Gibbs Gap Year

We had been enjoying visiting beaches and resorts along the south coast of Spain, but the heat had started to become too much. The temperature was in the 30s, there was a lack of shaded parking places, and the van felt like an oven. We needed a break. My Aunt and Uncle own an apartment near Alicante. Some of my family have been going there for years, but I had never been. It was described to me as being on a golf resort in the middle of nowhere, which never really sparked my interest. However, we knew we were about an hour away so we sent them a text asking if they were there, thinking it was unlikely. As luck would have it, they said they were holidaying at the apartment for a few more days and that they would love to see us. We thought we would pop in, say hi, see the apartment for the first time, and maybe cheekily ask if we could use the shower. Unexpectedly, they invited us to stay for a couple of nights and to take us out for dinner. How could we say no?! As we...

As the Weather Girls would say, the mercury’s rising.  We thought that Southern Spain in June was going to be hot, we weren’t bind to the fact, but we really and truly did not expect it to be this hot. We were constantly searching for shade, and just couldn’t seem to find it.  Sticking to the coast for the chance of a sea breeze was the best we could do, but we needed to head in-land. Matt’s Aunt and Uncle have a holiday apartment near Alicante, and as luck would have it, they were on holiday at the same time as we were only a few hours drive away. The lure of a shower and some familiar faces was so great that we had to go. Unfortunately, in-land Spain wanted to make us suffer before we arrived. The drive wasn’t very long, but we didn’t trust Keith to make it through the mountainous terrain with the sun glaring down on him in one trip. We looked on our map for somewhere roughly in the middle, and Murcia seemed the best choice. Our pantry was looking a little sad, a...