Visit to Villa Mandarinas

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 Yesterday, Friday 10 February, was a non-photo day.  We just enjoyed the beautiful sunshine, sat outside reading most of the morning, out for a while walking along the seashore, chatting to some of the neighbours from time to time .... strolling down to the site supermarket to buy one of their lovely apple cakes and a carton of Sangria .... having a very normal camping way of life.  

Saturday 11 February

Today has been a lot more active!  Several of the British people here know each other as they've been coming for years, plus there is a group of  singles and quite a crowd were cycling (majority of them on electric bikes) to Villa Mandarinas for breakfast.  An English couple live there and open up on Saturdays as an open-air cafe and PYO mandarines.  Please don't think we had to get up early to join them for breakfast, because it's only open from 11 - 2!  We were advised on a back roads route, but decided that we would go under our own steam as we just have pedal power and although they all said it's flat all the way till you are almost there, I knew I would need to get off and walk for the up bits.  Their idea of flat was actually a steady uphill, but with a short break half-way, we made it.  We arrived just after 11 and stayed till nearly 2. 

Breakfast is a bap filled with any combination of egg, bacon, sausage - or all 3.  Guess who had all 3!

We first sat with some of the singles.  Then they left to go on somewhere else. 

We ordered more hot drinks and a couple who are staying at a different campsite, came and sat with us.  So sitting near the pool with Greg and Julie made our visit even more enjoyable.

The garden is beautiful

and so is the field of mandarines.  Greg and Julie picked a lot more than we did and when theirs got weighed, Rob, the owner said 'that will be €1.75', so we couldn't imagine what ours were going to cost. ' 37cents please' - handed over 50c and told him to keep the change!

This photo is looking back to the Villa and the view up into the mountains.

Up on top is a white chapel - probably not going to climb up there...

... and beside us, a field of beautiful lettuces.
The ride back was blissful, along gentle down-hill lanes, hardly needing any pedalling.  The trouble with cycling is that it's inconvenient to keep stopping to take photos.  But we passed acres of almond trees and had to take a picture of the blossom.


On our return, our good friends Karen and Steve invited us for cake and a drink or two by their van until it started to get a bit chilly, around 5.30. 
Another super day and happy to have managed that bike ride.






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