Escape to Sunshine... or maybe not??

What is it about sunshine that lifts your mood, makes you feel better and generally happier? The weather on the Spanish costas in January is not particularly warm but since we arrived in Spain the sun has been shining every day and we have been able to spend much of our days out and about on our bikes or walking. It's also warm enough to sit out and enjoy the suns warmth in a Tshirt and shorts, but move into the shade and you definitely need to dress in warmer clothes!

Sunrise over Castellon beach

After a 24 hour stopover in Cambrils we moved down the coast to one of our favourite haunts - Castellon, about 50 miles north of Valencia on the Costa Azahar. Here we like to camp on a wide area 100yds back from the beach along with quite a few other Motorhomes. The first time we stayed here last year was on the 'Aire' but although you have facilities right on hand (water, water and waste disposal - known in the Motorhoming world as grey and black waste) all the motorhomes are parked quite close together and it feels a bit claustrophobic!
Further down the road there is more space on the parking areas behind the beach and when we need to service our van we can drive the few minutes up the road to the Aire. It is regularly patrolled by the local police but as long as there is no 'camping behaviour' the motorhomes are left alone.

Keith cooking the bacon for our butties!

Camping behaviour constitutes using levelling blocks, using an awning or putting out tables and chairs, but we can put our chairs on the grass nearby without a problem, in fact today we cooked bacon butties on our camp stove for lunch, yummy!
We love this area because we can easily bike along the cycle path to Benacasim and then along the disused railway path through the hills to Orepesa, a round trip of just over 20 miles. It's lovely cycling along the trail by the coast in warm sunshine and blue skies, stopping for a picnic on our favourite bench looking out to sea.

So it was here that we stayed for ten days whilst the south of England was blasted by icy winds and there was a sprinkling of snow. Smug in the thought that we had escaped it - until we saw the headline of a local paper - Costa Blanca News " Big Freeze on the way!!" Well! I'll let you know about that in my next instalment!

Time to stop and stare for a while...and maybe make the most of the warmer weather before the snow arrives!!