Friday 27th September - Alicante (El Campello)
After a luxurious lay-in, we set to getting the tent put up and the basics organised for the few days we would be there. We contacted our local lady and
made arrangements for lunch the following day, and also contacted our friend at the British Consulate who we would be visiting on the return leg of the trip. The
campsite was a bit disappointing at first, especially when we found out that the wall we were camped beside was all that separated us from the local railway!!,
but once we had the tent up and the little niceties arranged, like the fridge for the cold drinks and the inflatable beds pumped up, it took on a new complexion
altogether!
By the afternoon of the Friday we were set up and sitting out in the shade (too hot for me in the full sun!) enjoying a quiet hour or so, writing up the trip so far
while Rita read some guide books. We didn't feel like doing a lot after the travelling, and our contact was at work. W e had a walk round the locality, and after borrowing
a key for the gate by the railway we crossed over the line and walked down to the sea front and marina. The sea was really calm and it was hot out in the sun, just
what we came for! The local trains stopped at about 10pm so we were spared that noise, although they only ran every 40 minutes so were not that much of a problem.
Saturday 28th September - Visit to our friend, Maria.
We arranged to go to our contact for Lunch, and we were promised a home-cooked Paella. This is a local (Valencia area) seafood dish which I personally like very much,
but had never had one cooked for me before.... We arrived at the very nice home of Maria and her Husband Miguel. We said our hellos and gave Maria a couple of
small presents that we had bought for her Owl collection (Maria collects Owls in all shapes and sizes, and we had brought a couple of english Owl miniatures for her)
The engine was next, and we all walked around to where the Bolinder was sitting on its stand. It was exactly as we expected, Maria's photographs gave a very good
idea of the size of the unit. The silencer was also with the engine but was not fitted, it had suffered from a bit of corrosion but at least was there as a pattern if we wanted to
make one later.
Maria offered either a lunch out at a local restaurant, or she would cook for us at home. As her husband and her daughter have disabilities, we opted for lunch at their home,
being easier for Maria to look after the others while providing lunch for us. Cooking of lunch was started, and Maria produced the most enormous Paella cooking dish, about 3
feet in diameter! and she had an even larger dish for the big family occasions when she would have up to 16 people. This was heated over an enormous gas ring which had three
concentric burners, the largest of which was outside the diameter of the dish that we were using today. All fed from a propane cylinder, there is no piped gas in the area.
While Rita was watching Maria preparing and cooking the food, I was outside taking pictures of the engine, and working out how to get it off its stand and on to the trailer. The stand
was made out of 30mm gas or compressed air piping, and while it was sturdy enough for holding the engine, it was not fixed to the engine at all, it was just resting there. The trailer deck
height was just a few inches below the engine crankcase/sump so with a bit of juggling I could get the two long timbers I had brought along, to slide underneath the engine and then
I could pull the engine onto the trailer with the ratchet hoist. And that is what I did.
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