MARIA (76) and VALDUR (75) from Estonia

Number of winters living abroad: 8

Valdur’s Story: When we retired, we decided to travel. We sold an apartment in Tallinn and bought a camper. When we saw that the money was running out, we swapped the second apartment for a cheaper one. So far, we have enough money to support our lifestyle. Should we run out - we will sell the last apartment.

We make decisions quickly - if we must, we’ll sell the apartment and not worry too much. It doesn’t bother us that we have renovated it nor that we have raised children there. Our children have grown up and are able to make their own living and raise their own children. And you can’t take money into heaven with you.

La Manga has left an impression because seniors are a community here, they spend their time together in the winter. We decided to try this lifestyle too. We’ve been coming here for the last eight years and spend eight months out of the year at this campsite. In Estonia, you would sit at home and watch TV. But here you walk around with your sunglasses from dusk till dawn. There are daily activities here, and people are fantastic. People here think differently. We have learned a simple but essential truth from them - that we need to live now and make time for the important things in life.

We have been married for fifty-for years. We have three children and grandchildren, all of them work or attend school. They are all busy with their lives and responsibilities, so we don't bother them. Nowadays, it is much easier to communicate - if you miss your family you can just turn on the camera on your phone and feel like you are sitting right next to them. We talk only about our positive experiences, which makes our friends jealous of our lifestyle, and our relatives happy, because we do not burden them with our concerns.

At this campsite, I help prepare songs for karaoke evenings. My wife Maria is a proud Ukrainian. She sings karaoke in Ukrainian. People praise her temperament and courage.

We recently celebrated a neighbor's birthday. About thirty people gathered. We put tables together outside and partied until five in morning. I feel it’s an impressive feat, staying up until 5am, especially for those over seventy. Everyone did stay up, and had fun talking, joking and singing in different languages. When people have lots of things in common, they have time and desire to communicate – it’s wonderful.

In 2021: We are still in La Manga! It is very quiet here and we like it. Compared to previous years, this winter time is very boring, there are no parties. We moved to live in a bungalow, it is much more comfortable. We will travel to Estonia in May, but we plan to return in September. We look forward to the vaccine to receive it tomorrow!

DAVID (74) from England

Number of winters living abroad: 20

I retired at fifty-five because I was a psychiatric nurse at the prison department. Most people retire at sixty-five, but I’ve got ten extra years. At that time, I didn't know what to do next. Although I lived in my own house, I bought a camper and decided to spend the winter abroad. An acquaintance of mine told me about winter camping in Spain. Since then, I have returned here every year.

At first, I wintered in Spain for four months because I helped my working daughter and her husband to look after my grandchildren, helped take them to school. Now the youngest grandson goes to school by himself, and I no longer need to take care of him, so I have more time to myself.

My daughter and son love my lifestyle. They are always busy, lead their own lives. They call and ask,” Hola! Where are you? How are you?” If ever a situation arises, I can lock the camper and be back in England in a few hours. Distance is not a problem, because I do not live in Australia. I see my loved ones on Facebook. If they organize a party they upload photos, so I know what they are up to.

I have a lot of friends and activities when I live this way of life: I swim, cycle, play the guitar or drums. In La Manga we play in the club - everyone who wants to come can hear us play. I play in the nearby church. I like sunbathing and lying on the beach listening to the waves and thinking or just walking around the park.

My days are different, I don't know what tomorrow will bring. So I'm looking forward to tomorrow. How do I feel being alone? I feel OK. Here’s one unmarried neighbor, and there’s another one. Some have partners and they are all my friends. I talk to them because it's nice to be easier than disgusting.

I don’t feel like I’m tied to my house - but I know a lot of people who do. I have one camper in Spain and another one in England. When I get home, I get bank accounts and similar things at the address of my son-in-law. This is my mobile address. Through online banking, I can see what’s happening on my account. I have enough money to be able to live this way and live until I die or until the money runs out.

