8th April - Benidorm - Off to the seaside!

It's the second day here so we decided to ride into town and take a look at the famous Benidorm strip then head on to the front. The plan was to visit a local street market then make our way along Levante beach front, stop off for a beer then head into the old town.

This place is super busy and it's not even the high season. There are hundreds of bars all along the front, mobility scooters parked everywhere and a liberal dose of nut jobs. 

We have not met many British people along our travels but here there's very little else. The camp sites are full of UK stickers.

We enjoyed our day and are glad we stoped but this place would not be on our holiday go to list. It's too busy, too highrise and too British. The old town area was lovely, the best part of the resort.

7th April - Benidorm - Camping Villasol.

They gave us the option of staying on the site until 6pm which was a nice gesture but we had to leave as we were running low on LPG gas, we also need to do some shopping so we went a bit off piste to the garage and an Aldi both just outside the town.

Camping Villasol is a graet site, the plots are large, we have electric hookup, fresh water, a waste water drain all directly on the pitch. The showers and toilets are immaculate, there are two pools, one inside and one out, restaurant and bar. They also have live entertainment some nights. We got set up then headed to the bar. A large beer, red wine and large pizza to share was 16 euros, unbelievable cheap.

Not much else planned on this first day, just settle in and catch up with the washing.

I'll be adding plenty of pictures to the Benidorm album which you can find by following this link.

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6th April - A cycle into Altea.

Bikes out today and it was a 20 min slow ride along the seafront cycle path to Altea. Once we arrived we locked up the bikes and walked along the seafront. Altea seems a a little more upmarket than L'Albir with more shops and restaurants.

We just had a nice walk then stopped off for lunch and a drink, both were very nice. Later we rode back to L'Albir and had some time sitting on the beach.

It's our last day here as tomorrow we move on. I've booked a nice site in Benidorm, it's one of those places you have to visit so you can make your mind up about weter you love or hate it. We will see.

5th April - L'Albir - Mountaineering.

There's this big lump of land sticking out to our right and I have a hankering to walk up to the top of it and along to a lighthouse. So, with second in command loaded with wine and kindle I set off.

Actually the pathway up to the top was in good condition, it was about an hours walk, all up of course on the way there, sun was beaming but bearable. Two hours later I was down again. There were some lovely views so I grabbed a few pictures, you can find them in the gallery. 

Tank repair is still holding up, we can carry enough water to be able to shower in Buster if we want, it just means that any water we store beyond 1/3rd of a tank full is in containers. Once the level drops we just tip more into the tank from the containers.

Weather is amazing, hot and sunny which is great considering all the rain that Spain has had this year, long may it continue. Buster is filthy, covered in fine dust.

I'm now off to listen to the West Ham FA cup game.

4th April - L'Albir - On a campsite but no electric hookup required for Mr Solar Panel.

After a great visit to Javia but an awfull night sleep we packed up and set off. First mission was water as we don't carry as much with us now. That's a great thing about the French and Spanish they make motorhome service points available for free where you can fill up and empty out. We stopped off at one shortly after we left Javia. Second mission was fuel so we got that done too. It's still much cheaper than at home.

We did plan to stop in Altea but as it was super busy at Easter and a lot of very slow moving traffic, parking areas were full and very dificult to manouver around in Buster so we headed on just a couple of miles down the road to L'Albir. From here we can cycle to Altea if we want.

We didn't get a lot done in the afternoon, just a walk around the site and a stroll along the seafront. One distraction was a giant Ale Hop shop.

There's a few pictures in the gallery from today with more to follow tomorrow I'm sure. We did plan to stop here for a couple of night but I decided to extend that by a day so I could do a bit of hill walking and still have a day left for us to cyle along the coast.

It's all cycle paths here, you can't go go wrong.

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3rd April - Jávea - We're still off grid

Woke up this morning to the sound of the waves coming from the beach beside us. Sun was rising and and warming up, it still gets a bit cool at nights. Great view from the window first thing, across the grassy bank to the sea..

Our problem is still campsites and their prices over the Easter week here, the Spanish celebrate Easter for the week Monday to Sunday, no Easter Monday after Sunday. So knowing this we looked for somewhere else off grid and found a nice motorhome aire in Javia just a few miles away.

