We bid farewell to Paris and started our long run southwest to Spain’s Costa del Sol. We made our way through central France to Bordeaux and then after crossing into Spain we followed the Basque coastline to Santander. A sharp turn south led us through the western region of Spain and then some outstanding Roman historical sites that date back to hundreds of years before Christ. At times it’s almost hard to grasp that this stuff is real and that it’s not some sort of purpose built movie set. In fact, it’s the other way around and films from “Ben Hur” to the “Game of Thrones” have used these archaeological sites regularly as movie backdrops. What a privileged gift to experience these sites that in some cases even date back to prehistoric times and all that beautiful and diverse countryside along the way, is like an added bonus.  

By the time we reached Gibraltar we had encountered plenty of positive, impressive and professional tourist related experiences but then, to balance things out, there was the not-so-appreciated tourist restaurant “rip-off” scam we encountered. We’ve prided ourselves on our ability to spot and avoid the endless attempts of unscrupulous souls to access our travel money, but now, after one false move, our confidence has been crushed. We decided to stop at a respectfully looking pub style restaurant for a mid day “Tapa” treat in Segovia. Saw a good looking anchovy dish and asked the waiter/bar attendant how much it cost, in his broken English and gesturing hands, he implied 13 Euros ($20). A bit pricy for a little fishy snack, especially when your beer is added to that order… but what the heck. We sat down and waited for our slivery treat to arrive and when it came it was very good. Then it came time to pay, we were shocked at the bill, our 13 Euro anchovies miraculously turned into 30 Euro ($50) Anchovies! Hand boned “Anchovies from the North” he said. I asked to see a menu and a bogus English menu was finally produced from the back room, it did say 30 Euros. Another lesson learned; “never order anything unless you see the price in writing first”. We think we can still hear them laughing at the dumb tourists who just paid $50 for $3 Anchovies. But even worse than this new lesson was our own self inflicted wound in Merida. We were staying at a nice Stellplatz within walking distance of all the Roman ruins when early on the morning we were about to leave, we somehow managed to lock all our keys inside the motorhome. What a fiasco! I could almost touch my freshly poured cup of coffee. With plenty of failed attempts from the great city parking staff of 5 to regain entry (without damage) I finally insisted on calling a Lock Smith. After a short time a young fellow arrived and produced some specialized looking devices that he expertly used to pick the drivers door lock. Yah! And no damage! And, a bargain (I think) at 65 Euros ($100)… Such a nasty way to start our day and sooo painful when you think that we could have had two orders of “Anchovies from the North” for the same amount. Ouch!