In 2021: I have been diagnosed with skin cancer. I went through an 18 month course of treatment and now everything is fine again. Over these couple of years, the world has changed dramatically and so have I. I now have an apartment in Cheltenham. I sold my English camper, but I still keep the Spanish in the La Manga camping warehouse. I hope to be able to go there for at least 90 days this winter. “Bloody Brexit”! We brits can no longer stay in Europe any longer. I am currently traveling by my own on a motorcycle around the Cotswolds.

ELSA (68) and JORAN (73) from Sweden

Number years campervanning: 44

Joran’s Story: Forty four years ago, we started traveling in a camper. We have visited almost all of the European countries, except Spain and France. We have saved these countries for traveling through when we retire. It has been seven years now that we travel through France to Spain for winter and return to Sweden for the summer.

Our camper is the only house we have. We had a big house, but we didn’t live in it because we travelled so often, so we sold it and bought an apartment. But we didn’t live there either. So, we sold the apartment too. Why keep it if you’re not going to live there?

Now, we feel free. We tell people how good life is when you live a campervan lifestyle. One day you look out and see the mountains, another day you look out and see a lake or a sea. Every day can be different if you want. It is a freedom that you would not otherwise have.

I have rheumatism, I broke my back in a car accident. With the bad weather back home I’d be much less mobile - I'd be locked at the trolley at home. But here I ride the electric bicycle, I talk to people. I not only feel mobile – I feel alive.

Of course, you need to have enough money to support the campervan lifestyle. It is important to have enough for the basics: camping fees, leisure time activities and entertainment, going out to eat at least once a week. And of course, savings are needed to pay for unexpected expenses.

It is possible that we are the last generation of seniors who are able to live on their pension. We are happy, but it doesn’t look like it will be quite so good for the next generation. Nowadays, as soon as young people start working, they start saving up for their retirement. When we were young, we didn’t think about it.

We think long-term camping as a lifestyle will not go away. It will be popular because it is a cheap and interesting lifestyle. Many Swedes are already camping all year round.

We make friends in campings. We stay in touch with some of the people we meet for a few weeks, with others we stay in touch for life. There are some who even come to visit us. If you want to communicate with people, you have to learn languages. We speak German and English. My wife has a blog, so many people get in touch and ask us about various camping issues. Last week, we met a couple whom we were in touch with online for two years – they have decided to come out here.

I always liked my life. For example, right now we get to enjoy the sun in the middle of winter, good food and great company. Every age is good in its own way. When you are twenty - you go to the clubs and pick up girls. When you are forty, you play golf. When you are seventy, you feel like you’re twenty again, just at this stage of life other things become pleasurable. Now I love sitting with friends and sipping whiskey, talking about what was and what will be and enjoying the moment.

In 2021: (author's note). While I couldn’t get in touch with this couple, I see their FB account. They returned to their homeland right after the first strict Spanish quarantine and spent the last winter there while living in a campsite.

GRACE (66) and ALEX (69) from Scotland

Number of winters living abroad: 17

Grace’s Story: We have always told ourselves that we want to travel when we retire. Twelve years ago, we met a couple who told us about the possibility of renting home and traveling and living in a campsite during that time. That sounded very appealing. We bought a camper and left for two weeks for the first time.

Next year, we spent three months camping. Together with the British Camping and Caravanning Club, we discovered La Manga camping in Spain. That year we helped the club organize events, so we were invited to come again next year to organize events for the whole campsite. Every winter we stayed a bit longer, until finally, in 2007 we decided to sell our house in Scotland.

Throughout his life Alex tried his hand at many different jobs - driving a truck, working as a manager, writing a script for comedy. And here at the camp his dream came true - he became an event organizer. We are full of ideas and work together - we choose music, we organize events with posters, decorations. The events are sometimes attended by as many as 190 people! Our audience is international, so we learn French, Spanish, and German words so that we can address them. This year we organized a Eurovision party. The average age of the participants was over seventy-five. Many of them were real party stars!

