The north is a vast area, so we plan to concentrate around the Pamplona, Burgos, La Rioja region and explore as much as we can.
Fortunately the Tour de France 2015 is in the Pyrenees on the 14th, 15th and 16th of July, so we should get to see a couple of stages on the way.
I'm taking my road bike to re-do some previous climbs, and to attempt some new ones.
The weather forecast for the next 7 days is for 40°+ inland, so that should be interesting! We will surely miss the cooling sea breeze we have at home, but I am sure Cervantes and us can cope.
TOTAL TOUR STATISTICS
- Distance travelled 3399km
- Travelling time 71hr 16min
- Amount of fuel used 318.96 litres
- Cost of fuel used €344.36
- Average fuel comsumption 9.38 litres/100km (30.11mpg)
- Nights away 40
- Nights in free aires 20 at no cost
- Nights in paid aires 7 at a cost of €48.50
- Nights wildcamping 10 at no cost
- Nights in España Discovery 2 at no cost
- Nights in France Passion 1 at no cost
- Nights on electric hook-up 1
Wednesday 08/07/2015 Home to Jalance
186km in 2hr 39min
Our aim is to get to the Pyrenees to see the Tour de France stage 10 from Pau to La Pierre Sant Martin. Thus our journey north is in 4 easy stages of approx 200km each to reach the foot of La Pierre Sant Martin on Saturday morning, giving us a day to settle in and explore the climb.
Our first stop was in Jalance (N39°11'15.1" W01°04'34"), a free aire we had stayed in before, but this time the temperature had ramped up to 38°. Excellent roads on the way saw us up there at 2:30pm after a 12pm start.
We parked under some trees giving us some much needed shade - standing in full sun was blisteringly hot.
We knew from a previous visit that this aire was next to a municipal swimming pool (closed when we were last here) which was thankfully open in this heat.
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| In the shade - but still so hot |
After paying our €2 each for a day pass, we cooled down in the fabulous pool, then watched the closing hour of the TDF which ended in no change to the leader board - as you were this morning.
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| Brilliant on a day as hot as this |
The inside of Cervantes is still at 35° in spite of the 12v fan, the door open, all the windows open and all the rooflights open - hope it cools down for sleeping!
Full services in Jalance for fresh water and grey and black water disposal - all for free.
The swimming pool bar had bottled Estrella Dam (33cl tercio) on sale for €1 - what is a man to do? Support the local free aire is what I say.
This really is a great part of Spain - if you can, do come and explore it.
Very nice of the local police patrol to ask us if everything was OK as we sat writing the blog. They were very interested in where we came from and where we were going, and if everything here was OK - great interaction by the local police - very welcome and reassuring.
See today's full picture gallery here
Thursday 09/07/2015 Jalance to Cedrillas
197km in 3hr 26min
After a very, very hot night we nipped across to the swimming pool cafe for breakfast. The food service and people were first class - a very welcoming and value for money establishment.
Once we had desagued and filled with fresh water we set off for today's stopover point - a jamon (ham) factory in the España Discovery scheme in Cedrillas, a small town seemingly in the middle of nowhere. A drive along the fantastic N330 up the hill out of Cofrentes soon had us into Requena, then into Utiel.
We took a detour north of Utiel onto the CU-V-6001 which was again a brilliant driving road, and went through a couple of superb, narrow-streeted villages which were typical of Castilla La Mancha.(Video here and here)
At the end of the CU-V-6001 is a town called Manzaneruela where the N330 changes from being a dream to drive on into a nightmare road. The road becomes very narrow with barriers either side (so no room to manoeuvre) and is a constant series of blind bends. No problem usually, but this is the main road south from the industrial town of Teruel, and this means a constant stream of HGV's coming the other way. They swing out to get their trailers round the corners, so you meet them when they are well over your side of the central white line. They never seem to slow down and give no regard to oncoming traffic. It is up to you to get out of their way! You do not want to meet them on a blind bend.
So a quite uncomfortable 40km into Teruel where we stocked up in Mercadona.
From Teruel we took the A226 to Cedrillas on another brilliant road which climbed up to 1600m - that's 5300ft, which is over a mile!
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| We're over a mile high here |
Once at the ham factory we parked in the car park, then rang the bell to let them know we were here. The woman who answered the door made it very clear that we couldn't stay there. She said they had been in the scheme for 3 years and hadn't had any visitors, so would we leave.
We asked at the local bar if we could park just behind them, but the young girl was reluctant to say yes or no, so we went to the adjacent petrol station and received a positive "no problem" from the lady who ran it.
We are presently on an area of wasteground - level and hardstanding behind the petrol station and facing an old people's home - shouldn't have much noise trouble from them!
Whether we are asked to move on or not we shall have to see.
See today's full picture gallery here
Friday 10/07/2015 Cedrillas to Cariñena
174km in 2hr 57min
We are 1400m high here, so last night was verging on a cool 18° inside the motorhome, with a chilly 13.8° outside - enough for condensation to be dripping off Cervantes.
This is a very sleepy, agricultural village and I don't think anyone even noticed us being here, so a quiet night was had by everyone (apart from the constant air-con motor running in the ham factory to cool the hams, which interrupted our sleep somewhat)
After a breakfast in the adjacent cafe, we set off cross-country to reach our destination for today in Cariñena (N41°20'16.8" W01°13'48.1").
The road from Cedrillas to Allepuz on the A226 was again fantastic, and we planned to take the A228 to Canada Vellida, but when we got there the road surface was in very poor condition - not an option for 30km in a 3.5 tonne motorhome. (Video here)
We turned round and went back through Cedrillas, then took the TE8001 for 5km, then the TVE8002 to Alfambra - 16km over the top of a mountain, but on a reasonable road.
The N420 looked really busy so we went on the TEV1008 to get us to the A23 motorway, then turned north towards Zaragoza.
The free aire in Cariñena is next to the sports centre and as yet we are the only ones here.
After a spot of lunch we locked up and walked into the town - full of bodegas and wine shops, but unfortunately all shut at 2:15pm
The weather is blisteringly hot here, especially in full sun, so a cool drink in the shade was the first port of call.
This is wine region (Cariñena has it's own DO) and there are bodegas aplenty, but again none open. We searched in vain for the wine museum, but after 45min of following signs and going round in circles gave it up as a bad job.
Prior to leaving Cervantes we had tuned in the TV, but the national sports channel (Teledeporte) was a very poor signal, so on our way back we called into a "sports bar"
The 2 TVs were both on Spanish soaps, so before ordering any drinks we asked if they could re-tune one to TDP - no problem - done in 30secs. So - air conditioned bar, cold beer, and the Tour de France on the TV - what could be better? We saw Cavendish win the final sprint, then back to the motorhome for a pre-dinner snack.
We had to park within the set markings on the aire, which meant the full sun coming in the offside kitchen and lounge windows. A tip a Frenchman gave me in Ales proved invaluable today. Cut a silver screen sun visor (€2 from a todo shop) to size, then peg it onto the outside of your open window. You then have no direct sunlight in the motorhome, but the open window lets in a cooling cross breeze of air. Ah - the experience of the French motorhomers.
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| These really do work - for practically no money |
The aire itself is great - next to a quiet sports centre on smooth, hard concrete with full facilities. Just us and a van conversion here tonight.
See today's full photo gallery here
Saturday 11/07/2015 Cariñena to Sabiñanigo
194km in 2hr 23min
Very quiet night apart from a few dogs. A lot cooler than past night due to the altitude (600m)
Motorway most of the way today to a free aire in Sabiñanigo (N42°30'20.6" W00°21'22.7"). The only non-motorway was a crawl up one side of a mountain, through a tunnel, then a freewheel and brake test down the other side.
A newish aire in Sabiñánigo is on a large tarmac car park with marked bays for 5 motorhomes (but room for many, many more). There are electric points, but not working at this time. However fresh water and waste disposal is available.
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| Plenty of room on this aire |
We are next to an attraction of scale models of notable buildings of the province - very detailed and fascinating to see.
We took a walk to the old town for some food and drink, and on the way passed a barrage on the river to produce hydroelectricity - lots of free electric production in Spain - wind, sun and water in abundance.
Back to Cervantes to watch the Tour de France at 3pm.
My brother and his wife (Pete and Ali) are in Normandy watching today's stage, so texted them to give them a heads up of when the race was due to pass them. Looks to be a fantastic day up there.
We are parked on an uphill slope to level the motorhome, but this means the fridge vents are in full sun. It is 39° outside, so to give the fridge a hand we have the awning out to put the vents in the shade (still 34°). It's quite windy though so we have to keep an eye on the awning to see it doesn't do some damage to Cervantes - OK up to now.
Nice to see the local police checking on us at 5pm - good reassurance for us and great PR for the town.
Sat in the shade writing the blog, we had a fantastic aerial acrobatic display by a red kite, effortlessly cruising with the sun picking up it's fantastic colour.
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| Beautiful to watch - the Red Kite |
Sunday 12/07/2015 Sabiñanigo to La Pierre Sant Martin
116km in 2hr 14min
A very peaceful night with the 4 other vans - goodness knows when the fourth one appeared - it wasn't here at 11:30pm last night.
On our way to our mountain in France today we stopped off at Eroski in Jaca to get some fuel. The supermarket was closed but the pumps were card-only automatic, so at €1.106 per litre it was a chance not to be missed.
A long slog up to the Somport tunnel was rewarded with 15km of downhill mountain roads on the other side in France.
We are here now in the mountains, 11km from the finish of Tuesday's stage from Pau to La Pierre Sant Martin - a ferocious climb of over 20km. We found a good viewing spot (N43°00'21.8" W00°44'53") and took a while to get level, but managed it in the end thanks to Glynis' uncanny knack of looking at a piece of ground and telling me exactly where to park to be level (and she's always right!)
The flags are out flying tied to a telegraph pole, the Union Jack is on the back of Cervantes, and the bells around the necks of the adjacent cattle are bongling for all they are worth, so basically everything is ready for the tour.
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| Cervantes in the mist - ready for the Tour |
A car has just stopped to tell me the road will be closed to traffic from midnight tonight (Sunday) until 9pm on Tuesday, which is fine with us as we have an excellent view (so far) with no-one parked in front of us.
Since entering France we have not seen the sun - as we climbed the mountain the mist descended and has stayed with us ever since.
As we sit outside with a glass of wine we are getting many passing vehicles honking their horns as an acknowledgment to our flags - what a very friendly atmosphere this is!
A short 2km walk up the hill revealed some very steep hairpins, and unfortunately a motorhome which had been hit by a car in the front offside, completely demolishing the front wheel. After the fire, police and ambulance had been, the occupants were taken to hospital and the vehicles removed - one motorhomers TDF is over.
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| Luckily no-one was seriously hurt, but that motorhome is a real mess |
Monday 13/07/2015 La Pierre Sant Martin
Waking up from a very quiet, very dark night on the mountain to the sound of the very long motorhome next door (who arrived late last night) trying to get level. He gave up after 30min of trying and set off to try his luck further up.
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| A great turnout for the first climb of this years TDF |
I got my road bike off the cycle rack at the back of Cervantes to ride to the top this morning.
The grade goes up to 13% for long distances, and there is no respite for the first 6km - just very steep all the way.
I made the 11km to the top in 1hr 15min at an average of 7kmh - a different story on the way down which took 10min, reaching a max of 60kmh!
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| All set to go |
I set off in gloom, then broke through the cloud to full sun at the top, which thankfully stayed with me all the way back to Cervantes for a brilliant afternoon in the sun.
