Everyday life testing out the local health care system

 When you’re away on a trip this long inevitably everyday life kicks in, it isn’t all holiday mode. It’s not the same as home obviously - you get free tapas with your drinks, and it’s a lot warmer!

We cook like we do at home in Agy (Ok we had Spanish Omelette and delicious tomatoes and olives, so not quite like home).

We do the washing (but it’s sunny and dry here despite it being January/February, and the Dutch neighbours behind us offer the use of their washing line as it has more space and sun then ours) .

And… sadly occasionally you get ill and must visit the doctor. Panic not, it is nothing serious and by the time you read this all resolved, but that was a very different experience from blighty. We are very fortunate on the Island, we have a fabulous GP service, and when I have needed to see a doctor urgently, I have, quickly, every time. We have had great service, but not quite as speedy as in Spain. I knew exactly what the issue was as it is annoyingly becoming a recurring issue for me, and that antibiotics were required. However it was a Sunday. 

Ian quickly looked up the local public health centre, we gathered my GHIC, passport and travel insurance and headed off in a cab to the emergency centre. I’d already translated what the issue was and the drugs I previously had been prescribed (as I can’t have penicillin), and I showed the man at reception the Spanish translation. A few forms were completed and photocopies of my passport and GHIC taken (insurance wasn’t needed) he sent me to do a test, and within 5 mins I was seen by a doctor, showed  her the NHS app which listed previous drugs etc. and I was handed a prescription. All free of charge. All completed start to finish in about 15 minutes!

Having walked past the hotel we stayed in on our very first trip to Benidorm in1988, we headed to the pharmacy where you pay the same as residents, 50% of the cost of the drug. For me, this was 1.50 Euro - clearly for some their drugs will be expensive, so overall I would much rather have our fixed price system for prescription drugs, but it worked out well for me.

Before I knew it we were back in Agy - no more beer or sangria for me for a while though. Antibiotics and I do not mix well and these are absolutely not ones you want to have a drink with. Hey ho, it could be worse, we’re here for a while and everyday life continues. 

Guess the song

One of the things we love in life is listening to live music. We are lucky that at home, on the island, there’s lots of opportunities to listen to live acts in bars and we often find ourselves staying much later than planned because the entertainment is so good. 

Clearly Benidorm is known for its ‘shows’ many of which we would never entertain, some we walk past and give each other that look - you know, the one, “are they really that bad?” but at other times we love what we hear and head on in for a fabulous evening of entertainment. 

So far (as I write this) we have had two evenings of live music. I’m wondering how to describe them to you. Sublime to ridiculous, chalk and cheese, quality vs quantity. All of these probably apply!

Our first evening of live entertainment was fabulous. Having walked into town for dinner, stumbling across one of the best Indian restaurants we have eaten at (the naan bread was by far the best ever), we headed to one of the local hotel bars.  Ian has been friends with Jamie and Justin for (a few) decades, they live locally and are professional singers. When we were here 2 years ago we went along to say hello and they were just as fabulous then as Ian had told me they would be, so we got in touch once again and popped along to where they were working.

Singing for a living is really hard work and they certainly earn their wages! 2 hours of non stop fabulous songs, classics you can’t help but sing along to, some more modern songs for the younger audience members and a thoroughly enjoyable evening. If you are ever in this area, you must look them up - They are on Facebook and are the Timewarp Duo.

Our second live music experience couldn’t be more different! We’d seen that there was entertainment at the campsite a few times a week, so decided to give it a try. We’d really enjoyed our Sunday lunch so decided to have our evening meal in the club house and try out the entertainment. Dinner was tasty and good value, the evening was starting well.

As the entertainment time approached the clubhouse filled up, regulars greeted each other, pulled tables together and the excitement began to build. Two young Spanish men arrived and began unpacking bongo drums and a trumpet. This was going to go one of two ways. Whichever it was, it wasn’t going to be subtle.

As the music began we almost jumped out of our seats spilling precious drops of  wine. We now knew it was going to be loud! Oh my! Was it loud! We can’t fault the enthusiasm of the entertainers, and I admit we did have a giggle and several ‘looks’ were exchanged.

Have you ever heard Red, Red wine to a salsa beat? A Latin rhythm Sweet Caroline? We have! It wasn't a good experience! The duo were giving it great gusto, and the audience possibly not as discerning as they might be. Dancing commenced, whoops of approval exclaimed. The bongo drums were beaten (unusually to an entirely different beat to the backing track) and the singing was… interesting. We played guess the song as the intro was played (every single song with a Latin beat), occasionally we were able to identify it, often we were not. As a chorus arrived we usually managed to work it out by listening really hard to the words - whilst desperately trying to ignore the interesting  melody and rhythm choices made by the duo. Ian getting it correct more often than me (no change there). He sometimes tried to identify the song to me by singing it  - I often know the song, but not the name of the song or the singer. However this proved to be a challenge too far when competing with the Spanish take on classic rock and pop songs. Even Ian, with his ability to sing brilliantly didn't always help me in this challenging environment.

I think my favourite moment was when a young Irish man started live streaming the duo to his mum, whilst dancing, whooping, and generally taking over the dancefloor. Mum clearly enjoyed the entertainment as he appeared to livestream the rest of the night, the lead singer calling him up on stage to sing with him and  waving at mum down the phone.

