Europe By Camper - Travelling Europe By Motorhome: Spain

Burgos & San Sebastian

Burgos & San Sebastian

Burgos Cathedral To us, Salamaca is just a stop over point on the journey north and we don't enter into the city. We do however q...

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Beginning the route north, we head to Caceres. Our tanks are full of Moroccan Diesel and somehow our van is running better than ever. These vehicles really do need some miles on them and despite travelling at 110kph for 300 miles we still average nearly 30mpg. If only we'd known, we could have done this trip in half the time!<br />
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In Caceres we pull into the campsite to meet up once again with Adam's parents who themselves have been travelling Spain for the past 3 months. It's a fantastic achievement for them, my mum especially who only very recently overcame her fears of ferry's and dislike of being away from home for more than a couple of weeks at a time. They both look well and we spend hours talking about our Moroccan stories including our hard-won Moroccan carpet which looks great down the centre of their van.<br />
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We venture into Caceres and it's here where we realise the true effect that Morocco has had on us. We want to buy some tomato's and red onions to make a 'berber salad' but can't find a vegetable shop, nevermind a supermarket. There are too many shops and even the impressive old town seems somehow uninspiring, perhaps it's just too normal and civilized compared to what we are used to and instead we sit in the square and talk for another hour about our time in Morocco!  </div>

Caceres

Beginning the route north, we head to Caceres. Our tanks are full of Moroccan Diesel and somehow our van is running better than ever. The...

Granada - We're back on the road!

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bolnuevo </span></span>
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It's been over two weeks since we last posted a blog update on Europe By Camper but we decided not to bore you too much with updates of the family festivities and try and keep on topic and travel related. For those who are interested, we spent two weeks in Puerto de Mazarrón where the weather has been unbelievingly good and hit 20c on our thermometer every day, irrespective of weather forecasts. We've done practical things like empty and re-pack our van, wash and clean everything and do a few odd jobs but there has been plenty of time spent relaxing on the roof terrace also!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cartagena</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span>
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We walked 7 miles to Bolnuevo and back to visit Adam's folks who had a couple of days on the site there and also had day trips to Cartagena and Murcia to view the festivities and nativities and ate possibly the best Christmas dinner outside of England, cooked by a Dane with starters in a Swedish theme but the main course cooked to traditional perfection. The resturante was called Meson Madera and we'd urge anyone passing close by to visit (link to <a href="http://www.simplynetworking.es/company-4448-meson_madera_restaurant_and_bar_las_palas.html" target="_blank">more information</a>).<br />
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So the day before yesterday we bid farewell to Sophie's parents and went to catch up with Adam's at Granada before they set off for Portugal. With the cities aire being a no-go due to a new tram being put in, we headed for Reina Isabel who graciously accepted our 2012 ACSI discount card a day before the tariff was due to come into force saving us the books purchase price in just a two night stay.<br />
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Granada itself is only a short bus ride away and the city is easily the most pleasant we have visited so far in Spain. With snow-capped mountains in the distance and strong Moroccan themed architecture it certainly felt different compared to anywhere else we have visited. The walled Alhambra provided great views over the city and the walled gardens were filled with autumnal colours.<br />
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The Moroccan theme extends not just to the buildings but also in the impossibly narrow side streets which were adorned with seemingly authentic traders selling their wears, the colours of the materials were very eye catching from the cafes and restaurants in the main squares. It was also the first day of the January sales here in Spain, which comes after the Three Kings celebrations on the 6th of January, and the queues and piles of discarded clothes surpassed anything we've ever witnessed back at home.</div>

Granada - We're back on the road!

Bolnuevo It's been over two weeks since we last posted a blog update on Europe By Camper but we decided not to bore you t...

Merry Christmas from Puerto de Mazarrón

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puerto de Mazarrón</td></tr>
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 We have finally arrived at our Christmas destination of Sophie's parents rented villa in Puerto da Mazarron. The area is surrounded by hills and seems to exist in its own microclimate, there air is warm and dry and the temperature reaching 25c in the early afternoon - hardly feels like Christmas! The area seems popular with motorhomes and there are plenty of Wild Camping locations out and about which we will explore and report back on in the new year.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Guadalest </span>
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<span style="text-align: left;">En route to here we visited Guadalest which is a pretty village but somewhat </span><span style="text-align: left;">spoilt</span><span style="text-align: left;"> by tourist tat and several museums of </span><span style="text-align: left;">miniatures touting bible on a pin head and such like</span><span style="text-align: left;">, its unsurprising that the area is heavily geared toward day trippers from Barcelona and Benidorm.</span></div>
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 <span style="text-align: center;">Speaking of which, it would be rude not to call in at this notorious Brit hotspot to go 'Madge Spotting' and true to form they were out in force, women in their 70's clad in fur and Leopard print leggings. </span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Out of season the beach is stunning and clear to see why this place has attracted so many people to purchase property here. Parked on the front, our campers caused quite a stir with passers by looking through the windows, it was difficult to resist triggering the alarm to give them a fright!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Panaroma of Benidorm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sophie & Adam</span></div>
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Merry Christmas from Puerto de Mazarrón

Puerto de Mazarrón We have finally arrived at our Christmas destination of Sophie's parents rented villa in Puerto da Mazarron....