The bongling cows paid us a visit later on in the day prior to being chased away by the shepherd (who looked more like a fell runner, as I guess he must have been, in this terrain)
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| Cows on the loose |
See today's full picture gallery here
Tuesday 14/07/2015 La Pierre Sant Martin
A dull start to the day until the sun broke through to give us a brilliant day. Overnight outside temperatures down to 11°, but still 17° inside the motorhome. Constant traffic today on their way up the mountain - TV, catering, media, power, statistics, crowd control, - you name it, they must have it at the top.
So many different cyclists making their way up the mountain today.
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| Tandem.... |
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| ....a dog in a rucksack... |
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| ....a young girl being towed up by her mum.... |
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| ....and a young lad being towed up by his dad.... |
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| ....kids in a trailer.... |
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| ....a dog in a basket....and many, many more |
Whilst waiting for the 2pm publicity caravan to come through we met many interesting people. If you put a Union Jack on the back of your motorhome it not only signifies your support for British riders in the TDF, but it also acts as a sign for any passing English speaking passer-by, be they from New Zealand, Australia, America, South Africa, UK, etc, etc. So it was that we were more than happy to have a chat and give some water to a New Zealand girl heading for the top, and to meet Ben from Ilkley, who had cycled from Ilkley, through France to be here, camping along the way. He was staying 80km away in Pau, so had a long trek up the mountain, then a long journey back. We gave him some water to see him up the mountain, then saw him again on the way down for another chat.
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| Ben from Ilkley - one fit guy |
Following that we met Dave and his son Rich who were on the way up. On the way down they stopped with us to see the publicity caravan and the race itself pass by. Great company from a pair who had done so much for such good causes, the latest of which is here. Please visit their website and give generously if you feel you are able to.
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| Dave and Rich - please support their good cause if you feel you are able |
This is a fierce climb and already, although there was still 11km to go, the field was split into many groups, the last of which was a good 10min behind the leaders. The race itself was led by 2 breakaways with Team Sky chasing 20sec behind. Chris Froome, 2nd in line with 5 team-mates around him, took off with 6km to go and won the stage easily, putting from 1min to 4min into his nearest rivals - I think that is job done Chris!
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| Chris Froome (in yellow) about to pounce and win the stage |
The authorities told us that the road would be closed until 9pm, but in the best spirit of French defiance, no-one took any notice and set off down the mountain as soon as the last cyclist had passed. For the next 2 hours there was a constant stream of spectators (on foot, on bikes and in cars), police motorcycles, team buses, team cars, media cars and the whole of the publicity caravan. Following that the whole finish village was dismantled, put onto lorries, along with all the catering, and press set-up, to be taken to the next stage finish tomorrow to be re-erected.
It later transpired that all the motorhomes were held in a queue down the mountain until all the official TDF vehicles had got safely off the mountain - they let them go at 7pm.
The bongling cows were back, and soon some of them were crossing the road. Fine on a normal day when there is not much traffic, but today the TDF is decamping from the top of the mountain, and the cows in the road are in danger of being hit by a 40 tonne artic.
My traffic management training soon kicked in and I had a queue of traffic crawling past the bemused-looking cow, which eventually wandered off up the banking without a backwards glance - a very laid back cow, well used to traffic and not fazed at all!
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| Practicing my traffic management (behind the truck) |
See today's full picture gallery here
Wednesday 15/07/2015 La Pierre Sant Martin to Col du Port d'Aspet
208km in 4hr 15min
Well here we are sat on top of a mountain called Col du Port d'Aspet which was the unfortunate location of the death of the cyclist Fabio Casertelli in the 1995 Tour de France, when he crashed on the descent.
The 2015 Tour comes through here tomorrow on it's way to the very uphill finish at Plateau de Beille.
We finally got off our previous mountain at 9am this morning, looking for a service aire to empty and fill, which we eventually found here. From there we went to E LeClerk for some shopping, then on to Montégut to watch the 11th satage of the Tour pass through. All went through very quickly as we were only 15km from the start. Our plan was to drive the first 10km of the route from the start at Lannemezan, but whilst on the motorway to get there we realised today's stage was on TV now (we had been without TV, internet and phone coverage on La Pierre Sant Martin) so we pulled into a motorway aire and spent 2 hours watching today's stage go up the mountains of Col du Tourmalet and Col d'Aspin (which I have also previously climbed on my bike, just not as quick!)
Whilst we were stopped we had a good look at the route and decided that, having come all this way, the top of a mountain would be a good place to see it from.
The road was interesting to say the least - quite a short climb but very, very steep. At the top space was limited and we had a couple of enterprising offers to pay €10 and park in a field (BELGIUM!!!), but we declined and had a good look round first.
There was a public car park (N42°56'26.34" E00°51'56.46") which looked full of motorhomes, but talking to a couple of French motorhomers there they said "Oui - pas de problem" We squeezed in sideways between 2 French vans with millimetres to spare, and with the encouragement and directions of both motorhomers - so friendly and helpful.
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| A tight squeeze, but we're in |
The view from here is to die for - fantastic. We even have a phone signal and French TV so are able to see the finish after the Tour passes through here tomorrow - it doesn't get any better I can assure you!
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| What a view - fantastic |
Thursday 16/07/2015 Col de Port d'Aspet to Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges
54km in 1hr 13min
A clear morning after a hot night and we are ready for the Tour. Flags are out and we are 50m from the top of the mountain sign, erected by the TDF maintenance men this morning.
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| Erecting the summit sign |
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| We couldn't be nearer the top |
Another roasting hot day today with more people arriving by foot, car and bike every minute.
The top of a climb on a narrow road such as this is where the riders are given bottles and gels to re-hydrate on the downhill, thus we were soon surrounded by teamcars dropping people off to give these drinks, and sometimes the cars stayed with them - lots of shuffling around of vehicles. I managed a quick word with the Sky guys who said there was a 22 man breakaway (no threats to Froome), and the Tour was going to plan so far.
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| Team cars everywhere |
The caravan and the Tour duly passed, and all the teamcars left apart from the Movistar one, who was waiting for the last man on the road - Alex Dowsett who abandoned on the top of the climb and got into the teamcar to be driven away. It was his first TDF and must have been tough for him after getting the world hour record earlier in the year. Added to that he was involved in a crash on stage 4 and had to have his elbow stitched back together - very painful.
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| Last men over the top |
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| Alex Dowsett abandons (that's one clever helmet he's got there!) |
Once the multitude of police cars had disappeared we were able to get off the mountain, and were headed for a France Passion site in Lombres. We went over the back roads and approached the village of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges (N43°01'44.78" E00°34'18.86") where the Tour had passed through for the daily sprint competition.
We had read a little about this place and had seen the brown tourist signs on the motorway, but we were amazed at the sight of it.
It had Roman remains in the town, and a huge cathedral in a hilltop village overlooking the town. It looked so interesting we abandoned the France Passion site and decided to stay here tonight - free parking at the foot of the hill.
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| The village on the hill |
We managed to catch the end of the Tour on TV to see Rodriguez take the win on the top of Plateau de Beille.
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| What a great spot to park |
On the way to St Bertrand de Comminges the heavens opened and it rained torrentially for 20min - the first rain we had seen for 2 months. As we parked it started again - this time with very loud thunder and lightning - right over our heads. 6 hours later and still torrential rain - good job Cervantes is waterproof.
See today's full picture gallery here
Friday 17/07/2015 St Bertrand de Comminges to Bagneres-de-Bigorre
46km in 1hr 8min
All quiet last night with 8 other motorhomes. We were up bright and early, but the train that runs up the hill to the village and the cathedral does not start running until 10am, so we have 1.5hrs to wait.
We decide the walk up the hill will do us good, and we are there in no time. We spend a good 15 min watching a red kite fly below us - an amazing sight.
The old town on the hill is mainly traffic free - just the people who live and work there are allowed in by car - hence the shuttle train.
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| This is why Cervantes is in the carpark at the bottom of the hill! |
A welcome cup of coffee in the cathedral square, and a walk through the narrow alleys of the town use up just enough time before the cathedral opens at 10am.
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| A lovely village - original, well-kept, and no cars! |
An admission fee of €5 each is no problem, but handing over my passport for them to keep is, so I persuade them to take the photocopy instead.
The entrance fee includes an audio handset which explains in minute detail each and every facet of the cathedral - much too detailed for us, but for other people - it may be just right. The interior is stunning with a huge choir stall in the centre opposite the altar. The stained glass windows (3 of which are originals, the rest from the 1930's) are shown off to their best effect by the morning sunshine. There are also outside cloisters with great views of the mountains, and a museum of artifacts and relics to see.
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| The organ in this fabulous cathedral |
From the top we spied a market on in the village square below, so called in on the way down. Lots of local fruit and veg and clothes, plus 3 stalls making a particular cake very popular at weddings in this area apparently. It was a biscuit base threaded onto a skewer which turned constantly against a charcoal fire. They were then "basted" with a caramel-like liquid which became baked-on, and soon built up a substantial layer. We tried a piece and found it very sweet, and very expensive at €15 for a small section.
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| Hot work this basting |
We could really use some WiFi soon, so decide to go to Bagneres-de-Bigorre (N43°04'26" E00°09'07"), a large town in the foothills of the Pyrenees. There is an aire here, but it is not clear if an overbnight stop is allowed. When we got there we were amazed to find over 20 motorhomes parked on the aire, so overnight is definitely OK - there is even an overspill carpark if this one is full.
A walk to the centre took us 20min, followed by a sit down in a bar and some WiFi. Some provisions in a Carrefour on the way home set us up to watch the last hour of the Tour on TV.
It's been bright and sunny and very humid all day, but come 5:30pm, the dark clouds appeared and distant rumbles of thunder announced the impending downpour - it soon came and lasted until 2am.
See today's full picture gallery here
Saturday 18/07/2015 Bagneres-de-Bagorre to La Bastide-Clairence
170km in 3hr 28min
I think last night we must have been in some sort of remake of the Hounds of the Baskervilles due to the howling of what sounded like 50 dogs. The leader had a really low growling howl which set off all the others. I imagine they were in the industrial units round us, and sounded really frightening. There are lots of small lap dogs in the motorhomes around us that we saw earlier - I can imagine them whimpering under the bedclothes when the howling started - I know I nearly was!
Check the doors are locked, then earplugs to the rescue for a good nights sleep.
We were up early to get to the service point first - motorhomes were queuing for 30 minutes yesterday to use the bourne.
It was bright sun when we set off, but the sky soon clouded over and the rain, thunder and lightning started. Constant torrential rain for 35 minutes with the thunder and lightning directly overhead - the wipers had trouble coping. (Video here)
It eventually stopped as we drove through some lovely countryside on the D817 towards Bayonne, especially through the village of Peyrehorade by the river, which had 2 stopping places for motorhomes which looked like excellent places to stay, and the town itself looked like it was worth a visit - a place to return to.
Our destination today was a France Passion site near the village of La Bastide-Clairence, which also looked very interesting - worth a look tomorrow.
It's a good job Glyn is on the ball - the sat-nav was trying to send us up some ridiculously small roads (as I knew it would), but Glyn got us out of the mire and to the farm in one piece.
A working farm selling cheese and milk - they were having a siesta when we arrived at 1pm, although I think the dogs may have woken them up!
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| The welcoming committee |
Blisteringly hot up here now - silver screens on all the windows and a 12v fan blowing inside the motorhome and it's still 31° inside! Still, at least the washing will dry quickly.
