Barcelona to Narbonne

Why am a day late posting this? Read on.

Yes the site was noisy and the planes started early, but it was easy to find!! We had already decided to take a few cases of wine to Jills because it it so much cheaper in Spain. Hence a shopping expedition. Well the camp site is off a dual carriageway so getting back on doesn't give much option. Usually in Spain the Hyper markets advertise on all the motorways and guide you nearly to their door. Intuition is required and a note of the position of the sun relative to the sign as you come off the motorway. This time however the turn off was to anothe motorway and thestore was on the other side!! No problem just go to the next exit -over the motorway- and back to the store. NOT IN Barcelona you end up on another motorway heading further and further away. I won't continue to bore you, but this went on for another 45 mins, both getting more stressed and Sophie hypeing it up for both of us. Well we found the Carrefour shopped and the started the return journey. I hadn't put the location into the SatNav so we set off through the only exit from the Super market to find ourselves on a completely different road to our approach. The same maze of dual carriageways with no returns took hold and having left the camp at 10.30 we eventually got back at 12.20. Sophie, who understands my shouting 'where the f**k are we?' means stress went into melt down and that didn't help as Nicky followed quickly. Anyway we hitched up the van and got on our way. Nicky and me sorted; Sophie in remission.

I have done; missed; ignored some things in my life that have ben critisised as stupid but I now realise I should have taken more notice of the map. We were on a motorway into Barcelona the C31, if anyone knows it, and we were to leave on the C31, no choice!, what I didn't pick up was that this goes through the centre of Barcelona and for many kilometers it is 5 lanes wide with crossings and lights etc etc evey few 100 meters. The traffic was horrendous and with a rig my length nearly 40ft I could easily block a crossing if the traffic in front stopped and the lights changed. I was trying to be sensible and wait 'til I had room, but my fellow travellers saw that as an opportunity to pass and fill the gap I had left! Of course pedestrians and bikes, motorised or not, think they have right of way at all times and the closing of the bus/taxi lane did only helpto add to the general confusion. The conclusion fellow followers if you want to take a 22ft caravan from one side of Barcelona to the other Take the Ring Road, even if it means going back on yourself from your camp site.

I set the satnav to the GPS position of the site printed in the book.

The drive from Barcelona through the southern Pyrenees is easy, due to the new motorways, but very spectaular. Although we left Barcelona at 12.15 we were in Narbonne at 4.30pm. I followed the satnav, Nicky was more sceptical, anyway the satnav said we still had 16kms to do, which figured with the book. We went through vineyards, villages, smaller than villages, farms, all very bumpyand eventually arrived at the coast with instructions to turn 1KM inland! The book said the site was 6km from the sea!! With no where else to go I went through the very narrow streets and promenade of Narbonne-Plage na headed bak t the motorway and the instructions in Nickys book! We found it, but it was full!! We retraced our steps to another site in the book-- yes FULL! We followed signs to another campsite and after some pleading booked in there. Pleasant enough but basic. 8 pm We're all exhausted especially Sophie. Although a 6 year old French lad took a liking to her and started running her round the site. An English couple took pity on us and helped park the van. The site is run by a young couple and Mum and Dad; who stay in the background. I think Mum is in charge! The restaurant only had half the menu available and the entrecote steak and chips turned out to be Steack Hache and frit( beefburger & chips) . The Wine ? 50ml carafe for 1e25. ??

Ah! well another day tomorrow.

Seguna to Barcelona

Although we got up early 8am we didn't get away until 11am. Still don't know why. Sophie had her second night out under the stars and didn't move until she heard us. She even ignored one of those little yappy dogs that started with the dawn chorus.!! We got backto the autoroute in 5 mins which made our 1 1/2 hour search last night even more ***@@@** annoying. The temperature is 29 C, but cloudy and rather humid. Actually quite pleasant for touring in an air-conditioned car. Sophie doesn't think so she is still reluctant to get in even with the bucket full of 'natural remedy' from the Vet. I think it needs Librium! No quackery! Any way as I tell her she only has another 47 days to go.

