Collecting Cervantes from the campsite where we store him was pretty painless. The staff at Camper Park La Ribera (check it out - it's great) are all competent and speak so many languages, they're never caught out.
We loaded the car at home with clothes, electronics etc. and drove to La Ribera to transfer them to Cervantes.
All went to plan, and we were soon on our way back home to put the bikes on the back, shut down the house, and make our way to Country Bowls, where there is a fantastic, 6 motorhome aire.
There is a well-stocked bar and a restaurant here, so we'll eat here tonight.
Everything is working in Cervantes - fridge, freezer, water pump, electric hook-up - we've yet to try the water heater and the blown air heating.
TOTAL TOUR STATISTICS
- Distance travelled 1484km
- Travelling time 20hr 34min
- Amount of fuel used 140.94litres
- Cost of fuel used €236.21
- Average fuel consumption 9.49 l/100km (29.76mpg)
- Nights away 24
- Nights in free aires 2
- Nights in paid aires 2 at a cost of €23.50
- Nights in campsites 18 at a cost of €330.60
- Nights in free overnight parking 2
- Days getting soaked to the skin 1
- Days in Cervantes with 90kph winds 1
Sunday 13/02/2022 Home to Valle del Sol
N37°51'44.0'' W001°01'56.8'' ///resistant.fatherland.stand
€17 per night on gravel for 6 vans including electric. Showers and toilets and full service point. Pool, bar and restaurant onsite. Very friendly owners.
32km in 32min
I must have moved the dashcam 10 times in the past 3 years - trying to find the optimum position with no glare reflection off the windscreen.
I've had black cloth covering the dashboard to minimise the reflection when the camera was at the top of the windscreen, which at best was only partially successful.
I've tried a polarising filter on the camera lens. It certainly stopped the reflections, but the clarity and definition of the resulting video was unacceptable - too dark and blurry.
I've now put the camera at the bottom of the windscreen, which works brilliantly. As usual, there is a consequence to every action, and this time it's that the windscreen blinds get stuck on the camera when lowered. I can live with that for some watchable footage.
What do you think of the quality of the approach video to Country Camping, where we stopped tonight.
We have stayed here before, and can thoroughly recommend it to anyone. The 6 van aire has full facilities, and even gives you use of their private pool - fantastic.
The full list of amenities and prices are in the "approach to" video above.
All is quiet on this aire, just a German Concorde and a Dutch Rapido.
We have eaten in the restaurant here before, and it was excellent. We plan to eat here again tonight, just to check they are keeping their standards up (only joking Graham and Jo!)
Monday 14/02/2022 Valle del Sol to Velez Rubio
N37°39'08.4'' W002°04'27.4'' ///brotherhood.soothe.crooned
Free aire on compressed sand/gravel for 11 vans, no electric, service point, plenty of parking adjacent. 5 minute walk to town.
235km in 3hr 27min
It was an early 8am start to get to Gines Huertas Fiat in Sangonera for an 8:30 appointment to get Cervantes serviced.
We were not allowed to go anywhere out of our province for over a year, so it was well overdue.
It was our intention to go straight to Velez Rubio from Sangonera, but stupidly, I had left my "black bag" containing ID cards, bank credit cards and passports in our house in Pilar de la Horadada, so after the service was completed (3 hours, but well worth it) we had to go home before we could set off for Velez Rubio.
We had been here previously on 4 visits. It's a lovely place, and seems to be getting busier. In the past we have been one of only 3 vans here. Today, we bagged the last spot at 2:30pm - what a difference.
Cervantes is now running like a dream (as always) (nearly), with new engine oil and filter, fuel filter, pollen filter, computer re-set, brake pads and shoes check, and various other checks, and we were soon motoring along the RM2, A7, A15 and A91 to Velez Rubio.
We were here in the past when the carnival was on - what a laugh we had watching all the parades go past. Look at this video to see what made us laugh!
As usual we met some nice people - one couple like us who had moved from UK to live in Spain, and are now touring in a Rapido motorhome.
The sun is out, the bar (inside the van) is open, and we are sat outside soaking up the rays - what could be better?
