25th March 2024 – Searching for the sun

We chose the scenic route to cross the south coast and after getting around Malaga, the A92 headed east and we soon had some lovely views. Coming back inland from the coast gave us mountains to look at, a few had tops with snow, farmland with cattle in various colours, acres of vegetables being cut by hand with large lorries waiting to be loaded. There were olive and almond trees, orange and lemon trees where we could see both blossom and fruit on the trees as we passed by. The further east we got the landscape changed to browns, rocks and dry river beds. Did that hold a promise of sun? The sky was still grey and temperatures only around 16° but the forecast was promising. Eventually we settled at a campsite near Isla Plana, and went for a very blustery walk next day beside a murky looking sea, but we did find a couple of caches and had a coffee before walking back. Oh well, tomorrow could be better.

On the last day there was a definitely an improvement, we walked the opposite direction and found a couple more caches, the sea looked better under a blue sky although it was still fairly turbulent and I found a nice small, natural arch about 3 feet high to photograph, not sure how long it will last. After a jug of sangria we made our way back, in the evening we watched as the fading sun lit up the mountains and clouds.

Heading north of Alicante to Villajoyosa, we met up with Phil and Rose who had kindly reserved a pitch for us. Lots of catching up to do with the aid of beers and snacks, we chatted on until early evening. The next couple of days seemed to have a pattern, sunny mornings, clouding over and getting windy or rainy. The motorhome got a clean up, 2 loads of washing dried in the sun, and I finished another book. Walking into the town reminded me of our last visit here in 2018 as we looked at the colourful houses lining the street overlooking the beach. We stopped for a drink on the wide promenade, the sun disappeared and the wind increased, so by the time we walked back it wasn’t quite as pleasant.

After 4 days we moved on and visited friends Trevor and Irene in Parcent, enjoying a meal together in the local village of Alcalalí where we had visited for the almond festival in previous years.  It was lovely to catch up again and hear what has been happening in Parcent, and we came away with a gift of a lovely bag of lemons, fabulous for our gin and tonics! We stayed nearby at a really new and modern campsite in Benigembla which was first class, quiet, huge pitches and beautiful mountain views all around. We messaged Phil and Rose about it, and a day later they joined us so we had a great time again, including an extra day stay for us to have lunch together in the village.

There were some beautiful artworks on the buildings within the village and some are still being created, it was lovely walking around to see them all and admire the creativity.

Heading north again we headed to the Ebro Delta for some birding and geocaching, the two went very well together and we spent an enjoyable first evening collecting 9 caches and adding many birds to our list. The following day we walked nearly 5 miles in the opposite direction, collected a further 8 caches and added great white egret, glossy ibis, zitting cisticola and purple heron among others; total so far is 58 species. We plan to return to this area again one September for the rice harvest and a different range of birds.

In a change of direction and initially following the coast towards Tarragona, we turned west and made our way to the small town of Almenar just passed Lleida where there was a free Aire for the night. A walk around showed us there wasn’t much there, a church high up overlooking wonderful views, and that was it really.

We pushed on towards Jaca just south of the French border where we stayed on another free camper stop area close into the town. On a grey but warm day and having already visited the fort here on a previous occasion, we did a geocaching walk around seeing parts of the town previously missed. We found some parks, statues, and signs attached to some trees, in braille only, that someone would have had to climb over a hedge to get to, very odd! Also a scenic lawn of daisies, woodpile and an old bike just right for a photo.

Now the Spanish section of our trip is over. The original plan of returning home through Portugal was changed due to bad weather, and another change resulted in us abandoning the possibility of another horrible ferry journey across Biscay. Instead we favoured driving up through France to Caen for a shorter ferry to Portsmouth. The joys of motorhoming are being able to replan and change on a whim, so next stop France!

1-24 March 2024, Dequesa near Manillva

We’ve been settled at Camping Bella Vista on the coast near the pretty marina at Dequesa for the last 3 weeks. Putting up our awning was a challenge as it’s been many months since the last time, but it was soon organized and adds any more square feet of space to spread ourselves about. We’ve been to this site a number of times and wanted some down-time in the sun with little running around, time to relax and refresh memories of this area. Plenty of walks along the coast, adding in some geocaching along the way, stopping off at the beach bars and at the marina provided us with exercise and refreshments. Jigsaws, embroidery and reading have all been enjoyed as well as a couple of days on the beach, but no swimming this time, the sea is just too cold.

We hired a car after nearly two weeks and drove up to Casares and spent a morning walking around the hilltop town, up to the remains of a castle and a church that was closed. We hoped to see the vultures flying but were disappointed, only seeing them later from far below when we returned to the car.

My daughter Jennifer flew out to spend her 40^th birthday in the sun with us. It was fun showing her around the area and she enjoyed an early morning run along the promenade.

We also took the car up the coast to Estepona to see the ‘old town’ area which has been revitalized with paved areas, benches, trees and flowers. The town was recently featured on the BBC by Monty Don as he took a look at Spanish gardens around the country. The old streets now have many floral displays on the walls, with different coloured pots for each street. The effect was beautiful and together with the smell of orange blossom in the warm sunshine gave us a wonderful atmosphere to walk around in. A traditional tapas lunch outside a small restaurant and a then walk up to see the pretty church rounded off our visit.