First job was Lidl, general stuff and some nice looking burgers for me to cook for later. After that is was time to head for the seafront about 15 mins walk away.

There were plenty of people there, mainly Spanish, this mostly stones on the beach and lots of bars and restaurants. After a walk to the marina it was time to join the others at the bar. A red wine and beer followed by the same again then we headed back.

The new SIM card is working well and the water tank is holding up although we still only risk filling it a third up. If the split was to open we're done for.

I read online that there was a Catholic Easter Friday procession in town so we headed back to watch it. 

Interesting but a little disappointing, a plastic manikin on a piece of timber followed by a group of god fearing elderly with nothing to lose holding a candle.

Shame, I was hoping for a mariachi band or steel drums at the least followed by people on floats throwing sweets.

It turns out a live band is what we got, a music festival not too far away went on until 5 yes 5 in the morning. Very bad night with little sleep. Tomorrow is more of the same so it's off we go, sooner than we had hoped but we need a nights sleep.

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2nd April - Denia - We're off grid by the beach

It was only a 12 mile drive on to Denia this morning and we're parked up alongside the beach. Campervans are permitted here but the police may fine you if they see any signs of camping. So no chairs, no ramps and nothing that extends the size permitted including open windows. Roof vents are ok. 

We had a walk to the marina area which was nice then headed into town. 

I managed to find a Lobster SIM card so we can have 200GB of data for 11 euros. 

Once in town we headed for the castle and enjoyed a walk around plus a swift beer and chocolate muffin. Then it was time for shopping, plenty of them here plus an Ale Hop if you know what that is.

The sun was out, it was hot and eveyone was sitting outside drinking and eating tapas so it seemed rude not to join them. Two plates were enough. Amazing to find that a beer, glass of red wine and two good size plates of tapa were 12.20 euros or £10.65.

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31st March - Camping Pepe

First an update on the water tank. We left the sealant to cure overnight and drove down to Camping Pepe. Filled a container and tipped some in and . . . it dripped. So I grabbed another handful of sealant and spread it on and the dripping stopped. Later on in the day it started dripping in another position so on went the last bit of the tube. Tomorrow morning we will try again.

Camping Pepe is somewhere we have been last year, it's an ok place, bloody expensive as it's Easter holiday week. But we have little choice but use campsites as we need access to showers and water. This isn't the best pitch, it's a bit noisy but it will do for a couple of nights.

If there's a leak tomorrow I'll be off to the local builders merchant on my bike to see if I can get another tube of CT1 and I'll slap that on with a trowel. Our problem is not sealing the crack it's sealing the crack with 110kg of water on top of it.

Lots of washing done other than that it's a day of disappointment and anticipation. Worse case is ferry home and come back again at a alater date. Double bollocks!

On a positive note, I was mildly ammused by the size of the spring onions!

1st April - Camping Pepe - Feeling a bit more optomistic

More water in the tank today and it dripped again, not much but enough to be a pain. After looking on Google maps yesterday I found a builders merchant, six miles away. So off I set to buy some more CT1 if I could find it. They had something similar so it was back to Buster and I slapped more on. A bit later it was more water time, it drid drop but maybe once a minute which was good enough for me. 

So the situation has improved but we can only keep a minimum amount of water in the tank, enough to wash up and wash ourselves but not shower. I can't risk a full take as the water weight may open the split then it's home we go.

We got out for a bike ride stopping at the local Mercadona then a nice ride around orange groves, miles of them! 

I have a couple of stops in mind for tomorrow when we leave, we need to avoid the campsites if we can as Easter is turning a 28 euro pitch into a 48 euro pitch. I'm sure we will find somewhere and limp on for now with our water tank issue.

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30th March - Castello de la Plana - Disaster day

We left Camping Ribamar this morning and headed for Castello de la Plana. The plan was to stop en-route at a motorhome aire, walk into the town of  Benicasim and pick up a Spanish SIM card.

As I reversed into the parking bay I made sure there were no problems with trees, however, as the back end started to move over the curb the low hanging cap of the water tank caught the curb and knocked it. This caused a crack and we lost all the fresh water onto the road. The tanks hang very low on these Swift motorhomes and this curb was very high.

