The Weather Gremlins Strike Again.

In September we went to France and had to keep going south to get away from a wet and cold weather front that chased us all the way from the UK.

On this trip we have been relentlessly pursued by a blast of cold air from the Arctic which has stretched right across France and Spain. It has meant frost, snow and very cold nights all the way south.

Two days ago we arrived at the coast of southern Spain and at last it was warm, although cloudy. The clouds followed us all the way from Salamanca to just outside Cadiz. Last night Storm Ana passed through which meant high winds and torrential rain all night and most of this morning.

Can we now have some of that sun we were promised Mr. Weatherman?

We did have a couple of days of decent but cold weather while in Salamanca thank goodness.

Last Thursday we joined up with Jenny and John (https://jennyandjohngocaravanning.wordpress.com) and got the bus into the historic centre of Salamanca.

We were staying on the Camping Regio site (www.campingregio.com) just outside of town. The large site is behind a posh hotel of the same name and the bus stop is in the hotel car park – very convenient.

The impressive entrance to the camp site.

The number 20 bus takes you right into the old part of the city and terminates close to the famous Plaza Mayor. The fare is €1.40 and you get the return bus where you got off. Hotel Regio is the end of the return route.

What a lovely city Salamanca is. Everywhere you look is fantastic architecture with towers and bells all around. University buildings, cathedrals, the public library plus the huge Plaza Mayor, there was a lovely view in every direction. It was surprisingly busy, with tourists and locals mingling in the bustling streets and squares.

The Famous Plaza Mayor.

Click on any photo for the full size version.

Such Elegance.

 

A little rest from all that walking.

On Friday morning we said our good byes to Jenny and John and continued our trek south.

We left in fog but as we drove down the A66 the fog cleared and the sky started to brighten up again. It was a public holiday so traffic was extremely light and we made decent time past Cáceres and Merida to our overnight stop at Monesterio, a small and unremarkable town just off the motorway. There is a free aire just on the edge of town which even has electric hook-up.

After a quiet night we woke to more fog which quickly cleared once we started driving.

On the edge of Seville we stopped at a huge and very smart Carrefour to stock up on food before continuing south towards Cadiz.

Now we are parked under the pine trees at Camping Pinar San José, close to Cape Trafalgar. This ACSI site has all the facilities you could wish for and now the holiday weekend is over and most of the Spanish have left, is nice and peaceful.

Storm Ana has passed, the sky is starting to get brighter, although we can hear the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean in the distance.

I think I can just see a patch of blue sky, things are starting to look up.

The drains in Spain……

…….are mainly full of rain.

Apart from the train noise it started to rain during our evening at Bellvei and continued all night, seeming to get heavier as the night went on.

We returned to the toll motorway to continue north as I really didn’t fancy driving through or too close to Barcelona. I’ve read too many stories of bandits and ne’er-do-wells preying on tourists using the main roads through the area, so the E15 seemed the safer and quicker option……to hell with the cost.

The rain continued to hammer down as we drove and despite the spray the motorway seemed far safer than dodging through crowded towns and villages.

After crossing the border and getting back into France we left the motorway at Narbonne and after a stop for supplies at Carrefour we drove down to the sea at Gruissan. As we parked at lovely Gruissan the rain finally stopped for the first time in 20 hours.

Looking out over the lagoon.

The aire at Gruissan marina is on Avenue des Quatre Vents (Four Winds) and is as aptly named as it’s possible to be. During our many previous visits the wind has always played a part at some time during our stay but on this occasion it did itself proud. It howled down from the nearby Pyrenees and didn’t stop during the two nights we were there. The van rocked and shook but the sun shone and we stayed inside enjoying the view of the flamingoes feeding in the shallow water of the lagoon.

An almost deserted aire at Gruissan, it will look very different in couple of months time.

 

The trains in Spain……..

…….run mainly through the night.

OK, slight exaggeration (but it makes a good headline) as we pitched up for the night in a semi rural spot but close to where two rail lines converge.

Area Bellvei at Bellvei de Penedes is a small privately run aire (GPS 41.24583º 1.56972º) tucked away behind a farm building and surrounded by vineyards. At €8 per night plus €1 for wi-fi it is excellent value as long as you’re a train spotter.

Bellvei Aire with railway just beyond the field.

The railway runs just beyond the open ground in front of the parking spot and the trains roar past every few minutes. There are substantially fewer at night but we were still disturbed by them at times. Apart from the trains, it is a well cared for small site with good facilities for dumping and taking on water plus there is a toilet provided.

Good water and waste facilities at Bellvei.

Valencia Camper Park.

Valencia Camper Park entrance.

A different type of stopover that isn’t quite an aire and not quite a campsite and takes caravans as well as motorhomes. (GPS 39.57963º -0.44475º)

It is just on the edge of Betera and seems to have been developed from an industrial site with most of the pitches inside a walled and gated compound. It sounds pretty awful but in reality it is well thought out and pleasant.

Inside the walled compound.

Outside of the walled area is an open/countryside area where the pitches are a couple of euros cheaper if you don’t need electric hook-up. The site staff were very friendly and helpful and the wi-fi (included in our pitch price of €10) was excellent.

Our quiet pitch.

After two days of driving we stayed for two nights and I spent Sunday morning updating this blog, the afternoon sitting in the sun and then watched the Bahrain GP live on C4 via wi-fi. Oh, the wonders of modern technology.

