Camping Manjastre

And life continues for us here, at Camping Manjastre.  All at a leisurely pace, as it should be in autumn, when the hectic rush of summer is now a past memory.  And around us are the retirees and the workers taking a quiet late holiday.   Very peaceful.

So just a few photos, to keep everyone up to date on our activities.  

We try and go for a walk every morning, along the back road, where it is very peaceful and cool, although the heat is not such a problem now.

The donkeys waiting patiently for their morning vegetables from Ronald.

One morning I walked back around the front vineyard.  Our caravan and awning is visible through the trees, with Walter busily setting the table for breakfast.  It is possible to see his maroon Tshirt.

And back to the grape harvest.  This photo was taken on the last morning.  The sun shining on the vine leaves was pretty spectacular, but unfortunately the camera in Walter's telephone did not pick up the glistening leaves.

Most of us like to get a lift back down to the vines after morning coffee.  We have had about eleven people on the back of this truck, and it certainly struggles up the hill.  No health and safety restrictions on this site.  We all love the ride on the truck.

The celebratory dinner at the end of the harvest.  Plenty of good food, and wine, with a bit of grappa to finish off.  Great atmosphere, with plenty of competitive singing between us, the English group, and the Dutch group, who are sitting behind us.

Cheers everyone.

A very wet morning.  No grape picking on this day.  But the very parched countryside certainly needed the rain.  So no complaints really.  After the change in weather the temperature dropped five degrees or so, with cool nights.  Very pleasant now, with temperatures ranging between 22 and 27 degrees during the day.

Our awning is now permanently closed and we sit inside the caravan in the evening.

And on the wet day I polished the wooden (laminate) surfaces in the caravan.  As one does in a caravan when the weather is miserable.

This is a very cosy corner now that Walter has installed some under cupboard lights.  Makes all the difference.  A bit of mood lighting.

An early morning view of the swimming pool.  The sun was just rising over the hills, and there was scarcely a breathe of wind.  Hence the lovely reflections.   Two coolish days, some rain and cold nights have cooled the pool down considerably.  The water is bracing to say the least.  I still try and swim a few lengths every day, but it takes a bit of courage to do so.

The sunset last night was glorious.  I took this one from our caravan.

Then we walked around to Joan's caravan, which faced west, in order to take the next three photos.

A very red sky.

Then the sun disappeared and it was all over.  But what a sight.  Such a spectacular sunset.

We have also spent time dining out with friends, and having drinks and coffee with people.  A very social time.

And now we should be packing up to go home, but our car is at the Skoda garage waiting to be repaired.  But the part has not arrived, and no estimation of when it will get here.  The engine warning light came on last week, and it turned out to be the diesel particulate filter sensor.

The Green Flag Emergencies people have been wonderful.  They sent a tow truck to collect the car, then organised a taxi to take us to a car rental place.  So we are currently driving a lovely Renault Cleo.  Automatic too.

And now we wait on our car to be fixed.  Still we are waiting in a lovely place.  One cannot complain too much.