Some people get married, have children. They build better, bigger, more spacious, more expensive homes. For us, our home was just a family house, a building. In 2002 we lost our son. Aged just twenty-two he died in a car crash. This tragic event had changed our outlook on life. We realized that life is very short and if you have the opportunity – you need to do whatever it is that you want without delay.

We had a hard time losing our son. Many couples cannot withstand such tension and start blaming each other. For us, there was no one to blame. We just came to realize that life would not be as it was. The most important thing is not to withdraw, but to interact and seek support. We have succeeded. The secret of our forty-one year ongoing marriage is that we can laugh in any situation, and while laughing, we see light again.

In 2021: Sad news. Alex died in October last year. Last year was very sad. Four of us in La Manga lost our husbands (but not because of a covid). I am currently processing the documents for permanent residence in Spain. Thanks to Brexit, we can only spend 90 days abroad. We organized small events at the campsite last summer, but from October to mid-January everything closed again. Hopefully things will get better at the end of spring.

STEFFI (74) and STAN (71) from Germany and UK

Number of winters living abroad: 16

Steffi’s Story: Stan came to Spain to spend his first winter abroad 16 years ago. He stayed in the camp the whole winter and enjoyed it very much – there were many activities and people were friendly. That's why he returns to La Manga every year. It's like a small village where everyone knows everyone. Often, you have more friends here than at home, because friends are easy to find here: the weather is always good, people are relaxed and have a lot of time to meet up and be outdoors. La Manga is where we met.

I had only ever been on holiday five times with my late husband. We raised three sons together. He used to say that we will go on vacation when we retire. He died on the second day of retirement. I didn't want my life to end with the loss of my husband - I was just fifty-eight. I thought, “What did I do in my life? Nothing! I have devoted all of me to my family, and now I want to have time for myself.”

Six years ago, I decided to spend a three-month holiday in Spain. My sons were not too keen on the idea, as they had come to enjoy all the support they received from me with their day-to-day chores. Upon arrival to Spain, I met Stan. Both of us went back to our own countries at the end of our holiday, but we continued to keep in touch. We met several times in Germany, then England, and finally, five years ago, we decided to move in together. My sons agreed with my choice are now are happy about it.

We call it love and we are very excited to be together. When you’re older, finding a partner and willing to change your lifestyle can be difficult. But Stan turned out to be a reliable man. Our hobbies and attitudes toward life coincide, so I consider it very lucky that we’ve met.

It is generally advisable for lonely people not to sit at home – they should travel abroad, talk with people. Perhaps not everyone will meet the love of their life, but they will surely find plenty of engaging things to do far away from loneliness and sadness.

Stan likes karaoke. He likes to sing and entertain the audience. He prepares for karaoke evenings diligently, and I am his costumes designer. Stan is not afraid to wear a dress or high heels, dress up as Mick Jagger or a clown. People are always laughing and having fun with him.

We are happy now and we are not worried about anything. Yes, Stan’s hip joint sometimes hurts, but when it’s past its due, he laughs, he’ll replace it with a new one. I think there’s no need to worry about the future at our age. Life is too short. Just live and spend we say.

In 2021: We're fine! Only Stan is waiting for a hip replacement surgery. He has a hard time walking and doesn’t want to disappoint his fans when the opportunity arises to climb the stage again! For the past few years, we have been touring New Zealand, Singapore and Dubai by our motorhome. Covid-related restrictions seriously affect our travels and plans. “Brexshit” (you know what I mean!) made Stan's life difficult. He is no longer an EU citizen, so we are waiting for a spec. visa so we can stay in Spain all winter. We plan to return to it in October. Stan learned many new songs in German, Spanish and even Portuguese. He still likes to dress up and dress up for The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Cheer and Tina Turner (weird, isn’t he!). You should see his dresses! Stan is now 71, but he believes it’s never too old to have fun. Fun and laughter is what we all need after the gloomy and devastating past year!

