Dinner last night turned out to be quite memorable! Kerrie had deer - she doesn't think it was the one whose head was hanging on the wall! Greg had Ratatouille which he said was delicious. Chris ordered ham and that's what he got, a plate full of ham! He then decided to order a salad to go with it and ended up with a salad covered in tuna - which he does not eat BUT, the wine was great!

We arrived at our Beach Chalet in Rota right on 4pm to pick up the keys. The only issue was that Chris was not with us! We had stopped for morning coffee about 11am. When we went to get back on the bikes, Chris's would not start! Greg and Chris tried everything that their mechanical knowledge allowed - check the fuses, check the battery connections, does it have fuel? 15 minutes later they were out of ideas. We resorted to the phone and internet to call for help. This was not as easy as we thought it would be. After multiple phone calls including several to Australia Chris finally organised roadside assistance through the NRMA however we had no idea how long it would take. The group decision was made for Greg and I to continue to Rota to check in to our beach chalet and Chris would catch us up, hopefully sooner rather than later! We were also to meet Tom Stevenson, a friend that Chris had invited to share the Chalet - and to help pay the rent! We also sold him one of our spare MotoGP tickets so, Craig and Marg - 71 Euro will be coming your way when we get home.

The Chalet has been the topic for much discussion since Kerrie booked it online 6 months ago. Total cost for 4 nights for 6 people was only 448 Euro, even shared 4 ways it was a bargain. The discussion was whether the accommodation would turn out to be a Beach Chalet or a beach shack! We are happy to announce that it was .............. well, you decide for yourself from the photos in the album.

Chris finally arrived the next afternoon after replacing the bike battery that was apparently causing the problem. Tom also arrived later that night so Greg and I had the 3 bedroom Chalet to ourselves for the first night.

The day after our arrival we headed off to Circuito De Jerez for day one of the MotoGP. We like to go on practice day to check out the viewing spots and decide where to sit for the racing. We had seats in Tribunal 9 - grandstand so checked it out and decided we really did not like the location or view of the track. We checked out the Pelouse (lawn) areas and picked one that had seats and a reasonable view with a screen we could see. We walked around the outside of the whole track, about 6km - we did it in chunks with drink stops and rests in between walking due to the heat. The crowd today was bigger than we have seen at any MotoGP Friday session that we have been to - the Spanish are MotoGP MAD after all! After watching the Practice sessions and checking out the merchandise for sale we returned to the entrance for a cold drink before riding back to The Chalet.

Chris was not there but his bike was! Chris was checking out our private beach. Tom did not arrive until after 8pm when we all shared a bottle of Rose.

Next morning Chris, Greg and I headed back to the track for Day 2 of MotoGP, Tom also came to the track in his VW Combi. We wandered around to the Pelouse and settled in to watch Qualifying. Jack Miller did well getting in to Qualifying 2 - that is, the best 10 times from Practice. Cal Crutchlow qualified 1st so would start in Pole position with him on the front row was Dani Pedrosa and Johann Zarco. Jack only managed to qualify 12th so would start on the fourth row of the grid.

Day 3 of MotoGP is Race Day. Greg and I left the Chalet at 8:15am trying to beat the rush. No Luck! Traffic was heavy for the last 5 km approaching the circuit. We have never seen so many police blowing whistles, directing so many bikes! Despite the traffic, we had soon parked the bike, changed shoes and set off to pick our viewing spot. Chris and Tom joined us later to watch the race action. We were treated to a great aerobatic display from the Patrulla Aguila (Spanish for "Eagle Patrol") before the MotoGP began. Racing was fierce and close until 3 riders crashed out gifting the race to the winner.

Results:

Moto 3 won by Philipp Oettl followed by Marco Bezzecchi and Marcos Ramirez

Moto 2 won by Lorenzo Baldassari followed by Miguel Olivera and Francesco Bagnaia

MotoGP won by Marc Marquez followed by Johann Zarco and Andrea Iannone. Jack Miller finished 6th after Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Dovisioso all crashed out towards the end of the race. Jack was even ahead of Valentino Rossi for several laps.

After a dinner of Calamari, Espadin (whitebait), Potatas Bravas and a cold beer at the track most of the crowd had dispersed and we had an easy ride back to our Chalet.

Our 3 days of a Spanish MotoGP had been all we had hoped for - huge crowds, great racing and vocal supporters. Memories have been made! Time to move on.