We went to the shop when it opened at 2:30pm and were greeted by a young girl outside. We gradually understood that we could buy some cheese and it was OK to park the motorhome.
Then a lady came out of the rear of the shop and gave us a tasting of the 3 different cheeses they made - cows at €8 a truckle, mixed cow and sheep at €10 a truckle, and a viejo (aged 10 months) sheeps at €14 a truckle. The viejo was by far the best, so that was the one for us. Also on sale was a kiwi fruit preserve. Incredibly they grow kiwi fruit in this area (there is a farm that grows kiwi fruit in France Passion near here).
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| Choice of cheeses |
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| It doesn't get any fresher than this! |
The washing is now dry (surprise, surprise) it being 42° outside and 34° in Cervantes.
It is a real struggle to watch the Tour with a cold beer and homemade cheese in all this heat - only kidding - I count my luck every day!
See today's full picture album here
Sunday 19/07/2015 La Bastide-Clairence to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port
79km in 1hr 55min
Lots of wildlife around here last night - the flies are especially persistent - a consequence of staying on a farm in summer.
A very early start this morning after getting up at 6:30am. The first stop was in the village we passed through to get here - the very excellent La Bastide-Clairence. Typically French in architecture and culture, and they celebrated their 700th anniversary 3 years ago (1312 - 2012)
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| La Bastide-Clairence - lovely |
Then on to the village of St-Martin-d'Arberque (N43°20'11" W01°11'44") where there was an aire that was also a France Passion site. A grassy field with wonderful views, but it was only 10am and we considered it a bit early to stop for the day, but definitely somewhere to come back to.
Next on to look at the aire in St-Palais (N43°19'44" W01°01'56") for future reference. The town was a maze of one-way streets, the signs for the motorhome aire disappearing when you needed them most. It looked like there was a fairground set up where the aire should be - it looked far too busy for us.
Next on to check out the aire in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port (N43°09'54" W01°13'55") which is a prominent town on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela. The aire is next to the sports centre and is €5.50 for 24 hours which includes electric (pay at a card machine at the entrance and display the ticket - there are no barriers, it is all done on trust)
The aire is quite tight for manouevering - not quite wide enough for 2 rows of motorhomes, as was evidenced by a slight coming together between the rear wheel arch of a Challenger and the front bumper of a Burstner (thankfully not ours!) Lots of excitement as it soon turned into a spectator sport, but amicably resolved in the end.
A walk around the old citadel of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port built in 1625 was both very authentic with the old buildings and the church of Notre Dame built in 1212, but also a bit heavy on tourist tat of keyrings, T-shirts and "authentic Basque souveniers"
We found a fabulous bistro overlooking the river for some crepes (both savoury and sweet) and an excellent carafe of wine.
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| Crepes! - when in France..... |
Later, a walk to the top of the citadel took us past the genuine refuge for the pilgrims, with many pilgrims waiting for it to open at 2:30pm. If you are a genuine pilgrim you can get free food and accomodation along the route to Santiago de Compostela. There was much paid accomodation available here for pilgrims, but only one genuine refuge.
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| The aire from the top of the town |
This is one busy aire we are on. It seems a new motorhome appears every 15 minutes, tries to park but is too long and blocks the road, so goes to find a bigger plot. Coming and going all the time - it is definitely full now! (there is an overspill car park next to the sports hall)
See today's full picture gallery here
Monday 20/07/2015 St-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Hendaye
74km in 1hr 41min
We were going to head for Pamplona today but the weather forecast for there was sweltering, so we thought a visit to the coast would be in order.
From St-Jean-Pied-de-Port there is a direct route on the D918 to St Jean de Luz (N43°23'07" W01°39'45") where there is an aire right by the river next to a bridge. Sounds idyllic doesn't it? When we got there the aire was one, very close together, line of motorhomes on a very narrow stretch of ground. Directly behind them were 4 railway lines, and directly in front of them were 4 lanes of frenetic traffic - heavy trucks, buses, cars, motorbikes, mad people on scooters with a death wish - what a nightmare.
Moving swiftly on we found a lovely aire in Hendaye (N43°22'13" W01°45'52") opposite Les Deux Jumeaux railway station with a small road between them. It sounds the same but I can assure you it was the total opposite to the one at St Jean de Luz. At a cost of €10 for 24 hours with use of the facilities it was excellent.
Added to that was the short 15 minute walk to the nearby cliffs and beaches - perfect.
We walked the length of the promenade to the river, across which was Spain, so we are only 5km max from the border at our aire. We took a different route back through the marina then through a park to get back to Cervantes in time for the last hour of the Tour - it's turning out to be a good one for Froome - barring accidents he's looking the hot favourite at the moment.
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| Hendaye beach, with Spain in the distance |
It's still high twenties here in full sun, but the cool breeze off the sea which we are used to made it feel like home, except this is the Atlantic Ocean, not the Mediterranean Sea!
We fancied a walk into the town centre of Hendaye and to catch a train back, but the last train is 8:30pm and it's already 7pm, so we'll leave it until tomorrow.
See today's full picture gallery here
Tuesday 21/07/2015 Hendaye to San Sebastian
30km in 40min
When we paid to get into the aire yesterday (barriers on the in and out gates) we got a receipt with an 8 digit number on it. This got us into the aire and also out of it this morning. At the desague the waste grey and black water was free to discharge, but the fresh water required the 8 digit nuber for 10 minutes of water. Also included was 1 hour of electricity (I didn't know that until I went to look at the desague this morning - but you would need a mighty long electric cable if you weren't right next to it)
Just a small hop this morning to Spain (yeah!!!) and an explore of the town of San Sebastian. As we crossed the border we saw a fuel station selling diesel for €0.99 per litre - compare that to the €1.20 per litre in France. You know where to come for cheap fuel.
The aire (N43°18'10" W02°00'49") is as near to the town centre as you could get. Don't be fooled by the motorhomes "parked" on the approach road - I suspect they are parked illegally (and dangerously - some are sticking out into the road much too far)
It really is sardine time here, (video here) but in reality all we wanted to do was to park up and walk into San Sebastian. The price of the aire is €6.55 either in coins (no notes) or by credit card. We hadn't got enough in change, so inserted the card and followed the instructions but nothing came out at the end - no proof of payment!
Glyn, using her best Spanish (which is very good) rang the number and explained the problem, to which the answer was don't worry - the girl who comes round to check the tickets are displayed in the windscreens now has your reg and will know you've paid - result!
We walked to San Sebastian, only 10 minutes through some very smart, tidy, well-stocked and well-patronised shopping streets - an excellent first impression.
After a visit to the hilltop conference centre with good view of the beach and islands, we decided to go up the funicular railway to the tower. As we got to the booking office the heavens opened and thunder and lightning followed.
A train ride up a 50 deg slope later we were on top of the peninsula with what should have been a fantastic view over the beach, islands and surrounding mountains. Instead, all we could see was mist and driving rain - time for a beer under cover to let the clouds lift.
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| At the top of the funicular |
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| The mist has really descended |
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| Clearing slightly at last |
A visit to the tower was in order - why am I always drawn to the highest point around when I know at the top I am likely to be rooted to the floor? Old photographs of San Sebastian from the 1800's onwards proved to be a distraction on the way up, and I must say the view from the top was spectacular.
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| On top of the tower |
Back into San Sebastian to find a menu del día - badly missed whilst in France, and we struck lucky with a proper local bar/restaurant where we had local sidra, a bottle of wine and a fantastic 3 course lunch for €11 each.
Back at Cervantes, in spite of being packed in like sardines, all is quiet and a restful evening is in order.
See today's full picture gallery here
Wednesday 22/07/2015 San Sebastian to Zumaia
37km in 58 min
An early escape this morning from this claustrophobia - the motorhome behind us went early giving us an escape route - it really is tight here to get in and out.
A quick desaguae and we are on the road by 8:15am heading along the picturesque coast road to a free aire (N43°17'35" W02°14'51") by the river on an industrial estate in the town of Zumaia.
There is plenty of room here so we parked up and could just see the river throught the hedge in front of us. (Video here)
Heading for town for breakfast we walked on the riverside path (with adjoining cycle path) to the centre - only 15 minutes later we were having coffee and toast overlooking the marina.
Next came an explore of the town - the church looked huge, but very plain from the outside and was even bigger close up. Unfortunately it was locked up tight so no opportunity to see inside.
Zumaia is a very upmarket town with some excellent streets full of shops and bars, with some very imposing buildings high up in the surrounding hills overlooking the town.
On the way back we spotted a car park (N43°17'46.5" W02°15'16.8") surrounded on 3 sides by the river, with an adjoining marina, that was full of motorhomes! We took a walk to it via a bridge over the river, and talked to a couple of motorhomers there. Some had been there for 2 nights and said there was no problem at all parking here.
So it was off to fetch Cervantes to move here with a great view of the river, the town, the marina. (Video here)
There is an adjoining shipyard which we think is dismantling the Grampian Fortress, although they may be re-furbishing it - we can't decide which.
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| The Grampian Fortress |
The river here is full of activity with youngsters being given instruction in kayaking, with people paddle boarding, rowing, kayaking and swimming.
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| Evening training in the racing boat |
There is a regular water bus to the beach from the town, and fishing from the quayside seems to be compulsary.
It's been overcast all day with rain on and off and a strong driving wind - such a change from last week!!
See today's full picture gallery here
Thursday 23/07/2015 Zumaia
When we got here yesterday we parked in a corner, well away from the couple of surfer vans who looked like they were here for a good time. At 4pm - a change of tide from low to high, we were surrounded by cars and people of all ages fishing off the quayside - much excitement when someone caught something.
As it got dark (and very wet) at 9:30pm they all dispersed and we thought that was that.
But it was not to be - at 11:30pm another batch of cars arrived to start the night fishing shift. It was no problem really apart from the constant chattter and opening and closing of car doors - more blankets? more beer? more worms?
It was of course our fault - we are the intruders. These guys probably come here regularly and were just acting normally. I put earplugs in and drifted off instantly, but Glyn was on burglar alert and didn't sleep till they went home at 2:30am (hopefully with some fish!)
First thing this morning, after deciding that this fascinating town needs more exploration, we moved to the far side of the car park (away from the water), so should be safe tonight.
We wanted to see the natural park, the beach and the breakwater, so set off walking (after coffee and cake) and were soon on the beach with a cooling sea breeze (full sun today and 28°)
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| At the end of the breakwater |
A walk back up the estuary led us to the Tourist Information, where we picked up lots of information about the area, including the world famous Flysch - a rock formation in the sea cliffs which, moving along the coast for an hour, reveal 60 million years worth of sedimentary rock formation. Thus it was that we booked the boat tour (€17 each) to look at said rocks from the sea - hope the sun stays out and the sea stays calm for the one and a half hour trip.
Work continues apace on the Grampian Fortress. We googled it and found it was being refurbished as a search and rescue ship.
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| The Grampian Fortress with a new bridge |
Sometime this morning they lifted the control bridge onto the ship - now that would have been a sight to see.
The sister ship to this, the Grampian Freedom was also refurbished here and launched in March of this year.
The boat trip was excellent, the rock formations really enhanced with the low evening sun. If you can imagine a row of books on a bookshelf - that is what the strata looked like. So we were looking at the oldest rocks on the left, moving a mile (which represented 60 million years in time) to the youngest on the right.