JEAN (78) and GERALD (83) from UK

Number of winters living abroad: 19

Jean’s Story: When we met, Gerald already owned a camper van. He thought he would have to sell it, and that his caravanning days were over. However, he didn’t know that I used to travel to the seaside with my parents back in my childhood. The nomadic lifestyle was in my blood, though I realize it’s not for everyone.

Nowadays, we spend up to five months a year traveling and camping, the rest of the time we stay in our house back in the UK. Gerald worked all his life in the energy industry that has secured him a great pension, which allows us the freedom to live our life this way. We have five children, and they are very proud of us and admire our way of life. Caravan lifestyle benefits of being able to travel and spend so much time abroad.

Recently, Gerald fell ill and had to undergo five complicated operations. One sunny Spanish morning we woke up at the camp as usual. I opened the window to enjoy the sunshine, went to take a shower, and while I stepped out Gerald had a heart attack. That time we went back to Britain following that heart attack he had to have heart surgery. He feels it’s a miracle he is alive.

We are very excited to have the strength to travel again. I feel if we had to sit around at home, we would have gotten sick and might no longer have been alive. We like this way of life; we know how to enjoy the small things. We must live in the present because we don’t know what tomorrow may bring.

The first time we spent a winter in a campervan we were fifty-seven. Back then, we thought we were too young for this. But we found many like-minded people and have come to love this lifestyle. Whenever we come to La Manga, we feel like we’re returning to school after a long summer vacation and meeting our old friends again. Some, unfortunately, are no longer with us. One of our close friends died last year.

***

Robin, Jean and Gerald’s neighbor, gets involved in the conversation. Robin recently returned from Australia. He has been living in a campervan for the last twelve years. Each year he spends three months in Spain, other time in the UK and in Australia, because this is the country his son and grandchildren live in.

„Our neighbors back home do not visit us so often,” says Robin. And when we live in a campsite, we visit each other every day. By the way, this place is a good place to die because everyone knows how to take care of you or help support your partner once you are gone. When someone passes away, all of us go to the crematorium together and then organize a tribute meeting at the pool bar. These stories are rare. Nowadays the camping staff also have a defibrillator, so they can administer first aid if needed, and hey - they're walking again. Such stories do not frighten us at our age, that’s just life.

ELITHABET ROSITA (78) and LENARD (76) from Sweden

Number of winters living abroad: 15

Elizabeth’s Story: Lenart's friend once invited us to travel to Spain with him in his camper. We accepted the offer. When we returned to Sweden the weather was terrible – it was snowy, rainy, and windy. Living on the west coast of Sweden, the weather is normally poor. It was not, therefore, a difficult decision to change our lifestyle. We bought a camper and went to Spain again, for three months this time. Since then, we have been spending six to seven winter months a year abroad and return home only for the summer months.

We sold our house in Sweden twelve years ago. We have also sold my husband’s logistics company and its three trucks. The only thing we left is our large garage where we have set up a cozy living space.

Spanish weather is excellent - there’s lots of sunshine. We are constantly laughing and talking to others - it is such a joy! Every morning we wake up, have breakfast, watch Swedish TV, read the news and chat. Afterwards, my husband goes walking or cycling. In the evenings we go to parties.

We can ride bikes, go out to restaurants or cafes with friends, or just sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine. Sweden is an expensive country, and people are not very communicative. In our country, the roads are icy, and cycling dangerous in winter. Therefore, you have to spend a lot of time at home and you don’t have many opportunities to talk to anyone. At this age, it is much more fun to be around like-minded people.

Both of us receive our pensions, but it's not a lot of money, so it would be difficult to live a high quality life in Sweden. We just don’t waste money here, we are of that age where we cannot live just for today – we have to plan for tomorrow.

I remember our parents well - they didn't live to the same age as we are now. Of course, our health is not what it used to be. But when I try to complain that I am seventy-five, other campers tell me, “Oh, you still young, we're eighty!” But if ever I feel tired in the morning, I can just go and sleep for another hour or think about life.

