloud.
So for something to do we dropped the girls at Tafalla, a smallish town about 10 miles away for a shopping day out, the boys were off to the nearest DIY store for a good look around. It's just all too expensive compared with the UK, will just wait until we get back for the few things I was looking for. SWMBO bought a €1 grater at a bizarre, or was it a lesser?
Back to camp and I'm supposed to make my cook-house chilli but without as much chilli as last time as I ended up eating it all, it was rather good and hot.
Tonight may watch England play USA in the first world cup qualifying rounds, if we get beaten by them we may as well go home.
It's 4:30 pm and the sun is vainly trying to claw a small hole through the clouds, as SWMBO has returned with a fresh batch of washing to dry that will definitely put the kibosh on any chance of the weather improving. Maybe if we all lay under a layer of chilli we would warm up?
Sunday 13th June
Well we drew 1 all with our goalkeeper Green letting an easy one slip through his fingers.
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