And what better way to start this part of the trip than with some absolutely mega storms. You can forget the Lisbon storms we suffered, last night was something else. Not much sleeping, huge lightening flashes, cacophonous thunder etc. for about 2 hours. Once we were all properly awake, the devastation on the site was quite something. Huge branches were down, debris was everywhere, leaves and bark had been ripped off trees, and then a realisation that 14 of our shoes were missing!!! The every day shoe that sits under the van. The shoes that lack style. The shoes that fashion forgot. All of our CROCS had gone!
To be honest, Clare and the children disappeared before I'd woken properly and had come back with one of my trainers, which had been banished outside due to the terrible post sporting odour. This one was the easy one to find. It had barely travelled 1.5 metres. Then the fun began.
Clare ... As I looked out of the window to see what the morning weather was like, I saw people walking around looking under hedges and bushes. I thought they had lost their cat, which we seem to have adopted a bit. Actually a lot! Jasper has actually named it Jack. It's a lovely cat! I then saw one of Ed's trainers and one of Maya's pink CROCS on the nearby sink, so wondering what they were doing there, I went out to get them. Then I realised that my CROCS were missing. And Jasper's, and Ed's. In fact, as I looked again, one of Jasper's flip flops was nestled in a hedge. I realised that the site must have flooded a fair bit in the downpours and our footwear had floated away!!!
Half an hour passed as we joined other campers in looking for our shoes and other things that usually stay outside of the van, such as door mats, buckets, spades and Jasper's stick collection.
There was much confusion going on! We found the other of Jasper's flip flops in a hedge several metres away from our van (actually about 25m), and one of Maya's flip flops too. Then I saw my blue CROCS in someone else's box under their van. Not knowing how to say, "excuse me, I think you have have got my shoes", in Italian was starting to worry me, but then the lady opened the door and came out. She saw me with a small pair of blue CROCS, and then looked at the ones she had. Quite quickly she realised the mistake, and there was a Cinderella moment as we each put on our own shoe to prove that we had it sorted!!!
After showers we set about searching again, for a green CROC, one of Jasper's and the other of Maya's flip flops. In fact, for about an hour Jasper literally had two left feet, so had to hop about with the aid of his most useful stick!!!
Ed...
The rather amusing confused state continued on site. Oh for Esperanto! Sorts of half discussions were happening with German, Italian, Swiss campers and us, in a sort of general hotch potch of French, German, Italian and English, a language I'd like to call Freuitalischish. A veritable melting pot of Euro-footwear-language. The illusive green croc was found some 2 and a half hours after waking up. A kind German lady had found it some distance from where we were. In a sort of shoe exchange, Jasper had been enthusiastically searching amongst the hedges and cacti and had found a flip flop, returned to a very happy Italian, and a pair of Blue crocs, returned to a happy Swiss guy.
If the absence of footwear under the vehicle doesn't sway you to believe the severity of the weather that we have just had (and are still suffering from), then the playground which Jasper and Maya had earlier yesterday now looks like this. I don't think Jasper or Maya did it!
Ed.... Lessons learnt, I sit here writing this short shoe episode, with all footwear 'in' the van, regardless of its odour!
Clare...I'm frantically looking for 'Odour Eater Spray' which I know I packed somewhere!!!
Enjoy your weather, wherever you are!!!
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