Still Andalusia...it's Christmas a lot...

We feel very comfortable in Motril. We have been settled in one place for four and a half weeks, the longest we have ever stayed in one place. We live cozy, enjoy breakfast in the sun, go for long walks, and sit together with our friends and other winter visitors. The days pass by and Christmas is just around the corner. We decorate everything we can and we also feel the urge to decorate. Our Hummel is adorned with fairy lights and glows in all colors at night. It has snowed in the Sierra Nevada and the white peaks can be seen as far as the beach.

People come and go all the time. We meet the friendly Swiss couple Christoph and Putti with their awesome mobile home and also the solo traveler Martina with her really cool van, just to name a few of the nice acquaintances we have here.

We have doctor and vet appointments, endure a week of rain (thank goodness for Netflix) and take care of other little things. I finally found the inspiration to finish painting our bathroom. A big sun now adorns our ceiling. We are never bored in the nice company here and the dogs have also settled in and already feel at home. Lucy walks wagging her tail from one breakfast table to another and delights people with her friendly nature.

We dine like royalty, have a camping raclette. The pans with cheese are heated with tealights. It works perfectly.

Werner, the former ship engineer, smokes fish for all of us. Quickly the tables and chairs are set up and once again we all dine together like kings. In general, food is not lacking here. We enjoy ourselves and our hips are getting rounder :(

New guests come and go all the time. Some stay for a few days and some stick around (just like us).

It continues to snow more and more in the Sierra Nevada. We can see the white peaks from the beach...where we walk around in t-shirts. Many plants start to bloom...it's a true delight to see them. It's the 4th Sunday of Advent and we have 22°.

There is a great African beach bar between the campsite and the beach where you can get delicious cocktails. We spend beautiful evenings there and enjoy tasty cocktails.

On December 20th we managed to get an appointment at the car workshop in Motril to repair our air compressor. We have the spare parts with us, but unfortunately not the special tool we need for it. Otherwise, Kilian could have changed it himself. So on the eve, we reluctantly take down the awning, fairy lights, etc. and, since the appointment is very early the next morning, we drive our Hummel out of the tight camping site and spend the night in the parking lot by the beach so as not to wake everyone up early in the morning. In the morning, we drive the truck to the workshop and then walk the 5km back to the campsite and are glad that our friends Karin and Nicole are here and give us shelter....it feels strange to be here without our house on wheels. By chance, today is also the annual boules tournament on the site, in which we will participate. Yesterday, there was already the traditional paella for everyone. Once again, the tables were put together...there is always something to celebrate here...it never gets boring :)

In the end, I came in 4th place in the boules tournament (out of 20) and in the evening we were able to pick up our repaired Hummel from the workshop. Unfortunately, a new diagnosis (we suspected something like this) was added. The cylinder head gasket is gone! First, it's hard to swallow and digest!

Now we are looking for a new complete set of cylinder head gaskets, which we hopefully can get through an acquaintance from Germany. Since Christmas is just around the corner, this whole thing will probably take us well into January. So the planned departure after New Year will be postponed. We will have to stay on our little campsite in Motril even longer. But since the place here is really a little paradise, it could be worse. We will eventually fix this problem as well.

Christmas Eve welcomes us with 20° for breakfast outside. We spend a relaxed day in the hammock and in the evening, we have potato salad with meatballs together with Karin and Nicole. A relaxed Christmas Eve. On the first day of Christmas, we go out to eat with the other 18 winter visitors. We feast royally on the terrace in T-shirts and sit outside together until evening. The weather forecast predicts clear skies for the next two weeks...it could truly be worse. We wish everyone near and far happy holidays.