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!