The Motorway has two options the toll road and the old motorway. I decided on the toll because it would be easier to pull the van. That may be so but it costs a fortune. We spent nearly 40 euros today doing 200 miles!

We travelled mainly near the coast and so not too many hills. I was alarmed at the amount of petrol we bought yesterday so checked it out today, we are doing about 24 miles to the gallon, I suppose not bad for a rig that in total weighs about 2,800 kilos nearly 3 tons. It feels unusual though t be overtaken by 40ft Artics, but I'm getting used to it.

Found a picnic spot probably the only one in Spain

We are now at a 3* camp site 5 euros more than usual. It's at Gava a few miles south of Barcelona and apart from being on the flight path to Barcelona Airport, could make a great place to stay to visit the great City.The site is nice, they said not very busy, but put us in the middle of quite busy area. Pool, Shop, it's own internetcafe-which I don't need, and all the other facilities. The weather is cloudy, it has been all day and it's starting to blow. If I was in England I would expect rain before morning. Question? does Sophie sleep outside again tonight or in the Car?

We decided not to put an awning up for Sophie and she was very good and slept all night. The camp was busy and kept Nicky awake until after 2am. I can't do late nights anymore, Nicky says due to the wine! Planned to get to Castellon for the evening with the hope we could look round. Ended up 60 miles short. This part of Spain has some fantastic scenery and some really dreadful. The inland hills have the most interesting profiles and the cliffs at the coast are dramatic. The land seems to be plastic greenhouses still or acres & acres of Lemon/ Orange trees>

As I said we decided to stop short of our target to get chance of a look round. I took a turning too soon and we saw a lot of the raoad to a beach where there was suposed to be a camp site sadly it all got very stressed because I said I knew where I was going and Nicky said she had told me I had taken the wrong turn off the motorway! Anyway it took 1 1/2 hours to find the site and Sophie was totally stressed, possibly because we were.

Anyway the site at Sagruno, looked promising when we arrived, but is a little 'seedy' Everything works and is clean and it is on the beach, and has a nice bar/restaurant and is well priced. So maybe we will come back. I took some pictures, but they were mostly crap so I will have to do better on our return and sharpen up for the rest of the trip. One of our camp site that where we finally arrived. Found the restaurant on the beach just before 10pm and had the Menu del Dia. Salad followed by entrecote steak, very tender and very tasty. Fantastic.

Daimalos to Aguila

The day has arrived. The pajero pulled the van up the drive with not too much trouble other than clouds of black smoke. We changed cars in Velez where we left the Pajero with the garage, he now has seven weeks to get it right!! The Nissan is very game, but on any decent slope I have to drop to second and it won't go above 50 on any slight slope. Our journey times are going to be long! WE got away from Velez at 11.15 not bad for us! I had hoped to get North of Cartagena for the first night, but traffic through the single lane road from La Herradura to Adria was jammed and it took an hour and a half.

The coast line scenery is quite fantastic.

Then you come to Almeria, which is covered litterally in plastic greenhouses as far as the eye an see and up most of the hillsides. Not a pretty sight. The weather is hot 30 deg, but the wind is fearce. This is the area that had wildfires during the last few days and we were a bit unsure whether we could get through, but felt that if the motorways had been closed it would have been reported on the news. We did see one small fire on the central reservation, A car was there with flashing red & blue lights and two guys having a go at the flames. They must have got there very quickly. I guess someone threw a lighted cigarette stub out of the window. Its a fine and a four point penaty here if your spotted. Finally decided to call it a day at 5.30 and find a site, just in case they were getting full. Nicky found one in the book at Aguila, a good bit short of target, but who's targetting? I followed the SatNav instructions and ended up in a tight unmade campo road. We managed to turn round and found the right road for the site in an Urbanisation. I missed the turning and while looking for somewhere to turn round found another site so here we are.

The plot is a good size, but because we're only here for one night I'm not putting up the full awning.

Sophie huffed and puffed all day. The 'medicine' from the Vet doesn't seem to be working, but we'll give it a few more days.