A birthday meal together with a friend of ours finished off the couple of days perfectly, as we looked out over the marina on a warm evening before walking back to the campsite.

After dropping Jen off at Gibraltar airport, we continued into the hills to visit a castle with lovely views over the rugged countryside and the town of Jimena de la Frontera below. As the day heated up, vultures circled overhead, riding on the thermals to gain height, they are such impressive birds with a huge wingspan.

On Chris’s birthday we went for another day out, up to the small town of Coín, north east of Marbella and set high up in the hills. The weather was dull and grey, but not cold, so it was nice to be visiting somewhere different. The Officina de Turismo provided us with a map for a walking tour around the town where we found various points of interest and a few more caches to add to our tally. A traditional meat platter served on a slate, with local bread, a proper beer for Chris and my zero alcohol version was our lunch followed by an ice-cream an hour later. 

The birthday boy chose a Belgian bar in Dequesa for the evening with mussels, chips and beers, all very good and very Belgian, highly recommended!

The weather hasn’t improved over the last few days, the sky is grey and the sea is very rough. According to Google, there is a storm of Force 7 and 8 off the coast around Cádiz which is why the sea is so turbulent.

The forecast isn’t good with rain next week, so there’s no point hanging around to get wet, that’s not why we came here. Everything is packed up and we are leaving here a week early, abandoning our plan to go west into Portugal, (shame), and heading east, chasing the sun again!

20 February 2024, Spain for the Winter

We set off from Portsmouth on 20th February via ferry for Santander, now taking 32 hours for fuel economy, instead of the previous journey of 24 hours. The crossing was rough and we spent most of the time in our cabin. A journey through France another time would be more preferable but that takes several days out of our allotted Schengen allowance. It was grey and dull when we arrived, not what we’d hoped for, but eventually things improved with beautiful scenery and we soon covered over 300 miles to the edge of Monfrague National Park for a one night stay.

Onward again to the small town of Villanueva de la Serena that we had seen on a TV program with James Martin cooking, tasting of Spanish tortilla and a small brewery. The restaurant got very busy and the food was delicious and we enjoyed several of the beers. The town looked beautiful all lit up at night reflecting on the wet paved streets.

Next stop Mérida, an historic town with a some nice architecture, several bridges over the Guadiana River and some ancient Roman remains. There was a large oval amphitheater completed around the 8BC and in it’s day would have seated 15,000 people.

On the same site a short distance away was a spectacular Roman theatre with a semi circular seating. It was built in the 15 to 16 BC and has been the subject of several restorations starting at the end of the first century. At one time it was slowly covered with earth and nearly buried, but in 1910 excavation began to restore it. It was used for a production in 1933 and a new stage built in 1960-1970. Both these sites were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1993. They are very impressive historical places to visit an well recommended with local restaurants close by for refreshments afterwards.

Moving south again we stayed at Jerez de la Frontera, a place we’ve not stayed at before and ideally placed for a nice walk into the city. We were lucky with the weather which was sunny and warm so we could sit out and relax for the afternoon. The city has a large cathedral that we admired from outside.

Also nearby was a great Alcazar or fortified palace, it’s so cheap to see these places, €3.60 for both of us. We went around the outside area first and climbed the steps to see the views over the walls. The courtyard was paved in an interesting pattern of stones and set off with archways over a covered walkway. Gardens with flowers, fruit and vegetables and fruit trees provided for the palace with water catchment and storage a priority. We visited the rooms inside that were on display, all empty but with high decorated ceilings and a display of containers from the pharmacy originally on site.

The city had an intimate and comfortable feel of a small town. We wondered around the streets enjoying the architecture, flowers, squares and a few beers as it was a warm day in spite of a few clouds.

Returning to Conil de la Frontera after several years, we had finally made it to the south coast and did a bit of geocaching along the way. We had a lovely lunch sitting beside the beach and chilling. Chris walked back down in the evening to taste a few beers in a small brewery. We knew it was there from our last visit and this time there were 8 different beers on offer much to Chris’ delight.

Our last stop on this part of our trip was at Tarifa, it must be the windiest place on the south coast. We followed an Adventure Lab, part of the Geocaching ‘online game’ that we enjoy. We followed the GPS coordinates to the 5 locations and learned a bit about each place before answering a question and going to the next one. The circuit took in a town gate in the Mudejar style, a nice covered market, some picture tiling and a tiny bar with a selection of cow bells on display among other odds and ends. Also a fort looking out over the Straights of Gibraltar with a tiled panel, later on another set of tiled panels showed us about wildlife in the area.

We did a regular cache too which was a very blustery walk across to the furthest point south on Continental Europe, a large fort with clear views of Africa. The sea was crested with white tops on the Atlantic side, and calm on the Mediterranean side of the promontory, beautiful turquoise sea and blue skies and a white lighthouse, so picturesque.

Next stop is near the marina at Puerto de la Duquesa where we will be staying for a month of sun, sea and relaxing, as opposed to gallivanting all over the place for a few days at a time. Never done it before and we’ll see how it goes.

22nd March – Spain again …..