Half a year ago I was in a difficult state. Lenart told me if I wouldn’t stop the emotional outbursts, he would get into the car and drive back to Sweden alone. “You can stay here, I leave you all of our belongings,” he said. I was shocked, did he really want to leave me after thirty one years of marriage? However, we then went for a long silent walk, looked around at other people, anger subsided, and everything went back to the good old ways.

Sometimes, we quarrel, but we get over it quickly – I just go out and do something. When you are at this age, you do not fight. We have little time, so we must be very kind to each other.

NORMA (83) and TADGE (84) from England

Norma’s Story: Tadge served in the Royal Air Force, so he had to live in various parts of the World: Hong Kong, Oman, Borneo, Germany, and Indonesia. I traveled with him, and later the whole family traveled with to wherever Tadge worked. He aided in the aftermath of the bombing on Christmas islands and was treated for post-traumatic stress syndrome for a long time. Tadge says I am the secret of our successful marriage - because I am forgiving and understanding. We are very pleased with our life. It seems we have been blessed. We were fifteen and sixteen when we met, and we have been together for sixty-five years.

We are from Liverpool, so we are not shy. We grew up with The Beatles. Tadge’s mother worked as a nurse with Paul McCartney's mother. Paul and Tadge played together in childhood. John Lennon studied in my sister's class. At that time we lived on Penny Lane, about The Beatles sang.

We are open and friendly and have nothing to hide. It's easy to live like this. That's why we know a lot of people on this campsite. After all, you have to communicate with your neighbors, no matter where you live. This is typical for adults from Liverpool, a city-port. You can't wait for six weeks to get to know people because the ship will only stay in the port for six days. So, when you meet someone you ask, “Where are you from? From Abyssinia? OK, how do you live there? What's the weather there?”, and then you invite them for a cup of tea or lunch. The people of Liverpool do this all the time.

In our home town, we learned to accept people as they are. All people are alike - no matter whether they’re from Australia, Lithuania or Spain - in an hour’s time everyone is talking about children, homes or animals. If you see humanity as one family, the world becomes a friendly place to live. It seems to me that people do not suffer from depression. They suffer from loneliness. These people do not need drugs, they need friends.

In England we must travel dozens of miles to meet friends and restaurants are expensive, so the elderly rarely visit them. But our home in England is always crowdy. Last year, we spent four days during Christmas at our house with all our children and grandchildren under one roof. Our big family likes to be together and loves each other very much. Three children, nine grandchildren, two great grandchildren, and families’ friends.

When we return home, they all need to be taken care of - food needs preparing. I always hear, “Mom, can you look after the kids? We’re going out”. We love all of them very much, but we want to live our life too. We go to Spain in our camper and hide from them. We do this for at least five or seven months of the year.

WALLY(61) and HERBERT (73) from Germany

Number years campervanning: 41

Wally’s Story: We learned about Mar Manor Bay while traveling through Croatia. People told us that there’s a gentle breeze and a bay where it is safe to windsurf. When we first arrived, we stayed at the La Manga campsite, but the place did not leave any impression. On the contrary, we traveled by car through the campsite and thought - what's going on here? Elderly people talked, drank wine, laughed. We had originally thought we would stay just that one time, but we have been coming back for twelve years now.

We travel and live at the camp in the spring and autumn. Every day we get up, get coffee, go for a walk, go birdwatching, talk to people. If the wind is not suitable for windsurfing, we get on the motorcycle and drive to find a new tapas place. Herbert is a very charismatic, open-minded man, so people are drawn to him. It doesn't bother me, because it makes many unexpected, wonderful things happen in my life. I allow Herbert to be himself. We have been together for thirty-two years.

When he met me, he felt in love with me right away - I was a freckled redhead. And he had a camper! Even back then I thought it was fantastic. Thirty years ago we knew we wanted to travel a lot and live the way we live now. Year after year we worked, we saved up some money, we travelled around Europe. We wanted to see the world. Normal life is not for us, so we have just a small house in the Alps where we spend our summers and winters. We travel the rest of the time.

