Costa Blanca! Initial impressions ...

More high-rise buildings than surely are necessary - can they all be hotels for cheap package trips? And even more development going on, with sets of identical villas popping up all over the place and the constant roar of construction.

More Brits than Spanish. And they are mostly retired, and enjoy wearing matching tracksuits (leisure suits?).

The "International" aisle of the hypermarket, helpfully divided into nationalities, had a larger "British" section than "Oriental" section. And yes, "Oriental" was meant to cover all cuisines from Moroccan to Thai. And this really was a hypermarket - it sold everything from tyres, to laptops, to seafood so fresh it was still alive.

Oh, and it also sold a wide variety of hams for Christmas.

Can we fit one of these in the van?

But also ... a fat guidebook of climbs on those rugged hills just off the coast, or on the cliffs overlooking the sea. A super-friendly and relaxed climbers' refuge / hotel. And some warm weather and bright sunshine, too!