We got back on the road a parked up in our bay at Castello de la Plana. Luckily I had some special sealant and managed to crawl upside-down underneath and cover the crack but there is no guarantee it will seal. The sealant will take 12 - 24 hours to cure before we can put water back in the tank and see if it leaks.

If it leaks there is not choice other than head back to the ferry port. 

To make sure our day got worse this place is a bit grim. I stopped here to visit the planetarium but it was closed and the almost all the shops at the marina were closed too. Bollocks!

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27th March - Camping Ribamar

We left Camping Clara about 11am, first stop was an Aldi just up the road so we could re-stock. The journey was planned for about 2 hours but we stopped off fo diesel fuel and LPG gas en route. It was AP7 dual carriageway for most of the journey.

To reach Camping Ribamar we had to pass through a town called  Alcossebre and then drive along an unmade road for a short while. The site is located within the trees so this would be something new for us on this trip.

It has a mixture of large pitches and timber cabins, there is a pool, a restaurant, bar and small shop for essentials. Each pitch has fresh water, a drain for waste and electric although we never needed to connect.

At the bottom of the site there is a track through the wooded area that leads to the seafront. There is no sand, just a mixture of rocks and stones. Pathways lead off each way and you can walk into town. Tomorrow we plan to cycle into town and see what's there.

28th March - Last full day at Ribamar

Bikes out today and it was off to Alcossebre town. It was a nice town and most places were open but there was not too many people around and very few shops. Back for lunch then a walk along the coast path where we did find a sand / gritty beach that looked nice. Out for dinner tonight, we don't do that often I'm too tight! Ended up not the best experience, order was delivered wrong and there was a kids party on the terrace, food was ok though. The wind is picking up and stuff is getting blown around. Like most Spanish campsite this place is fine grit on the pitch that gets dusty so we squint our eyes back to Buster. This could well  be a wobbly night in out big plastic box.

29th March - Blowing a hoolie! - Safety first - Plan B

After checking with reception we are now here for another day. The wind got progressively worse during the night with a local weather staion showing gusts over 44mph. With the motorhome swaying and the wind noise there no sleep for either of us until around 3am 

The next stop was planned for a harbour but as it's still very windy this morning it seems too risky to drive on and then move to an even more exposed location directly on the sea front at a harbour. 

By early afternoon it was back to sunshine with a breeze, a sit in the sun for a while then time to head off for a walk along one of the many coastal paths.

There's a link here to the pictures in the gallery - You can leave us a message or ask a question by clicking this link.

23rd March - Camping Clara Torredembarra

We left the vineyard this morning after two lovely nights stay and headed for the Med. Our first choice stop is not open until April so we picked a site just down the road called Camping Clara just far enough outside a town called Torredembarra. 

This is a nice site, our pitch has water, waste water drain and electric hook-up. There are nice clean showers and toilets, a launderette, restaurant, bar and even a small supermarket. 

Close by is a gate that leads directly onto the beach via a short boardwalk. 

It's warm during the day but still gets cool in the evening so I put up the shelter to give us more time to sit out in the sunshine but out the breeze. Once setup and a washing load was put out to dry we headed off for a beach walk. Collected some shells and had a paddle, water was freezing! We have two nights here with the option for four, I may take up that option.

24th March

No rush to do anything today so I cooked up a breakfast.

After that the sun cleared away the low cloud so it was off to the beach for a long walk. Lazy afternoon followed drinking wine and San Miguel.

Dinner is done, time to sit for a while then maybe out for a beer at the bar later, read maybe as definitely.

25th March

Ebikes out today for a tour around the local town called Clara, not that much there so we changed course and headed for Torredembarra. We had a slow cycle along the front then walked up the coast path to the lighhthouse. It's been a great stay here and we are looking forward to our one more full day tomorrow. Sunshine, San Miguel, beach walks, sunshine, changing scenery and a reclining chair, what more could you ask for.

