Christmas 2010

This winter we are just arranging the garden, painting and repairing, so I thought that, instead of the usual video of progress, I could put a small video of my daughter, made this last weekend.

What color to choose

In the swimming pool area, the entrance to the machine room was of natural concrete. We are now looking to integrate it more in the environment, and Vadim is painting it in dark grey. We will see...

Winter in the campsite

The gardeners are now collecting the last leaves that have fallen from the trees, here you see Mamadu in a bungalow area. Hopefully this will be the last time in the year, because most of the leaves are already in the ground.

Final street delimiter

Street delimiters are allways a bad solution, but there seems to be no other way to avoid parking and to look for the safety of pedestrians. So... here is the final shape of the street delimiter, made by us, it weights about 150 Kg, two colors to be easily seen, and wood at the side, so that if a vehicle touches it, the damage it is not so bad. Hopefully, the colors, materials and shape should integrate well around the supermarket, with the current dust beens. It can be used also to sit down, for a single person it is rather confortable.

Gardeners at work

Now that the 2010 season is over, the gardeners are trying to quickly grow grass again in the campingplots that were damaged by plastic covers. Fortunately it is still warm, so there should be enough time until the winter temperatures come.

Testing street delimiters

Somewhere at the end of this summer, we have been testing some shapes and colors for street delimiters, heavy pieces that we are going to put in the wide street in front of the supermarket, in order to avoid bad parking. We are also trying that they can be used for the people to sit upon, a kind of very small bench.

In a few weeks we will show you some of these pieces already in place.

Improvements in our web site

As promised at the beginning of September, we continue improving our website, to hopefully give a more modern and attractive experience. Now there are also some simple animation effects, and all the information has been revised to assure that the links work as intended and that the content is up to date. The website is already prepared for the 2011 season, you will see by default the 2011 prices and also the 2011 events. The availability page also focuses totally in the next 2011 season.

Some more electrical heaters

Apartments at both floors and also bungalows for 5 persons (behind the bar Amberes) were dependent on the gasoil heater in the showers building near the old swimming pool, from that heater came the hot water.

These last days, Antonio and Vadim are modifying both types of accommodations, installing electrical heaters in each apartment and bungalow, so that the hot water comes directly from inside each one. This will avoid some delay problems in the low season, also avoid some heat losses in the way, and be less complex to operate.

Painting again and again

It is again time to re-paint the wood around the swimming pool, the lifeguards are using a mixture of natural oils and teinture. This will have to be done regularly each 3-4 months.

Today it is sunday but there is a strong fresh air, tramuntana, that seems to scare to the possible swimmers, although it is sunny and the water is not at all cold, or at least warmer than in the beach.

Last day of aquagym

Today is the last day of animation, aquagym, fitness... the monitors are going to leave in the next few days... here in the photo you see today's aquagym session, with Alex as monitor. The weather is still sunny, fine, the water is warm...

Last years we had animation activities only from 1 July to 25/31 August, this year we have extended that period from 15th June to 15th September. Next year we plan to do the same extended period, because it is important also in the low season, to have some activity to be fit or just to have fun.

Improvements in our web site

These last days we have been updating a little the aesthetics of our web site, changing a few colors and adding some interactivity with rollover images and shadow effects. In the next weeks we plan to add some animation effects, so that there is some fun while looking at the information.

What to do with bureaucracy

After some hours looking for a paper, the girls at the reception show us a fun way to solve the bureaucracy problem. We have been told that after seing these images, the spanish government has gone into panic mode and they are preparing a communication campaign so the sheeps keep pasturing.

South Africa was here

Here are some pictures from the last days of the football worldcup, at the beginning of July. We have just received them from fam. Pronk, and because someone here asked for some photos of those days... at last here they are. The final match was followed by almost the complete campsite, including workers ;-)

Survivors in the reception

Here is the reception team this summer 2010. After long discussions for a bigger, smaller, shadower, sunnier, isolated, crowded or whatever place, they wanted to prove that they are still alive and kicking all that moves, so their family stops phoning thinking like they were in Pakistan.

A shadow with a beach

Of the three chiringuitos in the beach in front of us, the further from us is smaller but has an obvious charm. It is also located near the area where dogs are allowed and the kitesurf area is also nearby. From the campsite's door, it is just a 15 minutes walk.

Another beach or How to avoid shopping

Today the tramontana is blowing, and while women will insist that it is a good opportunity for shopping, it is also a great day to look for beaches that are protected from the wind.

You go to Roses, cross the village, then go up the mountains in the natural park 'Cap de Creus' following indicators to the beach 'cala Montjoi' and the famous 'restaurant Bulli' (very good but extremely expensive). Just 1 Km past cala Montjoi, you will find 'cala Calitjàs', this is a small charming rocky beach, ideal for swimming in clear water. The whole way takes about 30 minutes by car from the campsite, it is not so far but you have to drive slowly because the road is narrow and twisty.

Fortunately everything has a price (2011)

As usual in these days of the year, we publish the prices for next year, 2011. They are available in the 'Prices' section of our website...

