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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Random Thoughts from Bolnuevo

2nd of January and it's our Son's Birthday. Happy Birthday Dominic!!

We've been here for couple of months now and we've enjoyed every minute of our time here. When we started travelling in the Motorhome the plan was to see as many places as we could and keep moving but when you find a place like this with a great winter climate and make so many friends you kind of put down roots, shallow roots but deep enough that we won't be blown away for a few weeks yet.

Typical day - today we took the ten minute bus ride to Puerto Mazarron, bought a few bits at Lidle and the Chinese supermarket (we needed a new hosepipe after next door's cats chewed through ours!) Coffee in the sunshine and then a walk back to Bolnuevo, about 45minutes with a heavy rucksack full of shopping. Unload the shopping and down to the village for lunch; three delicious courses and a bottle of wine for €24. Back to the site and to bid farewell to a couple who are leaving tomorrow - a farewell drink that turned into a party. Scots, Irish, Germans and English; two terriers, a curly mongrel and four Burmese tri-colour mountain dogs provided the entertainment.

Christmas Day the sun shone and we had lunch on the terrace of a local restaurant with our friends Jenny and Chris - entertainment courtesy of an Elvis impersonator (good moves but a dodgy voice).

Saturday night and back to the Oasis restaurant/bar/club where I,once again, provided excellent backing vocals on "Mustang Sally". The same band are back in a fortnight and I really think they should pay me if they want me to help them out again.

New Years Eve was a bit strange. We'd arranged to go to the big on-site party to see the bells in but thought we'd have a drink or two down in the village beforehand. There are nine bar/restaurants in the village and seven of them were closed! Very strange. Midnight came and corks were popped, people were kissed and dances were danced. Different without family but good fun all the same.

Although we've really missed our family over the Christmas and New Year period we've been able to keep in touch via FaceTime and Viber. I don't know what we would have done if we'd had to queue up at the local phone box to keep in contact.

Not much more to add really other than to wish everybody who's read this blog a happy and peaceful 2015.

We'll be back when we start travelling again.

Pat & Phil

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Bolnuevo - still

I've had hundreds of enquiries asking why the blog hasn't been updated for a few weeks, well one enquiry actually - thanks Catherine.

It's true I haven't posted anything for a while but the thing is I feel a bit of a fraud maintaining what is essentially a travel blog when we are not actually travelling. We arrived here in Bolnuevo just over a fortnight ago and will probably stay here until some time in January and whilst we are not technically Motorhoming we are having a great time. The site is large but so are the individual pitches, we have unlimited electricity, spotlessly clean toilets and showers and all for €12 a day. We are a hundred metres from the beach and the same distance from the village with half a dozen bars, restaurants and a couple of supermarkets. There is a large social room with events most days which we haven't as yet taken advantage of not being big bingo players or fans of what I would call oompah music. There is a great bar/restaurant/club at the far end of the village and we went there last Saturday and danced the night away to a live band and that looks like our regular Saturday night venue.

Last weekend was the village festival where the Madonna, who was apparently stolen many years ago, is returned to the village from the church in Mazarron, accompanied by a parade and plenty of caballeros. A big funfair ran for a couple of days on the beach together with lots of food stalls and other stalls selling the usual festival wares. Lots of impromptu tents and sound systems sprung up and the village was absolutely packed during the weekend of activities. The beach currently looks like a bombsite but I'm sure a clean up team will be along shortly.

We've made a few friends here, especially my NBF Clive, who is an accomplished ukulele player!! I spent the afternoon with him yesterday and he's lent me a couple of books and one of his nice ukuleles to practise with and the fingertips of my left hand are now pretty sore. Clive mentioned on Saturday night that he played tennis and table tennis and I said that I could do that too if he fancied a game sometime. The following day, after I learnt that he played both to a very, very high standard, I had to admit that I was rubbish at table tennis and hadn't held a tennis racquet for the best part of forty years. This has not discouraged Clive and today he called with racquets and balls and off we went to the courts. Fortunately there are a couple of outdoor squash type courts here and he was happy enough to knock up on one of them while I did the same next door, a good hour of cardio-vascular exercise for me. Then when the tennis courts were empty he gave me a thirty minute coaching session which was really enjoyable. I suspect they're looking for new blood amongst the tennis players here and Clive is attempting to get me up to a half decent standard before he unleashes me on the unsuspecting German team. What can possibly go wrong I ask myself. Clive has loaned me a racket and a few balls so I'll be getting some exercise and practice in the mornings before it gets too hot.

So life here is developing quite nicely, Phil has begun playing cards on a Monday afternoon with a group of women from the site and some local ex pats, of which there are plenty around here. In fact a village not so far away, Campasol, is, apparently almost exclusively occupied by folk from the UK. We catch the bus into Puerto de Mazarron a couple of days a week and have a mooch around and do a bit of shopping. Lunching or dining out is not expensive. Today we had three courses with coffee for €9.50 each and could hardly move from the table as the portions were so generous. Of course I deserved a hearty meal after all my exertions.

Whilst we miss the travelling and visiting new places we enjoy the life here for the time being. The weather has been glorious (24deg today) and if we do fancy a change it won't take long to pack the van and head for pastures new.

Pat.

 

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