Hi there yes, it is I, ‘Pino’ with an update. When I last wrote in February it was to ask you all should I go with them to live in England. Well so what did I do? Well I am in England!
Once I told them that I would go, it was back to the dreaded vet place for more of those ‘jections’ I think I mentioned that I now have a wonderful Spanish passport that allows me go to live in the land of the free.
Then the lockdown here loosened up a bit and we had what is called a ‘justice certificate’ or something like that allowing us to go to a place called Marbella. We got up early and set off, initially I sat on Karen’s lap, but the noise made me very scared, and I did not like it and I wanted to go back to the campsite and stay there! I tried to jump onto the dashboard, seems this is not a good idea, so they stopped and put me in my travel box, to be honest I was terrified.
Eventually we made it to a new campsite at Marbella, I was not happy and then they put me in a harness with a lead. Well, that was that and I was off, I slipped the lead and ran away. I was having none of it, but they found me, and the big guy picked me up though he was friendly I was very scared and so I bit him! I was away again; this time I hid properly, and they could not find me, though they called for me for ages.
But I was alone and still scared so I waited near ‘Buster’ through the night and the next morning, Karen came out and I went over to her. She brought me back to ‘Buster’ and gave me breakfast as if nothing had happened. I then sat on the big lads’ knee and let him stroke me for ages to show him there were no hard feelings on my part for him making me bite him. Mind you I was concerned that his hand had swollen up a bit so I licked it so it would get better.
We all had a big chat and we decided they did not have a clue how to move a cat and I was not comfortable when the motorhome was moving. We agreed that I would stay with my foster mother Martina and they would sort out another way of me getting to England.
I had a lovely few weeks at Martina’s, my foster carer, and yet more ‘jections’ before Diana from Paws Transport picked me up and then I was off on a whirlwind trip which took two days in a lovely, air-conditioned van with my own room. Suddenly as if by magic I was in England with the rest of Karen and David’s family. I was incredibly nervous, but soon realised this was family and they loved me, I have landed on all four paws!
I am now living in a house, it is much bigger than ‘Buster’ and it is nearly as cosy, it also has something called stairs, it has taken me a while, but I have mastered climbing up them and there is a small room that reminds me of ‘Buster’ and Karen and David, I like to lie here and relax and think of them. I have only been in England a short time and I miss them both; we see each other on ‘Zoom’ and they have been telling me of their adventures without me.
I can tell they miss me, and I miss them, thanks to you all for recommending me to come, I love it here! TTFN from me as I have a nap to have.
Meanwhile Back In Spain…..
David Here and yes, we are overjoyed that Pino is happy and likes England, we miss him too and we will be back there soon, in fact we sail back on the 24th of April, having left 21st January 2020. We are now preparing to head back to the UK and will be transiting the whole of Spain over the next two weeks to catch the ferry from Santander to Portsmouth on the 24th of April then 10 days of quarantine in the UK.
We spent Easter week on Isla Christina and we were able to enjoy some walks and some cycling. We did get to enjoy some fantastic seafood in the town square. But with Easter week over we moved up to a tiny town on the Portuguese border called Sanlúcar de Guadiana it is strange but normally you can get a little ferry across but the border is closed and we could not go. The spot we stayed on is one of those Aires we speak about. The town provides somewhere for us to park, get fresh water and dispose of our waste.
This town provides this free other towns sometimes charge. But the cost is usually minimal, the deal really is that you should spend some money in the town and we like to. So we had a few drinks and some tapas and found though a mutual friend that the best place to get fruit and veg was at a private house just ring the doorbell and head to the back and get fresh eggs and veg, but also the most lovely coconut biscuits we have ever tasted.
On top of this we had one of the most beautiful walks ever in Spain, the spring wildflowers are out, and the colours are breath-taking, the birdsong and the view of the river. All magical. We stayed two nights and it was time to get back on track. We must start heading home and we decided that we must thank all the people who made Pino’s trip back to the UK so seamless.
So, a quick check with the police and yes, we can head back there if we go directly to Malaga province and have a place to stay pre-booked. So, we set off and headed for Ronda. For some reason neither of us were over enamoured with Ronda when we came here many years ago. So much so when we toured Spain in 2016, we avoided the place. Our intention was to stop two nights but now we are here it seems we got the wrong end of the stick last time; we both love it.
Again, the walks around the town are lovely, if you get to Ronda, we do suggest you get to the bottom of the bridge and look up it is simply breath taking.
While we were there, we were saddened to see a most beautiful female Alsatian, as skinny as a rake and thirsty. We gave her water in our hands and left saddened that in Spain many people don’t care for their animals.
So the next morning, we took the last of Pino’s cat food and mixed it up with chicken stock and headed back to see the dog. Happily, when we arrived, there was lovely lady in a tiny campervan who overnight had found the owner and adopted the dog. We were overjoyed and our faith and love for people restored we headed back to ‘Buster’. And by the way she loved the cat food!
Now as our 15-month journey comes to an end we are so grateful to the lovely people we have met along the way. The virus never stopped people being kind and being human, thanks for the joy.
So, until we meet again. Vaya con Dios….
Bernard Kenna says
we enjoyed every little detail of your trip, it kept us going here, so safe travel back , be safe
bernard
Chris and Peter says
Safe travel back. Be careful. Going to miss your posts!
Terry Jones says
Lovely to travel with you over the past year or so. Remember to visit East Anglia when next touring the UK. Space for Buster; happy for you to ‘aire’ with us.
T&K
Lesley Parr says
Ahhh I feel so sad for you and for us not having your blog to look forward to. It made me feel like we were travelling, just reading it. Please say you will continue as you travel round the UK and wherever next. It would be interesting to see how it compares here. Not so accommodating of motorhomes as the continent but you could suss it all out and share your tips. Safe journey and come and see us soon x
Max says
Enjoyed your travels – my turn soon