A NEW ROUTE TO SPAIN

 

We tried something different this time. Crossing the Bay of  Biscay from St Nazare to Gijon. It is a 15 hour crossing and gave us a chance to see some of  Normandy. This is the Pont De Normandy bridge over the Seine. Our plan was to have a look at the picture book town of Honfleur and have lunch.

 

 

 

Mt St Michelle was our next planned stop. We used a lovely recommended campsite and set off in the morning to take a look at this amazing cathedral perched on a rock off the Normandy coast. Motor homes are very well catered for in France however they are sometimes not permitted on car parks. We now know that we should have spent the night there on the dedicated overnight parking place and allowed a full day there. We know for next time. A stop at a roadside shop to take a few photographs and buy a bottle of Calvados was all we saw of Mt St Michelle on this trip.

 

 

 

 

A 15 hour overnight sailing to cross the Bay of Biscay ahead of us we found this lovely quiet spot to give George some exercise. He had to stay overnight in the van and at 9 in the morning when we went to see him I must admit we opened the door with some trepidation. All was fine, in fact I think he is a better sailor than either of us! I wouldn't have liked it to be any worse than it was and on asking the young man who escorted us to the deck to attend to George in the morning it was 'half way' Will we do it again? Not sure.

 

 

The LD lines Norman Asturias is the one to the left of the photograph and one of the transport vessels with 2 pieces of Airbus on the quayside.

 

 

First sight of Spain.

 

 

The campsite we found in Gijon was lovely. We had a 2 night stay there before heading off for Ayamonte a 2 day drive.

 

 

Campsite at Gijon.

 

 

 

THE LAST THREE MONTHS

I promised myself that the first rainy day would be the day for me to update my blog. Here it is 27th. September. It has tipped down since early morning and looks likely to stay for the rest of the day.

 

We left Spain at the end of June to escape the worst of the Heat. Our journey took us into Portugal out to the most westerly point then on up to Evora. This looked like a good place to stop for lunch. It took us rather longer than expected to reach Evora and my planning of only one night there left us with no time to look around this interesting city. It is now on our list of places to go back to.

 

 

Our first planned two night stop was Tomar with the intention of visiting Fatima. The site Pellinos 77 for those fellow campers out there this is a little gem. Its owners are young Dutch couple. They left their busy lives in Holland to live their dream. Their love for their site and their friendship made our stay memorable.

 

Fatima is a place of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics the world over. It is built on the site where three children had a vision and saw the 'Lady with the white rosary' It was only in 1917, two of the children died young the other became a nun by the name Lucia who only passed away quite recently. The jewel encrusted crown was a gift from the ladies of Portugal who believe their faith in her kept their country out of WW2.

 

Of course there is profit being made on every corner selling candles and the like, some in the shape of body parts which are taken to be blessed then burnt with a prayer for healing.

It can only be said that this place is truly remarkable and I hope from the photographs it is possible to grasp the sheer size of this place.

 

 

 

 

 

We left Fatima and Tomar heading out to the coast of Portugal to avoid going through Lisbon. 

 

           

Next stop Spain. we try not to use motorways in the hope that we will see and find more interesting places to see and sometimes stop at the roadside to stock up with lovely local produce.

 





 

The ancient city of Campostilla de Santiago was our next place of interest. It rather reminded me of York perhaps because it was raining!

 

 



 

 

 

The Regions of Cantabria and Asturius in the north of Spain are very scenic the climate is just right for July and it is easy to see why so many Spanish people including the old King Alfonso chose to reside here in the Picos mountains during the summer months.

 

 

 

Our tunnel crossing was booked and it was now time to press on into France with one more planned visit. Oradour sur Glane. We had planned to visit Byonne and Bearitz it wasn't to be this time and headed off for Dax. One of the things we look forward to in France is the pavement cafes.

 

 

 

 

Dax is a spa town famous for its healing waters which leave the ground at 65deg. C.

 

 

Leaving the road to find somewhere to park up for lunch is sometimes quite a surprise! We stumbled upon Chateaux Rochefouauld.

 

 

A good parking spot by the river along with a couple of other motor homes a walk up to the Chateaux and some chocolate for later.

 

 

 

Ourador Sur Glane is a town near Limouges which was wiped out by the SS during WW2 all the inhabitants were massacred and the town burnt. It now remains as it was as a reminder of the horror of war. The underground visitor centre offers a very interesting account of what happened there and Why.