Fortunately it was a short set of an hour and a half and before we were totally deafened we were able to agree we are definitely fans of quality over quantity, sublime over ridiculous and cheese, not chalk! Justin, Jamie as you know, we will be back. The question is, will we brave another club night entertainment on the site? What do you think? Should we?

 

Chips and rice Ian, chips and rice.

If you are a fan of the TV series Benidorm, you’ll understand the title of this blog.. If not - you’d best go watch! Having parked up after the long drive from Santander, we needed something to eat locally, so headed off to the nearest road lined with restaurants. What we found was a Chinese restaurant packed with people and a menu costing 9 Euro for three courses including wine. Our general rule is if it is busy, it’s probably good, so in we went. Of course we ordered chips and rice, plus a few other dishes. It was just what we needed, tasty food and a bottle of wine. We went to bed happy and slept like logs.

To anyone who isn’t used to van life, waking up in a car park probably sounds awful, but it really isn’t. Once the blinds are shut you could be anywhere, and opening Agy's door to see a new location is always exciting, this one was no different. Benidorm has incredible mountains surrounding it and yes, looking towards town is like looking at skyscraper city, the other direction is stunning.

Checking into our campsite next door we found our pitch, unloaded Lexi and went to fill up with water. Having filled the tank up we spent at most 5 minutes setting up the pitch, chairs and table out, grass mat out, ramps mounted (to get us level), electric connected and bucket under the waste water drain. Then headed up to the club house for a beer and late Sunday lunch.

Next morning, as I went to fill the kettle up, I couldn't understand why we hadn’t got any water! Now, you’d think after all this time we would get this right, but no! Maybe it’s because we were tired but when filling up the water tank, despite remembering to close the tank tap and return the frost valve to the closed position we forgot the boiler drain.. we have removed the boiler to fit a diesel heater, but the drain is still there. Agy had gently drained out all the water we had stocked up on. So a bit of weight lifting later - Ian had trotted up and down to the tap with the water bottle  to ensure we had enough water for a few days.

We were finally ready to start our holiday. The temperature was high and the sea breeze calling. The seafront is about 15 mins walk away, but we always find ourselves walking much more on holiday, and enjoy stretching our legs after a few days of travel. It’s busy, but nothing like the madness of summer. 

You’ll be pleased to know we have not, and will not succumb to the most popular form of transportation with tourists locally. The ability to walk perfectly well even as a young person is no reason to miss out according to many Brits!

Despite being embarrassed by the number of fit youngsters hiring scooters, one thing I loved about the beach was its accessible beach area. With its boarded access path and large area suitable for those with a disability needing sturdy even flooring, or wheelchair access, this looked perfect. Something we should be striving for  at home too. I’m going to lobby our local council when I am home!

 We were coming for the sun, but that’s not what we got!

Disembarking the ferry at sunrise we flew through passport control but were stopped by customs. Fortunately they didn’t want to search Agy and necessitate Lexi disembarking (phew!) and after a few simple questions we were on our way.

Leaving the port of Santander was much simpler than in Calais (or it felt so to me) and we were soon heading north up the A8 towards Bilbao before heading west towards Zaragoza on the AP68. As expected, the scenery was fabulous and the roads clear. Arriving on a Sunday morning probably helped, but our experience has usually been positive on Spanish major roads. We could have chosen a slower, non- Toll road, but we just wanted to get the miles covered, so took the toll road for ease.

We were expecting some snow capped mountains looking towards the Pyrenees, but what we weren’t expecting was snow on our route. We knew it could snow, of course we did, we have our all terrain winter rated tyres, but the weather forecast hadn’t indicated we might have some. Our plan was to drive to Zaragoza, stay overnight, then continue our journey the next day, meaning we drove for about 4-5 hrs each day.   

When you are at 3300m and it’s 1pm, -1 outside and the sun is shining, you know it’s going to be a cold night. We just weren’t sure that’s what we wanted. After a patch of fog and wet roads, we decided to press on. The roads cleared, the sunshine returned. Definitely the right decision, who knows how the roads would have been the next morning.

Skirting round Zaragosa Ian pointed Agy south on the A23 Autovia Mudéjar, which as well as bringing warmer temperatures also entertained us with more Spanish highway artwork. As we drove we saw lots of these black stars either at the side of the roads or suspended from the bridges. We’ve seen the black bulls left over from the previous advertising of Osborne brandy on our previous journeys, but never come across these before.

Apparently they are just for the sake of art and are in the Mudéjar style, which is art influenced by the Moorish Islamic style, often produced by Christian artists. I love these little touches that make journeys more enjoyable in Spain. 

Pressing on we discussed looking for somewhere to stop as we got further south, but eventually Ian said, lets just go all the way - it’s still light and then we can just relax tomorrow before heading into the campsite.

Arriving in Benidorm at about 6.30pm (when it was still light), we knew there was a big car park close to the campsite where motorhomes are welcome to park up for free, so we went straight there. Pulling in, we saw plenty of other vans and were even guided back by another van owner as we reversed into our spot. We’ve arrived, it’s warmer, and it feels a little bit like a home from home.