The day before we set off

Beach at Barbate The dots on the horizon are people!

View of Africa from the hills above Tarifa, the most southerly part of Europe

Storks have nested here for generations. They like chimneys and the tops of electricity pylons!!

Our hostess round the Sandeman factory

A couple of Sherry Solaras

Well we are nearly there. The Caravan is packed, the roof box is packed. I managed to get the bottle fridge into the boot of the car, so that when we park up for a few days we can get some cold drinks. The caravan fridge is not really powerful enough especially in this really hot weather. the temp in the shade got up to 41deg and the pool is 30 deg, so is the cold water from the tap so a fridge and bottled water is much sought after. The car has aircon, but not the caravan, I might be sleeping in the car?

I have down loaded some pictures from our Jerez, Cadiz trip as above. Haven't really planned a route, but tonight when it's cooler? We're heading east up the Coast of Spain on the A7 E15. Well see how far we get.

Set alarm early, but still managed to stay in bed until 8.30. Got to garagein Torrox that Chris recommended to find that the owner wouldn't arrive until 11.00. Hot day, Sophie still not happy with the car and I have to pull her into the car. Arranged for the car to be serviced tomorrow, Hooray. Took Sophie to the Vet. They tried to convince me that it was the hot weather that made her pant so aggressively--especially in a car--I explained that the car was air-conditioned! Then that she had fallen between the seats when I had to break hard and ever since then she showed signs of great stress in the car! The vet wouldn't give me triazepan or diazepan, because we are going to be away too long to use it every day! So she was prescribed a "natural pill" I hope it works it cost 70 euros for the course.

Now we are to pull the van with the car I really need the car wired for the van with all the light , fridge and leisure battery connections. I took it to the Car Electrics man in Velez. He speaks no English, so a great challenge with pointing, basic spanish and hand waving, but he says he needs to see the Caravan ' to find out which pin is negative'. Pulling a 20 ft caravan round the back streets of Velez with cars parked on both sides is an absolute no brainer.

Tonight the sun has just gone down,we are sitting in the Gazebo with BBQ food to eat the temperature is 29 deg C the same as the pool water!!The environment could not be more perfect!
Why are we going away??

Monday: The bad news: The Pajero is still pinking badly and blowing outsoot when I accelerate. Called at the Garage twice, but Mike not there. Ray is ill so no news on licencng the caravan. I'm fed up with them and call a couple of "number plate agents". Nicky got the call back it will cost 1,500 euros to licence the caravan on to spanish plates and it could take 2 months. I'm beginning to think the Spanish authorities are more xenophobic than I first thought. If we pull the caravan with the Pajero, which they won't ITV (MOT) because the licencing authority have not yet issued the new documents showing we are the new owners both vehicles will be considered illegal on Spanish roads and we will have 2400 kms of driving to the French border and back and God knows what the rules are in anti-English France.

The Villa is let from Next Sunday until 15th September so something has to be resolved. Nicky has the answer we must pull the caravan on the English plated Nissan! That needs servicing Oh! Joy.

Tuesday 21 July

The weather is cloudy, the air temp 34, but still fairly dry so not too uncomfortable. Finally decided Spanish plate + Pajero out -- thanks Trafico-- english plates + Nissan in.
Very confused day.

Saturday 18th July. I woke early excited about going back to the Villa and sorting things out, with the hope it would make our ongoing trip more comfortable. We collectedt the Pajero and swapped the caravan on to it. It was much easier to pull with the extra weight and size of the 4x4. The automatic gear box and the extra torque of the deisel engine all helped. Thank goodness it did not boil, but it started pinking when accelerating. Mike from the garage said he had put some injector cleaning fluid in the fuel. I hope it works!
Very hot day it got up to 38 in some places. Lovely to be back to the pool and Sophie thinks she is back in heaven. Part of the watering system failed so some plants are dead.

Sunday:
Chill out day. Blue sky and sun and 30 degrees. Slight breeze. Pool 29 degrees. Nicky sun bathing this afternoon, she hasn't done that here for years, things are looking up.

