Relaxed

Friday 27th March - Coucy-Le-Chateau. N49.520084 E3.314395

After the last couple of days of driving and not getting any sleep we are now refreshed. Slept like logs last night and set off today for the small village of Coucy-Le-Chateau. Sat Navs set to avoid tolls and motorways and it was a pleasant drive through some nice countryside and typically pretty French villages. A stop at LeClerc for a few bits and pieces and diesel (€1.15/litre), a coffee and croissant stop and we were starting to enjoy the trip. There's not too much here apart from a ruined castle and an archway entrance to the village 2.5m wide - made it with an inch or two on each side - easy!

Weather has been kind to us today, it's still cold but nice and sunny and feels almost spring like and it can only get better as we travel further south (can't it?)

Some of you may know that I bought a bike and an electric wheel recently and whilst the bike is fine I've had nothing but trouble with the electric wheel which was a disappointment but today salvation arrived. Whilst admiring the ruined castle and contemplating whether I could be arsed with the ten minute climb to view at close quarters my new friend turned up. We got chatting and after a few minutes a deal was struck so it's good-bye bike and hello the future -

Tomorrow we set off for Mareuil-sur-Ay which is a little South of Reims. We had planned to go to Reims tomorrow as the cathedral is not to be missed and the city is beautiful but then we thought hmm, Reims on a Saturday? The Motorhome parking spot has only 7 places and it's going to be really busy? And then browsing our Camperstop book I very luckily found a place described as Urban, Comfortable, Central, Quiet with a restaurant on the spot! Phew, that was lucky eh? And - it's on a canal with fishing on the spot!!! That's me sorted then. Tight lines eh?

Pat.

 

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And we're off again.

Thursday 26th March - somewhere under the sea.

We left home last night at about 9.30pm to drive overnight to Folkestone for an early Chunnel. We were booked on the 7.20am but arrived early, despite a couple of detours through the Kent countryside due to motorway closures, and we've ended up on the 6.20am. The plan was to get a couple of hours sleep at the euro tunnel terminal but that didn't happen. Screeching seagulls, vehicle noise and too much coffee on the way down. So here we are, several metres under the sea bed, halfway to la belle France. We've planned our first stop to be at an Aire in Arras which is/was a fortified town with a gothic style town hall and subterranean passages however I think sleep is a priority before any sightseeing. I thought I'd start the blog off underwater because we are sat next to this sign -

Regrettably this is not the case, all phones/pads show "no service" so my first submariner blog will have to wait till dry land to be posted.

It's many years since I drove overnight in the UK and I was amazed at the number of HGV vehicles parked up in the lay-bys all the way down the A1. Nearly every lay-by was full as were the services near Grantham. We stopped again at Thurrock services before crossing the Thames and the place was absolutely rammed with HGVs. All the car parks were full and lorries were parked all along the roadways. Perhaps anyone reading this who does a bit of night time driving can explain.

Arras. N50.294618 E2.788113

We were going to push on a bit further south but after I started nodding off on the A25 decided that we'd better stop and get some shuteye. It's bitterly cold and damp here but that didn't prevent us sleeping for five hours and I would like to say we awoke refreshed; unfortunately that's not the case. I don't think I would do this journey the same way again. I'm not going to be able to tell you very much, if anything, about Arras. We are parked about a ten minute walk from the town centre but I doubt we'll be doing any further investigations today. This part of France is not the most picturesque and the ride from Calais would not have had much to recommend it other than an interesting encounter at a rest stop near Dunkerque. The guy driving the big rig parked next to us asked if we were on holiday and I said yes but a long holiday, maybe three or four months and told him of our plans. He was pleased we were going to Greece as that was his homeland, he lived in Thessaloniki and had just returned from the UK and was waiting for his boss to phone him to tell him where his next load was coming from. He said the ferry from Ancona to Igoumenitsa was ok but we should have booked on the superfast. I mentioned that as long as the voyage wasn't anything like the one we had a month ago through the Bay of Biscay I would be happy! Then he told us his story. He was on the Norman Atlantic sailing from Patras to Ancona on the 28th December last year. The ship caught fire in the Adriatic and at least 28 people perished. Our friend was in a small dinghy for four hours before he was rescued by a passing container ship. He injured his back and shoulder clambering on to the ship and subsequently spent two months in hospital. He still has nightmares about the incident. He had no wages whilst he was ill and his wife and children suffered hardship as well. He has been told he can expect compensation from the ferry company but the investigation is still ongoing. A very sad story. He wished us well and hoped we enjoyed our travels in his country. You can read more about this tragedy here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Norman_Atlantic

Pat

 

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The rain in Spain

Tuesday 24th February. 43.382937 -4.246116

We are parked up this evening at Camping El Helguero. We arrived yesterday after leaving the wildlife park looking for somewhere to park up for a couple of days before the ferry sails on Wednesday and needing electricity to charge our batteries. This campsite is officially closed but the young lass here took pity on us and showed us a couple of places where we could park up without sinking into the mud and gave us some free wifi. We received an email from Brittany ferries yesterday offering us the option of boarding the ferry which we could use as a "floating hotel". We could have used our cabin but we would have been unable to leave the ship and would have had to buy all our food and drink from their bars and restaurants. We decided not to take them up on the offer. Having said that, although it didn't suit us it was a nice gesture to those folk travelling in cars or as foot passengers as they would have had to find alternative accommodation for a couple of nights.