It felt like coming home when we arrived back in Spain, relaxed driving, no animals or people wondering in the road and we were soon heading off to Dequesa (A) staying at nearby Bella Vista. This is our fourth visit to the area, we walked along the promenade remembering various places and finally settled for a drink around the marina. The main reason for coming was to see Mandy and Mal, however Mal was at an army reunion in Amsterdam. That didn’t stop Mandy and both of us having a good time as we caught up over a late lunch with one of her friends, great to see her and enjoy a good time together.

I also had a mad moment and swam in the sea in March, refreshing is how I’d term it, and something I’d wanted to do on previous visits. Walking around the town we found some beautiful tiles of white horses depicting the waves as they roll in on the sea. The promenade was full of flowers with the beach nearby where we sat for a drink and watched the horses under the trees. The few days we had were beautiful, hot and sunny, a real tonic and very relaxing.

Further east along the coast, another place we revisited was Almerimar Port (B) where we stayed for 2 nights. It was good coming back and after relaxing forthe first evening, we were refreshed to go Caching in the morning, successfully collecting 5, including our 2nd ever ‘first to find’ on our walk around the area. Nice to see it at a different time of year with wildflowers on the beach edge and mimosa trees fully of fluffy yellow flowers.

Heading into The Mercia area next, we made our way north west into the hills near Ricote (C) to our friends Jessica and Martin. We met them enroute and they led us to a friend’s house where our motorhome would be safe behind their high wall and locked gates. It was early evening and after a lovely social time together with Carla and Douwe, the six of us enjoyed wine, beer and nibbles before returning to Jessica and Martin’s house. Next day from a nearby village we had a great riverside walk with a wonderful mountain back drop, the day was quite hot and there were plenty of insects and the most beautiful swallowtail butterflies.

We also had a birding morning in an area where you can drive off road using the car as a mobile hide. We drove along tracks and through the open-plan fields, some cultivated ready for planting and some with vegetables and purple flowering globe artichokes. We got great sightings of a number of species, some close up and some more distant. The best birds were the Little Bustards, a very handsome male and 3 females, also 4 stone curlews walking among rows of vegetables then they suddenly took off, little owl, black bellied sand grouse, woodchat shrike, lesser kestrel and a greater short toed lark! No we didn’t see it’s toes, and Martin assured us that was its name. (Credits: Martin’s bird photos)

Next stop was Jávea (D) and a different more luxurious campsite than our usual one. Nice to have space and everything clean, there was a pool, bar, tennis court and boules pitch. We walked to the port end of Jávea to meet up with Trevor and Irene for lunch, we had plenty to talk about telling them about Morocco and our travels around such a different country. After a lift back up to the campsite we were given a bag of lemons, some oranges and avocados which were all most welcome, then they returned back into the hills to Parcent. I missed seeing the village this time, so next time we are in the area we’ll go and visit and enjoy the lovely scenery of the area and spending more time together with our friends.

The next few days were planned as a journey north, across in the direction of Zaragoza and onwards to Bilboa. First night was a free Aire on the edge of a small village called Geldo (E) surrounded by fields. A walk into the village revealed many buildings with huge art murals on the walls, some covering an entire gable end of a house. There were over 20 paintings, all sorts of works or art including portraits, animals, birds, and cartoon type images, it really was impressive and our walk around the village showed us the narrow streets and houses, in all talking around an hour.

Moving on next day, mid route instead of going to Haro, we changed direction and headed for Soria (F) where were meeting up with Kenny and Maureen, arriving outside Mercadona supermarket at the same time from opposite directions, totally uncoordinated! The campsite was on a lovely rural site with green fields in front and a hillside beyond. The trees were still bare of leaves, so thankfully no shade, and on a few trees were stork nests with large black and white storks occasionally clattering the beaks together. An afternoon of catching up on their recovery from Morocco, the motorhome being mended in Algeciras and subsequent the journey north, it was great to be together again. We chatted on throughout the evening over a card game of Five Kings and drinks at the onsite bar before retiring for the night, heating on and all the windows closed, so much colder up north.

Next day was the last chance this trip to go Geocaching together so we walked some tracks, under a huge viaduct and into the town of Soria and found a few sculptures while hunting down caches along the way. Lunch was a nice cheap tapas each and a beer on an attractive square before returning the the campsite for more beers in the sun.

Parting company again, Chris and I set off for Miranda de Ebro (G), our final destination before the ferry, leaving Kenny and Maureen heading home through France. Arriving in time for an early lunch, we changed into shorts, probably for the last time until the summer, and set off into the town. It was clean and modern with attractive buildings, a tree lined street where we found a cache in a tree hole, a railway station where we found another in a pile of sleepers under a train wheel and by now we were a bit thirsty. Beside an busy park we sipped two beers and chatted to the owner, he then gave us two more beers ‘on the house’. Such a lovely man. We were telling him about our trip to Morocco and he asked about our motorhome, thankfully his English was excellent. He began telling us about Easter celebrations in Spain, disappeared for a short while and came back with a special bottle of wine only drunk at Easter time, and said it was a gift for us and thanked us for coming to his bar. Amazing!

