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

A fortnight (or more!) in pictures....

Sunrise at Denia

Anyone who has kept a blog or diary will be familiar with how time can run away with you and suddenly you're way behind, well let me tell you that as I write I am about three weeks behind where we are now. So here is the last few weeks in photos...

Via verde at Navajas

Keith having a conversation with a seagull at Calp

View from the Via Verde at Mula

 

 

BADLANDS!! Wonderful cycling country

The best Paella cooked by Janet!

Bumming around Benicassim........

Keith is strangely attracted to Machine Gun fortifications!!

So far on this trip we have not had much of an agenda, when asked where we were going our reply would always be a vague "France then Spain", although what we have tried to do is not to revisit our usual haunts. But sometimes you get drawn to a place and the familiarity is refreshing.
Just such a place is Benicassim on the Costa Azahar. After a few nights on a lovely beachside campsite ( Camping Estanyet at Les Cases d'Alcanar) on the outskirts of a sleepy Spanish resort town north of Vinaros we headed further down the coast intending to stay for a couple of days and ended up staying a week!

The beach at Castellon stretching all the way to Benicassim

We first went to the Aire at Benicassim, but found it too noisy with road noise and barking dogs so headed a few miles on to an Aire right on the beach at Castellon. Yes it was a bit crowded and you may wonder what the appeal of staying in a car park for a week might be, but let me tell you that free camping doesn't get much better than this! On the Aire the water supply is free as is the waste water disposal, there is a toilet nearby which is cleaned daily and better then some of the toilets on campsites, a bustling area by day it was blissfully peaceful at night. The Aire is a short walk to a beautiful sandy long beach and there is a cycle path which passes by going all the way along the seafront to Orepesa via Benicassim including a short Via verde and one of our favourite places to stop and look out to sea, watching the waves battering the rocks below.

On a clear day you can see the rocks under the turquoise sea, the sun shimmering in sparkles on the surface and maybe a ship out on the horizon.

Our favourite place to stop and admire the view!

The promenade at Benicassim

On Saturday night we took a stroll along the promenade enjoying the warm sea breeze, seeing all the Spanish families out enjoying the evening walking, talking or sitting eating and drinking in restaurants or around a picnic table under the trees by the beach. They love to talk the Spanish - I'm not sure what about!

Victoria Villa

As you can guess we spent our time in the area cycling along the cycle track, stopping for coffee stops or a picnic. Benicassim is a large resort town with many Spanish tourists, not many tourist tacky shops or high rise hotels, but lots of cafés, bars and restaurants to chose from. The wide seafront promenade is famous for its grand villas built from 1890 to the 1930's which became a meeting place for the bourgeoisie society and ostentatious social gatherings. The area was nicknamed "Hell" for the scandalous parties held by the wealthy families and artists in the roaring twenties. Later some of the villas were used as hospitals in the Spanish civil war.

The Aire - too close for comfort ( Planetarium in the background in case you're wondering!)

 Even though we have been to the area a few times now we really enjoyed our time there, but with the confined space and lack of privacy of the Aire at Castellon we thought we would find somewhere we could breathe again!

Oops we did it again - yet another Via Verde cycle track....

From the Pyrenees the land became flatter for a while before we arrived in another mountainous area where we managed to locate another Via Verde, a disused railway track running from the town of Tortosa up into the hills, ending over 50km away. We parked in the car park of the disused station at Benafallet, a peaceful place but for a few other users of the cycle track, no other motorhomers though.

We set out onto the path heading inland and the scenery was spectacular with incredible rock formations from the beginning of time, beautiful gorges with turquoise streams babbling down below as the trail headed on up through into the steep hillsides.

 A number of tunnels took us through the hills, cleverly set up with motion sensors for the solar powered lighting so we were able to continue our ride without lights on the bikes. The longest tunnel was over 1km long bored through the solid mountain rock. But sadly not all the tunnels were so well lit and we having forgotten our cycle lights which meant we had to use the torch feature on our mobile phones to see us through the darkness, the scariest moment was when the tunnel lights just switched themselves off plunging us into sudden pitch black darkness - pretty frightening!!

A definite reminder to take our cycle lights 

with us when cycling these Via verdes!

In the few days prior to our stay at Benafallet we noticed signs of an attempted break in on our rear door - only slight marks as if someone had attempted to force open the door with a screwdriver, but enough to leave us feeling slightly unnerved and to maybe think about some of the out of the way places we leave the van, this said our next stop was a motorhome Aire on the Delta De L'Ebre, an area with space for up to 40 campers and hence more secure - we have great trust  in the motorhoming community, we look out for each other whatever the nationality.

The Delta is in area of flat wetland used mainly for rice growing and great for bird watching especially the flamingos. Unfortunately at this time of year the mosquitos are thriving and we were driven away, but not after being ferociously bitten by the little blighters! 

Rice ready for harvesting

It wasn't long before we hit the road again to our next destination further south on the coast