Fun in Jerez, Cadiz, Tarifa etc

Monday 13th saw us sorting out the site and doing all the boring housekeeping things before we set off to discover Jerez. We left camp at noon and arrived at the Information Centre just after 1pm. One of the purposes of our visit was to have a tour round a 'Sherry' bodega, but by the time we arrived they were all closed or closing. We had a beer in a cafe and set off to walk around the town and find the interesting places. The map supplied by the Tourist Office showed a route, but I managed to lose us and we walked round some very, very unattractive places. We then got back on track and there are some fantastic old buildings. Unfortunately dogs are not allowed. Sophie has picked up a very bad habit of breathing very loudly in the car. It winds up both Nicky and me. Today it became unbearable, we shouted at Sophie, who took no notice, and then at each other. This will have to change if we are to do a 7 week tour!!

Eventually we got to go round the Sandeman Bodega. I have to say it wasn't very exciting, possibly because we had already done the wine course and knew all about it. We did the tasting of old 'Sherries' The pale was OK but the rest were not really to our taste.

Thursday we managed to leave Sophie in the awning while we went to the camp swimming pool. A major advance in possibility's. It's easy to say "just leave her she'll get used to it". But she barks and Barks and disturbs the whole area, so this was a major move forward for us. She didn't bark!!! Caravanning is really full on excercise and we will have to sort out how we do the touring. We don't want to spend two hours packing up and 3 hours setting up each day.

Friday pack up and back to Torre for one night to sign off the Lawrences (who had a great time). We also went out after dinner and spent from midnight to 2am in the Irish Bar talking to the owner and another punter. That's life in the town. Tomorrow it's back to the Campo>

Camping Torre del Mar

Saturday saw us back at the villa without Sophie who had been boarded out for a couple of days so that we could de-fur the place. All was looking spic-and span and we welcomed the Lawrences in the afternoon and then left. We picked up Sophie and introduced her to camping life again. It's odd camping in a place so local that we are here several times a month and think we know well. But of course we usually go home in the early afternoon and now we can enjoy the atmosphere 24 hours. It has a fantastic beach, although dogs are not allowed on most of it, but there is a little stretch at the western end where dogs an be exercised. The site is nice, clean and after the week end quite quiet, I'm surprised to say. Carol and Chris came to look it over and that was nice. Carol's mum is not well so they were going back to the UK for a few days to see her. The days seemed to fly by. We went to Comares on Wednesday and took Sophie of course. She has picked up an annoying habit of breathing loudly in the car and when she wants something. It was a very hot day one where car Air con is much appreciated. The problems with the Pajero continued and daily visits to the garage added to their already overloaded schedule and didn't resolve any of our concerns. So by Friday the Primera was destined to pull the van and us to the Cadiz area, our chosen destination for week two. But before that we had the Daimalos Fiesta. We went to it four years ago and for various reasons didn't make it again until this year. After many failed attempts to get Sophie looked after Eddie and Ennis (now without a car) agreed that Sophie could stay in the house they were minding if we gave them a lift to the Fiesta. It was a good fiesta and for such a small village.

Sunday we packed up the awning, all the other stuff ( took 2 1/2 hours) and set off for Camping Roche near Conil on the west coast of Spain. The bit that's washed by the Atlantic.

My Tom Tom said the journey time was 4 1/2 hours we took 7. There was a delay following an accident involving a large caravan (with Dutch plates) towed by a 4x4 (with Gibraltar plates).
The road was full of cars with French, Dutch and Belgian number plates and when we stopped at the services they all seemed to be occupied by Arabs ( judging from the dress and queueing to buy tickets to Tangier Or Cueta. We would like to know why? We eventually found the camp site we were aiming for, signed in and then the awful decision which of these 50 available places did we want? Large- yes, near the loo's -yes but not too near, on grass or dry sandy ground? N S E W facing? shady or not? Well we chose and were happy. UNTIL the next day no electricity!! The nice man turned it on again. 2 hours later it was off again. Well were used to this in the Campo. I now found out that the part of the park we had chosen only had a 5 amp supply, we should have been in another area for 10 amp supply!! With our water heater, kettle etc etc, we need a 20 amp supply! Decided to live with the problem and be careful rather than move. How Green are we??