Later, we walked to town to see if we could enter the church this time, but once again, it was a Monday, so it was closed. That's the fourth time this has happened to us - what is inside that church that they are hiding from us?
We had a consolation glass of wine in the town, overlooked by an enormous mountain which had houses halfway up the slopes.
There is no electric here, so we're relying on our solar panel to run the electrics, which it is doing admirably.
A great start to a brilliant trip.
Tuesday 15/02/2022 Velez Rubio to Humilladero
N37°06'29.6'' W004°41'45.0'' ///herring.audit.gemstone
€18 per night including electric for 90 vans, service point, pool, WiFi, restaurant, sauna.
272km in3hr 19min
We were settled in last night for a quiet read in bed, when all of a sudden, just in front of Cervantes, the marching band started rehearsing their parade routine. This involved 30+ people with drums and trumpets - no holds barred!
We didn't mind so much, having heard it all before in different aires, but I bet some of the vans wondered what the heck was going on, and how long would it last (it was the usual 1 hour).
Apart from that there was absolute silence - yeah!
We had an early start this morning with 270km to cover, all of it on the fantastic A92.
We put the co-ordinates into the sat-nav, and the info told us to turn right up the slip road after 220km - it's not often you see that!
The first 70km were bliss - the road was smooth and fast, and the traffic was negligible - what a fantastic road.
It got a bit busier after that, and also a lot more hilly. Cervantes took it all in his stride. After a full service I'm always listening intently for any strange noise that wasn't there before - have the mechanics tightened everything up? - of course they had - they're professionals, and haven't let me down yet
We arrived in just under 3½ hours, and Cervantes sounded sweet as a nut - result!
The very helpful man on reception said we could park wherever we wanted - all the electric points are live.
We now have a large terrace for 12 vans all to ourselves - excellent!
So it's out with the Remoska cooker plugged into the auxilliary on our electric hook-up lead.
Glyn is an avid bird watcher, and whilst we were outside with a cold beer, she spotted a Sardinian Warbler - dark grey body, black cap on it's head and red eyes - what a stunner (and the bird was quite nice)
We're here to watch the Ruta del Sol cycle race which almost comes past the campsite - we'll be ready for 3pm tomorrow in the town of Humilladero. In the meantime, we're sat in the sun, writing the blog, and watching the birds (ooh err!)
For the last 4 hours we've had a cockerel as a companion - he's feeding out of Glyn's hand, and has become very tame. Always a sucker for animals, we did nothing to discourage him.
One crow from our cockerel started a competition with another one over the road - what a racket! It sounds like we'll be getting an early morning wake-up call tomorrow!!
Wednesday 16/02/2022 Humilladero
It was a very cold night last night, down to -3°c outside. It was so cold that the water heater frost override kicked in and emptied the water from the tank!
We put the heat on in the van at 7:30am for an hour, and now the water is hot, so it must have re-filled itself. There is a manual switch, accessible through the rear locker, to manually empty the water tank. The switch must have re-set itself after the tank was empty.
Inside the van this morning it was 5°c, and even with the heat on it still felt a bit cold. We got the electric 2 bar fire out (400w per bar) to really take the chill off inside - worked a treat.
We set off on the bikes to go to the nature reserve, just outside Humilladero in a town called Fuente de Piedra - a very quaint old town.
Unfortunately the water had nearly all evaporated, leaving only a small pond in the far corner. There were lots of birds to see, but they were very far away.
After a coffee, we made our way through the olive groves to Humilladero, where we ordered the "menu del dia" - the food of the day, at a roadside restaurant. There was a good food choice, and we spent a good couple of hours there, waiting for the Ruta del Sol peloton to go right past where we were sitting - very exciting.
After all the excitement and the last of the police motorbike outriders had gone, we made our way back to the campsite and found we had ridden 19km today - all along very quiet green roads through crops and trees - brilliant!
It was mad hot back at Cervantes, which was a signal to sit in the sun while it lasted, and chillout (after putting the bikes back on the cycle carriers on Cervantes)
Thursday 17/02/2022 Humilladero to Alcalá la Real
N37°27'11.6'' W003°55'11.5'' ///snapper.underpin.decoys
34 pitches on crushed gravel, €15 per night inc electric, showers, toilets, sinks, washer/dryer, bike hire, children's play area, camera protected, gates locked at night (code given)
122km in 1hr 58min
Not quite as cold as last night, but still a bit nippy.
