What a way to start the New Year!!

After almost a week at La Azohia we decided to have a few days at one of our favourite places - Camperstop Sierra Espuna at Totana, about 30km inland and at the foot of the mountains of the Sierra Espuna national park. 

Here we can cycle along the canal path or along the local roads to remote villages and towns. Once again we find friends there that we have met before so immediately feel at home. 

The weather warms up a notch and we have a couple of days out exploring on our bikes and relaxing in the sunshine.

On New Years Eve we headed back to Rojales to spend the evening with Janet and Frank. We had a wonderful meal and at midnight we watched the fireworks all around us from their roof terrace. It was an incredibly unique sight to behold - from the terrace you could see dozens of firework displays some near and some far away on the coast around Torrevieja. We toasted the New Year with a fizzy drink and 12 grapes - a Spanish tradition, making a wish with each grape, one for each month of the year.

Janet, Keith & dogs on La Marina beach

On New Years Day we headed to the packed beach of La Marina to exercise the dogs, there were hundreds of people there, mostly ex-pats, enjoying the first day of the year in the sunshine with a BBQ on the beach. What a wonderful way to start the New Year!

Us with Nela, Luca & Poppy

Christmas in La Azohia

Cooking Christmas Lunch 🎅🏽🎁🎄

Three weeks has passed by since I last posted and Christmas has been and gone, we have lived a social whirl, feeling like we have as many friends in Spain as we have back home in the UK. After a few days enjoying our return to Castellon we headed further south to the Murcia area to visit our friends Janet and Frank in Rojales then on to spend Christmas wild camping in La Azohia (just south of Cartagena). We love it there, camped up right by the beach with loads of walking and cycling opportunities in the vicinity. 

We were also able to meet up with our friends Maureen and Andy and spend some time with them socialising over a beer or two and on a day out walking up and over the hills to a secret beach inaccessible by car.

We were lucky enough to have wonderful weather for the whole of the Christmas period and although it was a bit windy on Christmas Day, Keith and I cooked our Christmas lunch on the beach - Turkey steaks with grilled veg and mushroom risotto followed by caramel panacotta. This is the first time we have ever spent Christmas abroad and cooking on the beach has always been a dream we have finally made a reality!

On Boxing Day we headed out into the hills on our bikes to the remote village of Tallenta where we stopped for tapas 
and a coffee and that evening we were treated to an incredible sunset, the changing colours were amazing, it felt almost surreal like as though we were sitting watching it on a widescreen in the cinema

The beautiful sunset at La Azohia

I

Viva España!!

After a couple of lovely days catching up with my sister Christine and her hubby Terry we set off to continue our journey south to Spain. We aim to cover about 300 to 350km in a day and that took us to Biarritz in the far South West of France. We use an app on the phone to find somewhere to stop -Park4night, it's brilliant for finding places we couldn't possibly find ourselves and our stopover in Biarritz was no exception- a quiet car park by a lake. 

Perfect! All we need is an out of the way place to park, but a tap and a wastebin are a bonus, we are completely self sufficient as we have solar panels for our power and gas for cooking, heating and hot water.

After a peaceful night disturbed only by the quacking ducks we continued on our way and after a false start (we forgot to check the planned route on the Sat Nav and it was taking us across the mountains- not the way we wanted to go!) soon we were crossing into Spain. A bit too soon to unpack the bikini though as we drove past the snow covered hills!

Our next stop (thanks to Park4night again) was a cultural site a few miles SE of Zaragoza called La Alfranca where we were able to fill up with water for our showers, it was another peaceful stopover.

Another day on the road travelling down the A23 (not the London to Brighton A23!) from Zaragoza to the coast and we arrive at one of our favourite haunts - the Aire at Castellon in the shadow of the planetarium and right on the beach. It might not be hot but it is December and it's snowing in the U.K! 

We're back on the road again!!

At last! After a year of many trials and tribulations we make our great escape to the continent. Our trip begins on Sunday 3rd December when we leave our home behind for what we hope to be our longest trip to date, heading to Spain to catch some winter sunshine. Now we're not ones to travel lightly, we like our motorhome to be our home from home, so prior to leaving we were like whirling dervishes whizzing round the house emptying the cupboards and trying to fit it all in the van. I'm surprised we managed to get the van off the drive. In the end, after too many "I'll just take this" or "I'll just take that" you just have to say "STOP That's it!!!" and decide you have everything you need and more. 

We had decided to spend the night at the Ferry terminal in Portsmouth to be ready bright and early for our 8.15am sailing, but even though we were up by 6.30am we didn't expect the tap on the door to say we could check in - I wasn't even dressed. After a hasty throw on of our clothes and quickly preparing the van for the off we checked in and sat eating our cereal whilst we queued to embark.

It was only once we were aboard did we realise we had driven off and left our plastic doorstep behind. Well!! We could kick ourselves for being so stupid! We would normally do a 'cockpit drill' and check around before setting out, but we were caught on the hop, it was dark and we missed it. Fortunately we should be able to replace it easily enough but that doesn't make us feel any less daft for driving off without it.

I always find when we go away in the motorhome it takes a while to get into the swing of things.

The sea was calm as a millpond and the ship was almost empty which made for an uneventful crossing arriving at Caen around 3pm.

