Thusrday 9th July 2015
S and F set off on their way to Spain today, they were driving down and meeting me in Bordeaux at the airport. The roads were very busy and they missed the lunchtime tunnel booking and had to get the next one! They spent the night at the Aire in Le Touquet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Touquet
Friday 10th July 2015
Walked along the beautiful beach and then had breakfast in the town. There should be photos of this but they have got lost in the ether somewhere.... Headed south for the next stop at the municipal at Ezy sur Eure. Quiet site with good facilities and a helpful owner.
Saturday 11th July 2015
Still heading south for Bordeaux, lunch at Marboue and then onto the N10 along the banks of the Loire and so on to Vendome and the municipale.
Sunday 12th July 2015
After an early awakening by an abandoned child, headed off again, stopping in Tours for lunch - what a beautiful city
After lunch on the banks of the river, headed on to Poitiers and a site in Avanton, just north of Poitiers.
Monday 13th July 2015
Van had a trip to the car wash today as there had been a problem with a slight fuel leak. Everything cleaned and tightened and fixed. Walked into Poitiers, nice but not as impressive as Tours.
Tuesday July 14th 2015
Packed up and headed to the airport in Bordeaux. Height restrictions to get into the airport...eventually was allowed to park in a car hire space, not ideal though, got there in time and that's what is important.
Well, this is day one for me, S and F left a few days ago and are driving down to meet me at the airport in Bordeaux.!
Arrived in Bordeaux at 15.40 to beautiful sunshine and warmth and off we went to look for somewhere to stay the night. We found a lovely municipale site at
Mimizanhttp://www.mimizanlac-camping.com/campsite-france-landes.html
It is a very large site situated on a lake, with lots of watersports available. There are lots of nice walks and it is very scenic. An area towards the front of the site for short stay motorhomes and vans.
Day 2 - Wednesday July 15th
This was a day spent travelling to Northern Spain - Mimizan, Castets, Bayonne, Bidart, St Jean de Luz, Irun, San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander and finally to our destination Llanes and our campsite - Camping las Conchas
.http://campinglasconchas.blogspot.co.uk/
We has chosen this campsite after doing some research on Spanish beaches. The beach is at a place called Poo, which of course, English speakers will find quite amusing! The reviews were good, a secluded bay which would fill up with warm water at high tide, no big waves and no sudden dips, so perfect! (in theory).
The campsite was disappointing. We had booked in advance and there were a few pitches to choose from, but they were very small and very close to the next pitch. However, the toilets, showers and disabled facilities were good so we were willing to give it a go. The weather was not on our side though, it was cloudy, humid and not at all hot! We walked down to the beach from the site, and it looked nice but there was no one there due to the chilly weather.
There was a small bar/restaurant on site. S had checked it out and said that they did burger and chips to take away. We were hungry and tired so decided to go with it. Hmmm it didn't bode well when S asked for it, to be directed to a table to sit down. But maybe that was just to wait while they cooked it? Yes, they cooked it okay but it was not burger and chips! The sight of the meal was quite disconcerting, partly familiar - egg and chips! but wait, there are weird looking slimey bits all over it!!
No way could I eat this! (F wasn't keen either and he eats ANYTHING!) I picked mine all off!
Haha now we definitely knew that it was not burger and chips and it wasn't a take away! It turned out to the the only dish they served and a local delicacy!
Another strange occurrence, if that wasn't enough, was the strange bar man. He was a very large and booming man and had a very hard to understand Spanish accent. Were we worried that when he had established that we were English, he announced to the world that he was Argentinian? Just a bit!
Day 3 Thursday 16th July 2015
It was a very noisy night with beeping alarms, we awoke, still tired, to a very grey sky. Temperature only 20 degrees. We were depressed to hear that it was hotter in the UK, NO!! We checked on our weather apps - the forecast was no sun for the next 3 days :(
We drove into the small town on Llanes to go to the supermarket and have a look round. The old part of the town was pretty and there was a pleasant small beach.
After lunch, the weather got a bit better so we walked down to Poo beach again. It was very quiet and after an hour or so it clouded over again. Disappointing.
We had paid up to date, so were thinking of leaving early although we had planned to stay a week.
Day 4 Friday 17th July
A trip to Llanes beach in the morning, the sun was out and there is good disabled parking very close to the beach.
From Llanes we drove along the coast to Ribadesella, it is a scenic drive along the rugged coast.
