May 5th

Today we travelled back from RRRRRonda to RRRRRota in our trusty steed El Snoto. The countryside was ridiculous. We went through spectacular limestone mountain passes (went to some caves but missed out on a tour), beautiful green valleys, rolling hills with purple soil (what the …..?), forests of cork trees with their lower bark stripped off, and the wide Iberian plains. Everywhere here looks really fertile and productive. Even the livestock look happy!
A few differences I have noticed about Spain.
- Drinks and meals are much smaller size serves. Soft drinks come in 200ml bottles and tapas meals (meals at the bar) are on small plates. Everyone here looks well fed, but you don’t see fatty boombaladas waddling around everywhere (like in Oz).
- Same restaurant/bar, same meal, different prices. If you sit at a table your meal will cost a good bit more than if you eat it at the bar (thankfully we were tipped off this early on).
- Spanish toilet paper has no perforations to make it rip in straight lines.
- Lots and lots of small cafes (that serve grog) and bars (that serve food). Eating out seems to a regular thing rather than a special occasion. Also these places all run tabs which you fix up when you leave rather than pay as you go.
- There seem to be almost no trucks on the roads!?
- An almost complete absence of big retail chains. In the shopping districts of every town we have been in, they are made up of small shops of mostly independent retailers. Even the retailers you recognise are in normal size premises rather than warehouse size digs. Its really nice and it makes me realise how completely over-run Australia is with the big size, big business multinationals. We have seen a grand total of one Maccas and 2 Burger Kings since arriving, and I don’t think they were too busy.
- The bloody drivers here are trying to kill me! Every time I drive on the sensible left side of the road, some nutter tries to have a head on with me. These reckless hoons have left a trail of carnage in our wake. Its only by being good at playing “chicken” have I made them obey the rules of the road and shove over with their motorbikes, buses and police cars.

Hope that you all are happy and healthy. Don't forget to go to Flickr.com (mahon's@port) to see more photos. Chappy- text or email us an update.
Rob