El Rompido to La Antilla

Saturday 12th December.
El Rompido to La Antilla
After an uncomfortable night we set off up the main road (which fortunately had a broad cycle lanes on either side) to Cartaya where today there was some sort of a horse event which Vivi was keen to see. Cartaya is a large town but a bit ‘down at heel’, so having thought we’d stop there and watch whatever the horsey thing was we decided against that and ploughed on. To our utter amazement we got lost (quelle surprise) but fortunately in the right direction as instead of having to take the motorway cycle lane we ended up on a disused railway line designated a Vias Verdes and going in exactly the same direction. We reappeared in Lepe which had a ‘main street’ and not much else and decided this was not the place to stop. But we did have lunch (on this street) which was good (the lunch) but the noise incredible – one boy in a black BMW passed 5 times windows down and music so loud we could not hear ourselves – no doubt a very effective pulling technique, but he was still on his own when we left.
On we went back down to the coast to La Antilla which is a seaside town so it’s pretty closed up but we sorted ourselves out in a lovely hotel on the beach and went for a long walk. The sea is not cold to paddle in, but after Charlie said there was a thick scum on the water when he swam in Rota I’ve decided with my delicate stomach to avoid taking such risks! Returning we felt like a cup of tea which is an easy one to do in Spanish. ‘Dos te con leche frio por favor’ – we have learned to say ‘frio’ because if you don’t they give you hot milk. Anyway two tea pots arrived, both with tea bags but sadly floating on top of cold milk. We are sure that 15 miles away in the Algarve they will have British tea down to a tee ha ha!!
Alec came into his own at supper in the local restaurant. As usual we alone are keeping the Spanish economy afloat in the low season, and there is usually a rather bored family hanging around the kitchen and bar area (the owners cum chef) whilst we have a quick meal. The children always look very fed up and tonight’s child was in charge of counting corks and bottle tops. Alec designed a superb Spanish galleon out of a cork, 3 tooth picks, 1 cent as the rudder and a few bits of napkin ripped up for sails. When launched in to an ash tray it sailed beautifully! Dinner cost considerably less than usual but the father looked quite miffed.
We have finally found a way to identify the dozens of tiny warbler type birds which flick in and out of bushes and never sit still for long enough to get a proper look at. Cycle along the side of a busy road, sadly every 20yds is another tiny corpse which once in the hand can be cross referenced with Coralie’s (lightweight paperback) bird book. All of a sudden struggling 1700 miles under the weight of an entire library has become worthwhile!