We went over the bridge to the old part of the town. There is a pretty esplanade with large listed houses built around 1914. It was great to walk along the seafront and look at the architecture.
We drove back along the coast and stopped for lunch.
In the afternoon we went back down to Poo beach and the tide was in and the lagoon was full. F enjoyed himself but the weather clouded over again.
Day 5 Saturday 18th July 2015
Not a good night, there were dogs barking most of the time, keeping us awake and when we got up it was cloudy and overcast. We decided it was time to leave. We took the scenic route through the Reserva Nacional. and around the big lake, Embalse del Ebro. It was all very green and mountainous!
On Puerta del Palombera, one of the highest points, we stopped to look at the wild ponies that had gathered there.
We travelled on down past Burgos
and stopped for a drink en route, much hotter inland - 34 degrees
Day 6 Sunday 19th July 2015
A day spent driving in the direction of the next site we had booked, near Valencia. So on we went towards Soria and Zaragoza. It was very hot and very empty everywhere. Deserted and derelict houses, empty and derelict cafes and bars. Lots of graffiti and lots of anti fracking signs!
We headed towards Albarracin, a medieval town, where we planned to stay the night. It was a very good campsite
http://www.campingalbarracin.com/
The showers and toilets were excellent and there was a good priced restaurant (10.50 E for 3 courses!). It was 23E for one night which seemed very good value. No time to look around the medieval town that evening so decided to go in the morning.
Day 7 - Monday 20 July 2015
Pleasantly cool in the morning, but it soon warmed up again. There were lots of English people on the site, either on their way home or heading south like us. To make less work and save time, we had breakfast in the cafe/restaurant. Only 5E for loads of juice, coffee, croissants and toast! It took about 45 minutes to pack away the van - we had not been putting the awning up as we had been travelling, but it takes more than an hour to pack if it's up.
We went to have a look around the medieval town. It was already 29 degrees at 9am and it was a steep climb.
Left at around 10.15 towards Teruel and then headed further south. It was very hot all the way down 31 degrees +. When we got to Valencia, we then went down the motorway to Oliva. At 6pm when we arrived it was 37 degrees!
We had arrived at our next site, Kiko Park, which fortunately had the space for us to arrive early and extend our stay. We had a large pitch with a shade which is close to the beach, much like this one.
http://www.kikopark.com/en/index.html
Once we were settled in, we went down to look at the beach!
Day 8 Tuesday 21 July 2015
It was just too hot for S in the awning and he had to sleep in the van with the travel fan on him all night! We walked down to the beach about 10am. It is only a few minutes walk and is prefect for F. The water is warm and shallow with good fine sand. We did see a lot of jellyfish today though!
After lunch it got very hot 38 degrees and we set off in the van to hunt for some air con! We went to Gandia to a big shopping complex. S bought a bigger fan! Dinner in McDonalds. Never was air con so welcomed! And it was still very hot when we got back to the van...
Day 9 Wednesday 22nd July 2015
We all had a bit of a lie in this morning and got to the beach about 11. There were lots of jelly fish today and S became "Jellyfish Man"! By the end of the morning there were quite a few at various points on the beach.!
Today we spotted a man wearing an Ansett cap (from a now defunct Australian national airline that my brother in law used to work for) and S stopped for a chat. It turns out that C did some work for them but had not met bro in law!
Lots of annoying mosquito bites :( mostly on me, no one else seems to have them and I have been spraying everywhere!
The hot weather has not had a good effect on our built in fridge it got very hot when plugged in to hook up and then decided to stop completely. It was still working on gas and when driving but we thought it might be a good idea to look for one we could plug into the mains. We went to a shopping centre at La Port Marine. It was massive and over two floors and lovely air conditioning! Little did we know that shopping centres would be our first choice of occupation over the coming days! No fridges to be found, so we drove on further to Xavia. A pretty round bay, pebbly beach but a nice cosmopolitan atmosphere. Had drinks in a seafront bar.
The trip out in the van that afternoon showed again the effects of the recession. There were lots of empty properties, garages, petrol stations and some areas looked very rough and run down. The real shocker though was the number of prostitutes lining the main roads in the middle of the day. When I saw the first lady standing with her handbag at the end of a little lane, I thought maybe she was lost or her car had broken down, until I saw the white plastic garden chair placed there for her to sit on! After that whenever I saw them, I just wanted to say to them "What are you doing? You don't need to do this!" I renamed this main road, "Prostitute Alley".
