After 1 hour of driving we took a break then drove through France aiming to reach our first overnight stop before dark. This we did not do. In fact we were driving for 2 hours in a national park in the dark. We enjoyed the drive and were impressed with the scenery and quaint little villages in France. We were heading for Longny au Perche. The campsite had closed but luckily a phone call to the warden found us a pitch for the night. Longny au Perchy is Lovely. We called in the next morning and were lucky enough to catch market day. a purchase of some fruit and juice and we were on our way.
The next stage of our journey was to Bordeaux. Not quite as long a drive as yesterday. The climate was getting better all the time and by lunch time it was a lovely sunny day. We stopped at a roadside aire For lunch and to sample the fruit and juice we bought in the morning.
When would we see our first vines growing? Well when we did there were acres of them all in magnificent autumn glory. I was so excited to see them I forgot to take a photograph. The campsite was very remote to say the least. Mike described it as a run down Pontins and the drive to it like going to Pilling from Garstang across the moss! not sure we will be using this one again. Bordeaux is a lovely area. Our journey to San Sebastian was not the best. The road was very busy with heavy haulage bumper to bumper from all over Europe. No hard shoulder and the scenery was uninteresting. Very flat with pine forests for miles. We kept ourselves busy spotting where all these lorries were from. As we got nearer to Spain we could see the mountains and the scenery improved dramatically. Lovely colorful villages with chalet type houses nestled into the hillsides. We drove through Irun and San Sebastian that was stressful for Mike. Sally our Sat Nav kept him straight but unfortunately she wanted him to go the wrong way down a one way street. Oh dear! we made it in the end to our campsite here in Zarautz. This is a magnificent place. we are perched on a cliff top overlooking the sea and a golf course. 500 steps to the beach. This site is popular with surfers it is old and tired but the location is superb. We leave for Salamanca tomorrow and intend to spend 2 days there.
A few photographs of Zarautz.
An early start in the morning took us across the Pyranees to Salamanca. We encountered a mixture of sunshine high winds and fog. The scenery is breathtaking in places particularly in the mountains. The cereal growing planes of Spain are also interesting in so much as they are so vast.
Our campsite was situated in the next mountain range and it was called Las Canadas. I can see why it gets that name with regard to the scenery but the site itself! Canada would not be proud to be associated with. We spent a rest day here and that was a mistake on Sunday nothing was open and not a nice enough day to relax outside. We took walks with George and read books and the newspaper on the Kindle. What a great little gadget. I can even go online with it. The nearest village was a spa town somewhere to go for the water. There were baths still in use there for their healing qualities. Wicker baskets in all shapes and sizes must be a local craft. The name of this place escapes me for the moment but I will look it up and post later. We will go back there when the shops are open.
Campsites in Spain are something we will have to get used to! The pitches are small and taken long term in some cases. They are crammed with old touring caravans at the end of their touring lives and the improvisations and personalisation make them look like shanty towns.
Not too clear from this picture but believe me this was a new experience for us! The showers and facilities were clean and the few people we met very welcoming. we will use this site again on out journeys to and from the UK.
The reason for my late entry to the blog is 'no internet access' I have checked emails with the
wonderful Kindle but today I went out and bought a dongle.
The journey down to Ayamonte was motorway all the way. It was raining most of the way. We saw vines growing again and then oranges and olives. The poly tunnells around Lepe have been opened now and strawberries from Huelva will very soon be on the supermarket shelves in the UK. We stopped for lunch just before we reached Seville and got the long brush out to wash the van, using the rain to rinse it off! it worked. The sun came out as we reached Huelva and we arrived in Ayamonte with a clean van.
The total journey was 2380km and cost about 310euros in fuel. We were heavily loaded on this trip and we expect subsequent trips to use less fuel. Ayamonte is lovely and how we always remember it, signs of the recession are evident at the shopping plaza but the sun still shines. AND as a shop closes it doesn't become a 'Charity Shop' 5 in Garstang as I left!
Thats it for now until our next adventure.
