The Guns of Mazarron.....

The days tick by at La Azohia (near to the town of Mazarron) and we are joined by Janet,Frank and their four dogs in their Motorhome 'Herbie'. The weather stayed fair, chilly in the evenings but warm enough most days to sit outside for a while if the sun was shining. We had some lovely walks up the 'Rambla' (dried-up riverbed) over the hills to deserted little beaches accessible only on foot. For our lunch we would find a nice flat stone to sit on whilst enjoying our sandwiches.

Keith and I also ventured up to the big gun emplacements on our bikes, a route not for the faint hearted - about a six mile long slog up to the top. The massive guns are worth a visit - this was our second trip up there and we picked a beautiful day with clear blue skies.
The huge guns were put there in the 1930's with the intention of protecting the port of Cartagena from Franco's forces but they were never fired in anger.

The architect must have been smoking some strange substance - the castle turrets of the buildings makes you feel you've landed in Disneyland not a  military installation!
The guns were built in the UK in 1928 by Vickers Armstrong, considering the size of them it must have been quite a challenge.

We headed back down the hill, our brakes smoking with heat for our last evening at La Azohia where we had a surprise meeting with Chris who we had met at Castellon. He is currently out in Spain working on finding all the best places to go for the website Wildcamping.co.uk - if you're interested in wild camping it's a really useful website -go take a look!

We had a very enjoyable evening talking all things Motorhomes with Janet,Frank and Chris.
Eventually the time came to move on, Janet and Frank (plus dogs) took Herbie home and we headed off towards our next destination- Totana.

A short stay becomes a long stay.....

La Manga 

After we left Janet and Franks hospitality and shelter from the bad weather we headed off to wild camp on the shores of the Mar Menor looking across at the tiny strip of land on the opposite side of the salt water lagoon, wondering what all the huge buildings were. Out of a natural curiosity and not wanting to miss any part of Spain, we travelled up the single road of La Manga not quite believing that so many hotels and apartment blocks could be squeezed onto such a narrow piece of land, we stayed right on the end in a deserted car park and spent the night being buffeted by the gusty wind and wondering just when we were going to be washed away by a massive wave! The next morning we escaped La Manga having crossed that one off our list!

Beautiful sunset from La Azohia

We then headed to La Azohia, intending to stay for a few nights but ended up staying for ten! We had a very social time there meeting up with old friends.

We had some lovely days out walking and cycling with Maureen and Andy

Our friend Paul - a full time Motorhomer joined us for a couple of days

Ice cold in Torrevieja......

There's a storm brewing.......

Apologies dear readers for not posting for a while, but we have been without Internet for the last couple of weeks, wild camping (which is, just to clarify, staying off campsites, it could be anywhere, but usually a parking area close to the sea) so I'm a bit behind on keeping you up to date with our adventures! In my last post we were waiting to see what the weather was about to do....

Yes we did get the snow!! But luckily we were staying in Rojales with our friends Janet and Frank where we were able to spend the day in their living room, log fire burning and all their dogs curled up in their beds in front of it.

It was the first snowfall in the area for over thirty years and certainly made the headlines in Spain! The four dogs, who are all Spanish rescue dogs, were decidedly unimpressed and absolutely refused to go out of the house all day, taking one look outside and scuttling back to their beds in front of the fire!

The view from our window - beachside near Santa Pola

We had left Castellon the previous Thursday, driving 200km south to a secluded beachside spot not far south of Alicante, we were able to park for a night within a few yards of the shoreline, the sound of the waves lulling us to sleep that night. From there we drove the short journey to Rojales and Janet and Frank where we stayed for six nights. During that time we had some wonderful meals out as well as Janet treating us to her fantastic Paella shared with their friends Janet and Dave. When it comes to eating out, if you have local knowledge it's amazing how incredibly cheaply you can eat in the local restaurants, the average price being about 10€ per person, but you have to know where to find these places! One night we had a huge Chinese meal and the bill was only 42€ (about £35) including drinks! I really don't know how they can do it at those prices.

It's not our fault really!!! Look it's not snowing or raining in this photo

The snow didn't stay long but with floods just after Christmas, the snow and cold weather in southern Spain the cost of courgettes, lettuces and other seasonal fruit rose sharply in the U.K. Now a lot of our friends joke about the way we jinx the weather when we go away, but being the cause of the coldest Spanish winter in years can't be us - could it?

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!!

New Year - New adventure

Happy New Year to you all, I hope that 2017 brings you much happiness. We decided to start our new year with another trip to Spain to find some winter sunshine and warmer climes. So five days after Christmas Day in the dark of early morning we set out to take the Eurotunnel and head down south, the plan being to romp through France using the fastest route possible, sometimes using the toll motorways which we usually try to avoid. We were not prepared for the incredible cold of northern and central France travelling in freezing fog and subzero temperatures for much of the way. Our first stopover was an Aire about level with Paris, during the night the temperature plummeted to -6°c and our heating the van was pushed to its limits - we were still cold! I think if we did a lot of cold winter motorhoming we would have to consider modifying our heating system or buy a mini-generator.