Well it was an epic journey by ferry from home to Portsmouth, through Spain and down to the south of Morocco and back. We are home now where Spring has started. Here are a few facts for you:

I drove a total of 3,740 miles on our trip from 20th January to 8th April

We stayed at 9 locations in Spain over 20 nights, divided between the beginning and the end of our trip. We also did 19 locations (2 of them we stayed twice) in Morocco over 55 nights

Money: 10 dirhams is about 80p

Fuel cost in Morocco generally around 12.85 dirhams a litre, therefore just over £1/litre, averaged at £1.10 / litre or £5 a gallon in old money!

Campsites averaged at 100 dirhams / £8 a night although we used Guarded Parking several times at only 40 dirhams / £3.20 a night

Food is very cheap and you can live well on fresh produce for little money. Eating out is also cheap. Alcohol is not readily available but you can occasionally find it at some supermarkets and restaurants

The high cost of the Fully Comprehensive Insurance and extra ferry from Spain to Morocco is more than compensated for with the cheap living costs. And of course the Sunshine!

20th January 2023 – Spain to Morocco

After several months of difficulties with obtaining insurance, we finally got the required documents less than 48 hours before we were booked on the ferry to Santander. Packing was done swiftly, we were soon on our way and with a very smooth crossing we landed, quickly setting off for our first destination down through Extremadura. It’s a very scenic and rural route and we were soon at nearly 3,000 feet in altitude and passing snow capped mountains lit up by sunshine. The miles passed rapidly and we parked up for a free night in Baños de Montemayor down in a sheltered valley with high hills on either side.

To stretch our legs after many miles driving, we decided it was time for a Geocaching walk and set off down a pretty track with a few wild flowers and many puddles and muddy bits to a Roman bridge and found our first cache in Spain. After walking around the town we decided it was empty, no activity anywhere because it was Sunday, no cars, no people and no dogs.

Next destination was Puerta de Santa Maria on the south coast, just across the water from Cádiz, it was another long drive, and afterwards I was glad to settle down for a day of rest after my long drive. Except we didn’t. Instead the next day we walked 10 miles geocaching around the small town and found pretty parks, an old town square, a large church and an old ruined castle, parts of it tumbling onto the beach below.

Heading for Algeciras next day we completed a 722 mile trip to meet up with our friends and travelling companions, Kenny and Maureen. We got the ferry tickets from Carlos in a small shop and a gift of a bottle of red wine and chocolate chip biscuits from him in return. Next was to stock up some food and more particularly, alcohol, as there will be very limited opportunities to buy any in Morocco. The ferry was basic but we arrived on time at Tangled Med and we soon on our way.

Landing in Tangier, we had several processes to go through, the motorhome had to be electronically scanned by a huge machine on a lorry, then we had to get currency, a Moroccan SIM card for the phones, passport control and after completing that lot, we could drive out of the docks and hit the road.

The big surprise was how green the country looked, and the number of small farms with a few sheep, a couple of cows, horses and donkeys that lined our route. Finally we arrived at Asilah for a two night stay, the temperature was disappointing at around 12°, sunny but quite a breeze cooling things down, but we ventured out into the town. We were soon encouraged into a cafe bar by the friendly owner and ordered beers and 2 gin and tonics. The latter two, Maureen and I discovered were undrinkable as three quarters of the glass was neat gin and ice, not leaving enough space for the tonic. Grabbing two empty glasses we were able to dilute the gin with an additional tonic and managed to empty the glasses eventually. We were fed so many tapas dishes that we only had a few cheese biscuits in the evening and lots of chatting back at the campsite later on.

The biggest shock to me was the ‘call to prayer’ up to 5 times a day, men calling with long braying sounds from a tannoy system up tall towers, calling the men to come and pray. Friday is like our Sunday for their religious day and there is the 5am call to prayer which was loud to say the least especially in the wee small hours. Needless to say, I never got back to sleep so I was a big jaded by the following evening.

Exploring the next day, we walked around inside the old town walls discovering narrow streets and small tiny dark shops with the goods spilling out onto the roadside. There were numerous fruit and vegetable stalls, bread and cakes, grocery shops, and the street art was plentiful, making nice features of the walls, bright and colourful and detailed.

Horses pulled carriages for tourists to be taken around the town which looked nice. We started to see the typical winter attire of men and women which was was a long ‘dressing-gown like garment with a pointy hat. They came in various colours, mainly greys, white, black, some striped and all down below the knees. The ‘grim reaper’ comes to mind, or a Druid, or Harry Potter, but for all their strange looks, I think they must be very warm like a full length coat.

After a long drive using the Toll roads, we headed south to Rabat through fields of green crops and cultivation, and dreadful poly tunnels full of banana trees and fruit trees in huge pots.

The town is dominated by the city walls with the Medina or old town inside. First we looked at the modern buildings with lots of detail in the construction, there were trees up the centre of the street and everything looking so clean and well cared for.

Hassan Tower was part of an ancient, unfinished tower and a mosque, it was guarded by two men on horseback at a gateway though a high wall. The central courtyard had 348 columns, and the tower was going to be the largest minaret in the world but it stopped at 44 meters, also the largest mosque in the western Muslim world, but building stopped in 1199 when it’s commissioner died.

