Globetrotting Crates

 We stayed at Camping El Jardin at Campello which is between Alicante and Benidorm, this wasn’t in our original itinerary but we decided the drive to Valencia our next stop was a bit too long.  The campsite is lovely if a bit rustic, quite small, very clean facilities. In fact we liked it so much we decided to stay an extra night. It is well situated to catch the tram which runs along the coast to Alicante and Benidorm. On Tuesday we caught the tram to Alicante and had a wander around we found an amazing Tapas bar in a back street. Very busy and we soon saw why it was so popular.  The tapas selections come out of the kitchen on large trays and are handed round by a waiter. They are served on individual small wooden blocks which are then counted up when you pay your bill. The tapas were around 1.5€ each. There was quite a selection and we ate far too much! On Wednesday we put on our “kiss me quick” hats and ventured to Benidorm on the tram. It was fairly busy but not crowd...

 We said goodbye to Cabopino, Cliff and Irene and set off for Roquetas de Mar. It had rained all night and was very windy and the drive was a bit hairy due to high winds. However this was nothing to what was to come. . . . Camping Roquetas is quite basic but OK for a short stop over and we were very much in the minority and surrounded by Germans. It was very windy all night and dust storms arrived, we woke up to find Monica covered in a light film of dust.  On Thursday we walked into the nearest town looking for lunch and found a good tapas bar, loads of free tapas on the menu but we bought some too, we had a couple of glasses of wine which cost more than the tapas. More storms over night bought yet more dust and we woke up to a murky haze. Mr C did his best to clean the dust off Monica, we then set off on the 2 hour journey to Mazarron, close to Cartagena. We took the toll road which was practically empty! More rain en route.  After setting up at the campsite I did some ...

 We had an uneventful drive from Puerto de Santa Maria to Marbella area. All went pear shaped when we neared the Cabopino campsite. The sat nav wanted us to do a hill climb - well, OK in a car, not so good in a Motorhome and we slid back down, a bit scary but Mr C kept his cool. We had another attempt and many revs later, much to our relief made it to the top of the steep hill. When we arrived at the site Cliff was a welcome site waiting at the entrance for us. We managed to get a pitch close by. We soon headed off for a much needed drink! Whilst we’ve been here the weather has been fairly mixed, quite warm and sunny most of the time, rain mainly at night. The shorts and tee shirts have come out at last!  We have had lots of fun with Cliff and Irene, we went to Playa de Cala and had a lovely lunch and to Marbella and had yummy churros. We had a bit of a drama on the beach when we were out walking, the sea came in blocking our way, Irene and I got stuck by some rocks getting so...

 The rain continued into Wednesday, in the morning we headed to the railway station a 45 minute walk from the campsite, getting soaked along the way. We caught a train to Jerez a short journey and then took shelter in the cathedral until it was time for our booked tour of the Tio Pepe Bodega.  The tour lasted over an hour and the history and explanation of how sherry is made was very interesting, more interesting was the tasting session and of course we couldn’t leave without buying a couple of bottles. Later we went to a great tapas bar recommended by Cliff, Bar las Banderillas we had to sit at the bar as it was crowded, we had great tapas and wine it was very atmospheric and noisy! On Thursday we caught the ferry to Cadiz, it is a 30 minute journey. Cadiz is a lovely city, we wandered around the old quarter admiring the many beautiful buildings. Of course we had to have lunch, yes, tapas again and we also had sherry and wine. We are moving on to Marbella area next and lookin...

 Well, here we are in Puerto de Santa Maria and it’s rained non stop today. The forecast is no better for tomorrow. Never mind, we’re going to Jerez for the day and taking a tour of Tio Pepe for some sherry tasting. 

 The journey to Seville took about 3 hours, Camping Villsom is not far from Seville and has a good local bus connection which is why we chose it for our 2 night stop other than that it’s a bit basic the pitches are small and it’s fairly crowded.  The weather has improved and we had lunch outside in the sun as soon as we set up.  In the evening we found a nearby Tapas bar and had a couple of glasses of vino too!  On Sunday we caught the bus into Seville, being a Sunday the city was very busy with locals and tourists. It was a lovely warm sunny day, we walked to the through the Parque de Maria Luisa to Plaza de Espana  (pictured) although it looks very old it was actually built in the 1920s for the Ibero- American Exposition of 1929. We saw some Flameco dancers and then walked through the old town where there is an abundance of restaurants and had more tapas and vino. We helped a French couple negotiate the tapas menu as their Spanish was obviously worse than ours...

 We had an easy journey from Salamanca to Caceres, roads are fairly quiet. We are staying at Camping Caceres just outside the city. The pitches here all have their own private hut with shower, washbasin and WC not bad for £15 per night. It was lovely and warm when we arrived we sat outside soaking up the sun with a couple of glasses of wine. The bright coloured bird (pictured) an Azure winged magpie came to share our crisps. We had dinner in the on sight restaurant. During the night it started raining but fortunately stayed dry on Friday for our visit to Caceres.  Caceres old town has a mix of Gothic and Renaissance architecture, with cobbled medieval streets, fortified hous es and palaces. Encircled by 12th-century Moorish walls, it also has around 30 towers, some occupied by nesting storks.   Next stop Seville.

  Palencia   On Monday had an easy journey from Loredo to Palencia, beautiful scenery driving through the mountains. We stayed at an Aire for one night, it’s owned by a garage and you can stay free if you buy petrol/diesel there is a charge of 4€ for electric and 2€ for a shower. It was very clean if basic. Palencia is a 15 minute walk from the Aire accessed by walking over a medieval bridge, Storks were flying overhead. We had great tapas and a couple of glasses of wine each for about £12, bits of pig trotters were thrown in free. Mr C ate those of course as I don’t touch meat.  Later we visited the cathedral which has an impressive collection of art, unfortunately the crypt which is meant to be the biggest attraction was closed due to flooding.  We had a bit of a problem with the heating at night due to the electricity supply, the temperature went down to 3 degrees but thanks to our Duvalays we were cosy in bed. Salamanca We got up early  and set off for Salam...

  We travelled    from Portsmouth to Santander on Thursday 3rd March, the crossing takes 2 nights. We were lucky with the weather and the crossing was quite smooth. Also lucky with the cabin we were assigned, very spacious designed for people with disabilities.  Arrived early Saturday morning and surprisingly quickly disembarked. Found our way to our first campsite close to Santander, Camping Derby Loredo without too much difficulty (well only took one wrong turning).  Despite good reviews, to be honest the campsite is a bit of a dump so unsurprisingly there are only 2 other campers here! One man in a Motorhome on his own and 7 young people sharing a small tent. The washing facilities are basic there is nothing else on site. However it is out of season.  On a more positive note, the nearby beach is stunning and fairly deserted, the sun is shining apart from rain overnight and first thing Sunday morning. Loredo is a big surfing area although there isn’t muc...