The increase is due to several reasons. First, this year 2010 we did not increase prices, but predicted inflation here in spain for the period 2009-2011 is said to be about 2% or more. Second, from the beginning of July 2010, the spanish government has increased the taxes that we have to apply to all the prices, from 7 to 8%. Third, the new swimming pool bring some costs like more water and electricity consumption, as well as hopefully an advantage to a lot of campers here.

Misscamping 2010

Yesterday night a set of brave ladies competed for the misscamping honor. Tipically in a women's play, the animators made them pass some cruel tests, in general practices were unfair... but at the end a lucky girl won ;-) and the rest will have to go to the psychologist to alleviate the trauma.

Nights at the internet café

These are hot days at the campsite, with temperatures near 40 ºC at the peak of the day, so the evening is a good moment to stay outside and enjoy the fresh air. Yesterday night, at the internet café, there was a music group that I particularly enjoy very much.

Mistercamping 2010

This saturday night there was a big party at the Bar Amberes, Mistercamping 2010. The candidates had to perform many difficult tests, and finally... here is the proud winner with a beautiful part of the animation team, Anna and Alex.

New music equipment for aquagym

Aquagym instructors were using a portable music equipment that was too small, because of the increasing number of people in the swimming pool area and in the activities. So, we have been looking for alternatives, and now we are using a new, less portable but more powerful music player. While still far from perfect, at least we hope that it will be enough for this season.

The adhesive that never existed

We had planned a magenta-coloured adhesive for this year, in order to better control the entrance of vehicles in the campsite. The adhesive had to be the one you see in the above picture... Well, at the last minute, it was decided to stop using adhesives at all. Adhesives in the last years are being regarded as a primitive way of control, mainly for clients that are coming from hotels or other accomodations, or just young people that start going on holidays. Besides, as a control system, it opens many doors to failures.

Indeed, since some 6 years we are using, at the campsite entrance, a control system based on cameras that try to recognise the plate number. This is far from perfect, mainly because our entrance does not follow a straigh line, and vehicles sometimes are bad situated for the (dumb) cameras to read the plate number. Anyway, we think that this is the future and therefore this year we have also provided the night guards with a computer that helps them working with that system and ask for a plate number when the gate does not open.

So, we apologize for the lose of a campsite characteristic, hoping that in the long term it will help new clients accept more easily our campsite. What do you think about it? Would you like that we still put the adhesive in the vehicle? Do you like it as an option? We may also have them to give to anyone that asks for it.

Underwater reparations

As a novelty here, today Antonio is doing some underwater reparations, fixing some underwater lights using an air-powered drill. In this way, it is possible to repair without having to empty the pool.

Some underwater lights in the swimming pool were damaged because there is one or two vandals that pull them out, breaking their plastic fixations, talk about strange ways to have fun. Well, anyway, we now have to fix them hard with inox screws.

Refreshing in aquagym

Today is an extremely hot day, and the aquagym lesson is a good way to make some sport without becoming too tired.

Cleaning an area

We had a 'bad area' at the end of street 19, where some old caravans and mobilhomes were used as lodging for workers that had to sleep inside the campsite, mostly cleaning ladies that came from far away. This area was not giving a nice image to that part of the campsite, and in an effort to ammeliorate that image, we have removed all these old equipment, cleaned and made sure that the soil is flat and adecuate. As a result, we have now an empty area that looks enough good for parking and other uses, this area is going to be called 'Sector Dur' (in catalan, 'hard sector') because there is no grass.

New bicycle parkings

Vadim has just finished installing 2 new bicycle parkings at two entrances to the swimming pool: one beside the door near the river (see the picture), the other beside the petanca. As you can see, they are of the same type that we have been using in the last years.

Machine room now fully finished

As promised, here is how the machine room looks today, fully finished. Attached to he wall at the far end, you can see the devices that produce chlorine from salt, i.e., salt chlorinators. At the right side you see the pumps and filters. On the left side you see the light control system, more about that in the next weeks.

In order to desinfect the water, we add salt to it, and afterwards the water goes throught a salt chlorination process that uses electrical current to convert it to hypochlorous acid, a form of chlorine. Theoretically, it takes less of this purer, more effective chemical to sanitize the water and maintain a safe free chlorine level than with other forms of chlorine. It also eliminates the caustic acid that is present in liquid pool chlorine, or the inert ingredients that are a part of granular and tablet chlorine.

The salt level needed to produce chlorine is only about 3,000 ppm, which is less salt than is contained in the average human tear, and about 1/17 the salt found in sea water. A nice side effect is that the salt softens the water, giving it a smoother feel for swimmers.

This desinfection method has recently become popular in the private pools, also because of the easy of dealing with salt, avoiding dangerous chemicals. But it is not so popular among public swimming pools, althought the trend is towards it, as salt chlorinators are becoming more powerful.

