We were staying in the town of Jerez at a parking facility for motor homes and caravans. This was sherry country and Pablo, the owner, offered a glass of sherry to everyone who checked in – oooh, yes please! Pablo had a well stocked camping shop with workshops behind where he and his team carried out caravan repairs. We met a surprising number of British travellers having their “dings” sorted out!
For some weeks we had been struggling with our folding table which had a broken leg and we spotted the perfect replacement on display in Pablo’s shop. We said we would like to buy it and within half an hour the new table, neatly folded into its bag, was delivered to our truck. We didn’t need to pay at the time, it was put on our account which we settled when we left.
It was a short drive to our next stop near Olvera, known as the white town of Andalucía (most towns in the area were painted white). Our camp site was up in the hills overlooking farmland and olive groves. We found a quiet pitch with an uninterrupted view over the valley.
We admired an aerial display of twenty or so black vultures circling high above us. We felt in a good place as we sat outside with a cup of tea, deeply contented, enjoying the vista. What could possibly go wrong?
It happened to be the Friday evening of Halloween Weekend and over the next few hours a constant stream of motor homes began arriving at our hitherto deserted camp site. There must have been more than a hundred vehicles – families with young children gathering to celebrate the season of ghoulies and ghosties.
It turned out to be one huge outdoor party, tables and chairs were set out under gazebos draped in Halloween decorations. Food was prepared and everyone was talking loudly and laughing – toddlers were screaming, older children were whooping around the site on bicycles and loud music emanated from a hundred different sources.
But there was just one sound that eclipsed any noise made by the party-goers. Some were watching the football and when a goal was scored, you could have heard the roar in Madrid!
A young family with three little girls parked between the truck and our lovely view. There was no point in getting cross. It was a joy to watch the children playing with their friends, having the freedom to run wild whilst their parents chatted together over a glass or two of wine. The next day the children dressed up in their Halloween costumes and went around Trick or Treating. Our big regret was we had no sweets to offer them. By Sunday morning most of them had packed up and gone and we had our view back!