26th March

Day 17 of our tour. Well if yesterday was a slow day then today was an almost standstill. The most we managed was a walk on the beach. Tonight is the last night here as we head tomorrow off for somewhere new that's just a little different. We enjoyed staying here, it's family run site and you can tell. The low trees make things a bit tricky but the reception guy rides his bike ahead and then helps direct you onto the pitch. Very likely I'll heading off to the bar later.

See our Camping Clara photo collection and my breakfast picture by clicking this link or you can leave us a message or ask a question by clicking this link.

21st March - Vinya els Vilars

We left Jaca this morning and took a scenic route to our next stop which was Vinya els Vilars. This is a fantasic free aire in a vineyard in the middle of nowhere recomended online. It's free with all the services, two toilets and a shower if you are brave enough to use cold water alone. It has a shop and offer wine tasting, people suggest you drop in and buy a bottle and maybe some olives, I can do this no trouble at all.

The plan is to spend one night here and move on to another free park-up for Sunday. We then hope to book into a larger campsite Monday where it's week days and cheaper.

Vinya els Vilars is a great stop, just a handful of motorhomes here all surrounded by wonderful views.

22nd March - Wine tasting

Couldn't resist one more day as there's no rush to be anywhere and time is no issue. 10:30am and the shop is open so we wander in to see what's there. We are greeted by a lovely lady who set up a few bottles for some wine tasting along with a jug to spit it out which we never used! A little later and before breakfast we head back with two bottles. Tomorrow we head off, not too sure where yet, we will know when we get there.

There's a link here to the pictures in the gallery

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19th March - Crossing the Pyrenees to Jaca Spain

It's time to move on so we done all the services at the site and set off. The plan was to head for Jaca in Spain and cross the Pyrenees as we go. We arrived a bit late to visit anywhere so it was off to the local Carrefor for food shopping.

Just like the last time we were here the crossing of the Pyrenees is an event in itself, stunning scenary even though we took the low option of the Somport tunnel.

Tomorrow we hope to get into an aire that is more central to the town and do a little sight seeing.

It's a lot cooler here, we left Messanges having had a couple of days at 25C and arrived here at 15C.

20th March - Sightseeing in Jaca

Jaca is a town of narrow streets, shops and bars, some open and many closed. The main attraction is a 16th century fort which we visited after wandering through some of the narrow streets. We only expected a quick visit but the place was huge and we spent longer there than planned. It's been a sunny day here even though most of Spain is covered by clouds. 

See our Pyrenees and Jaca photo collection by clicking this link or you can leave us a message or ask a question by clicking this link.

16th March - Plage de Messanges

 This is a great stop, Flat pitches and all the services you need plus WiFi.

We had a couple of hours at the beach which is huge and beautiful then back for dinner. As we arrived late on we get most of the day here tomorrow if we want before we need to move on, if we move on at all!

17th March

We did stay here. The forecast was for full sun 23C and it was right. I done an ebike run to the launerette in the local town, grabbed some lunch then we headed to the beach. What a great day! Now we're wondering what to do tomorrow, the forecast is better here than where we planned to go so we're now undecided. There's no rush, we have 83 days left!

18th March

Couldn't resist another day, we could stay here for weeks as it has it all. The beach is only a couple of minutes walk away and it's the best I've seen, all soft sand and almost empty. Only one complaint, the sea is very cold and the waves are rough, no chance of getting me in the water here today. There are many cycle paths around, some through wooded areas that lead on to vilagaes nearby. Without doubt I could live here but we need to move and see where the journey takes us. Time to pack up in the morning.

There's a link here to the pictures in the gallery

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15th March - Royan France

We arrived late on the 14th and had no plans to go anywhere until Sunday 15th.

I had hoped for more from Royan, the sea fornt area is undergoing a lot of road works and most of the shops are shut. I think we are here too early in the season. It's been a lovely day, sunny, a bit cool but we managed to get out on the bikes and tour from one end of the resort to the other. The harbour area is nice but the beaches have loads of drift wood washed up on them.

We only plan to spend the two nights here, it's been nice to have a break from the driving but with the town being so quiet it's time to move on in the morning. If we leave after having breakfast we should get around Bordeau after rush hour, then on to one more stop in France before it's time to cross the Pyrenees into Spain. I think it may be a good idea for us to take a route through the Somport tunnel as there are still some road restrictions in place over the Pyrenees this time of year.