The campsite here would, I'm sure, be lovely in the summer but as it hasn't stopped raining since Sunday lunchtime I don't think we are seeing the best of it. At night, as we are the only people here and it's miles from anywhere, it's a bit like a location for a horror movie. Owls screech and doors slam somewhere in the wind. It's pitch black and a bit spooky.

Tomorrow we head off for the port to embark on the ferry, the lass here wished us bon voyage, said she wasn't working tomorrow and to lock up when we go and leave the keys on the windowsill.

So that's it really, the end of another trip. We're not really looking forward to the Bay of Biscay but I'm sure a brandy or two should settle the stomach. With any luck we'll be home on Friday morning. No pictures from the last few days but I'll end with one of Bolnuevo. Thanks for following and we'll be back again toward the end of March travelling through France, Italy and onward to Greece for a couple of months.

Bolnuevo:

 

Pat

 

 

 

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The Bay of Biscay Blues.

Sunday 22nd February. 45.358513 -3.818645.

Bob Dylan, you may recall, was stuck in Mobile with the Memphis Blues. We're stuck in an elephant park just outside Santander with the Bay of Biscay blues. We arrived here this afternoon at this charming village which boasts an elephant, deer and bison park because we were told that if we're lucky we can see the elephants from our car park and wouldn't have to pay to enter the wild life park. It's only a hop and a skip to the ferry so it sounded like the place for us. Sure enough we arrived early afternoon after an uneventful drive from Palencia over the Pyrenees (snow on the tops) and after parking up had a look around and there they were, elephants! They looked as miserable as the weather but looking around I don't suppose they have too much to be happy about. With all the wildlife programmes there are on TV do we really have to keep animals the size of elephants in european parks? Anyway, whilst watching said elephants I got a text message from Brittany Ferries telling me that due to adverse weather conditions our ferry may be delayed. Half an hour later I got the email telling us it would be delayed - until Wednesday!!

There were four other British motorhomes parked here all setting off for Monday's ferry and the other guys all jumped out, virtually at the same time, shouting "Have you got a message about the ferry?" We confirmed we had and there are now only three motorhomes here as one guy phoned Brittany Ferries, cancelled, obtained a refund and is now on his way to Calais. Seems a bit extreme to me but.......

So we now have to entertain ourselves for a couple of days. I explained our predicament to the folk on the Motorhome forum I engage in - www.wildcamping.co.uk - and received various suggestions as to how we could fill the time. "Talk to each other" "Open a bottle of wine" "151 things to do in Santander". Having looked at the list I think the last suggestion is a bit optimistic! Anyway, here we are till Wednesday and I'm sure we'll find something to amuse us.

Last night we stayed in Palencia, 42.003925 -4.534832, a pretty yet modern riverside town. We were parked between a park with a few duck ponds and an elderly folk's home. We watched the ducks while the old folk stood at their windows watching us. I'm not sure who had the most entertainment.

"Oh Mamma can this really be the end,

Stuck outside a wildlife park

With the Biscay Blues again"

 

Elephants, in Spain:

Pat

 

 

 

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Pinto 40.238496 -3.690607

Friday 20th February.

We are parked up tonight at a Motorhome Aire de Service for €0.33 per hour, about €8 per day with all the usual facilities plus secure fencing, camera surveillance and a guard so we feel pretty safe although we would have parked here anyway without the added security. We are next to a shopping centre with all the usual high street shops plus a huge LeClerc with diesel at €1.00 per litre and long queues at the pumps. We are also next to the A4 motorway to Madrid and a fun fair, which we didn't notice when we arrived but which is now providing our soundtrack, thumping base, air horns and screaming teenagers. We're not complaining but I hope they close it down at midnight.

It's a bit of a shock really. We're not used to all the noise, traffic and hustle and bustle but I suppose it is to be expected as Pinto is almost a suburb of Madrid. Mind you, we soon got into the swing of things and took advantage of the strong pound against the euro and updated our wardrobe in H&M.

Tomorrow we set off for Palencia and if we can successfully navigate our way around Madrid we plan to take the A roads over the Sierra De Guadarrama rather than the motorway which should take us up to about 1500m with 2000m plus peaks on either side. The drive up from the south has been a bit boring up to now so I hope we get some good views tomorrow. No pics today, Pinto isn't terribly photogenic.