The weather forecast for the next few days was for rain and cloud so there didn’t seem much point in hanging around, we might as well keep heading north. The habit of a lifetime was broken as we took to the E15/AP7 toll motorway to avoid all the busy towns along the coast. It was an excellent if expensive road but got us to our next overnight stop quickly and easily.

Back into the hills.

One night of dust and wind was enough for us so we almost retraced our steps as we headed north east and away from the coast.

Many years ago we had a couple of holidays on the Costa Del Sol and it was very built up then so what would it be like now? Looking at the map of Spain we could see a route that cut off a large corner and would take us through the hills and back to the coast at Valencia.

Our route took us past Jerez, over country roads north east to pick up the motorway to Cordoba then east to the town of Úbeda where we stopped the night.

Having heard how good the Spanish roads were and found them to be well surfaced and maintained so far on this trip, we were surprised to find them anything but on the long drive that day. Poor Celine crashed and rattled over the patched up carriageways and on some parts of the motorway I stayed in lane 2 when I could, to get away from the damage done by the trucks.

Again we found our aire easily, Camper Contact 46417 (GPS 38.00638º -3.37925º), but the entrance up little more than an alleyway didn’t look too appealing. However the aire was very smart, very new and well laid out in a small car park. To one side was a huge and very secure building which was a training centre for the Guardia Civil, to the other an olive pressing plant while behind was a park and swimming pool. The aire had water and dump facilities and everything was free.

The following day, Saturday 2nd April, we continued east. My intention had been to take the N322 across country towards Valencia but after the battering we had taken from the bumpy roads the previous day we elected to take the longer motorway route in the hope that the surface would be better maintained. It was a good move as the roads were excellent again. Not only smooth and well surfaced but, being Saturday, there were very few trucks on the road.

After leaving Úbeda with its hills covered in olive trees we backtracked a few km to join the A4 north and onto the high plateau at around 750m high. Mile after mile (or should that be Km?) of flat agricultural land then miles of vines interspersed with steep hills and tunnels as the road wound across the landscape before finally dropping down to the coastal plain close to Valencia.

We covered almost 300 miles and still arrived at our next stop by just after 2pm.

Goodbye Portugal, Hello Spain.

After three weeks in Portugal we crossed back into Spain to start the gradual move north.

An aire at Sanlúcar de Barrameda, on the coast near to Jerez, had been recommended by a couple of people and as it had views over the estuary of Rio Guadalquivir it sounded good.

The motorway from the border to Seville was excellent and then we turned south and crossed attractive countryside on a first class road to our destination. Sanlúcar is a large town but the sat-navs did their job and took us straight to the aire (GPS 36.78338º -6.35883º). Our aires book warned that it was ‘dusty when windy, muddy when wet’. When we arrived it was very windy so the site took on the appearance of a little patch of desert surrounded by apartment blocks. The lucky few who had a pitch overlooking the estuary and the beach had a lovely spot but the rest of the aire didn’t have a lot to recommend it in our view.

The dusty aire at Sanúcar de Barrameda.

We had a breezy and pleasant walk along the very posh promenade and into the old town with its lively main square before finding our way back to base.

The main square.

The Rain in Spain…..

……falls mainly on us!

After the lovely sun yesterday at Capbreton the weather turned foul overnight. We could hear the rain and wind battering the van during the night as a weather front that also affected the UK came through. The forecasts all said it would clear by 11am so we set off south again but this time using the toll motorway.

I haven’t paid for motorway tolls in France for some years but this was different. For a start we had only paid for one aire during our week in France, the magnificent sum of €3.50, so I felt we should contribute a little more to the flagging French economy. Also, the main roads to the Spanish border all run through very built up areas, so there are lots of traffic lights and roundabouts but also with the dreadful weather and signs warning of snow ahead is seemed worth the small cost.

It was a good move as the weather just seemed to get worse. The roads were awash and the spray from HGV’s made vision difficult but at least there were no pedestrians or cyclists to worry about.

A couple of small tolls and we were over the border into Spain where the road became quite dramatic as it climbed and twisted round hills and through multiple tunnels. In good weather it would be a pleasant and dramatic drive but with the wind and rain it was hard work.

Eleven o’clock came and went and still the rain hammered down but we were now at well over 800 metres high and at least it wasn’t snowing. Overhead gantry signs kept warning of snow and at regular intervals there were snow ploughs stationed beside each carriageway with their beacons flashing and the drivers waiting for their orders to go. Fortunately they weren’t required while we were on the road.

Eventually there were glimmers of brightness ahead and a small patch of blue sky appeared just before we reached our planned overnight stop.

We found our aire at Torquemada, a small town just off the A62 motorway, which is approached over a beautiful medieval stone bridge.

The bridge at Torquemada.

The aire (GPS 42.03705º -4.31615º) is listed as being ‘dead quiet’ as it’s beside an ancient chapel and the town cemetery, there are even storks nesting on the bell tower. We had a walk around the very sleepy little town and only saw one other person, although it was siesta time I suppose. Of all the vehicles that have come past us so far the majority have been tractors.

Torquemada Aire de Camping-Car.

A ‘dead quiet’ place to spend the night.

Now we are sitting in Celine, the sun is shining from a cloudless sky and all is right in our little world again. Another almost identical Carthago has arrived and parked alongside and it turns out to be a chap that I have often conversed with on-line as he is a fellow member of Motorhome Fun forum. Not only that but his name is almost the same as mine. Could someone who is into betting give odds of that happening a thousand miles from home and in the middle of the Spanish countryside?

Chapel complete with nesting storks.