We chose this lifestyle. My mum is complaining that we didn’t have any kids. But it's our life and we can do with it whatever we want. I worked in the medical field and retired early at forty-seven. People tried to scare us, “What are you doing? Because you retired early, you will end up with no money,” they said. But we still have enough, especially that we don't have to worry about kids or grandkids.

I have been windsurfing since I was twenty-three, and Herbert has been playing guitar for almost fifty years. Music was an important part of Herbert’s life growing up Nowadays, he plays the guitar two hours a day – he is learning new songs and sings in several languages. It is very good exercise for the brain.

When he plays, he gets younger. And when he sang “La Paloma” the other day, the Spaniards came and kissed him. We believe that it is important to be open and friendly with those around us, but we never engage in well-meaning attempts of being told how to live our lives, as the most important thing for us is to be able to live our lives our way.

In 2021: Despite all the warnings, we arrived in La Manga at the end of March. What an amazing feeling to be here! We stayed home for the past year because of covid and missed our friends here very much. Social media cannot replace live communication. So we hope that the restrictions on movement will end with vaccination. We bought a new caravan and are planning many trips in the future.

Estonian MAYA (68 M.)

Number of winters abroad: 5

I raised four children, the youngest is twenty-eight. Back in Estonia I owned and worked in a private kindergarten for twenty-four years. My work was intense and stressful work and personal life simultaneously. I felt exhausted and tired, so decided it was time to focus on myself. I sold the house, bought a small apartment near Tallinn and a caravan. On the weekends I would spend time in the woods in my caravan.

After retirement, a friend suggested to go somewhere with a warmer climate. So, I searched “A warm place for the winter” on Google. I found an article written by a couple from Estonia about a campsite in Spain, where you can stay the whole winter. This was it! 4000 km from Estonia, travelling on less than ideal roads, but I did it! I met the authors of the article and we have now become close friends. Unfortunately, this winter, the wind tore down the tent that was attached to the side of the camper. So, I had to move to the bungalow mid-season.

There are a lot of activities here. I attend dance classes from Mondays to Thursdays. On Thursdays I go to karaoke, my friends sing. There are parties on Fridays, live music on Saturdays, and a German disco and sauna on Sundays. I walk 10,000 steps a day with walking sticks. Food in Spain is very fresh and delicious. The sun is always out, and the sky is blue pretty much all of the time.

Society says you must save money, pay off your loans, raise children and save a lot of money for old age. When I was thirty, I thought I’d help my kids retire. But my children have money, they have children of their own, their separate lives. So now they just get to enjoy a happy mom. Now I’m not afraid to put myself first, I’m not afraid to be happy.

I think I have a plan for the way I want to live my life until the end - eight months in Spain and four in Estonia with my grandchildren. I really like this way of life because for the first time in my life I can ask myself every morning, “Maya, what would you like to do today?” And I can realize what I plan. My whole life was dedicated to my children and my work. Finally, I have time for myself. I realized that living in the camp changed my outlook on life.

Although I don’t have a partner, I don't feel lonely. I don’t feel lonely among like-minded people. I think sometimes, people living with a partner might feel lonelier than those living alone. I am sixty-five, I'm not in a rush to get anywhere, I can enjoy a two-hour coffee in the morning. I feel full of strength and youth.

I think older people need to relax and tell themselves: That’s it. I need to rest. This is a decision they need to make themselves. And then they need to follow through. Until a decision is made, you think, you worry about everything – but once you’ve decided to slow down and relax a lot of the worries simply disappear. Back in Estonia, friends ask, “What are you doing over there in Spain?” and I answer simply: we just live.

In 2021: (author's note) Although Maya was unable to contact, her Estonian friends Valdur and Maria said that Maya wintered in La Manga until the beginning of April, later her daughter came here with her family and took her on a month's vacation.

Thanks for reading!

Stories of the joy and wisdom from LA MANGA CARAVANING CAMPING were published in Lithuanian magazine “IQ LIFE”, June issue, 2019