We were on the road at 9:45am, because some of the roads we were driving on, were on the route of today's Ruta del Sol, which we plan to see in Alcalá la Real.
The motorways were faultless; the roads nearer to Alcalá la Real, less so.
Alcalá Camper Park is a new place to stay, and is very well equipped - it even has a chill-out area - we've never seen that before!
The staff are super-friendly, giving us lots of good information. The cost per night is only €15 including electric, with free use of all the facilities. There is also a fantastic view of the castle on the hill, especially at night when the castle is lit.
The cycle race finishes at the top of the very steep, cobbled narrow lane leading to the castle on top of the hill, overlooking the town.
There are signs on almost all the lamp posts leading up to the finish telling drivers not to park on the route. If they are ignored, there are consequences :-
We were in place at the finish line in good time, after buying some pasties, savoury and sweet, and a bottle of "Malaga beer" - never heard of it, but it turned out to be excellent.
The cobbled climb was brutal for the cyclists, and they were still arriving 15 minutes after Alessandro Covi won.
We looked for somewhere to eat tonight, but drew a blank, so it was back to the van, and pasta bake in Remoska - lovely!
Friday 18/02/2022 Alcalá la Real
It was lovely and quiet last night, just the odd dog barking.
Up bright and early, our first stop, after a shower, was Lidl for some supplies - just a 5 minute walk up the road.
Then it was off to find somewhere we could have lunch later on. We settled on the restaurant in the only hotel in the town.
But first, it was a climb up the hill to the hilltop fort (La Mota Fortress), now a major tourist attraction.
As we are now both pensioners, we paid half price to enter (€3 each instead of €6 each) and spent an excellent 2 hours looking round the superbly preserved hilltop fort - the site of many a hard-fought battle in the past.
The receptionist gave us a QR code to scan into our phones, then click on the link and we were through to a commentary on all the points on the circular route around all the buildings - very clever.
There were some amazing sights, and we could see as far as the snow-covered Sierra Nevada on the horizon.
All in all it was a very well constructed tour with good information, beautifully restored with some stunning views - excellent.
We made our way down the steep streets
to the main road, then on to our restaurant for lunch. They were offering a 3 course meal including bread and wine for the crazy price of €10 each. How could we say no?
An hour later, we were back at Cervantes in bright, warm sunshine, and so ended another superb afternoon in Alcalá la Real - what a place!
Saturday 19/02/2022 Alcalá la Real to Puerto de Motril
N36°43'04.5'' W003°32'49.6'' ///discovering.timeframe.cool
€22 per night inc electric, showers, toilets, service point, restaurant, barbeques, pool, very tight pitches.
154km in 2hr 31min
We wanted to see the stage of the tour which started in Granada this morning. We had the start time as 11am, so needed to be there at 10am latest.
We had identified an aire near the start called Area Camper Granada and had rung the owner 2 days ago to book a pitch. He said not to bother - just phone as you are getting near.
We were there for 9:15am, and rung him to be told he was full and there were no pitches available - thank you very much for nothing!! You can draw your own conclusions about how this aire is run.
We managed to park outside a sports centre, then walked to the main road to watch the tour go past. Unfortunately we had got the timing wrong. The start (only 20 minutes away) was at 12:30pm, not as we thought, 11:00am, so we walked along the course route, then had a coffee to pass the time.
There was a 10km neutral zone where the riders are held back behind the commisaire's car until he drops the flag and the racing starts in earnest.
We were at 15km after the start, and already there were 5 riders in a breakaway off the front.
 |
| Breakaway |
 |
| Chasers |
 |
| The bunch |
 |
| Bringing up the rear |
We scoured Campercontact for alternative aires or campsites, but nothing was suitable or available.
Our 6 day booking in Puerto de Motril started in 2 days time, so we decided to phone them and see if we could start 2 days early - success, so we were on our way to the coast straight away.
The A44 motorway from Granada (at 1000 metres altitude) to the coast (at 0 metres altitude) in 50 kilometres was a rollercoaster downhill all the way - there must be some serious accidents on these super-steep downhill roads. It was quite a white knuckle ride in some places - take a look at the elevation chart above, and the video below.