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| Flysch |
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| More Flysch |
Back to Cervantes by 6:15pm, there was time to look inside the church which dominates the town. It was originally built as a fortress, and looks like it from the outside. Inside it is quite plain, but the solid bare walls seem to make it more imposing - the bulk and solidity of the building is immediate as you enter.
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| The church in Zumaia - imposing both outside.... |
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| ....and inside |
A last walk around the excellent town of Zumaia to take in the night atmosphere - what a brilliant place.
See today's full picture gallery here
Friday 24/07/2015 Zumaia to Lekeito
45km in 1hr 15min
An early start to get to the free aire in Lekeitio (N43°21'30.5" W02°30'27.8").
The car park we are presently on is shown as parking for motorhomes on the tourist map issued by the Tourist Information Office, but there are no corresponding signs anywhere here. There do not seem to be any facilities here, so we left the progress of the Grampian Fortress (we are now following it on Twitter) to go to our original aire to desague and fill with fresh water. The taps are a bit useless (slow, push operated and no thread) so we have to use containers to fill the fresh water.
We travelled some excellent cliff-top roads to get here, and eventually found a garage which sold propane gas at the fifth attempt.
The aire here is excellent - big pitches, hardstanding and sloping (good for us!)
The local police were even on hand to show us where to park - brilliant.
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| A great aire at Lekeitio |
Today is a crucial day in the Tour de France, with Chris Froome defending his 3 minute lead and negating all the attacks coming his way - fascinating to watch.
Glyn is on a rece of the 21 bars marked on the map - she may be some time!
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| Great view of Lekeitio by Glyn - so she wasn't in the bars ALL the time |
See today's full picture gallery here
Saturday 25/07/2015 Lekeito
Rain from 6pm onwards last night kept us indoors - no wonder it's so green around here.
An early wake up after a very quiet night - and it's still raining.
I haven't been to the town yet, so we ignored the rain and sent off suitably equipped with cagoules and umbrella.
There was some sort of cooking competition going on outside the church - furious chopping of onions and potatoes and chopping of various fish - we will try to get back later for a taste.
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| Every team is very busy |
The church was open, prior to the 10am mass, so we had a quick peek in to get a record of how it looked. The 10 metre backdrop to the altar looked to be many compartments made of gold or gold leaf. A notice said it had been fully refurbished with money from Iberdrola - the electricity supply company. The church was filling with the older generation dressed in their finery for the Basque language mass - I don't know if the young people are not attending because of the religion or the language, but we didn't see anyone in there who looked under 60 years of age (ourselves included!)
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| As usual, a very impressive church |
There was a strong onshore wind and a high tide which combined to give a spectacular show on the harbour wall of the waves crashing in and spraying everywhere. The sea was boiling with the force - a very spectacular sight.
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| Never underestimate the power of the sea |
Lots of bars and restaurants along the harbour-side to have a coffee and free Wi-Fi in, (all checked by Glyn!)
Also on the harbour-side were a series of mobile fish stalls selling fresh fish from that morning. We settled on a stall selling just Bonito - a type of tuna caught off the Cantabrian coast. The lady running the store had nothing else - just Bonito, and was down to the last one and a half fish. She was sawing them into steaks with a blunt serrated knife which was just about working. 2 large steaks, at least 1kg in weight, cost us €8.60 - what a bargain for something that fresh.
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| Fresh Bonito! |
A further explore of the town revealed that the sea cliffs were being undermined and restorative work was underway to shore up the cliffs.
We couldn't decide if this lovely town was gearing up for some sort of parade or festival later on today, or if it was just a normal Saturday in the town. If you only see one seafront town in the Basque Country we can thoroughly recommend this one - it is so picturesque and historical and has the added attraction of not having a main road going right through the middle of it - a great advantage. It is so town-proud, it had pictures of the town as it was 100 years ago covering the windows of disused, empty shops - what a great image for the town.
There were a large number of police vehicles cruising around the town, and the aire seems to get a visit at least once an hour - maybe they just have a large police force, but it is very reassuring just the same.
Back for 1 p.m. to see Chris Froome repel the attack of Nairo Quintana to take a 1min 32sec lead into the final day of the Tour de France tomorrow - another British winner of the Tour de France - yeah!!!
We have just spotted an enormous ram (male goat) in the field behind us which has massive horns - it's a good job he's tied up!
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| Do not mess with this goat |
This aire is very busy - motorhomes are appearing on a regular basis. One Italian motorhome turned up at 5pm to find it full, so parked in the carpark. The gent in the Italian motorhome next to us (nice guy - fluent in 4 languages) had a word with him, and was assured they would be back in 30 minutes.
Of course the police turned up on their usual rounds and looked into the motorhome - no one there. Our guy next door went over and explained they would only be 30 minutes, so the police went and came back after 40 minutes - still no motorhome owners, so they left him a €40 fine under his windscreen wipers. The police here really do do their job.
See today's full picture gallery here
Sunday 26/07/2015 Lekeitio to Gernika
26km in 44min
An early start to desague (no fresh water because we hadn't
got a jeton from the tourist information office) and get on the
twisty, winding road to Gernika.
The road was fine with some excellent views on the BI 2238 all the way to Gernika.
The place we are staying at is an España Discovery site - a
Michelin starred restaurant (min €60 euros per person) so we caught the
owner and asked permission to park.
He was very nice and said we could park anywhere, so we tucked ourselves into a corner and set off to explore Gernika. If the town name is familiar it is probably because of the famous painting by Pablo Picasso of the horrors of war entitled Guernica, of which a reproduction on tiles is on display in the town. Henry Moore also has some sculptures here which remember the bombing which took place in the Spanish civil war in 1937.
We had a coffee in the very pretty town square, then went to the museum of the Basque Country (reduced entry for the over 60's!!! - first time ever) which was excellent. A thorough history of the ancestry, migration, food, culture, architecture, sports, music and struggle for recognition of the Basque Country.
I must say that the countryside, scenery, food, drink and people are great in this region, but the language is a one-off. It bears no relation whatsoever to Spanish, French or Italian (which all have a common root) and as such is totally incomprehensible to us.
Everything is in the Basque language from roadsigns to menus, but luckily most have a Spanish translation so we can get by. However, the spoken word is another matter. I had a conversation (!) with an old gent in a beret who was 80 if he was a day. I understood not one would of what he was saying, but must have nodded in the right places because he shook my hand and walked away happy.
We found a local bar doing a roaring Sunday lunchtime trade and had a beer whilst watching a boat race on Basque TV - similar to the one we had seen practicing in Zumaia.
Walking back to Cervantes we passed a square where a competition was in progress, which we had seen an example of in the museum. A man stands on a log of wood, and axes through it between his legs until he has axed all the way through and the log splits into two. Very skillful and great to watch although it does make your eyes water a bit - I bet there are some men who didn't make the grade who have some toes missing!
Back at Cervantes we decided to have a drink in the restaurant to show our appreciation and just happened upon the sommelier behind the bar when we walked in. He was the most knowledgeable wine guy we have ever met. It turned and out he was the co-owner and was regularly in the top 5 in the world of sommelier competitions. Jon Andoni Rementeria - what a great guy.
We had a brochure from the tourist office which told us that the local wine was Txakoli, which was a sparkling wine. On giving this information to Jon, he laughed and said "come with me".
He led us to the wine cellar - what a stunning place with over 1400 bottles of wine. Txakoli is actually made as red wine, white wine, rosé wine, and sparkling wine. He took us through each one with examples and history - one of the best 40 minutes a wine buff could have. He spoke brilliant English, although professed not to, and was the perfect host personified. Our own personal tour with one of the top men in the world! We eventually bought a mixed box of 6 Txakoli wines at a fantastic price. All you wine fans out there - come here. (N43°17'39.8" W02°41'15.1")
After grateful thanks we were back to the motorhome to see Chris Froome lift the 2015 Tour de France trophy in Paris. What a day!
See today's full picture gallery here
Monday 27/07/2015 Gernika to Bermeo
18km in 34min
We were amazed last night at how busy this BI 2235 road is - it doesn't seem
to be a major route - just up to the coast at Bermeo one way, and down
to the E70/N634 the other way.
However, we seem to be on a fast stretch and cars, lorries and buses are thundering past all night. We got a brief respite of a few hours in the small hours, but apart from that it was full on.
We want to go to Bilbao to see the city, but do not fancy driving into it and attempting to park. There are some aires nearby, but we thought the best solution for us would be to find a place to stay on the railway line route, and get a train in.
Gernika comes within that plan, but we cannot stay here for more than one night, so the aire at Bermeo (at the end of the railway line) seemed a good option.
The aire faces uphill (we're level already!) and the sea cliffs are a two minute walk away.
The road from Gernika to the aire seemed to be a permanent 50kph due to the closeness of the villages. Since being fined for speeding in Malaga I now always stick to the speed limit (as everyone should). I soon had a line of traffic behind me - maybe they are used to going much faster on the road. There were plenty of passing opportunities, but no one seemed eager to break the speed limit and over take me, so I led them all into Bermeo (on mountain roads, where I can't corner or climb as fast as cars, I regularly pull into laybys to let following traffic pass - I try never to have more than 3 vehicles behind me if I can help it).
When we got to the aire in Bermeo (N43°25'23" W02°43'32.5")
we got in line for water and waste disposal (third in line and two behind us) then parked and set off on a cliff walk to the next bay, with brilliant views and steep, dodgy cliff paths.
Then it was off to town to see what it had to offer.
The harbour was very similar to Lekietio, but there didn't seem to be the town pride here that there was in Lekietio.
Bermeo is much bigger, and maybe this is the problem - you can only have total control of a certain sized town - that must be an upper limit. In saying that, Bermeo is good at what it does - it is a working town with harbour and docks, railway station and industry, so some parts are good, and some parts they can't control are not so good.
Patchy Wi-Fi in a bar kept us in touch with friends and family, then back to Cervantes before the rain came.
See today's full picture gallery here
Tuesday 28/07/2015 Bermeo
Up early for our trip to Bilbao. There is a train service from Bermeo to Bilbao every 30 minutes for a 75 minute train ride for the
ridiculous price of €3.10 each way. |
| Tucked up in a corner of the car park |
He was very nice and said we could park anywhere, so we tucked ourselves into a corner and set off to explore Gernika. If the town name is familiar it is probably because of the famous painting by Pablo Picasso of the horrors of war entitled Guernica, of which a reproduction on tiles is on display in the town. Henry Moore also has some sculptures here which remember the bombing which took place in the Spanish civil war in 1937.
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| A representation in tiles of Picasso's Guernica |
We had a coffee in the very pretty town square, then went to the museum of the Basque Country (reduced entry for the over 60's!!! - first time ever) which was excellent. A thorough history of the ancestry, migration, food, culture, architecture, sports, music and struggle for recognition of the Basque Country.
I must say that the countryside, scenery, food, drink and people are great in this region, but the language is a one-off. It bears no relation whatsoever to Spanish, French or Italian (which all have a common root) and as such is totally incomprehensible to us.
Everything is in the Basque language from roadsigns to menus, but luckily most have a Spanish translation so we can get by. However, the spoken word is another matter. I had a conversation (!) with an old gent in a beret who was 80 if he was a day. I understood not one would of what he was saying, but must have nodded in the right places because he shook my hand and walked away happy.
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| The man in the hat - happy to chat |
We found a local bar doing a roaring Sunday lunchtime trade and had a beer whilst watching a boat race on Basque TV - similar to the one we had seen practicing in Zumaia.