Apart from the obvious fact that you drive on the right the first thing we notice when driving in France is how much quieter the roads are - so driving becomes much more pleasurable. We choose  to take our journey slowly, avoid the toll roads and enjoy the French countryside. The French provide plenty of places to stay in their villages and towns, it was dead quiet here for the night here by the cemetry!
After a couple of easy days of travelling we began to feel ourselves unwinding and relaxing into holiday mode. Soon we arrived a St.Palais sur mer (not far south of La Rochelle on the west coast) to stay for a couple of days with my sister and her husband. A freezing mist was blowing off the sea when we arrived but it didn't deter us from going for a walk to blow away the cobwebs!

The Last Leg - Fog, Frogs and Hogs....

The cycle path from Castellon to Benacassim

We began our journey home to the UK from El Berro by returning to Castellon for a couple of days, sadly the weather was against us with wind and rain, but we did manage to find a window in the weather to ride along the cycle path from Castellon to Benicassim then on up along the Via Verde. 

We had a picnic on our favourite bench watching the waves pounding the rocks. 

Cambrils Marina

The next day the rain set in so we decided to spend the day on the road travelling up the coast of Spain, skirting Barcelona and arriving at Cambrils (just south of Tarragona) on a very windy day.
We like Cambrils, it's a beautiful resort with very few tacky tourist shops. There are lots of great choice of restaurants facing the Marina which is dominated by a pair of massive metal statues.
As it was our last day in Spain we decided to have lunch in a beachside restaurant and although the wind was cool, the sun was shining - reminding us of what we would be missing when we got home!

Didn't manage to catch a 'live' photo so this statue will have to do!!

Heading back into France the temperature dropped and the fog began to come down although fortunately not freezing fog this time!
Driving along the road suddenly all the brake lights on the vehicles ahead come on as a huge wild boar lumbered across the road eventually disappearing into the undergrowth. It makes you wonder how many wild boar there are out there in the countryside of France as this is the second time we have been surprised by a boar zooming out onto the road!

  Our last stop you may recognise if you read my blog regularly, we like to stop at an Aire near to Neufchatel-en-Bray right on the cycle path from Dieppe to Paris. We allowed time to stay for a while and relax with a walk along the path, a cup of tea sitting outside and an opportunity for Keith to make a new friend (maybe just cupboard love?!)
The next morning we headed home on the Eurotunnel to be home in time for the new arrival to our family

Proud Granny - Baby Violet arrived on 24/02/17 just five days after we got home

 Watch this space! We are now planning our next trip in late spring to cycle alongside the Danube - Germany, Austria, Slovakia in our new van - Gloombuster 3!!!

Wonderful walking in the Sierra Espuna

Our next visit was to the El Berro campsite in the Sierra Espuna national Park where we spent four days. The Sierra Espuna is a protected regional park with 20 mountain peaks of over 1000 metres, pine trees cover most of the park, but the views over the top of the pine forests are magnificent. The park is crisscrossed with walking trails and our friend Paul who was staying here on the campsite for about a month knows the mountain trails well so became our unofficial guide whilst we we here.







 

Keith, Maureen, Andy and Paul

 We also met up with our friends Maureen and Andy on the Wednesday as coincidentally they were staying for a few days in a hotel in a nearby village, the five of us had a lovely day climbing up to the top of Tower Hill where we found a sheltered spot to have our picnic enjoying the fantastic views. We were lucky enough to spot some wild Moufflon mountain goats before they disappeared into the undergrowth - not staying long enough for a photoshoot of course!
 

One of the spectacular views from the top of Tower Hill

The next day we were treated to free Paella  provided by the campsite bar, two great pans cooked up and served to all the current residents of the site. It was certainly a multi-national affair with English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch and Belgians all coming together for a meal.

 

 Sadly we had to leave El Berro to begin the long journey back to the UK, but we definitely will be returning to this lovely area next time we are in Spain

Lunch break at the top of Tower Hill - sheltering on the leaside from the wind

Blue lagoon.....

All of a sudden the bare almond trees are covered in blossom and you get the feeling that maybe Spring is around the corner.
I think it's fair to say that we have found the weather here in Spain much colder than we had expected, but we have had little rain and most days we're able to get out walking or on our bikes and it's warm when the sun does shine. At the time of writing this post it snowed at home in the UK so we know it has to be better here in Spain.
We returned to the Sierra Espuna Camperstop at Totana as we love the easy cycling along the canal side path, plus on a more practical note, I needed to use the washing machine.

But before we arrived we spent one night wild camping in an isolated car park provided for a walk into a ravine where you can see 5 million year old fossilised coral, located at Nonihay. It seems strange that this area was once under a deep ocean especially taking into consideration it lies 1800ft above current sea level.

From Totana we went out on our bikes to the Blue Lagoon, cycling along the canal, into the outskirts of the Sierra Espuna National park and on into the 'Badlands' - a desolate moonscape environment. Suddenly the lagoon comes into view and you are struck by the intense turquoise colour of the water. We stopped at a viewpoint for our picnic but a cold wind was blowing so we didn't take long before we headed back to the shelter of our van.

The following day we headed the short distance up into the Sierra Espuna to the campsite at El Berro - a tiny mountain village with steep and narrow access roads - a bit scary when approaching in your motorhome which is almost the same width as the road!
Here we met up with our friend Paul again and enjoyed a few days of walking and more......
Tell you next time!