Camping Playa de Poniente was easy to find, and was separated from the beach by a road, a cycle path and a road.
It was a bit of a tight squeeze to get to, and to get onto our pitch, but we managed it eventually with no incidents.
There are 221 pitches here, which they have squeezed onto the smallest of areas - I would imagine you could not come here alone - you need someone to watch the front, back and height as you try nobly to make it look as easy as pie.
Sunday 20/02/2022 Puerto de Motril
It rained last night - how dare it!!
We've earmarked a few restaurants within walking distance, and there will be many more when we go further afield on the bikes.
There is a cycle path all the way to the town of Motril one way, and most of the way to Salobreña the other way. They've certainly got cycling nailed down here.
Yesterday, on the way to the campsite, we spotted a birdwatching trail only 500 metres away from where we are parked. So this morning, first thing, we were suitably dressed and walked around the routes of the reserve.
Up to 6 hides are available to sit in and watch the wildlife on the ponds - very similar to the nature reserve near us at home, but a lot bigger, with more hides to sit in - what an excellent find.
After a coffee in a beach restaurant, it was time for some housekeeping and downloading to keep us up to date.
We're here for 7 days, and only paying for 6, which makes the daily rate €18.50 per day, which is a bargain - that's paid for the ACSI book already.
The bikes are off the bike carrier, and locked to the frame, so we're off on the bikes whenever we want on the many cycle paths provided here - this is the motorhoming life!!
Monday 21/02/2022 Puerto de Motril
It's so much warmer here at night - a bit like being at home. We've had no heat on since we got here, and once the morning clouds are gone, it's good sunbathing weather, always made better by a good book.
The current one is the official autobiography of Elton John, which mentioned a concert at Wembley in 1975. This brought back memories of when Glyn and I were students in London from 1973 to 1976. We went to Wembley stadium on 21st of June 1975 to see a rock concert (along with 81,998 others) to see The Eagles, The Beach Boys, Chaka Khan, and Joe Walsh, which was headlined by Elton John.
He played the whole of the album "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" - unforgettable (and yes - I did have a sheepskin collared patched blue denim coat!) Unfortunately the album had been released only 2 weeks previously, so not many people had heard it, and started leaving in droves halfway through.
It didn't help that he followed the Beach Boys, who played virtually every hit from one of the most incredible and much-loved catalogues of hits in the history of pop music.
This morning we cycled to the port, hoping it would have good restaurants overlooking the sea, and be able to watch the boats coming and going.
The reality was that the port was totally off-limits - the whole quayside was a customs area with no entry allowed.
There were shops and restaurants one street inland, but seeing as they were on the N332, it was not exactly quiet with a good view (but brilliant if you were an HGV spotter).
We backtracked past our campsite to a lovely beach bar and had a glass of wine 20 metres from the sea - just what we were looking for in the port - what an opportunity they have missed!
Back at the campsite we took advantage of the onsite restaurant with a €12.50 menu del dia (a 3 course meal with a drink included) - bargain!
After that it was back to Cervantes for a feet-up rest and a relax with the good book previously mentioned.
Tuesday 22/02/2022 Puerto de Motril
Despite being surrounded by Germans (very loud voices - are they all deaf??) we got a good night's sleep, and woke to blue skies and no clouds.
Looking on the map, there didn't seem to be a coast road to Salobreña, the next town along the coast, and our destination for today.
We set off bright and early, and sure enough, the cycle path ended at the golf club, so we turned round and took the inland road, then off down an unmade camino that brought us out on the promenade of Salobreña.
The beach was populated with cafes, bars and restaurants, mirrored by more cafes, bars and restaurants one street back from the sea.
It took us quite a long time to stop at each one and look at the menu to see if we fancied it. We did eventually plump for one on the beach, open for a menu del dia at 1:30pm.
After our exertions, we thought we deserved a beer on the beach with a great view of the castle, high up on the top of the hill surrounded by the town of Salobreña.
The bar we were in had a delivery of logs whilst we were there, some of which were soon put into a small boat full of sand and lit to cook the octopus (pulpo) which were stuck on skewers around the outside of the boat - a spectacular way of cooking - it doesn't half bring the customers in.