Walking back to Cervantes we passed a square where a competition was in progress, which we had seen an example of in the museum. A man stands on a log of wood, and axes through it between his legs until he has axed all the way through and the log splits into two. Very skillful and great to watch although it does make your eyes water a bit - I bet there are some men who didn't make the grade who have some toes missing!
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| Watch those feet! |
Back at Cervantes we decided to have a drink in the restaurant to show our appreciation and just happened upon the sommelier behind the bar when we walked in. He was the most knowledgeable wine guy we have ever met. It turned and out he was the co-owner and was regularly in the top 5 in the world of sommelier competitions. Jon Andoni Rementeria - what a great guy.
We had a brochure from the tourist office which told us that the local wine was Txakoli, which was a sparkling wine. On giving this information to Jon, he laughed and said "come with me".
He led us to the wine cellar - what a stunning place with over 1400 bottles of wine. Txakoli is actually made as red wine, white wine, rosé wine, and sparkling wine. He took us through each one with examples and history - one of the best 40 minutes a wine buff could have. He spoke brilliant English, although professed not to, and was the perfect host personified. Our own personal tour with one of the top men in the world! We eventually bought a mixed box of 6 Txakoli wines at a fantastic price. All you wine fans out there - come here. (N43°17'39.8" W02°41'15.1")
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| The fantastically well stocked wine cellar |
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| Our host Jon - it was a privilege to meet him |
After grateful thanks we were back to the motorhome to see Chris Froome lift the 2015 Tour de France trophy in Paris. What a day!
See today's full picture gallery here
Monday 27/07/2015 Gernika to Bermeo
18km in 34min
However, we seem to be on a fast stretch and cars, lorries and buses are thundering past all night. We got a brief respite of a few hours in the small hours, but apart from that it was full on.
We want to go to Bilbao to see the city, but do not fancy driving into it and attempting to park. There are some aires nearby, but we thought the best solution for us would be to find a place to stay on the railway line route, and get a train in.
Gernika comes within that plan, but we cannot stay here for more than one night, so the aire at Bermeo (at the end of the railway line) seemed a good option.
The aire faces uphill (we're level already!) and the sea cliffs are a two minute walk away.
The road from Gernika to the aire seemed to be a permanent 50kph due to the closeness of the villages. Since being fined for speeding in Malaga I now always stick to the speed limit (as everyone should). I soon had a line of traffic behind me - maybe they are used to going much faster on the road. There were plenty of passing opportunities, but no one seemed eager to break the speed limit and over take me, so I led them all into Bermeo (on mountain roads, where I can't corner or climb as fast as cars, I regularly pull into laybys to let following traffic pass - I try never to have more than 3 vehicles behind me if I can help it).
When we got to the aire in Bermeo (N43°25'23" W02°43'32.5")
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| Bermeo aire |
we got in line for water and waste disposal (third in line and two behind us) then parked and set off on a cliff walk to the next bay, with brilliant views and steep, dodgy cliff paths.
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| Great views from the cliff path |
Then it was off to town to see what it had to offer.
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| A poignant sculpture on the sea wall |
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| Some serious sea defences |
The harbour was very similar to Lekietio, but there didn't seem to be the town pride here that there was in Lekietio.
Bermeo is much bigger, and maybe this is the problem - you can only have total control of a certain sized town - that must be an upper limit. In saying that, Bermeo is good at what it does - it is a working town with harbour and docks, railway station and industry, so some parts are good, and some parts they can't control are not so good.
Patchy Wi-Fi in a bar kept us in touch with friends and family, then back to Cervantes before the rain came.
See today's full picture gallery here
Tuesday 28/07/2015 Bermeo
The trains run from 6:30am in the morning to 11:30pm at night and are clean and punctual.
The journey itself was through wooded valleys and small village stations and next to a tidal marsh area with lots of wildlife. A very relaxing journey.
We were not too sure what to expect from Bilbao - maybe industrial, tired, poorly serviced?
What a shock when we got there - it was fantastic.
There is a train, a tram, a metro and numerous buses and many pedestrianised areas, so this drastically reduced the number of cars on the roads.
The streets were wide and not too busy with people, were clean (no graffiti) and lined with smart bars, restaurants and shops.
The buildings and history of Bilbao was stunning. Old architecture from the last century blended seamlessly with the Guggenheim Museum and the Iberdrola tower - what a fantastic place.
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| Many impressive old buildings such as this... |
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| ....and this.... |
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| live happily next to new ones such as this.... |
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| ....this.... |
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| ....and this |
We took a boat tour on the river which flows through the middle of Bilbao out towards the sea. This took us past all the iconic buildings and bridges and was well with the €12 cost - some great photo opportunities.
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| A dog made completely of flowers? - this is just it's head |
We had spotted a place for lunch and arrived at 3pm to find it heaving. No problem with getting a table and we were soon onto the fish course - great value in a major city in northern Spain - we were amazed at the value of food and drink here, not ripped off at all, in fact just the opposite.
After a trip on the funicular railway to the top of an adjacent hill with great views looking down on Bilbao, a walk along the Gran Via had us peering into some very expensive shops windows - all very chic and upmarket. The buildings were also stunning in their design, size and condition.
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| Impressive views from the top of the funicular railway |
Bilbao really was a great surprise to us - it is definitely one of the best kept and best thought out cities we have ever seen - superb!
See today's full picture gallery here
Wednesday 29/07/2015 Bermeo to Amurrio
78km in 1hr 33min
A tortuous detour along the way to a large Eroski had our provisions topped up and we were at the aire by 12 noon.
The aire itself is an overspill carpark for the theatre and is next to the railway. (Video here) There are 3 designated places and water and waste services on site. When we got there, half the carpark was roped off (access to the aire was still available).
Four trailers in the roped-off section were in various stages of being transformed into carnival floats - lots of timber-framing and hammering. I asked if they worked at night and was assured they were not - we shall see.
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| Carnival float building |
The tourist information office was very helpful, supplying us with many maps of the area, and sites to go birdwatching - a mountaintop one sounds particularly promising.
They also pointed us in the direction of the town's only lavanderia (laundrette) which we visited later with 2 large bags of washing. The coordinates are N43°02'59" W02°59'56" if you are in the area and in need of one. Open 9am to 9pm, fully automatic, no washing powder required (supplied automatically) at a cost of €5 for the 11kg drum, or €9 for the 20kg drum - it takes approximately 30 minutes. The washing machines are even disinfected automatically after each use. There are also 2 tumble dryers at a cost of €1 for 10 minutes.
We are currently sat in a bar across the road keeping an eye on our washing - seems OK so far.
It is quite noisy tonight, what with float building, trains, kids playing football at the top of their voices, and the rain. I think we will be moving on tomorrow!
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| Time to eat the cheese before it runs away |
Thursday 30/07/2015 Amurrio to Frias
79km in 1hr 42min
It was raining most of the night and is raining again this morning. We set off after filling with fresh water and emptying waste in pouring rain with a temperature of 12° at 11am. The day was overcast with low cloud and cold rain. We had planned to go to Vitoria Gasteiz, but today would have been miserable. Instead we took the excellent BU 550 driving road to the aire at Frias (N42°45'36.5" W03°17'44.9").
For the first half of the journey the weather was awful, but it brightened later and the scarps came into view, especially one with a hermitage perched on top.
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| A hermitage high on a hill |
As we desagued this morning I thought the tyres looked a bit flat and stopped at the first available place in Trespaderne to check the pressures. All were OK except for the front offside which was down 1bar to 3.5bar.
On closer inspection I saw the head of a screw sticking out from the centre of the tread - repair needed!
I looked up and lo and behold we were checking the pressures right next door to a tyre fitters. It looked like they specialized in agricultural machines, but were happy to take a look.
A mechanic unscrewed the screw, then produced a solid tube of rubber which was held in the middle by a metal spike, and proceeded to push this into the hole in the tyre left by the screw, until one end was sticking out on the inside, and one end was sticking out of the outside. The air stopped rushing out from where the screw had been removed, the outside end was trimmed level, the tyre pressure was pumped up, and the repair checked for leaks - job done in 5 minutes for €10.
I worked with garages for 15 years and have never seen a repair done like this before. I will reduce my speed and get it repaired conventionally when we next see a tyre supplier, but as a temporary solution it is fine.
The aire we are on is purpose-built and has a fantastic view of the hilltop town. The €6 charge is payable at the tourist information center next to the castle, and would you believe it, one of the assistants there lives 5 minutes from our house in southern Spain! (Video here)
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| The aire from high in the town |
There is a 10 day music festival on in Frias finishing on Sunday, so the grass between the castle and the church on top of the hill is hidden by many tents full of New Age travellers, who are also all over the town - we shall see how loud the music is from where we are.
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| Tent city at the moment in this picturesque town |
The town itself is very quaint, with very old buildings and narrow streets on an impossible slope - we just need the sun out to appreciate it at its best, and to appreciate the great views from the top.
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| A very pretty town |
Friday 31/07/2015 Frias
We were woken this morning at 6am by the loudest rain we have ever heard on the roof of Cervantes - it sounded like someone throwing ball bearings onto it! Accompanied by thunder and lightning, it was both fascinating to watch as well as being a bit frightening - the lightning was a bit too close.
After 2 hours of monsoon rain it finally stopped to leave the aire we are in like a paddling pool in places. Luckily our motorhome is waterproof - it won't get a more severe test than this. The weather slowly cleared and by 9:30am it was looking as if it would brighten up.
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| The results of last night's torrential rain |
We set off on an 8km round trip walk of the surrounding villages of Montejo de San Miguel and Montejo de Cebas.
In a café, whilst having a coffee, we spotted a notice of upcoming events and discovered a cycle ride of the exact route we were doing taking place tomorrow at 11am, so that is on the list of things to do.
Back at the motorhome for 12 noon after buying bread and cakes from a mobile bread delivery van along the way, we freshened up before climbing into Frias for some Wi-Fi, then a menu at one of the restaurants.
The view from the adjacent window was stunning, and the food and wine and service was of the highest quality - a fantastic three course meal with wine and bread for €10.
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| This is the starter!! |
The skies had cleared somewhat but it was still overcast, so a visit to the castle was postponed until tomorrow when the weather will hopefully lift.
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| Frias in the lifting mist |
The 6 other motorhomes that overnighted with us yesterday have gone, to be replaced with 4 new ones - hope they are all waterproof!
See today's full picture gallery here
Saturday 01/08/2015 Frias to Burgos
95km in 1hr 49min
Thankfully no rain last night, and awoke to blue skies and full sun.
Up the hill to get some Wi-Fi and have a tour around the castle when it opens at 10am - our mistake - it opens at 11am, and they were erecting a stage and sound system for tonight's concert.
We had Vitoria Gasteiz down as our destination last night, but have now changed our minds and are going to Burgos. I am still unsure about the puncture repair, so will find somewhere in Burgos to check or replace it. The journey along the BU 530 and the CL 632 was through some stunning scenery - huge cliffs and scarps with a very good road.
On the outskirts of Burgos we found a tyrefitter and stopped for advice. The guy said it was no problem, and was equal to a wheel-off repair and just as safe, so that has put my mind at rest.
Burgos was a dream to drive through - wide streets, good signs, good drivers, and hardly any double parking. (Video here)
We found the free aire (N42°21'02.4" W03°40'50.8") with no problem and parked amongst other vans before locking up and walking to the old town of Burgos.
There are cycle paths everywhere, and a river with wide grass banks and trees on either side - how unusual for a big city.
