Travel stories of a caravan duo, plus a 5th Wheel and Isuzu truck in Europe

Tag: life

Week 2 – Dining and Discovering

A few long days out exploring and being a tourist have been balanced against chilled and relaxing days around the pool and down at the beach.

One morning we drove into our nearest town Margao to visit the Market, we’ve had a rodent visitor and was hoping to find a mouse trap, no such luck. Instead we found a truly authentic cafe for lunch, 4 samosas, 4 potato patties and a few dips, 2 banana cakes, several drinks and bottles of water later = a whopping bill of £2.60!!!!  Graham was sooo pleased, it was his turn to pay!!! 😁😁

Explanation = 10 rupees = 10p, 100 rupees is about a £, so 150R = £1.50 etc.

We’ve eaten in a few restaurants around us, mostly intercontinental foods on offer (Indian, goan, Chinese, Italian and steak dishes) and we are still amazed at the prices, 2 or 3 course dinner for 4 is usually about £20, unless the boys order a kilo of giant prawns (costing approx £30), or a massive seabass (£20) 😁.  We’ve also stayed in and cooked, enjoying 650ml bottles of Kingfisher beer for £1 and gin or vodka at £3 a bottle!

On Sunday we took advantage of a Sunday brunch offer at the local Novotel, 3 hours of all you can eat food and drinks plus lazing about by their pool, all for £15. Graham enjoyed more giant bbq’d prawns!

Whilst at the Novotel, a very loud but colourful Indian wedding was taking place, we sneaked a peek…..

Fresh bread is delivered by men on bicycles, fruit and veg are bought off fruit and veg stalls and taste how “real food” should and are so cheap.  Rather than give you small change, you are given another piece of fruit, or some lemons, or in a supermarket, you are given a boiled sweet as change. No one bothers, no one argues, we just enjoy the way of life.

Crossroads are a sight to see, the rule is whoever gets there first has right of way and it doesn’t matter if people pull in front of you or drive the wrong way up a road or even just lay down on the road, in the shade, for a snooze, you just drive round them!!! 

Out in the villages or at tourist spots, we (the white european) are often asked for selfies!!!  Indian people want photos taken with us, so we must be amazingly good looking 😉😁.  We’ve also had so many genuine invites to the homes of Indian people we’ve met, offers made after we’ve danced with them or simply chatted. The inclusive culture here is simply heart warming and very old fashioned.

Feliz Navidad, 2020 here we come!

Our few months “wintering” in Spain is almost at an end and we have to decide where to go this year and decade.

Wintering is the correct terminology, I know many of you may question this, being in a cold, damp miserable climate most of the year, but it does get cold and damp in Spain too!! At night the temperatures have dropped to below 10c, and its often damp in the morning!

However, most of the time, it’s beautiful clear blue skies, the sun is at its peak between 1pm and 4pm and its generally a healthier way of life as we can walk out at night, cycle during the day and we dont feel the need to hibernate.

At the end of 2019, we learned of the loss of 3 friends, one we had known for 30 years, one for 40 years and one just 2 years, as well as saying goodbye to several friends and acquaintences before then, so we realised that, as the saying goes,  life is short.  Life does come to an end.  And the lord takes away the lives of our nearest and dearest without rhyme or reason, so we have changed our plans to live life now. And as in now, we mean, right away!

Our plans this year were to site Samson in Spain for a few years, and travel further afield later in the year.  Samson is/ was becoming too cumbersome to lug around Europe and David was becoming stressed about it.  This is not going to happen as we have found it impossible to locate a permanent pitch that ticks all our boxes or to find a permanent pitch, most large sites now are not committing to annual pitches, instead preferring to have more chalets and mobiles homes as they bring in more money.

I have been very reticent about travelling abroad and living out of a suitcase for a long period of time but we have agreed to compromise.  We are going to try 3 months in India, stopping at least a week in one place, then we will return to the UK, sell Samson, downsize to a caravan and head off to explore different parts of Europe that we couldn’t before now.

Yes, you read correctly!!!  India.  Flights are booked for the 4th February to New Delhi, returning 30th April, Samson will be in storage until then, and we will be in 4* or 5* accommodation wherever we are, another part of the compromise!  If we like India, we can return as we were granted a 5 year Visa!!  During our stay we also plan to visit friends in the Philippines, a short hop away!

We will start a new daily blog, but in the meantime, we wish you all a happy healthy 2020 and hope you continue to follow our travels!