Wednesday 16 March 2016

Spain 2016 - oops, no camera.

Today my primary focus was getting my pay-as-you go phone working again. I managed to Skype with Mike the other day but like to have phone access in case it is needed.
Mum, Dad and Joan were heading into Portugal for a bit of a road trip and dropped me in Ayamonte on the way. I headed to the Orange office but they are closed from 2pm to 5pm. I knew what time it was but had sort of hoped that they wouldn't be following the siesta schedule, not sure why I would even think that. It was about 2:20.  I'm sure if you are raised in the "siesta culture" it is second nature but I don't think of it until I am faced with the closed business and read the hours of operation on the door.
It wasn't a problem as I had plans for the afternoon. Then I noticed that I had been so focused on having my phone to top up, I had forgotten my camera. This was going to be weird, when traveling my camera is constantly in my hand and what I am going to put on my blog is always in the back of my mind.
I went to the ferry office and checked the schedule, walked back into Plaza Leguna and had a coffee and then back to the ferry office to buy a ticket (they open 15min before the ferry arrives). I took the ferry across the Villa Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal.
I spent about 2hours in Villa Real and will go back with my camera to take pictures and do a blog post as it has a fascinating history. I sat in the main square (Placa Real) and sketched what had been the council house. A couple sat next to me on the bench and when we got to talking it turns out they were from Carleton Place, near my brother Mark, in Pakenham. They had seen an advertisement that said you could travel to Spain and Portugal cheaper than going to Florida and decided to give it a try. So far they were happy with the choice.
I walked back up, past the marina, to the ferry dock and just sat and enjoyed the sun. Embarked on the ferry again and got back to the Orange Office in Ayamonte and topped up the phone. Unfortunately that put me on a very tight schedule to catch the bus to get back to the apartment at the time I had told Mum I would. Needless to say I missed the 6pm bus and would be late (and Mum would be worried) if I waited for the 7pm or tried to walk the 10km back. I walked back to Plaza la Riberia where I knew there was a taxi stand and paid 10Euro for the ride out to Punta del Moral (bus would have cost me 1.6 Euro).

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