...Yes, Family Twyntub has finally arrived. Almost two years since we thought that popping along to the local Spanish property exhibition sounded like a good way to kill a boring Sunday morning (no, we didn´t buy from that, we did our homework!) and we´re finally in Spain.

The logistics of making the move to Spain including children, pets, business, etc, etc cannot POSSIBLY be overstated. Even simple things like selling cars, then having to get around with a hire car or no car in the final few days.

Thanks must go to the following:

Holiday Homes in Dolores for finding us a great six month let whilst our villa is being completed (shock - they´ve been working on it over August as promised and it now has a roof and some walls...!)

JK International van hire (www.j-hire.co.uk). They hired us a modern (56 plate) luton van one-way to Spain for a week, it was a delight to drive, and even travelling in August Plymouth to Santander plus fuel plus a couple of tolls worked out cheaper than the cheapest removals. I´m used to doing 400+ miles driving in a day, but the Santander to Alicante run is still a major drive - the timing of the mid-week sailing puts you in Santander for 8.30am which makes it possible to reach almost anywhere in Spain in a day. Van was dropped off at the depot in Jacarilla - only 30 minutes away.

Monarch for flying out the cat with the wife and son (my 5yr old daughter came with me, useful for the tolls in a RHD van...). You book pets through another company, but the numbers are available on their website in the FAQs section.

Brittany Ferries for a great crossing. They make it easy (much more civilised than flying) and the dog got its own kennel on board.

Spanish Customs for taking one look at all the stuff piled to the ceiling of the van and saying 'adios amigo'...

Choosing to move our stuff ourselves was no small challenge - a lot of heavy lifting and carrying, and plenty of bruises to show for it. The alternative was to get someone to 'relay' everything across - a process which involves your stuff being passed from depot to depot and can take a couple of weeks - several friends have advised that things get damaged or go missing easily. All of our stuff arrived undamaged and complete...

Twyntub

Congrats twyntub
hope everything works out well for you ..
hopefully i will be relocated to your area early next year .. sister in law allready lives in san felipe ( just outside catral) and other inlaws live rojales.
have you tried the little coffee shop by the police staion in dolores church square??


regards
paul

Hearty congrats, Twyntub!
I hope you and your family really enjoy your new life and we look forward to following in your footsteps in the near future!
Best regards,
bchapl

Loved reading your adventure

Good luck and enjoy your new life

Pleased to hear that everything has gone to plan for you, you will have to keep us posted on how your build is going , it would be nice if you could post some pics too its been good reading all about your progress so far,keep it up I wish you the very best and hope you and yours have a wonderful life in Spain

Welcome to Spain, and many congratulations on achieving your goal

Glad you've arrived safely, with everything and everyone intact.
It sounds like there were some stressful times, but hopefully there won't be too many more of those ahead.

I'm sure your 5 year old daughter was a factor in the customs just waving you through; as well as all the stuff packed to the rafters!
Did she enjoy the journey? How many times did you have to play "I Spy!?"

I agree with jandy - it would be great to hear more about your new life, and to see some pictures of your build.
As someone who's hoping to start building soon, it would be very encouraging to see something actually being built!
Amazing that the builders had been working through August

Wishing you, the family and the pets a wonderful new life.
Take care, and keep us posted.

Sam.

Welcome to Spain - hope you have a happy life here

Just you and your 5 year-old on the drive Wow! I'd love to hear more about the trip.

Welcome to Spain, wishing you every happiness and GOOD LUCK!!

Actually, she was great the whole journey. It was an early start - had to leave Cheshire at 4:30 in the morning to ensure we arrived in plenty of time for the midday sailing from Plymouth. Packing was a nightmare - despite having had the van for several days, we were still loading the last odds and ends at 1:30am that morning. Then I was up after just two hours sleep - quick shower then last frantic loading of a few last items before the six hour drive down the motorway!

Once on the boat however things were a lot calmer. My daughter enjoyed the crossing - the cabin included a bunk bed which she was very excited to use, plus the shops kept her entertained too.

We had a very well earned sleep that night, and felt refreshed the next morning for the long drive to Dolores to pick up the keys before driving over the mountains at Albertera. There is a surprising amount of interesting scenery to keep youngsters interested... bridges, mountains, and the fact that the weather is so different North to South - around Santander and the motorway to Bilbao it's green like Scotland, approaching Madrid several hours later it's more like a desert in places.

The other thing was the slow moving vehicles - we passed several massive cylinders, construction vehicles, military vehicles and even a partially assembled high speed train on our journey - great for a 'coo, look at that' moment.

I add my best wishes too. I hope your family has a wonderful new life in Spain.