There seems to be an air of calm in Burgos - no one is breaking a leg to get anywhere, and there is plenty of space for everyone - what a great city.
We saw the cathedral from afar - a brilliant sight.
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| Promise of more to come |
Up close it was even more impressive - the intricate stonework was mindblowing, as was the size of the building.
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| How many manhours did this take to carve? |
It seemed to be wedding day today, we saw at least 3 brides and grooms with attendant families and guests and as a consequence, with confetti everywhere, they were all taking their wedding photos with the cathedral in the background on a lovely sunny day.
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| What a backdrop for your wedding photos |
As usual we sought out the highest point and climbed innumerable steps to the castle on top of the hill. An entrance fee of €6 each (retired concession!!) gave us a trip around the castle walls and a great view of Burgos from above - very impressive. Also on show was a 50m deep well used for freshwater during sieges in times past.
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| The stunning cathedral from the castle |
After a sandwich and a glass of wine we were down the hill and in the queue to get into the cathedral. An audio handset was included in the €6 entrance fee - a steal for what was to come.
The inside was unbelievable - each side room more elaborate and gilded than the last. The scale of the building was beyond comprehension - especially the central dome - an exceptional building both inside and out - stunning!
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| Wow! |
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| I'm lost for words! |
A leisurely 30 minute stroll along the river back to Cervantes to find 4 motorhomes there, and discovered Al Campo supermarket across the road - open till 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
We also looked at the paid aire in Burgos which was a paid carpark. You pay for as long as you are there when the tariff applies. The carpark is free after 2pm today, and free all day tomorrow, so obviously the tarrif does not apply then. It is also free from 6pm on weekdays nights until 8am the next morning, and is very near the river.
See today's full picture gallery here
Sunday 02/08/2015 Burgos to Haro
103km in 1hr 39min
Off early this morning after filling and emptying on course for Miranda del Ebro via the wonderful N1 road - was this the first national road in Spain? - if so they should all be like this.
Through some more great crag and bluff country, passing the most bizarre church I have ever seen. The church bell was sitting 30m up on top of a rock - goodness knows how they rung it, and who would come - it was in the middle of nowhere.
The aire at Miranda del Ebro (N42°41'22" W02°57'20") looks great on paper, but the real thing was just the opposite. Small, poorly surfaced, uneven, piles of sand and gravel on it, in a not too pleasant area, and absolutely full of dog mess - not a pleasant place to stay. Already there was a huge Niesmann and Bischoff motorhome taking up all the available space, (Video here), so we re-routed to Haro where we had a choice of an España Discovery site, or an aire outside a campsite.
The España Discovery site was a wine bodega with a tour and tasting but you could not stay overnight, but were advised that a large public carpark (N42°34'54.7" W02°50'50.6") was next door where you could overnight with no problem.
By the time we got there, it being Sunday, the last tour and tasting had ended, so we parked in a corner of the carpark - we should be OK.
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| Tucked away in a corner |
Nice and hot again today, so we opted to walk into Haro to see what it was like - very nice as it turned out.
Built around wine (where we parked there are 10 wine bodegas in a 500m radius).
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| Bodegas everywhere... |
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| ....but unfortunately none of them open |
Haro was buzzing with Sunday drinkers, cafe bar sitters and promenaders - a very busy place. An impressive church tower topped the hilltop town, closely followed by an observation platform which gave a fantastic panorama of the surrounding bodegas and vineyards.
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| A nice town centre in Haro... |
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| ...with a great panoramic view |
We are parked 30m from a railway line, but a quick check in the nearby station revealed only 5 trains today, the last one due at 8:32pm - yeah!!
See today's full picture gallery here
Monday 03/08/2015 Haro to Vitoria Gasteiz
87km in 1hr 34min
I then realized that if the wind was blowing as hard as it sounded, the roof lights would be rattling about - but nothing.
I couldn't work it out, so got dressed (minimally) and went outside to see what was going on.
The front of the motorhome was bone dry as was the tarmac all around. There was also no wind at all. The rear of the motorhome was soaked through - dripping wet. Then the penny dropped - the motorhome was wet because of a misdirected automatic grass sprinkler behind us. The force of the jet onto the back I mistook for the wind blowing rain.
We have 2 destinations today. Retracing our path of yesterday, we were on our way to the Salinas de Añana - a series of wooden drying pans fed by a network of wooden water troughs. Salt water is pumped up from underground salt saturated lakes to the pans, where the water evaporates to leave salt. There is an extensive network of 5000 drying pans, some of which have been here since Roman times, and some brand new. They stretch up the hills of 3 river valleys and are an impressive site.
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| A massive operation from when salt was a currency |
Then it was on to Vitoria-Gasteiz (N42°51'59.6" W02°41'06.5") to explore the city. The approach roads were wide and fast, and there seemed to be trees everywhere - no wonder Vitoria Gasteiz was voted Green Capital of Europe in 2012. (Video here)
Cycle paths are everywhere and walking into the old town was an easy 30 minutes.
The old town on the hill was devoted 100% to houses - no bars, no restaurants and no shops, just 2 churches, lots of houses and unfortunately lots of cars.
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| Storks nesting on the church roof |
The town proper was on the lower level and was preparing for the fiestas which start on Wednesday.
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| A nice piece of topiary |
As a consequence of this, after we had taken a tram back to the aire, we found notices everywhere saying the market (which takes over the aire and most of the car park) had been moved from Wednesday to Tuesday, so our plan to cycle into the Parque Salburua tomorrow to do some birdwatching may be scuppered.
See today's full picture gallery here
Tuesday 04/08/2015 Vitoria Gasteiz
There are 10 allocated spaces here at the aire. They were all full when we came yesterday, so we are in the car park with at least 20 other motorhomes. We read the flyer about the change of market day yesterday and in reaction to that moved Cervantes 4 bays further away from the proposed market, always assuming they stick to their plot numbers painted on the car park.
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| On our aire - this is only the 2nd one of our model we have ever seen! |
Sure enough this morning, white vans were everywhere, with people beavering away putting up tables and tenting - well away from us thankfully. This really is a busy aire/carpark - motorhomes were still piling in here at 11 p.m. last night - busy busy.
As we were away from the market this morning, a cycle trip to the Salburua Park was the destination for today. It is a purpose-built birdwatching centre with wetlands which of many interconnected paths leading to bird hides where we spent 3 happy hours birding and watching the wildlife.
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| An excellent viewing platform in Salburua Park |
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| A deer taking a short cut across the lake |
Vitoria Gasteiz has a wealth of cycle paths criss-crossing the city and radiating out to the suburbs . We took the bikes and were amazed by the reaction of drivers and pedestrians alike to cyclists - very considerate and patient - the UK could learn a lot from this city.
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| Wide roads, wide pavements, wide cycle paths, wide open spaces - Vitoria-Gasteiz! |
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| So much space and attention to detail here - we love it |
Overcast today with a threat of rain which never materialized, but we never saw the sun. Still, it was mid to high twenties all day, so nothing at all to complain about. Back to Cervantes by 3pm, an afternoon in the warm outside with a good book and a cold drink, watching the steady stream of motorhomes still coming in. The fiesta is due to start tonight - let's see if we are far enough away - I think so.
See today's full picture gallery here
Wednesday 05/08/2015 Vitoria Gasteiz to San Vicente de la Sonsierra
134km in 3hr
Off we went without desagueing on this sunny, bright and clear morning, which we decided was an ideal day to get high and take in some mountain top views.
On the way there we called in at Amurrio to desague, where we had stayed previously and probably picked up the screw in the tyre from the carnival float makers.
Our destination was at the top of the limestone scarp, the location told to us by the tourist information office in Amurrio.
The road up was as steep and winding as any mountain in the Tour de France - brutal. We climbed 600m in 5km. (Video here) At the top was a car park, and leading off it, a gravel track, which went for another 1km to end in another carpark. After that there was a 1.8km walk to the top of the cliff, which revealed a stupendous view from the Mirador Canyon del Nervión. The scale was enormous - it made Malham Cove look like Lego.
There was an iron balcony projected out from the cliff, over 1000 metres of air - very frightening, especially considering the condition of the rusty iron mesh floor!!!
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| That's some drop down there! |
Added entertainment was provided by a madman on a rope abseiling down from the top to the bottom - not for the faint-hearted to watch, never mind to do!
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| This is taken at 30x zoom |
The valley to our right was the source of the River Nervión, and in winter when it is running, there is a spectacular waterfull cascading over the cliffs - watching the man on a rope cascading over the cliff was enough for me.
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| This is how far he really had to go |
It was a very long ascent, very steep and with many hairpin bends to get here, so I thought taking Cervantes down the same route would be foolish if there was an alternative. The route down the other side of the mountain was much less severe, so this was our choice, and this brought us to Briones, and a bodega that boasted the best wine museum in the world. It was also by good fortune an España Discovery site, but when we enquired we were told that overnight parking was not allowed - another one to contact them about.
We moved on 3km to San Vicente de la Sonsierra (N42°33'34.2" W02°45'35.3") where there was an aire by the mighty River Ebro. It is already wide here, and still has another 400km to go before it reaches the Mediterranean Sea.
Only us and another motorhome here so far, with a fantastic hilltop church and a castle to explore tomorrow, and then a trip into Briones to explore the town and of course, the wine museum.
Extremely hot today - the weather is so changeable here, it's like being in the UK!
We are right next to a medieval bridge over the River Ebro - a really solid stone construction that should still be here in another 200 years.
See today's full picture gallery here
Thursday 06/08/2015 San Vicente de la Sonsierra
This morning we followed the morning sun on the old bridge as it rose over the old hill town. Lots to see watching the swans and cygnets, swifts, herons and red kites.
A bright sunny day ensued, as we headed for Briones 3km away. The road we walked on was not too busy and 99% of the drivers were alert and courteous, so no real problem.
The 40 minute walk saw us at the reception of the Vivanco winery, where we booked a ticket to the wine museum for 11:30am, and a ticket for the bodega tour in English at 3:30pm -a total of €20 per person.
Our initial plan was to spend an hour or so in the museum, then go into Briones for some lunch and be back for the bodega tour at 3:30pm However we became so engrossed in the excellent wine museum, we spent two and a half hours in there, so didn't come out until 2:30pm. I can honestly say it is the most informative, interesting, mesmerizing, museum I have ever been in, telling the story of the history, growing, harvesting, storing, transporting, and serving of wine.
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| Just one example - a whole room full of corkscrews! |
No wonder it was named the best wine museum in the world by UNESCO in 2007. It was absolutely fascinating with superb audio visual displays, thousands of exhibits, and more information than you could take in - I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone. It truly is the story of wine from seed to toilet.
So with an hour to wait until the bodega tour it was pointless going to Briones to walk straight back, so we sat in the fabulous landscaped gardens and took advantage of the free Wi-Fi to catch up with friends and family.
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| Lovely landscaped gardens |
Come 3:30pm the tour consisted of me and Glyn and our guide Eduardo, so we had a one to one personal tour. In the one and a half hours we were with him, he was a fount of knowledge and really gave us the ethos of the Vivanco dynasty.
The whole complex began to be built in 2000 with the museum, restaurants, shop, lecture theatre and tasting rooms being built above ground, and the fermenting room, bottling plant and cask-aging rooms underground, under a metre of soil with grass and flower beds on top. This keeps the underground rooms at a constant temperature of 18° no matter what the outside temperature is.
The building and scale is so huge, it took them 3 years to dig the hole and move all the earth!