 

 

 

 

This concludes our journey through Portugal, Spain and France and a final push through the wheat fields to Calais.

 

 

Once in England we spent time with family. A day out in Frinton on Sea Alice found George was quite useful on our long walk along the seafront.

 

 

 

Up to Lancashire to visit friends and family there. Would it be nice enough for a day at 'The Open'

 

 

Well we did go and had a lovely day it was very cold but no rain. Another fine day and a day out with Lisa Dan and Nate.  A picnic in the Lakes.

 

 

After spending time wandering around the Essex countryside and a few days in Dorset we spent the Bank Holiday Saturday at Folkstone with a tunnel crossing booked for Sunday.

 

 

 

 

We have been back in Spain now for 4 weeks. The return journey is still in the camera. Perhaps a job for another rainy day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WINTERING IN SPAIN

To spend the winter months in a warmer climate has at last become more than just a dream. However I have to admit I have been very lazy with the camera.
We took 7 days to get down here with 3 or 4 hours driving each day. The route we took was Calais to Boulogne where we had a pitch overlooking the sea. We could see the white cliffs of Dover and receive English radio.

On our trip to England for Christmas we just had to stop and pick a bunch of mistletoe. It is growing freely in the treetops in France.

Snow was on the mountains as we passed through the Pyrenees and piled up at the side of the road in some places, the roads were all fine and we didn't encounter any bad driving conditions. One of our planned stops and one we were looking forward to was the city of Bourgos. The site was fine unfortunately the other campers weren't. At least half the site had been taken over by travellers from Ireland with the most fabulous caravans and vehicles to tow them. Unfortunately their behaviour and respect for the site and its facilities didn't match. Our walk into Bourgos was cut short due to my uneasy feeling and will remain on the to do list for another trip.

 The first Highlight of the year after the celebration of New Year for the Spanish is Semana Santa. Easter. They don't half go to town with the processions. Each Church has an elaborate tableaux and it is carried by about twenty men hidden underneath. They parade it taking steps backwards, forwards and sideways. These pictures were taken on Palm Sunday unfortunately the rest of Easter was rainy and these treasures don't come out in the rain.

Our Daily walks into town, on the beach or in the country have become a ritual and since it became warm enough a dip in the pool at about 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

It is great to be able to cook and eat our meals outside Mike has perfected the art of making Paella on the BBQ and George has his favourite places to sit too!

Our next trip back to the UK starts on the 28th. June and is going to take us out to Lagos the most westerly point of the Algarve, then inland a little to Evora to avoid Lisbon on to Fatima then out to the coast again and follow it around Spain and into France. We have allowed time for stops and sightseeing and I will try to remember to take more photographs. 

BACK TO UK FROM SPAIN FOR CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR

Our return trip started on Monday 12th December following the same route as our outward journey. We loaded up with wine and cava in Spain then off to France to see what delicacies we could find there. Finding campsites open at this time of year proved quite a challenge. 'France Passion' came to the rescue on a couple of occasions the first a French wine producer in Reignac, Bordeaux. The very friendly farmer along with his son who was keen to practise his English gave us a private wine tasting and explained the stages in the production of wine from tending the vines to the bottle. We purchased a case of his 2005 spent the night in the yard and set off early the following morning.
Having rather enjoyed our first France Passion experience we decided to try another member. This time a cheese producer in Vasles. This was less sucessful. He was more than happy to let us stay the night but his cheese business did show the signs of having fallen victim to the recession and he had diversified into breeding horses. No cheese was on offer and we didn't want a horse. The principal behind 'France Passion' is that you stay for nothing and buy some produce in return. That night there was the grandaddy of all storms. Daybreak revealed a few storm damage obstacles to move before we could hit the road again. For most of the morning we encountered fallen branches and flooded roads. It was a hard drive to Longny Au Perche where we had promised ourselves we would stop on our return to buy chocolate and other delicious produce for Christmas.
Our next challenge was to meet the 24-48 hour deadline for George to visit the vet before we crossed the chanel.
We chose a vet in Alencon, a good choice easy to find and plenty of parking. All went well and our return to the UK was completed in 7 days. The van is now Taxed, Tested and insured for Fulltiming we are armed with more directories for places to stay [All the Aires of France and the ACSI guide]
It is our intention to do a round trip of the Algarve very soon and head north for the Summer in June.