Day 10 Thursday 23rd July 2015
Woke up to another sunny morning. How can it be 30 degrees before 9am?
We went to the beach again in the morning
It really is a great beach and it does get quite crowded later on in the day. At midday there is an astonishing display of aqua aerobics, always very entertaining!
Afternoon trip to Cascaixent, on another fridge hunt. No firdge but S bought a fishing rod. ANother shopping centre, more air con - pattern emerging here perhaps?
Too hot to cook, to the site pizzeria for tea.
Day 11 Friday July 24th 2015
They emptied the bins today at 8.15! No one is allowed a lie-in! And today the tap on the sink stopped working and we needed to get a replacement. We were informed that the caravan accessory shop is open today, so we headed out. First to the market in Oliva, but it was mostly fruit and veg and although it looked very pretty, it wasn't very interesting and the weather was very hot again. The market was full of elderly senoras with frantically waving fans - and they were the very ones that we all buy as souvenirs! They really do use them!!
So we find ourselves driving down Prostitute Alley again. 10.30 am and there they are all are sitting on their white plastic garden chairs already.....A tap was purchased but they had no suitable fridges. Back for lunch and then on to the beach. We got there at 2ish and stayed till 5.30 which in retrospect was way too long and it was painfully hot - we all got a bit sunburnt. We bumped into Chris and Clare again, who told us about a really good market they they have been to on previous stays in the area, and they offered to show us where it was. Seemed like a good idea.
32 degrees at 9.30 pm, waiting for it to cool down so that we can eat! I want rain, snow, hail! I am holidaying in Sweden next summer! Who could believe that I (self confessed heat addict) could find it tooooo hot?!
Day 12 Saturday July 25th 2015
We awoke to a cloudy day and 29 degrees, finally a bi of relief from the unrelenting heat. We met Chris and Clare at 9.30 and set off for the market in Xalo (Jalon) which is about 30km south of Oliva. It was quite a drive away but definitely worth it, it was massive!
We bought some presents to take home, went for a coffee and then on to the winery. It is called the Bodegas Xalo
http://seriouslyspain.com/visit-bodegas-xalo-in-jalon-spain-for-some-of-the-best-and-cheapest-wine
It was very reasonably priced and I got a very pretty bottle on limoncello. We decided to picnic in the mountains and set off to look for a suitable spot. It was only when we stopped that Chris realised that he no longer had Clare's purse (after using it to buy fruit from a seller near the car park). He set off back to the market and after a long wait and saga, he returned and it seemed that he wasn't the only one to be targeted - three other British tourists were also the victims of pick pockets.
We had a lovely evening at their rented house in Oliva Old Town
https://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p8055227
having a barbeque. They have a secluded terrace at the back of the house, complete with curious rat!
Day 13 Sunday July 26th
The sea was very noisy and stormy last night and it even rained and woke me up, it was that loud. By 9 am it was all hot and dry again. We went down to the beach and it was all big waves and over vigilant life guards. Too hot to do anything, even moving is an effort....
Day 14 Monday July 27th 2015
We spent the morning doing the washing - at least it dries quickly - though the walk in the sun to the launderette is torture and you have to prepare yourself as if for an expedition - hat, cream, sunglasses, liberal spray of deodorant and loose clothes...
Steve fitted the new tap.
We went to the beach, lunch and then the air conditioned bliss of the shopping centres, I don't know how we would survive without this respite from the heat.
Too hot to cook again, so we went out for dinner and let someone else do it :-)
Day 15 Tuesday July 28th 2015
So these days are beginning to look all the same; beach, lunch, S went fishing and F and I watched a DVD. We went to the café to use their wifi (any excuse) and actually managed to cook our own tea, it must have been a slightly cooler day.
Day 16 Wednesday July 29th 2015
Went to the beach in the morning and after lunch we went for a drive to have a look at the local area. We went through the mountains to La Lacuna and then on to L'Orxa and then back to Gandia. Stunning views.
L'Orxa
We drove down these streets! Eek!
Torre del Castell de Perputxent, l'Orxa
Raindrops for 10 minutes today but no rain!
Day 17 Thursday July 30th 2015
Thunder and lightning and very heavy rain. Met up with C and C and went for a drive in the mountains. The mountains were bare with lots of burnt tree stumps - the results of many fires because of the hot weather, either caused by lightning strikes or arson. We went to Pego and Val d'Elba, where we had lunch. Big downpours and thunder storms all the way. But strangely enough we did not mind!