Walking alongside a river the brightly coloured fishing boats made a picturesque view as we headed up narrow streets with tall buildings on either side, this keeps the sun out and therefore has a nice cool temperature. Shops sold many things, hats, shoes, fancy clothing, tiles, doors, food, jewelry and artwork. There were lots of people around, all very friendly and interested in us because we were different and they like to practice their English! We only stayed one night which turned out to be quite noisy as there was a wedding party, lots of talking, playing drums etc, but eventually it went quiet, thankfully.

18th March, Barcelona and beyond

We found a beachside campsite at Gavá not far from Barcelona, the wind was terrible and the beach looked like a sand storm with crashing waves and grey sky. Great thing was that we had no one between us and the beach except an ugly wire fence – you can’t have everything. Another bonus of the bad weather was you couldn’t hear the planes from nearby Barcelona Airport or the road or anything really, just the sea. Several people were out braving a walk with dogs, being blown about and muffled up in coats and hats. So glad we don’t have a dog, nothing was going to dig me out of Lisa’s cosy warm, heated interior from where we could watch around 15-20 Audouin’s gulls yards away on the sand, a lone Mediterranean gull, a couple of mallard on a pool and dozens of federal pigeons.

Mercifully it was dry and slightly calmer in the morning so we walked 40 minutes to La Delta del Llobregat for a bit more birding. We spotted a pile of terrapins resting on a bit of wood, saw some ponies used to graze the marshy land and added several ducks to our lengthening list as we walking around a different area with lagoons and islands right in front of the hides. The aeroplanes landed at regular intervals literally the other side of the lagoons and thankfully the take off runway was further away so we were not bombarded by noise, anyway the birds weren’t bothered and carried on as normal.

Over the last year I have had the pleasure of speaking to Pedro from Barcelona, we chat over Zoom and each have 30 minutes learning to speak in Spanish and English. Finally we were going to meet up in person; he and his wife Rosa collected us from the campsite and we had lunch together first. It was exciting to be able to use our new language skills and chat for an hour, mainly in Spanish, and realise that we could be understood and we could understand too. Wonderful as we are self taught only using Duolingo.

They showed us around many parts of the city, the architecture of the beautiful buildings was so different and interesting even on a grey day and the streets were interspersed with plazas and fountains. We saw some of the Gothic area, the Gaudi style street fronts, the Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar, the outsides of some museums and the huge Plaça Nova Cathedral from the outside. In the old town area the streets were narrow and had trees, the shops were colourful I really liked the feel off it. We had a memorable day chatting in a mix of English and Spanish together, we visited their home and had coffee after walking 6 miles around the city. I know that we will come back again in the future and will keep practicing our Spanish too!

Muchas gracias Pedro y Rosa, teníamos un día estupendo con vosotros.

As the weather has been so mixed we decided to move north where the forecast was better and we might even see the sun! I drove inland heading for Huesca, it is halfway to the north coast and we stayed on a free Aire for the night. The town had a nice feel with all the usual things, cathedral, tall buildings, narrow streets and lots of old details which I liked, especially the worn stone and cracked walls the fresh air holding it all together.

I also loved the street art, a cooking pot and octopus, eyes along tin sheeting, a stag’s head, strange people and faces, all such random ideas carefully painted and adding vibrancy to the town.

On our continuing quest to find the sun we travelled north next day, stopped for the morning at the small town of Java and visited a huge and fascinating pentagonal citadel with views over the town below. Built late in the 16th century with a large dry moat surrounding the whole fort of 1,060 meters in length, today it is grazed by a herd of deer keeping it tidy. The five bastions were used to keep the castle walls protected and had slit windows offering visibility in all directions. Canons were used on the long sides of wall for defence, the buildings inside consisted of barracks and a very interesting powder magazine and storage facility as well as a parade ground.

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Inside some of the buildings was an amazing display of over 32,000 tiny lead soldiers in the Military Miniatures Museum housed in several rooms, arranged chronologically showing the changes in uniforms and weaponry. The museum also had displays for full sized figures depicting special operations in cold climates, with tents , snow shoes skis and ice picks. It was a fascinating place and well worth the €10 (£7 approx) entrance fee for both of us.

The drive north was rugged and beautiful, huge rocky mountains going up over 3,000 feet and down again to open areas of grape vines, a land of contrasts, snow on the mountains and blossom on the trees.

Eventually we arrived on the north coast at Donostia-San Sebastian with a wide sandy bay lined with a promenade and a mix of classic old buildings, turrets with witches hats and slick modern designs.

As it was Chris’ birthday we headed for the ‘old town’ area famous for it’s tapas bars and enjoyed an evening walking around. There were so many lovely things to eat and drink, it was a perfect way to finish his special day. The following day was sunny with blue sky at last! We walked the promenade again so I could take some better photos and relaxed with a beer looking out over the beach while we watched a few swimmers and people enjoying the warmth.

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Further west along the coast at Zumaia, we found a campsite at the bend of a river with views over to the wooded hills beyond. A riverside walk lead us passed a couple of large boats into the pretty town with many buildings looking like Swiss chalets with the extended roof lines, very picturesque.

Sun and blue sky do wonders for the photographs, but the wind is terrible for my hair and it was constantly in my eyes. Once out of the wind on a large sand beach I found some amazing rock formations. The Flysch is a strata that make up the cliffs that look linear with different colours, it is said that they are like the pages of a book having details of the geology and biology over 50 million years.