Joe

Six weeks before our adventure the automatic gear box on the 4x4 stopped working properly. It could make 5 miles an hour on a slope (down). We took it to the local Mitsubishi Garage who said it would cost 2,200 euros to replace the box!! I then took it to another garage run by an English mechanic, he said "no problem we'll get a second hand one from a breakers yard". After nearly 3 weeks none was found. Gear boxes for the 6 cylinder yes; 4 cylinder NO! Then by chance he had a part exchange come in. Same model, year etc. It was considerably less than 2,200 euros so a deal was done!! And it worked! Well! that's not quite true when put under a load it boiled like mad. New thermostat didn't help, new hoses lots of scratching heads, but by the time we had to leave for our adventure, the towing vehicle wasn't fit for purpose.

I have always been an optimist, too much of one some people say, but always with a get out plan. This time we decided to go all the way to Torre del Mar, our nearest coastal town, for a week while we sorted things out and the garage sorted out the sick Pajero. Our first serious attempt at camping. The camp seemed very nice well shaded and decent sized plots in some cases. This we found we needed for our 20foot long Caravan and 10 foot extension awning! We need a plot at least 10 meters square, so this is another point to look out for when choosing a caravan site. It took the help of two others to manoeuvre the van and 2 hours to put everything up. Exhausted by then a Vodka and Tonic was required. Two hours later than planned we met Barry and Sylvia, they were delayed too and we had a meal at the Fogon getting back to the caravan at 2am.

The decision to go camping this year was by default. A stray thought after a few drinks and the idea took root. We had decided that last year (2008) would be the last year that we would rent out the Villa for the summer. Then in June I took a booking for July, thinking it was for July 2008 only to realise a few days later it was for July 2009. Our booking Agent Individual Travellers didn't book a single week for us in 2008 and when we tried to cancel them for 2009, they said we should have done it by May of that year (before the season) and if we cancelled there would be a hefty penalty to pay. So we decided to rent out the Villa for 2009 as the last year. The house in England was also rented so we decided (without much option) that a caravan holiday around Southern Europe would tie in with our plans to visit Le Lavendou where we spent part of our Honeymoon, in August 15 years ago. I would probably gone for budget hotels, but that would have meant kennelling Sophie for 3 months

The search for a suitable van started in England just after Christmas. They seemed very expensive and when bought from an Agent we had to provide all the accessories like awnings water carriers, waste carriers etc. In the end we were introduced to an English couple local to us in Spain who had a caravan to sell, in good condition- with ALL the accessories we could want and a few we hadn't imagined existed. The bonus it was a price we could afford.

We paid for the caravan in mid April, if we had waited 2 weeks the exchange rate would have favoured us and it would have cost £320 Sterling less!!

Our Pajero 4x4 had to have the UK tow bar removed when we re-licenced it onto Spanish plates, so the first job was to get a new tow bar fitted. So I towed our special purchase with my Nissan Primera and with the help of Terry and Francis our neighbours here. They are seasoned caravanners and just as well the front wheel drive Nissan couldn't get a grip on the track and we needed Terry's 4x4 to save the day and get it up the track to the Villa. Friends Brian and Shirley arrived a few days later and helped me sort out the assembly of the various awnings and other accessories. They made it seem simple.

Fired with enthusiasm we set off for a trial week end near Marbella, Capo Pino to be precise. It went OK after we bought a special plug converter for the electric. Sophie's needs and the local rules about dogs is a little challenging, but we enjoyed the experience on the whole. At least pushing a 1.5 ton caravan around will keep me fit. It does have a manual hitch drive to help.

On that not I have now learned that trailers over 750 kgs have to have their own road licence and number plate in Spain. It's OK while I tow on an English plated car, but we need to use the 4x4 for the long journey.