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| The huge octagonal underground cask ageing room |
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| A special ageing room for exclusive, unique wine |
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| Hi-tech touch screen fermentation control |
Vivanco is one of the few bodegas in La Rioja to grow its own grapes to process - most bodegas buy them in, or buy the wine itself in. Eduardo explained to us why they grow a rose bush at the end of the row in a vineyard. The rose is of the same family as the vine, and displays the same disease signs (rot, fungus etc), However, the rose displays these signs earlier than the vines, so it is an early warning sign to treat the grapevines before the diseases take hold. They also run a foundation to educate about wine and perhaps change people's perceptions.
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| Eduardo explaining about the roses |
They are also unique in that they grow 4 specific grape varieties, and ferment each one individually to be 100% pure. If a blended wine is required, it is a fully finished wine that is blended. Most producers would do the blending at the fermentation stage - so if an 80% Tempranillo to 20 % Grenache mix was required, Vivanco would blend 80% of a 100% Tempranillo wine with 20% of a 100% Grenache wine, whereas most bodegas would mix 80% of Tempranillo grapes with 20% of Granache grapes and ferment that into a wine - not the same thing at all.
Eduardo was very knowledgeable and was very good at explaining things. He was lamenting the decrease in wine drinking in Spain. It is still the third largest producer (France and Italy are first and second). The largest consumers are France and Italy, with Spain at 19th.
It is apparently not "cool" or "trendy" for the young to drink wine in Spain, and Vivanco is trying to reverse that by education and perception, and having a very cool and trendy building, staff, and product, to change people's minds. This operation is so modern, hi-tech, sophisticated, complicated made to look easy, customer focused and feel good, that I am sure they are changing perceptions daily.
Eduardo - if you are reading this, thank you so much for your enthusiasm, knowledge, communication skills, and interest, it was a pleasure to talk to you and I hope you go from strength to strength.
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| The brilliant Eduardo - thank you for an amazing experience |
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| Vivanco Bodega - a must-see destination |
It was much later, after a walk to Briones to see the church and the town, that we were on the 40 minute trek back to Cervantes.
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| Choir practice in the stunning church in Briones |
We had been out for eight and a half hours, and been on our feet for seven and a half of them! It was good to sit down with a drink at home, have some down time and examine our purchases from Vivanco.
See today's full picture gallery here
Friday 07/08/2015 San Vicente de la Sonsierra
Today was to be a quiet, lazy day, just walking up the hill to the small town of San Vicente de la Sonsierra. The path we chose to go up, the most direct, was tortuous and ended up in someone's back garden. After a bit of manoeuvering we made it to a road and headed for the old town, which was surrounded by quite a bit of new.
A visit to the hut that was the tourist information office gave us some good information about where to eat and what to see, the details of which we examined at a table in the main square over a beer.
A recommended restaurant was called Toni, which we passed on the way to the church and castle and were pleased to see they did a menu del dia for €12.
The church at the top of the hill did not disappoint in terms of views and stunning interior - well worth the climb.
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| As impressive inside as out |
The castle walls were even higher, and Cervantes could be seen way below us in the motorhome aire next to the river.
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| Cervantes centre shot on the aire |
There were many houses built into the rock faces, only apparent by a front door, a small window and a chimney and air vent on the rock above. Some were totally derelict and abandoned, and some were obviously homes to some people.
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| Cool in summer, warm(?) in winter |
Hunger pangs forced us down to Toni's at 1:30pm to a lovely restaurant room and a 3 course menu del dia that was pure quality - excellent value. The waitress recommended the bar next door (also Toni's) which adjoined a Michelin starred restaurant (also Toni's) - that explained the quality of the food.
The bar sold Rioja wines by the glass (a blackboard behind the bar listed 40 different wines) from €0.80 to €2.50 per glass, obtained from a glass, walk-in wine store.
We had been into a bodega in San Vicente de la Sonsierra and chosen a case of mixed wines, which we were going to pick up as we drove away tomorrow. Now we could try them and either confirm our choice or change our minds - I think confirm was the decision.
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| A great selection of very reasonably priced wines |
The winebar was very busy and was obviously selling nothing but glasses of wine. The adjoining top class restaurant (where the toilets were), was doing a good trade in top quality, top price food - what a great find in a small town like this, thanks to the lady at the tourist info office - it always pays to ask!
See today's full picture gallery here
Saturday 08/08/2015 San Vicente de la Sonsierra to Laguardia
56km in 1hr 9min
Then on to an España Discovery site in Laguardia, about 1km outside. We have done it again and turned up at the weekend when the visiting hours are restricted, so missed the last bodega tour by 15 minutes.
However, they did let us to stay in the car park (N42°32'52.7" W02°34'41.6"), so we parked up and went up the hill to visit Laguardia.
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| In a corner of the bodega carpark |
Under normal circumstances this would have been a lovely, picturesque, genuinely pretty old town, but on a Saturday afternoon the narrow streets were crowded with people and children on bikes making walking almost impossible.
The noise was deafening of people shouting, kids screaming, it really did bounce off the very narrow walls and soon gave you a headache.
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| Too many people for us |
We were glad to find some reasonable noise levels on the viewpoint walk around the outside of the town.
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| That's better! |
A weekday would show this town off at its best, but if you want to keep your sanity, avoid it at weekends.
See today's full picture gallery here
Sunday 09/08/2015 Laguardia to Hontoria del Pinar
175km in 2hr 40min
We explained our plans and they replied that we must go and see La Laguna Negra (the Black Lake) near Soria.
We are quite near Soria, so our destination is a free aire in Hontoria del Pinar (N41°50'38.3" W03°09'51.2"). We got to it by driving the fabulous N111 from Logroño to Soria - a great driving road with fabulous scenery (including mechanical road workers waving a red flag to warn of upcoming roadworks - is this the future of HATO's on our motorways?)
The service point is at the bottom of the hill, then 50m later up the hill is the aire. Gravel surface and level with great views, I am amazed it is free.
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| A great Roman bridge here - still being used |
Only two other motorhomes here, one of which supplied tremendous entertainment trying to get a Quechua two man tent from Decathlon back into its case - 30 minutes of head scratching and repeated readings of the instructions. I know exactly how he feels because we have one and have gone through exactly the same process in the past. We ended up feeding it through the back doors of our hire car then never opening the back doors again. I would have given him some advice about how it fits into the case (eventually), but I couldn't for the life of me remember how it did. I remember it seemed like you were snapping it in two as you did it.
The father and son got there in the end - I think more son than father though.
It's clear and sunny today and there is a viewpoint above the town that we can see from Cervantes - you know how it is with the highest point - we just have to be up there!
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| A viewpoint of the town just a short walk away |
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| The aire from the top |
Monday 10/08/2015 Hontoria del Pinar
We had two caravans as neighbours last night along with three motorhomes. Earplugs were needed due to late arrivals and local barking guard dogs.
Another bright sunny morning made our minds up to stay another night here.
We first had a walk around the town, and found plenty of houses with a smattering of bars and shops - their fiestas are due to start next week.
A tidy town based on wood and logging, with friendly people in a mix of very old and very new housing.
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| Wood is a key product in this part of the country |
Our aire is inside the Parque Natural Canyon de Rio Lobos so we had easy access to many long distance footpaths, the longest of which was the PR SO BU-65 which followed the Rio Lobos 24km from Hontoria to Ucero.
We walked 5km alongside the dry (33° in August!) Rio Lobo, then took the PR-BU05 for 3.6km over the hill to descend 1.5km into Hontoria - a total of 10km through some fabulous wooded valleys on excellent footpaths. It was a bit like walking alongside Bradshaw Brook without the crowds and with sun!
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| Excellent walking country |
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| Some surprising rock formations |
We had a picnic lunch en route, and were ready for a sit down and a drink when we eventually got back to Cervantes.
It's now 5pm and we are currently alone on our aire - peace, glorious peace. Quite cold last night as we are at 1100m altitude here - let's see what tonight brings.
See today's full picture gallery here
Tuesday 11/08/2015 Hontoria del Pinar to Duruelo de la Sierra
101km in 2hr 1min
An early start at the very quiet desague, and we were soon on the road to La Laguna Negra.
It is a very popular tourist destination and as such gets a lot of visitors. The car park is at 1600m up a steep, narrow road with lots of hairpin bends, so quite difficult for coaches and motorhomes.
Very cleverly, the operators of the car park have made the road leading into the car park one-way traffic, and the road leading out of the car park one-way traffic, so it is very easy to access.
The Black Lake is 1.7km from the carpark up another steep hill (a shuttle bus runs every 30 minutes if you don't want to or can't walk). The lake itself is at 1800m making the gradient 10% + all the way.
The lake is an ancient cwm from the Ice Age, and is where a glacier formed before moving down the hill. It is surrounded by massive granite cliffs, some of which have fallen on to the lakeshore as enormous boulders.
There is a walk around the lake, but the path is a bit shaky if you are not sure footed. In terms of presence the lake is very impressive, framed by those giant cliffs. The only downside of visiting these landmark tourist destinations in the school holidays is the quantity of people there! Added to that, unfortunately the Spaniards like to talk loudly amongst themselves, and the rock formation amplified the noise. Better to visit in June or September if you want to experience a little more peace and quiet in order to appreciate the ambience.
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| La Laguna Negra |
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| Huge boulders on the lake shore |
The road to and from the car park was exhilarating to drive and enjoyable, because you weren't constantly looking for someone coming the other way.
Our aire today is at Duruelo de la Sierra (N41°57'10.4" W02°55'38.9"), fully serviced and with good block-paving hardstanding. It is right next to a woodyard and a pallet factory (wood and logging is king around here), so there is an element of noise here and it is also a public car park so cars and HGV's are also here.
It is a paid aire at a cost of €4, payable at the Town Hall in the town (closed for siesta when we got here, so we will try again tomorrow).
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| In the aire next to the pallet factory |
It's been a mostly sunny, warm day, but we did get trapped in the town by a 5 minute torrential downpour which stopped as suddenly as it started. Luckily we were in a bar getting some Wi-Fi and beer so didn't get soaked unlike some people who came in later.
See today's full picture gallery here
Wednesday 12/08/2015 Duruelo de la Sierra to Almazán
85km in 1hr 17min
Another short, sharp shower gave us an opportunity to clean our filthy motorhome - just a cursory sponge down, but better than nothing.
2 aires had caught our eye, one at Almazán and one at Medinaceli (where we had tried once in the past unsuccessfully to find the service point).
The A15 free motorway from Soria to the A2 Madrid to Zaragoza motorway, was quiet to the point of being closed. Sometimes we didn't see another vehicle for minutes at a time - at one point we thought we had mistaken it for a paid motorway.
Almazán was soon reached, and our plan was to look at this for possible future reference, then move on to Medinaceli for tonight.
The aire is parking only, with no motorhome signs at all and no facilities, next to the municipal swimming pool. Already cars were being abandoned left right and centre - busy, busy place, and quite noisy. (Video here)
We thought we would give the town a quick visit then move on swiftly. However the town was captivating - a genuine medieval village with such authentic buildings.
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| Almazán - a town full of history |
We thought an exploration of the town was well worth it - if only the Almazán aire (N41°29'32.9" W02°32'04") was a bit less busy and noisy. We found the tourist information office was staffed by a very nice lady who showed us a town plan and all the places to see. We told her about our busy motorhome aire, and she suggested a quiet, out of the way carpark, often used by motorhomes she said.