Carcaixent and Calpe

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Calpe</td></tr>
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The journey along the Spanish coast from East to West has been fun and games for us. A lot of towns and cities are heavily populated with apartment blocks and industry and require a great deal of planning in order to navigate to a suitable parking area in order to explore. This is made all the more interesting since we are no longer just navigating our narrow panel van but also for the Autotrail Tracker (affectionately named our 'support vehicle') which seemed permanently fixed to our back bumper and just like a trailer it makes turning around when you've made a wrong turn that bit more interesting!<br />
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Castello-de-la-Plana for example yielded hooded youths and industry and so we didn't really feel like stopping, similarly Segunte despite it's promising castle seemed equally uninspiring and we drove on through. Most disappointingly of all was Valencia where the city centre 'aire' had increased from €16 to €25 per day and was sandwiched between a busy motorway flyover and railway station rendering it in our view totally unsuitable for an overnight stay. Unfortunately too late in the day for us to consider parking there for a few hours and with the only campsite closing that very evening we decided that fate was against us and headed for Carcaixent. </div>
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Somewhere along the way we picked up a Dutch registered camper which became a temporary addition to our convoy, as the road narrowed with 7ft walls either side he became alarmed when the Autotrail in front of him straddled the middle of the road around blind corners. We let on to him later that we had been a little way in front and had been letting Adam's parents know when the road ahead was clear over the radio so they didn't have to creep around the blind bends. It transpired that he had no GPS at all and simply decided to follow us as it was getting late and thought we must have been heading for an aire that he didn't know about!<br />
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As it turned out we couldn't have navigated to a nicer spot, the free parking location (GPS: 39.07027, 0.40889) was sheltered by trees and is the starting point for three 5 mile walks. Given our rotten luck with cities we decided the next day we would rest from driving and attempt the red walk which involved a 300m accent through overgrown paths which provided breathtaking views.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIE3Sk5A7UuvIcDEhM2Jr4Vly75dOenFxsS6meqZnm4SxXMYMfuKbmkkmsabJmhNZB8yU-7TvZFMkSIjlmhl-LS4PWTbNPTi3LSj2_CchyphenhyphenKutYdR1OTK7sYWQc7mGQ5b-vKj75g8o5rH0/s1600/Sunset+Calpe.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIE3Sk5A7UuvIcDEhM2Jr4Vly75dOenFxsS6meqZnm4SxXMYMfuKbmkkmsabJmhNZB8yU-7TvZFMkSIjlmhl-LS4PWTbNPTi3LSj2_CchyphenhyphenKutYdR1OTK7sYWQc7mGQ5b-vKj75g8o5rH0/s200/Sunset+Calpe.JPG" width="200" /></a>While we try and avoid campsites unless you find a particularly good launderette there really is no alternative to getting your washing done.  Calpe Mar in the ACSI discount book was paticually attractive to Adam's mum since the website showed an ironing board in the laundry room! It turned out to be a great little compact campsite with hard standing pitches, new facilities and a bargain laundry at €2 a wash not to mention a fantastic view of Penyal d'Ifac (that's the big rock to you and me). The town itself is relatively pleasant and we enjoyed a lunch of Shellfish Paella and Whitebait in one of the many restaurants touting for business along the seafront. It's warm at 18c and it's hard to believe it's only 8 days until Christmas!<br />
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Carcaixent and Calpe

Calpe The journey along the Spanish coast from East to West has been fun and games for us. A lot of towns and cities are heavily popu...

Tarragona and Morella

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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIexPlplqFuvirArkpOk_a5xvw9MTztLBrY4h8FokTKihnFS6ezN_ccvolzlaLGuL40f5z_ulrxHeKqDu9fSJA_UmfGQIALoaI4enGQtYazwfnz50GgJ_ruF_m7bsHMLTQtGel1HQYt8/s1600/Tarragona+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIexPlplqFuvirArkpOk_a5xvw9MTztLBrY4h8FokTKihnFS6ezN_ccvolzlaLGuL40f5z_ulrxHeKqDu9fSJA_UmfGQIALoaI4enGQtYazwfnz50GgJ_ruF_m7bsHMLTQtGel1HQYt8/s200/Tarragona+%25282%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a>Tarragona yielded a fantastic and well used Wild Camping location right on the beach (GPS: 41.12935, 1.30455) where we stayed for two days to recover from our whirlwind tour of Barcelona. We were reminded of our weeks spent parked up on Greek beaches and were treated to several fantastic sunrises over the sea giving Adam's parents just a taste of what we experienced while we were there and we're pleased to report they have really taken to the concept, no more campsites for them!<br />
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We are starting to see a great deal more English registered motorhomes who are "here for the winter", these are on the whole a different type of traveler to those we have been meeting in places that bit further afield and we've had a few faces pulled when we've mentioned Eastern Europe! Perhaps we can educate them, or maybe not.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lAOhPC9l-QcrRZbo8Pp3HMEby8YngHgxLOat5qczPLSBD7a8rbeSE-8FFDAzyQIFPMQLffx3pTyfMkFRWVKe_E9rvtEzoPyahDNG8QIMlfHG8qdGKWrP0BRsfinMJUkUJBueaSmQLts/s1600/Morella+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lAOhPC9l-QcrRZbo8Pp3HMEby8YngHgxLOat5qczPLSBD7a8rbeSE-8FFDAzyQIFPMQLffx3pTyfMkFRWVKe_E9rvtEzoPyahDNG8QIMlfHG8qdGKWrP0BRsfinMJUkUJBueaSmQLts/s200/Morella+%25282%2529.jpg" width="132" /></a>After tearing ourselves away from the coast we drove inland, navigating many hairpin bends before we arrived at the free aire at Morella (GPS: 40.62398, 0.09141). The town was virtually deserted and the lady in the tourist information office seemed a little surprised to see us but overall the town felt relatively authentic compared to similar walled towns we have visited. The 1000m difference in altitude yielded a 10c drop in temperature which meant highs of just 3c overnight, we couldn't wait to get back to the coast and another great little wild spot on a deserted pebbly beach (GPS: 40.20741, 0.25986) complete with weird rubbish trees with the remnants of summer rubbish made into art worthy of the Turnip Prize.<br />
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Tarragona and Morella