We clocked up 22km today, mostly on traffic-free roads with some excellent weather. The sun was still out when we returned, so it was time to sit in the sun and read our kindles.
Wednesday 23/02/2022 Puerto de Motril
It was a quiet night, and a quiet day, taken up with relaxing outside, and catching up with friends and family using our 'new to us' mobile data - what a change we have found.
We can now identify and book campsites/aires whilst on the road, and stay in contact with friends and family.
Some shopping was needed, so a trip to the nearest supermarket was taken - only 1 km away.
Food always tastes better when it's cooked and eaten outside, which is what we did tonight in our "Remoskita" - a smaller version of the Lakeland Remoska, which is ideal for the van.
Another visit to the wetland nature reserve, just 500 metres from us here, was taken, and some excellent birdlife seen on the many lakes of the reserve, seen whilst in the lakeside hides.
Thursday 24/02/2022 Puerto de Motril
I think the nights are getting colder here - it was certainly a bit nippy last night.
However, the sun was out at 8am, and soon everything was bright and warm again, so it was a visit to Salobreña to see the castle on top of the hill.
After a walk to the bus stop, just outside the chemist, we were faced with a timetable that was not only old and faded, but obviously wrong. We knew this because the timetable at the bus stop on the other side of the street was exactly the same - impossible!
Glyn asked for some sane information in the hotel lobby nearby, and we sorted out which bus stop we were meant to be at, and what time the bus was due.
All was well, and the bus was on time-ish.
Paying €2 each (old fogeys rate) we entered the castle walls for some stunning views of the coastline one way, and the hills below Sierra Nevada the other way - fantastic!
After a beer (expensive at €2.40 for a small caña) in a very nice square with some ace views,
it was down to Salobreña town again to seek out a menu del dia in one of the many restaurants - it didn't take us long before we were sat and eating our menu (grouper a la plancha) - lovely. With 4 courses including wine, it was a steal at €12 each.
The bus back was easy, because we knew where it went from and at what time - which it did.
Friday 25/02/2022 Puerto de Motril
Rain, rain and more rain, along with high winds, kept us in Cervantes most of the time.
We looked at moving on tomorrow, but with the weather as it is, and the options of nearby places to stay at quite limited, we decided to stay here until the 2nd of March, then make our way back to Pilar, where I have a blood test booked for Friday morning, 4/03/2022.
It finally stopped raining, so we decided to chance a walk along the seashore in the fierce wind.
Last night there was thunder and lightning right above the van, with rain of biblical proportions.
The thunder was ear-splitting, and the lightning was far too close for comfort. We're basically sleeping in an aluminium box, so if our van gets struck by lightning, I dread to think what would happen to us. Added to that was the deafening noise of torrential rain on the roof, just 2 feet above our heads on our dropdown bed - very scary.
We could also hear the gale force wind through the trees surrounding us, and the monumental Hawaii Five-O waves crashing onto the shore - I'm surprised we made it through the night!
Back at Cervantes after our walk, we bunkered down and watched a film (Fargo) on the laptop - very violent, but a great cast.
Saturday 26/02/2022 Puerto de Motril
It was a shopping day today, with a walk to the Coviran supermarket 1.5 km away.
Luckily, it's next to a bar/restaurant, so that was breakfast covered as well.
Lunchtime saw Remoskita outside, full of potatoes, onions, garlic and various pulses. It's still very windy, which impaired the cooking ability a bit, but nevertheless, it was an easy meal - the only work required was some chopping of the veg.
Bacalao (Cod) fillets went in later, to make a superb fish stew, with the minimum of work.
The weather deteriorated to such an extent that we had to eat inside - the wind was blowing and the sun was not shining - we could have been in Blackpool!
That was it for outside, so it was an afternoon of some spring cleaning, reading, and a film (My Cousin Rachael) to end the night.
Sunday 27/02/2022 Puerto de Motril
Today was the last day we could go around the nature reserve bird sanctuary on our own. From tomorrow we have to be accompanied by a guide, due to the birds starting to nest and rear young.