TWYNTUB, do you know what I call this journey with your daughter, it is a memory making moment, she will remember this journey in years to come and it will be of great comfort to her. She sounds like a real lady in the making to me..."the shops kept her entertained" yes a true lady in the making.

Aaah, bless your little daughter twyntub

I still remember one of my highlights aged 5.................I went with mt Dad to the quarry, and we had to put the van on a weighbridge!! I was so excited, and I recall being so proud that it was just me and my Dad - no annoying little brother in tow!

It's a good job I've got a good memory, cos it was a looooonng time ago!

How are you all settling in?

Thats the very reason I want my son to come with us rather than fly out with his Dad, its all part of the adventure, its time that won't be recaptured, there will never again be that first journey to a new life!

Well, we've now been here a whole week. Now we have Internet access, here is a potted summary of the week that was...

30th August - A very Spanish welcome
We turned up in the van at about 11pm having first picked up the keys in Dolores. All the neighbours were out including kids on bikes and parents / grandparents / etc, and of course no-one speaks a word of English!

I introduced myself as their new neighbour - they seemed pleased I could speak some Spanish, got even more interested when they saw my daughter, were fascinated to learn that my son was the same age as one of the children there, and when they discovered the children were going to a Spanish state school rather than an International school that was it - we were whisked inside next door for a glass of warm milk, cakes, biscuits plus a pile of provisions to take home!

31st August - Busy unpacking
Friday was a blur as we rushed to unpack a van full of stuff, plus unload stuff at the lockup 30 minutes away, finish unpacking back at the house, book a hire car, drop off the van, then taxi to the airport to pick up the wife, son and cat at 8pm.

There wasn't time to relax, however, as tonight was fiesta night - and at 10.30pm there was a knock on the door as we were invited to join in on the "family table" - a great honour! Free food, although we ducked out of the entertainment just after midnight - the fiesta itself went on to the wee small hours.

1st September - Shopping
We discover the delights of Carrefour in Elche, and also learn that in Spain you have to weigh your fruit and veg at a special counter before you go to the checkout!

2nd September - Day of Rest
It's Sunday, so the shops around here don't open much - so anything we've forgotten yesterday will have to wait until Monday. Then the Ice man turns up so we buy 60 ice creams for the freezer for only a handful of euros. Then a fruit seller turns up, and we buy peaches and tomatoes fresh from the harvest.

3rd September - Spanish Fly
...or more precisely Spanish Flies. The pesky things won't leave us alone, no matter what we try. Diffusers seem to have no effect, whilst the sprays seem useless. We have a can of "Max Strength" which my wife has discovered is only effective if you spray directly onto the fly within 1 inch for a good blast. This covers the fly in enough goo to temporarily disable it whilst she hits it with the can.

4th September - What about school?
We start asking around for information about when School starts back in the local village. In Spain this seems to be a closely guarded secret - everyone we ask tells us a different date, or doesn't seem to know...

I start fretting about Internet access. Most people on our road have waited two years to get connected to a landline, several are still waiting. There is no point in trying to apply as we're only renting for six months. The local Internet cafe becomes my office for several days.

5th September - Ikea is alive and well in Murcia
Yes, it's true, Ikea is not only alive and well, it's completely identical to what you'd find in the UK. Even the prices appear the same, except they're in euros not pounds!

We also find time to get a new Pay As You Go mobile - our Spanish Orange phone won't work - in fact Movistar is the only network both where we're renting and also where we're buying.

6th September - Argh - school starts tomorrow
Hurrah - I've got Internet access. Had to get hold of my NIE papers from the solicitors 60km away, but I'm now the proud owner of a Movistar 3.5G data card with unlimited data transfer. Fiddly to get working on a Mac, but we now have Internet at home and blisteringly fast Internet if I log in over the mountains in a 3G area.

Off to a family meal in Hondon de las Nieves, we're now pretty confident that school starts on Monday. Then just as we're leaving we happen to get talking to an English girl playing in the local playground who tells us "no, all the schools in this area definately start tomorrow". AAAAAAArrrrggh!

7th September - Early Start
Getting up and then getting the kids ready for school is no mean feat - I've been used to being an hour ahead of the UK and not having to think about work until 10am! Still, after a 15 minute drive through the mountains with Cuarenta playing loud, we arrive in Hondon just as the bells chime 9am - still not 100% sure school really does start today... Thankfully it does.

We're greeted by the school secretary who delights us by remembering the names of our children (we only met her once, back in March, and she doesn't speak any English). Our two year old is in a class of ten, our five year old in a class of 17 - a fraction of the 60 intake in her reception class last year in the UK. The secretary also hands us a voucher for 117 euros to help with school books.

The children enjoy their first day - actually only 9am until 1pm until October - a big relief considering they don't know the language. We ask the kids if they'd like to go back to the UK now - I think you can all guess the answer!