Morella Tarragona yielded a fantastic and well used Wild Camping location right on the beach (GPS: 41.12935, 1.30455) where we stayed...

Barcelona

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For more information on the aires / motorhome parking in Barcelona <a href="http://www.europebycamper.com/2011/12/barcelona-motorhome-aire-parking.html">Click Here</a><br />
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We had initially planned to spend a couple of days in Barcelona but the need of the group was to spend some relaxing time on the coast so we opted to try and pack as much as possible into one day. Sophie and I have grown a little tired of large cities on this trip but rest assured this is only a temporary condition!<br />
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The first sight on our list was the Sagrada Familia, one of the worlds longest running construction efforts spanning over 130 years and not scheduled for completion until 2026 at the earliest. Needless to say there were cranes and scaffolding from every vantage point so photography was interesting!<br />
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The Christmas markets which surrounded the church were packed with stalls selling logs with faces painted on one end and front legs of all different shapes and sizes. We thought they were Yuel Logs but on further enquiry they are in fact called 'Tió de Nadal' a charactor from Catalan mythology relating to a Christmas tradition and often reffered to as 'Caga tió' or.... Shit log! We like this name best. On Christmas day or Christmas Eve, a family puts their tió partly into the fireplace and orders it to "shit". To make him "shit", they beats him with sticks, while singing various songs of Tió de Nadal. There is more, but that's enough for now!<br />
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Back on the Metro we headed for The Rambles, the massive sprawling street which stretches down to the harbour in Barcelona and is famous for its 'living statues' which are all too common in European tourist hotspots.<br />
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There was a lively religious procession (we couldn't find out for what, but apparently is a very frequent occurance) and we enjoyed our first Starbucks since Stockholm. Adam's mum had spied her namesake turned into a Restaurant, 'Joan' seems a very popular name here in Spain.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzD5X_2nEURrVhYqK5lSRPRlD7MJ9bhTbPcRzw8bvSC42lYNs9C8cPrx2b0SmEfcrSGtVfFr0NEG3WcYbFbGt-Qf2MOaw270A2Eg6d9x2mmfjJ1kvNJNlzxMg_tJvuy1Bz0wu7sVcqfw/s1600/P1000304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzD5X_2nEURrVhYqK5lSRPRlD7MJ9bhTbPcRzw8bvSC42lYNs9C8cPrx2b0SmEfcrSGtVfFr0NEG3WcYbFbGt-Qf2MOaw270A2Eg6d9x2mmfjJ1kvNJNlzxMg_tJvuy1Bz0wu7sVcqfw/s200/P1000304.JPG" width="200" /></a>We visited Montjuic to find that the fountains are only operational once or twice a week in season and of course we had missed the day on which to see them. It was now turning to dusk and Barcelona was beginning to take on a much more multi cultural role with markets set out selling Indian snacks and mint tea. It was all too much for us and our intentions of Tapas and Paella faltered and we ended up in an Indian Restaurant and after a mix up with Sophie's 'hot' Khari being delivered as a sickly-sweet hot Korma which was whisked away and replaced we were soon sweating and salivating having missed hot food for so long.<br />
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Barcelona in a day is perhaps not to be recommended, it would probably take 3 days at least to do the city justice but was fine on this occasion. There was, for us, one final highlight. On the short walk back to the aire from the metro we stumbled upon a huge Primark with prices that would put even the ones back home to shame, it would have been rude not to top up on clothes!</div>

Barcelona

For more information on the aires / motorhome parking in Barcelona Click Here We had initially planned to spend a couple of days ...

Burgos & San Sebastian

Caceres

Granada - We're back on the road!

Merry Christmas from Puerto de Mazarrón

Carcaixent and Calpe

Tarragona and Morella

Barcelona

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