On the move again, 3 hours west I parked up at Somo across the water from Santander. It’s a beautiful rural spot, green fields with numerous cattle egrets, wild flowers, buzzards and red kites overhead and stone houses and buildings dotted around. Glad to stop driving we wandered off to stretch our legs and on the way into the small town spotted an amazing building completely painted in bright colours, quite a statement piece.

So the final stop over has arrived and we headed for Santander. We have been told its a good place to explore and on first look it certainly seems that way. To follow some purpose instead of wondering aimlessly, we discovered that several catastrophies had occurred in the city.

After finding an information board we learned about a great fire that happened in 1941 and how the great historic centre was lost to a huge fire. We decided to follow the ‘Fire Route’ which took us around the city showing us before and after photos of the area . It helped explain why there seemed to be many modern buildings within the immediate area and how they now fit within the framework of the city. There are set points where very clever photographic historic images are set within glass, of the ‘old view’ and a later view of a street scene from a similar angle.

Enlarge the circle and you can see the ‘before photo’ next to my photo

Such a clever facility that we were able to see the old Santander prior to 1941 through the old photographs and how it looks now with the buildings replaced after a few years. It was so interesting and with 9 of the boards to find around the city, it gave a good insite just how much damage had been done, and what a fantastic city has risen from the ashes.

There is too much here to capture in a few words. Fabulous beaches, great rock formations, beautiful gardens and walkways, sailing clubs and wind surfing, sculptures, restaurants and bars, historic buildings and probably more that I haven’t noticed in our few hours around the area. Definitely food for thought, and a ‘must do’ holiday in northern Spain, Galicia and Basque Country.

4th March – Old Haunts

Well March certainly brought a change in the weather and it chucked it down. Virtually the whole time we were in Jávea it seemed to be raining. Thankfully we had come this way to visit friends we had a busy time chatting, playing Canaster and keeping dry inside. After lunch with friends overlooking the deserted, grey beach, we watched a lone surfer braving the waves. The forecast was fairly dismal and it was soon time to move on again.

After only a short drive away from the coast through Pedreguer and up into hills, the almond blossom was fading around Alcalalí, the hills were disappearing and we arrived in Parcent. Good to be back in this pretty village with Irene and Trevor, eating baked potatoes cooked in the wood burner which tasted delicious. With clouds on the hill tops to start the day the sun appeared later and walking around the area was every bit as pleasant as we remembered. The orange and lemon trees still laden with fruit dominated the flatter areas and terraces, a few grape vines trimmed by hand ready for the new season’s growth, wildflowers, blossom and far reaching views to the mountains beyond.

During a one night stop over near Valencia, we went by tram to travel 30 minutes into the city and tried to get our bearings and remember where the old city centre was. Asking directions to the cathedral we eventually got swept along with ever growing crowds and ended up joining hundreds of people where we had inadvertently found a major festival. Television cameras positioned high on the buildings, camera drones and a helicopter circling over the square and every available balcony and office block filled with people.

For approximately the first 3 weeks in March, ‘La Fallas’ celebrates the arrival of Spring with lights, music, traditional costumes and very loud firecrackers. There are huge cartoon type models and figures made mainly of papier-mâché with a wooden framework, we watched some pieces lifted into place with cranes and positioned on the display.

At 2pm every day ‘la mascleta’ happens: it is a mass of gunpowder and firecrackers exploding high above the square which lasted for around 15 minutes of continuous and extremely loud explosions. We put on sunglasses to protect our eyes as we stared up and the blue sky which vanished in the smoke and debris rained down on us. At the end of the celebrations in the third week of March, there is a mass burning of all the paper figures and fireworks fill the sky for an hour, I can’t imagine how loud it must be but it would be very colourful.

Grateful for having experienced this event we dispersed with everyone else, our ears ringing and in need of a sit down having being squeezed tightly together in the crowds after an hour of standing up. We threaded our way through the streets with tall buildings, a lovely tiled market hall and found a nice sunny square for a rest.

Further north up the coast, Benícassim is a familiar base to us for a week and a beautiful sunny day welcomed a day of domestic necessities; two loads of washing, getting everything dried, beds remade, cleaning everything inside Lisa and generally doing all the things I’ve been neglecting. Feeling very pleased with all this behind me, a walk took us along the beach promenade and for a breath of fresh air.

We had a great time chatting with friends we had met on a previous visit and making new friends too, maybe we will all get together again back in the UK during the summer. Chris and I managed to play Mölkky, a Finnish skittles game, and we finished equal after four games. After that the weather turned against us with four days of rain, unable to see the beautiful hills that overlook the campsite and glad we had a large supermarket opposite and an onsite in which to entertain ourselves.

22nd February, Heading North

After coastal locations on the south coast we headed in land, high up in The Sierra de Ricote in a rural area surrounded by mountains. The area is dominated by open expanses, mainly appearing uncultivated except for dormant grape vines and the fruit and trees and almond bearing pink blossom at this time of year. Old abandoned buildings stand in crumbling ruins, the home of little owls and numerous small birds, a testament to past lives working the land.

Staying with friends in this wide and peaceful landscape, we enjoyed catching up with news from the last 2 years. It was amazing to learn how they had transformed their home over the last 20 years from an agricultural working cottage with accommodation for animals, into a lovely home with many original features including the old wine press.

