We were a couple of 20-somethings, making the pilgrimage to Europe in 1970. The world was opening up and, with a new sense of freedom, young Australians were heading to the northern hemisphere in droves.
In London, we acquired a beaten-up van that had transported a number of other young travellers around the Continent. Despite its appearance, we were assured the vehicle had another trip in it.
We made our way south in late November, chasing the sun. The Costa Brava in Spain was our goal, lured by visions of orange groves and sun-drenched beaches. Following our guidebook, we headed for a camping site on the coast not far from Valencia. As we neared the area, the weather came in. We found the campsite, on a rather remote beach, and were surprised to find it deserted — closed for the off-season, we later heard. There were one or two houses nearby, all in darkness; probably holiday homes, we thought. Too late to find somewhere else, we decided to camp there.
As we were settling down for the night in the back of the van we noticed a figure sitting on the veranda of one of the nearby houses, binoculars trained in our direction. A bit of uneasiness set in as we climbed into our sleeping bags. The throbbing of a motorbike passing our van soon roused us from our sleep.
We peered out the window into the darkness and were more than a little concerned to find that the figure with the binoculars was still there. Our unease deepened as, throughout the night, the motorbike stayed around and the person on the veranda kept vigil.
After periods of fitful sleep we scrambled to the window to find our watcher gone and the sun shining. Relieved to see the light of day, we moved off hastily. In conversation with a local shopkeeper we discovered smuggling was rife between this coast and Morocco.
In our endless discussions about that night, we decided we must have appeared suspicious in our old van on a deserted part of the coast at that time of year. However, who the watcher was and which side of the law he was on, still remain a mystery.
Our night of anxiety soon took on an air of excitement. It was a very good tale to be shared with fellow travellers at the next camping ground.
Source: The Australian
Author: KAREN CRAWFORD