 I hope the fuel is cheaper in Spain, it's over 2 euros for 1l of diesel, rising fuel prices are not very welcome when you plan a long journey.

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14th March - La Palmyre Zoo then on to Royan for the evening

And so it continued, it rained all night . . . . but this morning it stopped!

I eased the pain with a fry-up in the morning, then a shower and it was time to pack up and walk to the zoo which was just up the road. Said to be the best in France and maybe it was. 

The zoo had a route so you missed nothing, We walked for nearly five hours in total with a panini break in the middle. After the zoo we grabbed the bikes and had a ride down to the coast, lovey big beach one end and a nice harbour the other. 

We left La Palmyre just before 5:30pm which was when the park-up 24 hours was up and headed on to another camping car park in Royan. Royan was only 22km down the road, it's somewhere we stopped last year but just overnight. This time we think we may be here at least a couple of nights. So we're not sure what this place has to offer but another couple we met said they had been here three days already. 

There's a link here to the zoo pictures in the gallery

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13th March - A race against the rain to La Palmyre that we lost

Our plan to drive into Saumur came to nothing, by 10am a rain band moved across and looked like it would be around for sometime. We were right. The chateau will have to wait for the return trip.

So we packed up and moved on, what we didn't realise was that the rain band would move South at the same speed as we did. A lot of this country is still saturated with high rivers and water logged fields. 

4:30pm and we arrived in La Palmyre, it's small town on the coast about about 20min drive to our next stop of Royan. A very pretty town but not much here apart from what is said to be the best zoo in France. This Camping Car Park aire is a 15 min walk away from the entrance so new plan, zoo tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it. Even better, sunshine forecast for Sunday when we arrive in Royan. P.S, it's 8:50pm and it's still raining!

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12th March - Chinon France

There was no rush to leave Honfleur today, we (I) done all the services and we set off mid morning. The destination was Saumur but there was a problem. The two camping car parks in the area were closed due to recent flooding and a campsite that was a backup opened in April.

Rather than use the toll roads todays route avoided them, definately a slower journey, lots of slow tractors and towns to negotiate but it was worth it to have some time to see the real France. The main negative was that it made you realise how far behind we are in the UK with roads, cleanliness, in fact just about everything.

The day was going to be lost to travel so we changed plan and stopped at a Camping Car Park in Chinon where there was a fort / castle worth a visit. There always was a plan to get most of central France out the way quite quickly on the way South and spend more time here on the way back North when the weather improves. 

Tomorrow we hope to make our way to Château de Saumura in the town of Samur a few miles away, there is a free car park there where we can stop for the day.

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From 10th March - Honfleur

Up at a reasonable time and packed up ready to head for Newhaven for the ferry. We had the usual hour long wait to board but once we did we went straight to our cabin for a shower. Cabins are worth the extra £40, they are basic but clean. They serve breakfast which we passed on but we did grab a cooked meal lunchtime. Once we disembarked we grabbed the toll roads and headed to Honfleur.

We are in a huge motorhome air right on the edge of town. Capacity around 200 motorhomes but there is only around 70 here today. We have electric hook-up, there is water available and the usual other services.

In the evening we pulled the cork from a bottle of Melot and a couple of hours later put the bottle out for recycling. 

Rain is forecast for tonight but we don't much care.

11th March

It did rain all night but the sun came out and we walked into town.

Honfleur is a place that escaped bombing in WW2 so many of the original buildings remain. The marina is packed with shops, bars and resturants and there are loads of cobbled side streets to explore.

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9th March - Brighton - We're off (to a wet and foggy start)

Rain overnight but we managed to get the last of the things packed into the motorhome. A couple of last minute things to do then we were off. A nice clear drive all the way down to the Caravan and Motorhome club site. 

 A real mixture of weather here, we decided to take a bike ride to the pier and grab some doughnuts. When we left the sun was shining and it was warm, 10 minutes later and it's very foggy. So it's off to the local supermarket for a bottle of wine then back to site to prepeare dinner and get that bottle open.

Early start tomorrow.

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