It has now been a week since I left Peterborough. On Tuesday 8th I travelled down to Portsmouth having decided it was best to travel down and stay overnight in case of hold ups on Wednesday morning. I needed to be at the ferry port by 10:30.
The ferry crossing was very good on the whole. The swell was at its worst during the night at which time being mostly asleep it did not matter much. Being on the ferry from 11:30am Wednesday until midday Thursday seemed a good opportunity to relax with 3-4 beers. Fat chance! They only had John Smith’s and no way could I drink any of that rubbish!! Settled for a couple of pints of Strongbow cider instead.
Thursday, off the ferry by 13:30 Spanish time. Whenever going abroad the worst traffic is always the early part of the journey from the airport or ferry port. Santander was busy and even with the sat nav, I managed to take a wrong turn in the city centre …..’keep left/right…. Or turn left/right’ is not always obvious which. Once out of the town there was much less traffic than England. Most of the main roads are dual carriageway and for much of the 300 or so miles there was no other traffic at all.
Road numbers are very confusing. Every road seems to have at least 3 numbers and those displayed are not always the one identified by the sat nav. Maybe each time there is a road improvement they rename them but never get round to replacing all the signs…??
The scenery was interesting but nowhere near as spectacular as hoped. It was also 100+ miles before there was any quantity of trees.
The hotel was in Maltida de Plasencia. No street name had been given and the co-ordinates supplied placed the hotel in the middle of the small town. It was foggy and dark when I arrived. I had to ask in one of the shops and a young man helpfully insisted on leading me there. In South America you just would not let that happen as there are many stories of people being led out of town and robbed. Here it may have been taking a chance but he was good as his word.
Left Maltida de Plasencia on Friday morning for another 300 mile drive. Extramadura again was not as beautiful as expected. Once into Andalucia though, the scenery improved a great deal. Still the trees were mainly evergreens but there was the occasional hillside covered in Autumnal reds/yellows/browns and golds and the mountains and valleys are marvellous.
Arrived 14:30, earlier than arranged. The car had done well. I had taken out extra insurance – fully comprehensive in the UK provides the old green card but third party cover only – I increased the cover to fully comprehensive. I also took AA cover for the duration of the journey. Having taken all that, I did not need it but of course if I hadn’t……… one never knows.
I met up with the agent and then the owner, signed the contract and was in by 5pm.
There is no mains gas, hot water is from a propane gas heater. It had been sunny and 24C in the day but cool at night. Heating is via electric storage heaters. The trouble of course with these is that by the time you need the heat in late evening, it has largely gone.
On Saturday had to get to the supermarket. Overall it appears that except for fresh meat, fruit and vegetables most other goods are more expensive than in England. Cans such as beans are sold in singles, not cheaper 4 packs. So far I have been unable to find any oven chips, they only seem to have those prepared ready for dropping into a fryer. A 250g of Flora pro-active costs one and half times as much as a 500g tub in Asda/Tesco/JS/Morrisons.
On Monday I had to present myself at the police station to collect my N.I.E. number applied for when I was here in September. The N.I.E. is a Numero de Identidad de Extranjero – Identification number for foreigners. This enables you to open a bank account which then means you can register with and set up payment for services and utilities etc.
I applied for a bank account and by Tuesday morning all was ready except for my debit card which I can collect next Monday.
On Monday my electricity went off while I went into town and to the police station. It was a total 4 mile walk there and back. Not normally a problem but it absolutely chucked it down and I had not taken my cagoule or umbrella. Got drenched. With no electricity the pump in the basement which should kick in to prevent flooding did not. Fortunately it appeared the rain was not so heavy here. The electricity was back mid afternoon ….. and my beer in the fridge was still cool.
The main thing left to set up is a TV and Internet account/connection. There is a wi-fi connection available but it is not stable. The nearest internet café is in the town centre around a mile and a half mile walk away.
No comments:
Post a Comment