From some of the hides we could see some birds already pairing up, and some were already building nests - great to see.
We saw 2 new birds never seen by us before (Shoveller Duck - new, and Tufted Duck - seen before, but not in these colours)
It was raining as we set off, and raining for most of the visit, but thankfully cleared up enough to have an outside coffee on the way back.
We knew nothing about the existence of this nature reserve before we arrived here, and were amazed at the size and variety of it - what a find!
It's a bank holiday weekend here, and the Spanish (and children) have flooded the campsite. It's OK really - the children couldn't make more noise than the adults already have done.
There are some big vans on some small pitches - I hope no-one does any damage to their motorhome - it really is a tight squeeze.
Monday 28/02/2022 Puerto de Motril
It's another grim, cloudy, cold day here today - the weather's not fit for man nor beast!
We couldn't stay inside all day again, so we bulked up with clothes and set off for a walk along a new footpath we had just seen on Google Maps.
It brought us right to the sea where we had been previously, only this time the sea had eroded our exit, and we had to leap over the overflow to the sea to avoid the big waves coming in.
We both got our feet wet, but nothing serious. It helped that we had a beer in a beach bar just 6 metres from the sea - we could feel the spray on our faces.
There were many fishing rods stuck into the sand with their lines out to sea, but it didn't appear as if anyone was watching them for a bite.
It was another film night - A Walk in the Woods with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte - very good!
Tuesday 01/03/2022 Puerto de Motril
Finally - some sun this morning, so we could get the bikes out at last.
Motril was the centre of sugar production from sugar cane in the mists of time, and there was a fascinating museum dedicated to it in the centre of Motril town.
We set off on the bikes along the many cycle paths around Motril, and were soon in the centre, and found the building we were looking for.
A very nice lady manning the reception desk let us put our bikes inside, then told us in perfect English all about the history of sugar production in Motril.
Sugar cane was grown in every available field, and soon all other crops had given way to sugar cane - such was the demand.
The sugar canes were transported to the factories by donkey and horse,
then the stems were crushed by passing them through rollers, then by hammering them with the biggest hammer you have ever seen!
then it was boiled to reduce the water content, leaving a thick molasses.
This was gradually concentrated until it could be put into clay pots and solidified into crystal sugar.
All land was stripped to grow sugar cane, which caused flooding due to over-production unstabilising the eco-balance (sound familiar to you?)
Added to that, nearly all forests were cut down for wood to heat the sugar solution, and obviously they ran out of wood eventually.
In the time they were producing sugar they were making a fortune, less so if you were the man feeding sugar cane through enormous rollers - there was always a sharp knife handy to cut off someone's hand if it was caught in the rollers!!
An excellent fish meal in a proper fish restaurant, opposite the docks in Motril (all docks were closed to the public), rounded off a lovely day out - and the sun was shining!
Wednesday 02/03/2022 Puerto de Motril to Almería
N36°49'52.0'' W002°27'59.5'' ///plunger.discount.confined
€6.50 to park on tarmac in a large car park in the port (motorhomes take up 2 spaces). Public toilets, no motorhome facilities. Feels quite safe with lots of cameras.
114km in 1hr 45min
We were disturbed a bit last night with a barking/howling dog, but on the whole - no problem.
The bikes are on the back and everything is put away by 11am, we've paid up for 11 nights (€220), and are waiting for our turn for the waste water emptying and fresh water filling to become vacant (no facilities where we are going next).
Once done, we were on the road - the A7 motorway, now no longer a toll road - towards our destination in Almería, which was a car park in the port.
The A7 was a series of climbs and descents all day - look at the elevation map above to see our rollercoaster drive.
When we got here at 1pm there were already 21 motorhomes here, all parked in bays with a space in between.
We parked on the end slot, so we had a view of the 2 ferries docked opposite us, and the search and rescue boat next to us.
We took a ticket on the way in, asked if we could stay the night (yes, no problem), and asked the cost (€6.50)
The only facilities here are public toilets, but there are great views of the sea and the coastline, and of course, the boats.
Most of the motorhomes are empty - I presume their occupants have gone into the town of Almería. In view of that, we decided to lock up, put the blinds down, and go to explore the town.
