Day No. 138 - Little Italy - Roman Town in Bolonia

When we look out of the van this morning, the weather is cloudy. We also slept a little restlessly, as we were joined by other vehicles during the night.

Does that sound like we're complaining? - No, quite the opposite. To the north-east of us, there was not only heavy rain, but also gale-force winds. So far we have been spared. The weather outlook may be bleak, but compared to what we see and read in one or two postings, it's outstandingly good. We are simply grateful!!!

Have I already told you about my morning workouts? - I can proudly say that every morning I do two lessons: The first 5 minutes with the hand coffee grinder, grinding our morning ration of coffee beans. When was the last time you did that? Never before? Absolutely recommended! Then beat the milk with the hand frother until it's nice and creamy. As a reward, we always have a coffee to stay, er sit. 

A bit of culture is on the agenda for today. Our destination is the town of Bolonia. - No, not Bologna, but Bolonia. But there's a bit of Italian DNA in here too. We want to go to Baelo Claudia. This is the excavation site of an ancient Roman city. This city was built 200 years BC, so it's pretty old, probably all dead. The city only got its name around 100 years after Christ. It is one of the best-preserved Roman excavation sites. Then we have to go...

On the way, I turn up the song Bologna by Wanda. First of all, Bolonia is not Bologna. But you can hardly hear that, can you? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xREl_68O-mw

"...If someone asks where you are going

Say hello to Bologna!

Uh, when someone asks what you stand for

Say for Amore, Amore!..."

Bolonia is about 15 minutes' drive to the west of us. The route takes us past another Tío Pepe advertising sign and the Paraje de Betis. The mountain, a climbing and hiking paradise, has impressed us over the last few days with its rugged rocks. Unfortunately, no photo even comes close to capturing this effect.

When we arrive at the excavation site, we realize that a certain amount of preparation wouldn't necessarily have hurt. - It's Monday, and it's not only museums in Germany that are closed on Mondays, but also this excavation site. We drive a little further, but you can't get any closer to the excavation from any side. So is it worth staying another day? I let the drone fly once to give us an overview. At least we get a short movie. Yes, it would certainly have been worth it, but our power reserve won't allow us to stand free for another day, especially as the weather is too cloudy for the solar bag to compensate.

So at least we head to the beach to catch up on our breakfast. When we arrive at the beach, we immediately have the chance to counteract the prejudice that we are distancing ourselves too much from the white goods. You have to admit, I haven't written anything negative about plastic Elaste or plastic Fantastik in the last few days, have I? Today there are two Concorde here on the beach. I'll put Hector right in between them. But we don't have to cuddle up, because the two of them keep more than an arm's length apart, as we say in Cologne.

This is the right place for us. It turns out that the respective yacht owners already know each other. On our left, two nice guys from the Hoch Sauerland district. On our right, an equally nice couple from the Hanseatic city of Rostock. As the bell has already struck twelve, the first bottle of wine is opened. A nice, charming group. We gladly join them and pull up our chairs.

The place here on the beach is really nice. A few meters further on, we spot the small Concorde from the day before. When you see the predecessor of these two flagships, it's crazy how grown-up they look. - But as always, it's the content that counts. Today we meet extremely likeable owners. Birgit and Broder, as well as Volker and Thomas, with their dog Lola, are names we will remember. The latter two also have an Instagram profile. - Very cool pictures! - We are still in the development phase on Instagram, with "", but we are happy to receive likes here too.

The moment the sun disappears behind a cloud, it gets chilly. After all, it's only 11°. Maybe I should have worn long trousers today? - Torgit makes us some soup first. It's supposed to be lentils. You know those moments when you open a jar of lentils, beans or peas and think, oh no, no, not at all? - That has nothing to do with whether something is still good. In my opinion, you should listen to your instincts or your wife's instincts. - So we end up with Serbian bean soup. Also delicious, but above all nice and hot. It warms the cockles of your heart. (Torgit's note: I have all the potatoes and vegetables in the pot, open the jar of lentils as is customary here in Portugal & Spain ... and close it again straight away. It wasn't good. Period. The jar of beans was still good. We'll just have bean soup. Also delicious :)

We would have liked to have stayed longer in this nice group. Somehow we felt really safe between the two big ships. - But our battery level tells us to charge them. So we set off in the direction of Gibraltar. There's something to discover there too. We are looking forward to The Rock. - I'm also looking forward to seeing the monkeys. Torgit rather less so.

But what we are most excited about is the weather. Because the forecasts change almost hourly. But as things stand at the moment, the weather should hold tomorrow, meaning at least not much rain. Shortly after sunset, we arrive in La Linea, the Spanish town directly adjacent to Gibraltar. - We set up with Hector on the only campsite available here. But we seem to be lucky here too. It's not too far from the beach and the sanitary facilities make a decent impression. Above all, the showers are once again really hot.

Oh yes, we also found Bob Marley, or many times his reincarnation, on the beach today.

Insight of the day: It's the content, not the packaging, that counts.