One of the last signs

Vadim is fixing one of the last signs that were not yet positioned, this one is located in the south-east access to the new pool. You can see, farther in the picture, a garbage bin that is still waiting to be properly fixed.
Meanwhile, the machine room needs some signs and last touches, to be done during this next week.

Garbage bins around the pool

Pep is right now preparing the concrete bases for the garbage bins that are to be located all around the new pool. We expect to put three bins in the south side and four bins in the north side. The all are of a mixture of metal and wood decoration.

More plants around the pool

The area of the swimming pool nearer to the supermarket is being filled with plants and grass. Here you can see a gardener making holes for the new plants, in this case a few 'Callistemon speciosus'. There are a lot of  'Rosmarinum rostrata' and in general plants that are considered as appropiate to the mediterranean weather and to the natural park around us.

Gradually opening grass areas

In the swimming pool, today we have opened the grass area in the south side. In about one week we will open the west side, nearer to the supermarket. The north side will require some three more weeks.

Today is a typical sunny, hot day and it seems that people really enjoy the fresh water.

Putting the double floor in the machine room

After some weeks waiting for the material, the smiths are finally putting the aluminium layer in the floor, making it much more practical to move inside the machine room.

We move to a blog

Today the news section finally moves to a blog. With this action we hope to provide a more modern look, a better navigation and a faster upload of news and pictures, and more important, to allow some interactivity with our clients. The blog allows that people add comments to the news, thus making it more attractive and giving us a very useful feedback. We look forward to hear from you.

Finally, by now we have configured it with 'unmoderated comments'. This means that the comment you write should appear instantly in the blog. In the next weeks we will see how this works.

Putting plants around the new swimming pool

The gardeners are now putting some plants around the swimming pool. Here you see the area where the grass is almost strong enough, we plan to open this area in two weeks, so that people can lie in the grass. There are other areas where the grass is just beginning to appear and that will be opened much later.

Finally

The new swimming pool is now open. In the low season we will open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and in the high season from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.


A lot of details still need to be done but we expect to finish them in this month, and we will keep posting pictures along the way.

Almost

We have had a week of raining that has delayed everything, but somehow we will definitely open tomorrow morning. Here you see the carpenters during this afternoon, they are busy at finishing around the children's pool. The terrain all around will need some weeks until the grass grows strong enough.

The swimming pools are already full of water. And tomorrow we will finally post a picture of the big swimming pool.

Carpenters around the children's pool

The carpenters are finishing the wood all around the swimming pools. Here, they are near the children's pool. Next wednesday it should be completed.

Preparing a double floor in the machine room

In the machine room, the smith is building a double floor, in order to easily check leakages in the pipes. The room looks now worse than what it really is. Next photo should already show a clean and ordered space.

Repairing and cleaning before filling

We are in the last steps before filling the swimming pool: repairing errors and cleaning. However, because of the rainy days, there are too many errors in the tiles and this process will take several more days. There are also some modifications that need to be done in the wood part, that will take several more days. Lastly, the machine room and all the pipes need an initial testing and possibly reparations. All this postpones the opening day to one week later: saturday 8 May.

Protecting plants

These last weeks Raul and Vadim have been building a metal/wood protection around some plants in front of the internet cafe. As a result, the gardeners are now substituting the damaged plants and adding more ground.

In front of the supermarket

The gardeners are beginning to prepare the area beside the street, in front of the supermarket. Here in the photo, they are taking the stones out. Next will be to put some plants and grass.

Water entrances in the swimming pool

Pep is putting the pieces for the water entrances, at the bottom of the swimming pool. There are a lot of water entrances at the bottom, in order to help distribute uniformly the clean water. A lot of care has been put in order to achieve a flat bottom, without pieces that can hurt.

Carpenters at work

We have had some few rainy days that have delayed it all, but we are now back at it. Here in the photo today, the carpenters are finishing the wood at one side of the swimming pool. As you can see, there is a lot of wood. This side should be completed by tuesday, excepting some details like the showers, that are to be done at the end of the month.

Tiles and more tiles

Inside the adults swimming pool, the tiles will be finished in about one week. Now it looks very bad because of all the empty boxes, but this should be soon arranged. From then on, we will put the lights, water entrances and drains.

New brochure

A new version of our brochure is available, both at the reception and here in the contact/info page.

New map

The new map of the camping is already available in this site. It contains the final shape of the new swimming pool and the area all around. As you can see, there have been some changes from the initial project that we showed in December 2009.

We expect to do the noisy work just before the campsite opens, and then gradually all the other parts should be finished during April and the first half of May.

A first impression

Here you can get a first impression of how the children's swimming pool is going to look. We are finishing the tiles inside the pool, while starting to prepare the terrace all around. Still a lot to do, but we are on track for the 1 May.

The fence at the south side

Finally the fence has been put, and now the gardeners are preparing the line of bushes.

Progress at the machine room

The machine room is progressing well. As you can see there is still quite a chaos, we have had several days with heavy rain and the room is still without roof, in order to allow the easy transport of the machinery. We plan to finally put the roof in two weeks.