We all enjoy walking and bird watching and were very happy to be included on two walks, one in hills not far from their house and the other many miles away on the coast. We added a few more birds to our growing list, saw many beautiful flowers and views and covered 12 miles in total. Both walks were very enjoyable followed by a sociable get together afterwards with refreshments, drinks and chatting.

Afterwards, heading north towards Jumilla on the A33 is a wonderful family wine business called Bodegas Viña Elena. We wanted to visit this particular Bodega because our friend Maria, is a family member of the Bodega, and she lives in our city less than 5 minutes walk from our house. It was so nice to meet one of her sisters, and a niece and nephew too.

Her niece Maria gave us a tour around and told us the history of the business, we saw the different vines outside mainly Cabernet Sauvignon which needs a lot of irrigation, and a very robust vine called Monastrell which needs no watering. The roots go many meters down to extract water. On the outside of the build there is an example, the root was so long that it went from the ground up to the roof of the building! We saw various storage and ageing vessels from French oak to concrete and stainless steel for huge quantities and large glass demi-johns for smaller specialist productions of special grapes.

Photo centre top shows the old vine plant plus the very long root system

After our tour we enjoyed a meal as part of our tour package which was beautifully cooked and quite traditional, with wines for each course. It was an unforgettable day out and we hope to return at another time of year to see the vines in flower or with grapes.

Back on the coast at Altea we walked for miles alongside a small river towards the mountains with lovely views over reeds, rural houses and orange trees. There were acres of Loquat trees with fruit like an apricot/plum, yellow in colour when ripe which you can make jams and puddings and an alocholic drink too. It was so peaceful and warm after the initial grey sky became blue and picturesque.

The old church in Altea is topped by two beautiful ceramic domes and sits high above the town in a pretty square where we enjoyed lunch. The walk back down through the town was lovely with flowers and decorative pots, a large sculpture in metal looked great against the blue sky as we headed back towards the sea.

A separate walk lead up from the beach at L’Albir into the Parque Natural de la Serra Gelada to a steep sided promontory that lead to an old lighthouse building, now housing an information room with old photos. The walk was an hour each way and very pleasant with a good wide and surfaced pathway so my fear of heights didn’t spoil anything. The views over the turquoise sea were like a holiday brochure.

Continuing north we revisited the old town area of Calpe, after a long uphill walk it was good to find the art work on the walls was still in place. The colourful houses with floral displays were as vibrant in reality as my memory and I love the steps painted in traditional Spanish colours.

There is a salt water lagoon on the edge of the town with numerous flamingos, yellow legged gulls, shelducks and a few black winged stilts feeding in the shallow water. Walking along the boardwalks we were able to see Sardinian warbler, stone chat and serin among others smaller birds in the trees and bushes. It is an interesting spectacle to see the lake surrounded by huge skyscrapers of hotels on one side and huge hills on the other, with all the birdlife it attracts in the middle.

We found a new walk along a narrow pathway hugging the coastline below houses and above the rocky beach. It had numerous view points looking down into the clear water below, some pretty yellow flowering mimosa trees and great views over distant headlands.

It’s good to return again and enjoy the town including free tapas with a drink, the wonderful long beaches and of course the sight of Penon de Ifach the name of Calpe Rock standing 332 meters high which dominates the surrounding area.

9th February – 3rd March, Spanish Winter Sunshine

After waiting for 2 years following the Covid pandemic, at last everything came together after struggling to get the online forms completed and finally we departed from Portsmouth landing at Santander 28 hours later. It was a relatively short drive to Palencia through the lovely green Extremadura side of Madrid for an overnight stop. We we walked alongside a river with medieval bridges and into the pleasant town plaza with the church taking pride of place. Our first stop was celebrated with a beer on the plaza in warm Spanish sunshine.

Travelling south through huge green fields lining the roads, gradually we noticed the land changing to the oak tree filled hilly fields called Dehesa where the black Iberian pigs are raised for the traditional ‘jamon’. A second stop over on our way to the south coast was at the beautiful town of Trujillo with a large central Plaza, lovely cathedral and castle with fantastic views. It certainly was a memorable and beautiful town to spend the night outside the bull ring, and we could easily spend time here on a subsequent visit.

After only 3 days and a total of 640 miles from Santander, we arrived at El Puerto de Santa María, just west over the bay from Cádiz. Nice to relax in the sun and stay still for 5 days with time to explore. We walk to most places and enjoyed the promenade beside the sea with pine trees for shade, wild flowers and large recreation areas for picnics under the trees. There is a huge fine sandy beach and clear sea, it is great for a relaxing with small bars, restaurants and views of Cádiz over the sea.

We took a ferry to Cádiz and spent the day following a walking trail around the Medieval area of the city. The town hall and cathedral are two of the main tourist attractions along with numerous other churches and schools. The narrow streets with tall high buildings offer shade and breezes and the centre is laid out on a grid system so it was easy to find your way around. Located on a small peninsular it is quick to walk from one side to the other and there are great views of the long beach or back towards the city.