Off we set along the city walls for a closer look and how right she was. A brick-paved large carpark (N41°29'07.49" W02°32'18.96") overlooking the River Duero, and overlooked by the city walls - an excellent place to spend the night, and very quiet as well! (Video here)
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| What a great parking spot |
Large areas of parkland on either side of the river through the town are a quiet refuge, but the town is not busy as such with people, (although once again, the car is king).
The murallas (town walls) and portals are very much intact, the thickness of them is amazing.
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| The town walls were amazing |
With all this history, nature and hospitality, we felt it only right and proper to put some money back into the town, so a menu del dia in the Town Hall Square was our way of saying thank you.
We had our eyes set on Medinaceli for tonight, but were stolen away by Almazán - what a place - visit it if you can.
See today's full picture gallery here
Thursday 13/08/2015 Almazán to Medinaceli
46km in 40min
This time 3 different databases on our sat-nav gave us the same correct position (N41°10'15.8" W02°25'55.4"), so we arrived and desagued before lunchtime. The journey here was on the super-quiet (sorry you guys on the M60!), super-smooth A15 motorway - why is there no-one on this road? followed by a steep winding road to Medinaceli.
Today is our 38th wedding anniversary, and we plan to have a meal out tonight in one of Medinaceli's 5 restaurants. After looking at each one we chose La Rincon de Medinaceli for its menu and its ratings, and went in to book. Oh no - closed tonight, but open tomorrow. We booked for 9 p.m. Friday and will stay another night here - what a hardship!
A walk around the medieval town was next - fabulous buildings, some from the Roman era. The town was steeped in history, with Roman mosaic floors, arches and walls. In the Plaza Mayor was a palace which housed some great (and some not so great) artwork.
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| One of the many, many Roman buildings in Medinaceli |
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| An original Roman entrance arch (Cervantes in background) |
Many of the walls and portals are still intact, as is the castle. We visited the church to see the simple, yet so impressive interior, then on to the Convento de Santa Isabel, where we bought some cakes from the nuns via a revolving counter built into the wall - is it to keep the nuns in, or to keep us out?
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| A revolving cake dispenser |
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| Cakes! |
The views from Cervantes are impressive to say the least, enhanced by the wind howling across the hilltop plateau. Luckily, we are parked at the front so have an unbelievable view from our window - stunning!
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| The view from our window |
As we were not eating out until tomorrow, and our anniversary is today, we decided on a lunchtime meal at a restaurant within sight of our motorhome. Great food and wine, although the number of people and cars up here surprised us. When we got here the aire had 8 motorhomes on it. Now, all but us have gone and it is full of cars. The situation should reverse once the cars have all gone.
We are back in the province where wind farms are accepted as the norm - we saw none in La Rioja or Pais Vasco - maybe it is too windy up there for them.
See today's full picture gallery here
Friday 14/08/2015 Medinaceli
This town is so compact you could walk around it all in a day easily, but there so many places to see and go into and find out about, you find the time has gone and you have to come back for more.
Today it's the turn of the castle and the perimeter walls of the medieval/Roman town.
The castle exterior has been restored to its former glory, and inside the walls is a town cemetery.
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| The castle standing guard |
There are 2 more churches along the outside walls, with far-reaching views, and down every narrow alley there are yet more traditional, original, stone houses - this town really is very genuine - no wonder it has the accolade of one of the best villages in Spain. It's also nice to know that the art of wall-building in irregular stone has it not been lost and is being practiced here to the highest standard - look at this for an example.
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| Craftsman at work |
Wi-Fi nowadays is readily available in most cafes and restaurants - even if there is no sign, ask if there is Wi-Fi and the answer will usually be yes. The signal may be variable, and you need protection (we use Avast Secure Line VPN), but you can be connected wherever you go.
This is true of Medinaceli - every place we have gone to here has had it!
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| Town Hall square in Medinaceli |
Our preferred restaurant for a meal this evening could not swap us to a lunch time booking from a night booking, so we opted for another restaurant called El Granero for 3pm.
It turned out to be a good move - the dining room was excellent with a wood fired oven in one corner containing whole kid goats which had been slow cooked. The waiter opened the oven and showed us, but they looked huge and far too life-like, so we declined and had duck and bacalao (which was excellent).
They also sold Vivanco Rosé Rioja from Briones which we knew well and was a perfect complement.
Yesterday here was very busy, and we expected today to be even busier but it is not the case. Maybe everyone has gone to the coast for the upcoming celebration of Assumption.
Towards dusk a few more motorhomes have appeared (4 at the last count), but it is still eerily quiet, not what we expected at all.
See today's full picture gallery here
Saturday 15/08/2015 Medinaceli to Buendia
170km in 2hr 15min
After a quick desague in Medinaceli we descended the steep road to Estación de Medinaceli. Over the next 3 days we will be covering a lot of kilometres on the way home, so at €1.079 per litre at the Repsol garage, I thought I would fill up.
It was a "serviced" petrol station, which I have never been a fan of, because the attendant always tries to fill the tank to the maximum after it has clicked off (no matter how much you protest), and ends up overfilling it and spilling diesel all over the bodywork. The attendant came over and put the diesel nozzle into the filler pipe, then disappeared. 10 seconds later the nozzle flew out, spilling diesel everywhere - mainly over me! A shrug of the shoulders later he had repositioned it and brought me three sheets of kitchen roll to clean my hands, legs, feet, shoes and trousers - very thoughtful.
I waited till the tank was full to avert any more disasters, then headed for the toilets to wash whatever I could in the sink.
My shoes were ruined, so I left them by the pump and dried off as best I could.
When I eventually went to pay, after changing my shoes and shorts, I was offered a small packet of sweets as way of compensation for ruining shoes and shorts and making a mess of Cervantes. I sadly shook my head, took the till receipt and left the shop without the sweets - their need was obviously greater than mine.
After 20km of driving I realized I would have to stop and have a proper wash - the smell of diesel was overpowering, even on the motorway with the windows open at 100kph. If you have ever got diesel on your hands when filling your tank, you know how the smell lingers - it is practically impossible to get rid of. I had it all over my legs and feet and stunk like a mechanic on a bad day.
At the next exit off the motorway, when it was possible to get back on again afterwards, I parked up and had a proper scrub wash with plenty of soap and water and finally got myself clean and non-smelling.
The journey to Buendia was fast and uneventful (apart from a roadblock by the Guardia Civil, where we got waved on) until we got to the aire.
We saw the sign for the Buendia aire (N40°22'03.8" W02°45'39.5"), but with no arrow, so assumed it was straight on and that there would be another sign up ahead. In the door mirror I spotted a sign the same as the one as we had just passed, so surmised that the aire was between the 2 signs??
We turned round and took the entrance road to be confronted by locked gates, then drove along a fence where we could see the aire (and a couple of motorhomes) on the other side, but how to get in?
We drove three sides of the square and still couldn't find an entrance. Getting a bit frustrated we asked the couple from the motorhome (who were taking their dog for a walk) where the entrance was. They told us there was a padlock on the entrance and a key could be got from the tourist information office in the town. We parked up and I walked to town and paid my €5 for a key. As I left the tourist information office at 1pm with my key, the only staff member in there followed me out and locked the door (it was 1pm), so I guess if you arrive after 1pm on a Saturday you are not going to get a key to get in until 10 a.m. on Monday! That is always assuming you have been before, and know what the system is - there was no information at the aire to pick up a key at the tourist information office - what a very, very strange way of doing things! (Video here)
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| On the aire at last! |
The town itself, which we walked to when we had eventually parked, was very old, had some fine examples of old walls, and was in the throes of preparing itself for a fiesta. This was of course on the back of a religious festival (Assumption day), and the two bars we went into (for research purposes only you understand) were buzzing.
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| It's fiesta time |
Back at Cervantes there are now 2 vans - the original one we asked directions from (which is also a Burstner Ixeo Time like ours, but a different model - the it585 with the kitchen at the back - this is only the third one we have seen in almost 3 years of travelling!) and another one which appeared whilst we were in the town - maybe he had a key previously and kept it?
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| An equally rare Burstner Ixeo Time it585 on our aire |
A late lunch in the dappled shade relaxed us enough to realize how lucky we were to be here in the first place. A constant voice in the back of my mind keeps telling me that whatever happens, we have retired to Spain, have a motorhome and are living the dream. It just puts into perspective that whatever happens from then on is just a small problem, and you can always sit in the sun and solve it or wait for it to be fixed - no need to get upset or uptight - hell, it beats working!!
See today's full picture gallery here
Sunday 16/08/2015 Buendia to Lezuza
235km in 3hr 9min
There was an interesting walk at the end of the peninsula that this town and aire was on, which was, according to the tourist information, accessible by car and bus, so we thought Cervantes would have no trouble getting there. It would have been a piece of cake, apart from the selfish parking of one particular 4x4 which stopped us dead in our tracks and turned us around.
We back-tracked our steps and went to look at the dam holding back the reservoir. I guess that's why the road is so good - for access to the hydroelectric plant at the base of the dam wall. The Spanish never seem to miss an opportunity to get free electricity - this is just one example.
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| Hydroelectric plant near Buendia |
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| The access tunnel to the plant |
The A3 motorway we took south was absolutely manic - only two lanes and full to capacity - it reminded me of the M60 at rush hour, but at least this one was moving!
Transferring to the A15 it was a different story - much quieter, and just as well, because we witnessed a car driving down the exit ramp - luckily I think he or she realized their mistake and pulled over, but it could have been very, very nasty indeed.
The aire at Lezuza (N38°56'51" W02°21'11.2") was as we remembered it, apart from the caravan parked on the desague - they may get a shock tomorrow when we go.
The ace restaurant we had previously had a meal in last May was open on Sundays, so in we went and had an unbelievable four course meal with wine and casera for the ridiculous sum of €14 each.
Back to Cervantes (still the sole occupant) for some sun and a good book, the weather had not realized the awful thunderstorm predictions of yesterday, and it was a warm summer day - perfect.
Monday 17/08/2015 Lezuza to Home
219km in 2hr 52min
A stop off halfway for toast and coffee, then a straight run for home.
As we approached we saw the 7 planes of the Patruilla Aguila (Eagle Patrol - equivalent to the Red Arrows) practicing their aerobatic, close-flying routines over the Mar Menor. How thoughtful of them to welcome us home - thanks guys.
Once home, the fridge in the motorhome doesn't seem to want to turn off after 41 continuous days of use. I've turned the gas off, and left it beeping for further investigation when we have unpacked and abused the washing machine.
Conclusions
Well, Cervantes has never missed a beat on this trip. We have really been lucky with this Fiat Ducato engine - you read so many horror stories, and sort of expect something to go wrong sometime, but fingers crossed, so far it's been fine all the way.
The scenery in the Basque Country was stunning, from the dramatic coastlines to the picturesque Rioja vineyards. The one thing that did surprise us was the vagaries of the weather, from scorching hot and clear skies one day, to thunder, lightning, torrential rain and low temperatures the next, then back to full sun again.
It developed into a problem knowing what to wear and where to go to miss the worst of it.
On the plus side it was very green, with cows roaming loose in the fields, and reminded us very much of England. All in all, a great trip.
Curious just to know if there are any wild food to eat, in case if you are out of money...
ReplyDeleteIf you're a good shot you'll be fine. If not - how fast can you run? If you are vegetarian there is plenty of grass!
DeleteThe Basque people are very kind, and I am sure they would not let you starve.
Cheers
Brian & Glynis