Fatima and a Blizzard

We have internet access again today! free at the campsite in Salamanca. So lucky readers, you can have an unexpected update to our travels!

I don't look like this all the time, it just came about as the day unravelled. Yesterdays blog was posted from the boat which was useful as we had emails as well as blogs to send out. We also had a lovely video skype chat with Helen ( that's mum or granny depending who's reading this ) which was lovely. She's embraced the internet better than many half her age, full marks Helen. We are going to have a ball when you join us in Morocco.

So on to today. The first rather remarkable encounter was with a lovely lady from Larache in Morocco. Fatima and her nephew live in london and are travelling back to their home town for a 2 week visit. You could tell they were probably Moroccan, she was wearing traditional clothes and was the only one on the boat who looked so  Muslim. So I had to ask as she was sitting alone and had smiled a good morning at us. 'Are you from Morocco?' of course she was and within minutes she was inviting us back to her house in Larache, whether they were there or not, 'Please' she said 'be my guests',' people need to be more friendly to each other' she continued. After having lived in London for 45 years she knows how things have changed. The world is full of trouble and unfriendliness and she wants to promote being friendly, as we have found with the majority of her country folk. But we are still on the boat and the hospitality has started already!

So on to the startled picture of Me. We should have guessed what was coming as it was snowing when we got off the boat. But nothing would have prepared us for what was to come. 

As we climbed higher into the Picos the snow thickened to blizzard conditions and I was reminded of a similar journey with Tunky and Vince 34 years ago when I overtook the lorries, got stuck in a snowdrift and blocked the road, stopping all traffic behind me! The lorry drivers were so angry, if I'd have stayed behind them they could have got through. So no tomfoolery this time. I stayed in line with the rest of the'convoy' and drove slowly forward into the white out. What a drive, We went through a bottle of windscreen wash in about half an hour, just to keep the windscreen from freezing up with driving snow. It was amazing and very exciting if you like that sort of thing!

Fortunately, the snow stopped as we passed out of the Picos and entered the plains of Spain, which were very cold but sunny and clear. And after a swift and beautiful drive into the sunset, we arrived at our stopover campsite in Salamanca. 

The van is going well and looks like a christmas advert all covered in salt! 

So with free internet access I ramble on, hoping not to bore you with our days adventure. Well, it has been quite a day and hopefully many more to come

Lots of love 

Ted the startled and Krysia the camera