Thursday, July 05, 2007

Le Camping

I have just returned from braving the great outdoors. Four days of hiking across the beach, yomping through dense vegetation, abseiling down cliffs and braving the pounding surf in search of the perfect wave.

Lies, lies, lies!

Someone in the last post suggested that I may be staying in a tent so I thought I had better set the record straight.
Many years ago I stayed in a tent for one night. When we got home I said to the MD "If you ever make me do that again I am going to kill you, or leave you, or both". The feckers were small, we hated hotels, so we bought a caravan instead.

Don't get me wrong, I really do like the outdoors as long as it doesn't interfere with the indoors. When I'm on holiday I like all the comforts of home - oven, a microwave, shower, central heating and somewhere to plug in me laptop. If the weather is bad then there is nothing I like better than curling up on a sprung mattress with a good book while the storm rages around me. I don't see the point in sitting in the rain waiting for a kettle that takes three hours to boil.

Strangely we are not thought of as real campers. Without the morning trip to the launderette to dry the sleeping bags (ugh) and the smell of wet grass permeating everything (double ugh) we are treated with disdain by those hardy souls who are getting back to nature. If the weather is good then I spend just as much time outside as they do and have even been known to walk about a bit!
Anyway, I say 'nuts' to all of them, 'fire up the barbecue and get me another beer from the fridge!'


.
(We were parked about 100yds from this. Wild and stormy Mexico Beach near Gwithian.)

20 comments:

Jon M said...

I have to admit that I do like a snooze under canvas but there's no virtue in it. As long as you have a good time ( your more likely to if there's no virtue in it!) :-)

Unknown said...

Sounds perfect to me Minx. And to think that before I was thinking of you as a real camper! Now I know you are!

Roberta said...

I have to admit, my idea of camping is NO COLOR TV.

However, I did put a nice awning on the back of the house and live in a "tent" most of the summer.

Note to self: I need to write about that sometime.

John said...

Anyway, glad you're back. You are back, aren't you? Not operating a mobile blogging station by the sea?

L.M.Noonan said...

Mexico beach near Gwithian...how did you get your caravan to mexico?
Confined caraspaces are my idea of hell. We lived in one while we built our house. The less said the better.
PS Glad you're back.

Unknown said...

Nothing virtuous about my type of camping, but there is room for all!

Mexico Beach - so called because it is three miles of uninterrupted white sand. The sea was in 'wild' mode which meant that you could hardly stand up in the wind but twas beautiful.

Mobile blogging station? There's an idea......

Unknown said...

Ah a girl after my own heart - a fair weather camper. Enjoyment of the great outdoors with none of the accompanying nastiness of weather, bugs, snakes and other people!
Stunning photo, Minx - looks really wild and rugged - I don't suppose there was a Camel man to go with it...?

Anonymous said...

Being as I've been trying to persuade my other half to spend a weekend in our tent, I won't let him see this post. Can't understand the problem... I absolutely love tents. Even when we had our little caravan (many moons ago) we still used to take the odd weekend in the tent, just for the hell of it (what a wild child, eh?).

I'm surprised anybody braves any kind of holiday in this weather, though.

Gorilla Bananas said...

So caravans are still popular? I don't see why they haven't been made obsolete by the camper vehicle.

Anonymous said...

I do like camping with actual tents meself... I have tree which can be used in different combinations depending on who is going camping.. The worse part for me is if it is too hot as everything goes off as fast as you buy it

Thy said...

haha, that's true. I'm the hardcore camper who likes to brave the tent and kettle but i do see your point...

but i won't be going near any trailers any time soon :D

Unknown said...

No Camel man, Vanilla - with the smoking ban in full force everyone is behind the bike shed!

Sharon! Ya bugga! Good to see you back.

I live in a county that is devoted to surfing, GB. Every other vehicle on the road is a VW camper. The dubious looking smoke is not coming from the engine!

Tree camping, Mut? Intriguing. Buy a fridge.

Hello Me, perhaps we should have a camping blogmeet? A jamboree, campfire songs, slow boiling kettles and gin.

Unknown said...

Oh, you're back again? I hopeyou enjoyed the break. Caravan sounds ideal to me - a half way house to getting back to nature without the grimness of wet clothing.

Lovey spot -wait until you see where we're going next week! Mountains and sea, whooppee!

Unknown said...

Sounds gorgeous, Babs, hope you enjoy.

As you said, camping without the misery!

Pallav said...

Indoors with a book, when its raining outside....:) super fun...

But outside...is fun too :)

N

Unknown said...

Minx, you're a wimp! lol.

Glad you enjoyed the 'outback'!

Vesper said...

Ah, the call of the wild!
The high-pitched buzz of mosquito girls, the crack of twigs at night, making you wonder who's sneaking around your tent, a distant caw, a howling...
Just imagine this, amplified to a fascinating, terrifying liveliness, in the Amazon forest. That's where I'd like to camp...
:-) :-) :-)

Unknown said...

Outdoors with a book when it's raining is also fun, Mr Nothing!

Yep, wimpy old wuss, John G, but had fun outfront as well as outback!

Err, no Vesper. The Amazon is full of things that will eat you - don't do it! Come to Cornwall, you will only have to deal with men wearing socks and sandals.

Vesper said...

I'd rather have that! Sorry, men in sandals (or socks and sandals!) are not for me! Though I'd very much like to come to Cornwall one day.

Debi said...

do I dare say we had a brill time camping this w/e?

Why is it called 'under canvas' when tents have been made from plastic all these years? These are some of the random thoughts that occur as you shiver in the chill damp night just prior to sweat swimming when the sun rises ... Can't persuade you it's fun?