First was a cool beer and tapas at a bar/restaurant along a pedestrianised walkway parallel to the main street. There was also another walkway next to it, a 2 way cycle path, a row of trees, and a row of hedges - it ended up being wider than the road next to it!
Walking towards town, we just caught a glimpse of ancient walls through a series of narrow streets, so we made our way to what turned out to be the Cathedral of Almería.
It didn't open it's doors to visitors until 4pm, and it was 3:30pm, so of course a glass of wine in the cathedral square was the only option open to us.
Inside, the cathedral was stunning, with a fantastic altar, superb choir stalls, an unusual double organ, and excellent ante rooms. It was a bargain at €5 each (old fogey rates) and passed an immersive hour and a half.
There is a walled castle in the distance to explore yet, and also the main street of Almería which is very busy and buzzing - we will be back in the future to put this right.
On the walk back to Cervantes we spotted a Carrefour Express shop - just right for some essentials for tonight's meal.
It's 6pm, and to date there are 19 vans here, with, it seems, a new one coming in every half hour. Don't worry - there are plenty of spaces.
Thursday 03/03/2022 Almería to Home
253km in 3hr 17min
We had a great night watching the search and rescue boat being maintained, loading on supplies with a hydraulic crane lifter, and general cleaning and maintenance - fascinating to watch, especially after dark.
It was a quiet night, interspersed with the fishermen (all congregating at the top of the car park for night fishing) going home at 3:30am.
Driving today was much the same as yesterday, going through tunnels and over viaducts with some steep up and down roads. All in all the roads were good to drive, but in places the road surface was atrocious - pretty standard for some of Spain's roads.
It was an early start for us this morning in an effort to outrun the forecasted gale force winds. It worked for us and we had an incident-free journey, livened up for us by the police looking for someone at the end of the motorway. Take a look at this video.
Cervantes is parked at the bottom of our street, because I have an appointment tomorrow morning to have a blood test in town.
I'm going to sleep in it tonight, just to make sure that nothing happens to it.
There is an aviso (warning) for strong winds and torrential rain tomorrow, but the strength of wind and amount of rain varies by the hour. If it's quite low we may continue our trip tomorrow, or if the forecast is bad we may stay here another night to keep an eye on the house - our trastero (rear storeroom that we have roofed over) empties the rain into the sink, and if a lot of dust/sand (from the Sahara) is washed down, it has a habit of blocking the sink, which overflows and floods the trastero, which in turn floods the house. The rate of rainfall is also crucial - if the rate of rainfall is too many millimetres per hour, the sink can't cope and again it overflows.
Friday 04/03/2022 Home
It was a really cold night in the van, whilst Glyn had the luxury of her own bed in the house and an electric blanket!!
The wind was gale force with gusts of 90kph.
At one point I thought Cervantes was going to be blown over - it was rocking a bit too much.
I made it through the night, as did Cervantes, so we set off for the health centre in our local town of Pilar de la Horadada - a 20 minute walk away.
As expected, there was torrential rain when we set off, so we were soaked to the skin when we arrived - dripping water everywhere. There are few drains here in the streets, so crossing the road means wading ankle-high through the floods!
The plus side was that the queue for the blood test was not as long as usual.
A coffee in the square afterwards warmed us up again to face the 20 minute horizontal rainstorm walk to home.
I couldn't see us setting off in the van in this weather, so we hunkered down in our house getting warm again after a hot bath/shower.
I think we'll try again tomorrow to move on - it all depends on the weather.
Saturday 05/03/2022 Home to Pinoso
N38°24'32.2'' W001°05'09.7'' ///placemat.relaxing.scores
€14 per night on crushed stone including electric, huge pitches, bar, restaurant, pool, all motorhome facilities, excellent walking on traffic-free roads. No children.
126km in 1hr 43min
The forecast this morning is horrendous - we'll have to get away or we'll be here for the next week.
We've studied weather maps against places to stay, and have decided that the coast from Benidorm southwards is a definite no-go.
North, we think, is the way to go, but looking at the weather forecast for every single aire and campsite becomes quite tedious. Just get outside the avisos (warnings) areas, we thought, and take the weather as it comes - it can't be any worse.