Our next task was to get a new tyre for Evangeline as all this travelling had meant a lot of wear. Quite a challenge trying to explain to a non-English speaking Spanish mechanic exactly what you want done and how much you are prepared to pay for it! Anyway, it eventually got done and dusted whilst F and I sat in Senor Mecanico's air conditioned office!
Taxi to C and C's for another welcome BBQ. C is a star and offered to do all our washing for us as she knows how hard it is to do at the site.
Day 18 Friday July 31st 2015
Very noisy sea all night and a cloudy 29 this morning. We went to the beach and there were big waves and F loved it!
Later we spent some time sorting out Evangeline and our mountains of stuff, as we are leaving tomorrow. It is very windy but still too hot to do anything.
We had a farewell dinner with C and C at the Pizzeria, they have been very good friends to us and to F.
There is a blue moon tonight and there is a blue moon party at the beach bar. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it was a wash out, we had hardly been there 10 minutes and it tipped down with rain!
Day 19 Saturday August 1st 2015
Heavy rain all night and the awning is soaked through, right into the groundsheet, who would have believed it?! Had to pack everything away in the rain, which is not fun....
Some good news though is that we had a bargain with the payment for our stay at Kiko Park - it was only 403 Euros for a massive pitch with electricity and water for 13 nights :-)
Set off for our next stop Taragona
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarragona
and a HOTEL! Hotel Canada
http://www.hotelcanada.es/
We arrived at the hotel about 4pm and it was very drab and rather unfriendly..The room was okay - a triple room with 3 single beds, but the walls were thin and it was very noisy with our room looking out onto the main road. The air conditioning was a unit on the wall and also noisy but we could not bear to sleep in the room without it.
We drove into the city to look round and have dinner and it is beautiful, impressive buildings and lots of roman remains. The restaurants all have tables outside and the prices are very reasonable - we paid 10E each for 3 courses and a drink.
Roman Ruins
Beautiful architecture
Down by the sea
Day 20 Sunday August 2nd 2015
Today we set off for ROSES
http://www.spain-holiday.com/Roses
It was hot and sunny but now as oppressive as in Oliva. We motored past Barcelona and onto the coast. Arriving about 4.30 at Camping Aquarius.
http://www.aquarius.es/index.php?id=319&L=1
It is near the small village of Sant Pere Pescador
We chose this site as it has direct access to a fab long beach and hopefully a child friendly sea. First things first though and we had to dry everything out as we had packed everything up in the pouring rain. Our carpet from the awning was very smelly, but luckily we had a choice of hedges to hang it all over! The temperature was much more bearable. S actually slept in the awning - after weeks in the van with the fan directed on him! and I was cold!!
Day 21 Monday August 3rd 2015
It was a chilly morning! YAY! but by 10 am it was sunny and hot. The site is mainly used by Germans and we knew this before we booked, but it did seem strange to be completely surrounded! On our previous sites the majority of the campers were Spanish. There were a few Brits about and we made the effort to say hello so as not to feel too outnumbered! In the morning we went down to the beach and it was very impressive.
Unfortunately our neighbours were not very concerned about how much noise they made and we were woken up in the early hours by returning teenagers.....
Day 22 Tuesday 4th August 2015
Today we went to the market in Palermos. It was very busy and very difficult to park even with a blue badge. We managed to get a few things and F some more sandals as his were rubbing his feet.
S had camped in this area many years ago with his family when he was a small boy, so he wanted to go back to where they stayed to see if it had changed.
He had stayed at Camping Calonghe
http://www.intercalonge.com/
And it had changed a lot, almost 10 times bigger!
There were a lot of steps to the beach, which was quite small and very crowded
We then went to Sant Feliu de Guixols
and walked around the town. It was still very hot.
Called in at the Ceramica on the way home. Lots of great pottery.
Day 23 Wednesday 5th August 2016
A quiet day on the beach, followed by a trip to Rosas, McDonalds (Cool air and wifi!)
Day 24 Thursday 6th August 2016
Another quiet day spent on the site. It is still very hot during the day, but at least it is cooler at night.
Day 25 Friday 7th August 2016
This was our last full day at St Pere Pescador. After a walk to the beach in the morning, we drove inland to the Olympic rowing lake at Banyoles. Such a nice place to walk around, quiet and shaded.