A trip recommended by friends was to Gutiérrez Colosia sherry bodega not far from the ferry terminal. We were informed about the processes involved and walked around the tall, cool warehouse full of large American oak barrels containing the she, the smell was beautiful. We had a tasting of 6 different types of sherry with crisps and nuts and water on the side. It was so interesting and our guide was knowledgeable with good English. At the end of the tour while we sipped our sherry, we were happy to try out our Spanish and spent 30 minutes chatting in both languages, both learning from each other. A thoroughly good trip.

Time to move on, and it was a nice short drive of under two hours to Bella Vista Camping close to where we would be meeting our friends at the nearby marina in Duquesa. This is our 4th visit to this area and there are walks in either direction along beach paths with protection zones to encourage the native fauna and flora. We added a few birds to our growing list, saw gannets diving out to sea and watched scuba divers coming back onto the beach.

On leaving the campsite we planned to cross to Murcia with a one night stop over at Salobreña. There was a beautiful beach and we saw the pretty white town with its castle at the top, didn’t walk up there but noted for another trip.

Arrived at Murcia at a large free Aire by Ikea and all manner of other out of town shopping outlets. We took a tram into the centre of Murcia to walk around the old centre for a while, found the cathedral which was huge and unfortunately closed, the large town hall with flower gardens and fountains and several plazas with interesting architectural features. There was no doubt other things to do and see but it was a flying visit before going to friends in the mountains tomorrow.

1st March – Benicássim

Time to move north on to our next location for a month of relaxation in the lovely climate of eastern Spain, a far cry from continual rain we were hearing about back home in England. After a short trip of approximately 130 miles we arrived in Benicássim and we soon set up on the large pitch enjoying the sunshine.

My intention was to join in all the exercise classes and take the opportunity to tone up as well as exercise, so I wasted no time and did two a day plus walks along the promenade. Chris and I also enjoyed the Spanish classes and got the opportunity to try speaking when out and about. We joined in the Whist group which was good fun, especially when I managed to be the winning lady for the first week, not having played for a year I think it was beginners luck! On Saturday night there was a good meal and entertainment evening with a group of musicians and 3 really great French singers who sang in English and Spanish as well as French.

Our walks took place in the local area along the beach front promenade, around the small town and also near the orange groves, now with most fruit having been picked, we could see the new blossom just starting to emerge. The very beautiful yellow mimosa flowers were prominently showing up against the blue sky, always a nice colour combination. Many other blossoms and flowers were appearing along the road edges and in the fields, birds singing including the familiar blackbirds and chiffchaffs, along with the small Sardinian warbler with its scratchy voice sounding from the bushes.

Our tranquil oasis of retirement fun, however a was soon shattered by increasing news reports of Coronavirus and it’s course of infection spreading west from China. I was embarking on a planned trip home to UK to visit family for 5 days, but now I felt apprehensive about my journey.  Travelling first by train, then plane with wonderful views of the snow covered Pyrennes, two more trains and finally being picked up by a friend for a lift home. All went smoothly however, visits made and enjoyed very much, at times were somewhat overshadowed by worrying if I could return to Chris, a non-driver, staying alone in Spain with our motorhome.

Thankfully, I made the return journey on the last flight from Gatwick to Valencia by Easyjet, I felt so lucky my ticket was on 16th not 17th when subsequent flights were all cancelled.  The plane only had about 30 passengers, coming into land I could see empty roads, the metro and train station were also sparsely populated. After one hour 15 minutes on a train and finally a 25 minute walk back to the campsite, I was stopped by the police 25 yards from the campsite to check where I was going!  Such a relief to be back.

Euphoria was short lived however, the campsite was now closed to the public. We were confined to our pitch except visits to the shower block, all classes were cancelled, not allowed to play boules or have social gatherings, and for exercise a walking circuit of the site took only 10 minutes so we did multiples to achieve our  target of 10,000 steps per day!  Spain went into serious lockdown earlier than the UK, we could only go out onto the street alone, one person to shop, food and chemist only and receipts could be requested by the police who were patrolling everywhere. We don’t have a dog so had no excuse for a walk outside at all.

 

People were packing up everywhere on the site but our ferry was booked for 16th April. Some people said they would sit it out, but after a day’s rest, the next morning (18th) we suddenly decided to pack up and drive home having secured a booking on the Channel Tunnel on Saturday 21st. On the road by 12 noon we made it over the border, through a tunnel under the snow covered Pyrenees and into France, and finally stopped for the night after 300 miles somewhere near Pau.

 

Starting at 7am next morning, I drove 560 miles in total with 3 stops to near Rouen in northern France, followed on Friday by the last push to Calais by 11.30am. Having amended our crossing time slot for 24 hours earlier, we were on the mid-day train and back in England in 30 minutes! This was a first for us, quite an exciting end to our expedition through France, Chris being the joker as ever told me to look through the windows for the fish.  Comforting?!

I had driven so far in 2.5 days and I was very chuffed, only 147 more miles to get home.  Google maps measures the journey at 1,179 miles, in spite of the reason for the trip, the countryside was beautiful and I really enjoyed the drive.

Not quite what we planned back in the Autumn, but different. Now we have to sit it out at home like everyone worldwide and hope we can stay safe. Not quite the usual blog of our travels in Bessie, but we are now enjoying the beautiful weather and walks near our home. Stay safe everyone.

Until next time ……