Pat

 

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On our way home.

Thursday 19th February

San Clemente 39.397221 -2.435641

We've spent the last couple of days saying "au revoir" to the friends we've made over the last few months. Maria and Reyes from the bodega, Tracy from "The Blues House", Dave and Trish, Clive and Vicky, Bruno and Evelyn, Sue and Keith,the lasses from the bakery where we had coffee and freshly baked bread most mornings and the campsite staff. Trish is desolate that she now has no one to share backing vocals with and Dave will have to go fishing on his own. But we've made our reservations so we'll see them all again next winter.

A few hours driving brought us to San Clemente and an Aire recommended by a couple who are also travelling around Spain and who mentioned it on their blog http://themotorhomeyears.blogspot.com.es . They said that if you squinted you could almost imagine you were on one of the prettier Aires in France, I had to actually close my eyes to get that impression but it's nice enough. On the edge of a small town with an adjacent canal which is only missing a Safeway trolley to make us feel at home. As we arrived in the early afternoon the market was just packing up and we noticed a chicken rotisserie van being cleaned up. I didn't expect much success but went over anyway to see if they had a chicken left. We were in luck, they gave us the last two for the price of one! Two delicious chickens for €9, they'll keep us going for a few days.

The temperature is at least ten or twelve degrees cooler now we have moved 160 miles north so it's out with the winter jackets which I expect will get plenty of use from now on. It's toasty in the van though but I wouldn't be surprised to find frost on the ground in the morning. The local police and the Guardia Civil have been cruising around for the last couple of hours and we give them a cheery wave and get one in return which is nice and reassuring.

Tomorrow we set off for another Aire at Pinto on the southern outskirts of Madrid which is only a couple of hours up the road and if we were staying for a day or two we would have visited Madrid but I think we'll save that for another trip.

The Aire at San Clemente:

Town Square:

 

Pat

 

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Time to leave, almost.

Well, all good things have to come to an end and so it is with our time in Bolnuevo. On Thursday we leave here to drive to Santander and catch the ferry to Portsmouth on Monday.

We've had a fabulous time over the last three and a half months and met some lovely people, fellow motorhomers and local folk. We feel sure it is a place we will come back to again. The campsite here is like a village where you get to know people who you bump into at cafes, bars, supermarkets and dance/music events.

The last week has been pretty hectic; Phil enjoyed the "ladies day" on Thursday when the local bars would only admit women (men entered at their peril) and from what I was subsequently told involved much dressing up,drinking and dancing. Friday was the fancy dress night here on the campsite where most folk made an effort and some of the costumes were fabulous. We went as pirates and although we didn't win any prizes or find any treasure we did find the grog (thanks Dominic).

Last night was back to the Oasis bar for a live band and more dancing and then today a blues band entertained us for a couple of hours at another bar just down the road.

Trying to pick out the highlights of our time here is difficult because we've just had so much fun but I suppose Christmas lunch in the sunshine whilst being entertained by an Elvis impersonator is high on the list especially as we shared that day with our friends who we met earlier in Spain and then in their house in France, Chris and Jenny.

A lunch of mussels prepared differently and providing six courses of different flavours sat at a harbour side restaurant in warm sunshine with seven other friends was also a highlight. Climbing the hill (mountain?) behind us was also fun and provided great views of the surrounding area. Seeing in the New Year with other folk from all over Europe was something special too; there weren't too many language barriers at midnight. Paul and Chris http://travelwithpaulandchris.blogspot.co.uk who we went to Morocco with last year came and stopped for a week and it was good to reminisce and swop stories with them.

So now we have a couple of days to "break camp" before we're on the road again. Since we arrived we've purchased an inflatable awning which weighs 18kgs and is pretty bulky, one of those bits of kit that slides neatly out of its bag but which is never going to go back in without much sweat, swearing and broken fingernails. We've also acquired a battery charger, fishing rod, fishing tackle, Christmas lights and decorations, plus the two litres of olive oil, 2kgs of honey and goodness knows how much delicious wine we can cram in. Might need to put a bit more air in the tyres.

Apologies for not updating the blog over the last few months but those of you sat on the edges of your seats can look forward to our travels through France, Italy and Greece from this Easter till mid summer.

 

Here's some pics.

 

Our beach:

 

Caballeros at the festival:

 

The rock formations in Bolnuevo:

 

Phil's new friend:

 

The rest of the family:

 

The view from atop the mountain:

 

There's no way that's going back in its bag!

 

The bay next door;

 

Where's the grog?:

 

Another one of our beach.

 

My support band- Jokers Inc: ( ride Sally ride!!!)

 

Pat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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