Then we drove further inland to a large reservoir Panta de Boadella
There was a little beach in sight, so we set off to find it
Really secluded with a small restaurant
This was at Darnius Lake.
Day 26 Saturday August 8th 2015
Turned cloudy, time to leave. We headed off towards Andorra. It was very grey and windy as we got higher up, but beautiful scenery on the way.
Right at the top there was a huge storm, with heavy rain and thunder and lightning. Luckily there was a hotel restaurant there for everyone to take shelter in
and so on to Andorra La Vella, the main town in Andorra. A quick wifi stop for food and to search for a hotel to book and then into the centre of town Nice triple room within the old quarter of the town.
http://www.hotelespel.com/en/
In the evening we walked into the centre and although there were a few nice buildings, it was mostly a disappointment, lots of shops but mainly perfume, cigarettes and alcohol! It was very busy even at 9pm at night and the streets were full of people smoking as much as they could! This was probably because branded cigarettes were only the equivalent of £2 per packet!
The rain stopped but it was cool. Bath time at last! The hotel room was modern and spacious and the bathroom was lovely.
Day 27 Sunday August 9th 2015
So the hotel was full of promise but not a good night's sleep, the beds were very hard :( so we were on the road again by 9.30. We drove up through Andorra.
The road was very windy and steep and there was a lot of low cloud and fog on the top of the mountain.
I expect it is beautiful in winter with all the snow, but it was not attractive in the summer.
As we got nearer to the French border there were queues of cars waiting to get in for all that tax free shopping. Fuel too was very cheap 93cents per litre. So on we drove down the mountain and into France. More rain through Toulouse and Auch, and then for the campsite hunt. We ended up in the lovely site Camping Estel near Agen, run by Honey and her husband who were from the Netherlands. They were very welcoming to us, even though we were just a one night stop. What a beautiful spot.
Day 28 Monday August 10th 2015
Today we set off for Bairritz. Weather improving and we arrived around 4pm. We tried to get on the site that we stayed on years ago at Bidart - Le Pavillon Royale - but it was fuly booked. We finally found a site where they had spots for campervans and motor homes next to their lake. There were a few campers but it was mostly mobile homes and chalets run by large tour operators.
http://www.camping-le-ruisseau.fr/en/home-camping-bidart.html
The pools were amazing, small kids would love it. Unfortunately we are pitched very close to the generator which is very loud, I guess we will get used to it.
Friendly swan on the lake!
Day 29 Tuesday August 11th 2015
We went to Uhabia beach in Bidart in the morning. It had lots of large waves which F loved. When we had previously been on the west coast of France, he had not lied them at all, so we thought he would not enjoy it but he found it really funny! Weather still a bit iffy, thunder and a bit of rain. Went for a shower in the evening and ooooh not god, freezing cold water. It was definitely the coldest shower I have ever had. The kiddy sinks were cute though.
Day 30 Wednesday August 12th 2015
Back down the beach for F today, but there was lots of seaweed. Had a drive round in the afternoon and went to Anglet and La Barre. It was hot weather again.
Drove back through Biarritz town and down the coast road, I love the town it is so elegant.
F and S went off for one last swim in the pools, as we are leaving tomorrow and I am heading back to the UK via Bordeaux airport
Day 31 Thursday August 13th 2015
Off to Bordeaux, a quick whizz tour
We have been here before when we stayed at Lacanau, but we had to see the Miroir d'Eau again at the Place de la Bourse
http://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/Discover-Bordeaux/Must-See/Water-mirror
I would love to see it at night.
S and F headed off to Bergerac and wine country, stopping at an Aire in Montbarillac, very picturesque.
Friday 14th August 2015
Today was a detective adventure to try to find a particular vineyard that had produced a bottle of wine that S had particularly enjoyed on last year's French adventure. Success and 18 bottles stowed away in the van! Heading north to Aix sur Vienne, where stopped in the Camping municipale les Greves on the banks of the river.
Saturday 15th August 2015/ Sunday 16th August 2015
Shopping north of Limoges and then on to Chartres where they stayed for 2 nights. The cathedral is very impressive and undergoing a restoration at present.
Monday 17th August 2015
Packed up and headed for the port. Heavy rain but arrived in time for the train on the Eurotunnel and there was a 90 minute delay!
Finally home after 5 weeks and 5 days and 4,500 miles :)
Where to next?? :)
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