We have had yet more trouble the last few days. We spent the weekend having a lovely time on the Mariola. I then decided that we would venture off into the nearest city to explore on Monday. Alcoy is the biggest place we have hit so far. We drove into the city and parked in a marked bay. We went to a park and then realised that I was to far out of the center of town to walk to anything so went back to move the car only to be greeted with the fact that the car had gone! Yep major disaster number three, (we may have had more then this, but for my sanity I am calling number three) Oh yes the car had been towed away. I phoned the police to be told that I had to get to the local police station. Now this meant walking with Matt and Amy in tow a rather long way in the heat of the day. Several police stations later we got to the right one to be told that the road I had parked on was a bus lane. Now I parked in a marked bay, on a road with numerous marked bays just the right size for cars. This through me. I explained this only to be told over and over, nope a bus lane. After a very long time with many police men discussing this and what seemed to be arguing, (in Valencian Spanish that I couldn't understand) It turns out that I had parked in a bay that had been marked newly on the road for a fiesta two weeks ago and had not been rubbed off. Cars were allowed to park here only for that weekend and other then this it was a bus lane. Basically yet again bad luck. I had managed to park in a space only meant for one weekend of the year that hadn't yet been rubbed off! Ok, so after being given a lift in a police car through Alcoy, and a £180 euro fine that could not be waved as the computer said no, we arrived at the compound where the car was. No on arrival there were another five police men who along with the two who had given us the lift followed me out to the car. This is odd I thought? I have a police force in tow now? I was then informed on getting to the car that.....and get this, the person who had parked the car in the compound had not put the hand brake on and the car had rolled down the hill, hitting another car in the compound! Yet again there is a dent in the back of our car.....I had to laugh. I had at points today already wanted to get a plane home and cried in front of many police officers. Now I just laughed. What did I expect. Of course. We were then told that the police would now pay for the repair work and that we were to follow them to the garage to organise the work. We left the compound with full police escort and many apologetic policemen in a car in front and behind us. All feeling sorry for us not only for the parking error and forced fine, but now the dent in our car. We were led through Alcoy to a garage which of course was shut as it was Siesta time. All the police men were now even more apologetic. I got given a mobile number of one of them and his badge number and told to come back this morning.

We arrived at the garage at 11 this morning and called the police officer who came within ten minutes to the garage. I have to go back next Monday for the work to be done and they will lend us a car for the two days while the work is done. We then spent 20 minutes chatting with various police officers and were then lead by personal police escort to a car park where we would not get towed to explore Alcoy. I now feel like we have a rather close relationship with the police here and have probably spoken to most of them at some point over the last two days. we then actually went on the have a really nice day with lunch out and a wonder of a few good parks. We then went on to a major commercial park where we brought a toy each for the children and are now sat in a cafe writing this and drinking juice. We are off to have a tin bath in the sun on the Mariola. It's strange, but today I'm so glad I went back and did it again and had a lovely day. It wrote off yesterday and it's been really nice. I could have given up yesterday and gone home, but that would have meant ending on a very low, and that I would have missed out on the highs to come. Today has been a really nice day with the kids and we have had great fun exploring the shops and parks. So back to Alcoy next Monday to get the car fixed.....am I repeating myself? Until then a few days to rest and then maybe the coast I think. I can feel a theme park coming on before it gets to hot, or a water park maybe? Will keep you up dated.