In 2018 we had stayed at a new aire called El Tranquilo just outside Pinoso and really enjoyed it there. It's re-opened after the lockdown, still run by the same excellent people. It gives huge pitches with electric (first 4 Kwh are free, after that it's 39 cents per Kwh), WiFi (paid for depending on how long you want it for), free showers, toilets, service point, pool and space - lots of space.
There is a cosy bar/restaurant next to reception, and an onsite minibus to take you to Pinoso town if required (and back!)
The owners are so helpful and make you feel very relaxed. This is a superb stopping point for the biggest of vans - you are sure of a very warm welcome.
It rained on the way here (as predicted), but it was nothing serious (we're from Northwest England so are used to severe weather), and once we were, the sun came out, the temperature went up, and the chairs were moved outside.
I believe it's bucketing down on the coast - now that was a good move - well done Glynis!
Sunday 06/03/2022 Pinoso
A very quiet night here - just as we like it, and awoke to overcast skies and constant drizzle, the one saving grace was no wind.
It's also a bit chilly, so it was with blatant disregard to how much electric we are using, that we put the heating on to warm us up.
In no time we were sitting down to breakfast with freshly baked bread from reception (pre-ordered the day before) with fried eggs and coffee - lovely!
With the drizzle continuing all morning, we got down to cleaning the van (I say we, I really mean Glyn!) I should be cleaning the outside of Cervantes, but it's cold and wet, so I'm wimping out for the time being.
Cervantes suffers badly from condensation on the inside of the windscreen in winter. It's a rea pain trying to clear it in the morning when we're trying to set off to our next destination. Our system was to wipe it with a microfibre cloth until that one was wet through, then get another one, and so on. The water ran down to the bottom of the screen and into the heating vents, which I imagine is not a good thing.
We have borrowed (from a neighbour at home) Lidl's version of a Karcher window cleaner. It incorporates suction along the length of the rubber squeegee, and works like a dream.
No water running everywhere, leaves an almost dry window which just needs a quick rub over with a microfibre cloth, and away we go - why have we never used one of these before? We'll certainly be buying one when we get home.
The weather brightened, so we took a 7km walk along good, traffic-free paths that brought us back to Cervantes in time for tea.
Monday 07/03/2022 Pinoso
Still no rain, but another cold night. It's our last night here, so we thought it would be good to eat out.
To work up an appetite we went for a 5km walk through the fields.
There's a restaurant not far down the main road, so after our 5km walk this morning, we were there for 2pm.
It was very quiet, but the service and the food and wine was excellent.
3 courses with 50cc of wine for €11 each - what a bargain! We felt we owed more, so bought a 5litre container of red, and one of rose to show our appreciation.
Tuesday 08/03/2022 Pinoso to Archena
N38°07'21.3'' W001°17'37.1'' ///sashimi.airship.wagering
Free aire on tarmac for 48 vans, no electric, full service point, near town and riverside walks.
58km in 56 min
It was very cold last night, and we found out this morning that our propane gas bottle had run out. We also have a refillable LPG bottle (from GAS IT in North Wales), so swapped to that until we swapped the empty Repsol bottle for a full one in Archena.
Archena aire is free, and has been re-vamped since we were last here (Feb 2017), with a new tarmac surface and large marked bays for motorhome parking.
Just behind where we are parked is a river. We followed the riverside path for 15 minutes and came to a hot spring health spa complex. It was almost a small village with shops, restaurants, hotels, and of course hot thermal baths - very impressive.
We are parked uphill, but still needed ramps on the front to get us level.
There is a service point onsite which has grey and black water drains, and a tap for fresh water. Something we have never seen before is a council lorry cleaning the service point - well done Archena!
It was nice and quiet at night, despite being next to an outdoor football field.
Wednesday 09/03/2022 Archena to Home
76km in 1hr 6min
Our grandson has really bad chicken pox, and is likely to pass it on to our granddaughter at some point. Our daughter and husband both work full time, so we are flying back to UK at the weekend to help out.
This trip has been excellent with some new aires and parking spots to go into the diary. The weather let us do what we wanted, and we got in lots of walking and cycling, and as usual, Cervantes just keeps going on and on - long may it continue. (we're already planning our next trip!)
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