It took us two and a half days to travel the 750 miles from Calais to the Spanish border and as soon as we crossed over it seemed warmer and the sun was higher in the sky. Using our trusty app Park4night we located a camperstop near the town of Figueres where we could fill up with water and have electric hookup. The facilities were basic but just what we needed after almost three days on the road! We celebrated the New Year snuggled in our cosy bed listening to the nearby church bells and fireworks.
New Years' day and our journey continues down the east coast of Spain, skirting Barcelona and finally landing at Cambrils where we found a secluded area to park for a while.

Sunset at Cambrils

Our day on the road ended with a walk along the promenade of Cambrils to disperse the cobwebs and get the blood flowing after so many hours on the road. It was lovely to catch the last few rays of the evening sunshine and breathe the briney air, it made the thousand mile journey worthwhile.

Our journey north and into the cold.....

Lac de Moulinet, Le Buisson. Beautiful but very cold at night

Today is the last day of our ten week tour of France and Spain, we have been blessed with lovely weather for our return trip, leaving behind the last of the summer sunshine of the Spanish Costa and travelling north into the chilly autumn of France with glorious sunshine and fabulous autumn colours.

We rise out of the clouds as we head up the mountainside on the train

As we drove north we took a different route to the usual route up the east coast of Spain to Perpignan, choosing to cross the Pyrenees stopping overnight at Monistrol - where we were able to park in the massive coach car park for the night then in the morning we took the train up the mountain to the Monastery of Montserrat built two hundred years ago perched on a ledge in the mountains. We thought we might be unlucky as we waited for our train as it was a bit foggy - not much point going up to look at the view when all you can see is clouds!

But as the train rose steeply up the hillside we emerged above the mist giving us fabulous views for miles. We shared our train with a group a Japanese tourists (mainly ladies) on a day trip from Barcelona, we were pleasantly amused by their giggling and taking incessant selfies despite the fact they were all retirement age!
We hope to return to Montserrat one day to spend a bit more time exploring the monastery and walking the lovely mountain paths that have been created in the vicinity and perhaps take the funicular train even further up the mountain.

Beautiful views from Monserrat as the clouds creep over the mountains

Marie at St Andre De L'Eure - one of our stopovers on our journey home

Our journey north continues and we headed up through France, taking our time on the tollfree Green routes rather than roaring up on the motorways, almost running over a wild boar which ran into our path whilst travelling through the forests of the Loire.
Finally we reach our last stop before travelling through the Eurotunnel, arriving at the Aire at Saint Saire (near Neufchâtel) with time to head out for a ride on our bikes along the adjacent cycle path which forms part of the route from London to Paris. We like to wring the last bit out of our holiday-pedalling along, the temperature much cooler than we are used to but still a bit of warmth in the low sun, crunching through the autumn leaves.
The following morning we were up and away, through the tunnel and home just after lunch!

Our last stop at Saint Saire - Keith is waiting on the cycle track to head off for our last ride of the trip

 (This post was written on 30th October - posted on 5th November)

In search of the real Indalo man....

The Indalo is a symbol that can often be seen in the Almeria region of Spain especially Mojacar on the coast. The symbol of a man holding a rainbow in his outstretched arms represents psychic strength and is supposed to bring good luck. I first became aware of the Indalo many years ago when I visited Mojacar as a teenager, I used to wear a silver Indalo on a necklace and I had a gold Indalo made for Keith which I gave to him on our wedding day. The symbol has special significance to us personally and if you visit our home or look at our motorhome you will see the Indalo in various places.

Until a few months ago I didn't know the origin of the Indalo, but reading through our DK Eyewitness guide to Spain I read about how the first Indalo was found in prehistoric cave paintings in a village called Velez Blanco in Andalusia. From that moment on I was determined that on one of our trips we would visit the area and see that original cave painting.

Being a fair way inland Velez Blanco is a bit out of our way but having stayed at Totana for a few days we realised we were only about 70km away so we checked out our Park4night and located a parking place by the castle in Velez Blanco, about a mile from the caves where the paintings are located.

The caves are only open at a specific time on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday and as we arrived in Velez Blanco on a Wednesday we had a quick lunch before setting out to get to the caves. 

As is often the case in Spain that was easier said than done as the signposting was, shall I say, inadequate. With a bit of luck we spotted two cars heading in the direction of where we thought the caves were and we were able to catch up with the small group heading up the mountainside to the cave. The Spanish guide was able to give us an information leaflet as she spoke a little English which was useful as there is a lot to know about the cave paintings.

When we arrived at the site we were surprised that the paintings weren't in a cave but more a concave surface of the rocky mountainside, it's amazing that they are still there and not been weathered away.

Indalo painted 6000 years ago

The simple drawings were in random positions on the wall where we all sat on the rocks while she told us about them, as I sat there I tried to imagine what kind of people drew these pictures and what their life must have been like 6000 years ago

The shapes are just symbols and so the explanation we were given are only interpretations of the shapes - male, female, chief, animals and, of course, the Indalo man, but it was mind boggling to see paintings from such a long time ago as these were the first attempts of mankind to depict images, drawn with iron oxide using their fingers or a rough brush made from feathers.

Eventually it was time to go, we paid our 2€
each and left feeling really happy that we had
been able to see the original Indalo man