Santanilla Del Mar

Drove into this very lovely medieval pueblo for lunch whilst on our way to Bilbao. Done a small u-turn in a hotel car-park and the KIA gave up the ghost. I did predict this yesterday at the end of my blip write-up but to be fair I already knew it had broken down because I'm "fu&#ing around with the fabric of space and time", as Brian Eno once reminded David Bowie. In blipspeak I'm"back blipping".

Called my insurance company. Grua arrived within 15 minutes. Car was in garage and diagnosed within the hour which was just as well since the town's fiestas started the next day and that would have meant being stranded for almost a week. Fuel filter had never been changed, EVER. Will be having words with my regular service "technician" or whatever he calls himself when I return home.

The hotel where we broke down had a spare room for just €35 and the village turned out to be a hidden gem. Or at least it once was because now the tourist buses have sniffed it out and their were a few hoards of scantily clad tourists milling around with camera phones. And yes, I do see the irony in that last statement. By 7pm the car was returned to us with a smile on it's normally glaekit looking face. €160 for the car repair. Ouch! It could have been much worse though. The friendly old guy who ran the hotel said: "You're car broke down, so what! There's a lot worse things happening to people in the world right now." He's absolutely correct of course.