Blue-sky boredom

I know in other posts I have had a bit of a rant about the bungaloid nature of campsites set up to meet the needs of long stay, over-wintering northerners. Camping Scarabeo's customers on the whole are here for the duration, and many are regular returners. All that being said, the site is very well managed, but more laid back than an equivalent site on the Costa Blanca - not a gnome infested Dutch pitch in sight, or an Autotrail flying a duvet-cover sized St George's flag here. In fact there is a genuine warmth and friendliness among the campers. After two months of being more or less solitary, even a curmudgeonly old bugger like me enjoyed some company. The location too is lovely with a west facing beach that is great for sunset watchers, rose and hibiscus lined pathways, generous, level pitches and modern facilities including your own private loo cubicle. It's probably the best long stay site I've seen. The only downside is that it is somewhat remote. Ragusa, the nearest town of any size, is 28 kilometres distant and there does not seem to be a bus service.

Big pitches

Our personal hibiscus

Punta Braccetto beach

The recent windy weather brings out the sunset surfers

Not that any of this is an immediate concern as we are not going anywhere. Though Gill is a little more mobile, it's clear we we will need help at the airport. Tomorrow we'll contact Easyjet's special assistance helpline. Carol, our neighbour, has agreed to pick us up next Saturday from Manchester Airport; that is a great help. 

After more than two months of being active and moving from place to place almost everyday it's tricky to suddenly have to stay put. At least I can potter about, catching up with the laundry, cleaning the van in preparation for putting it into storage. Gill, however, is more or less stuck in one place and limited to what she can do. She has been really good about keeping to the exercise and ice pack regime we downloaded from NHS Direct. What all the online advice says is to keep walking as normally as possible even if it is painful, so with the help of walking poles Gill made to the rear gates of the campsite this evening to watch the sunset. 

Advanced physiotherapy - J cloth wrapped frozen peas

Definitely less swollen than yesterday - progress!

Gill invents a new sport - Nordic Limping

How quite Gill is going to get through the next four days of restricted activity without going stir-crazy I don't know. There is a limit of how many hours a day of Candy Crush she can play without getting a glazed expression, dribbling and talking gibberish. Impressively I have not noted any signs of dribble or drivel just yet.

I do wonder what people who stay here for months actually do. More than one fellow resident has mentioned the delights of the exciting international boules competition that was organised last year, but that's hardly going to keep the dribble at bay in the long term. I suppose when we jet back in February we shall see the impact of blue-sky boredom on them all. Perhaps they will be wandering around with saucepans on their heads, or perhaps only a few of the more doughty individuals will have survived at all, following a post-Christmas slump into cannibalism and witchcraft. We shall see..

Evidence of British influence in the laundry - a washing-machine booking list to avoid queueing misunderstandings and random outbreaks of awkward social embarrassment.

Early signs of Christmas on the German vans.

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