Los Establos, Novelda: 18-24 March

The drive from Palomares was not pleasant – torrential rain and flooding. We were relieved to arrive at the campsite of Los Establos about 4 miles from the town of Novelda. The site was small, quiet, quaint and slightly quirky. Only 9 pitches and these were not all occupied. The site is principally a riding stables. Quite a few animals on the site including Jimmy the water buffalo, geese, chickens, ducks, Guinea fowl, goats, sheep and tortoises.

The first night on site we experienced torrential rain all night. We prepared to go to bed at about midnight and found the bed was saturated with water leaking from a skylight. We adjusted the angle of the van and the leak stopped. We had to sleep on the van floor that night. The following day we were able to dry most of the mattresses and linen outside. The site owners and other campers were very helpful. It appears this leak is a known Adria problem caused by the removal of part of a foam gasket in the rear skylight. The problem only occurs under exceptional rain/wind/angle scenarios.

The site is surrounded by farmland mainly growing grapes. The land has been extensively worked over the decades such that there are now large terraces and reservoirs.

Palomares 16-18 March

We visited our friends Derek and Beverly Bennett in Palomares. They have an apartment in the town and were on one of their regular 3-4 week stays.
we camped in the Taiga campsite in Palomares – rather cramped with small pitches.
A recent storm had flooded some of the low lying areas including vegetable fields. The flooding had mainly receded but left a good deal of mud and rotting vegetation.

Palomares beach is notorious for hordes of motorhomes staying there illegally. The authorities turn a blind eye until the summer tourist season starts in June.

Freila: 14-16 March

Camped at the friendly site at Camping Rural la Cabañuela situated next to the Negratin reservoir (Embalse de Negratin) within the Grenada Geo Park.
Badlands type geography with plenty of hills. Had one good day’s weather albeit 10°C so did a 7.7 mile run to the village of Freila and back.
Freila is fascinating with many of the Troglodyte homes built from within the rock faces and existing caves. Quite strange to see chimneys coming out of what looks like a rocky cliff!

Córdoba: 12-14 March
Camped in a basic parking site in El Higuerón a few miles west of Córdoba city, close to the Moorish archaeological site of Madinat Al-Zahra.
Next day we managed to catch the confusing bus service into the city to see the Mosque-Cathedral.

Granada: 10-12 March

Stayed on a basic motorhome park on the edge of Granada and took a taxi to the centre to see the Alhambra Palace and the Cathedral. Controversially, we thought the Real Alcazar in Sevilla was more impressive than the Alhambra.

La Pedrera campsite, Bigastro, Orihuela 7-10 March

El Tranquillo Campsite, Pinoso 3-7 March

Ebre Delta, L’Ampolla 1 – 3 March

Zaragoza 27 February to 1 March

Bilbao: Thursday 27th February.

The Brittany Ferries ferry from Portsmouth arrived in Bilbao at 08:00.

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30 September: Lake Bohinj

We moved about 8 miles to the Zlatorog Bohinj campsite on the western end of Lake Bohinj. A spectacular setting with the Julian Alps surrounding the glacial (Ribbon) lake that is Lake Bohinj. The site was busy but we were lucky to nab a spot next to the water. We wasted no time getting boats off the van and paddled the 6.5 miles around the lake. Tomorrow we will start the long journey home….

28-30 September: Kamp Danica Bohinj

We stayed a few miles west of Lake Bohinj on the Danica Bohinj campsite. The campsite was just recovering from severe flooding and all the touring Germans had fled. This gave us the choice of pitches and we soon had our towels out to reserve the best one right next to the swollen River Sava.

Fortunately it stopped raining and the river depth went down by over a metre overnight. On the 29th we did a 16 mile cycle/hike/run to explore the spectacular Mostnice Gorge.

24-28 September: Lake Bled, Slovenia

We stayed at the Camping Bled campsite on the west shore of Lake Bled.

23-24 September: Ljubliana, Slovenia

We stayed overnight at the Ljubliana Resort campsite. Very convenient for visiting the city with a bus stop a few metres away.

21-23 September: Camp Slavic, Duga Resa, Croatia

Lovely campsite next to the River Mrežnica. Some stunning rock formations on the drive north to the site.

20-21 September: Krka National Park

We stayed overnight in the Skradinske Delicije campsite in Skradin and cycled into the Krka National Park to see the splendid waterfalls on the Krka river.

12-20 September: Zadar district, Croatia.

A few photos of our time at the Oaza Mira campsite:

We left Banjole and drove south along the Croatian Adriatic coast road. Beautiful views of the Dalmatian coast with many magnificent limestone islands a few miles off shore. Particularly stunning as most had no vegetation whatsoever!

We stopped overnight in an expensive car park masquerading as a camp site. It was called Camping Raca and it’s only saving grace was it has uninterrupted views of the Adriatic and the Dalmatian islands. That view disappeared however when a particularly severe thunderstorm drifted in!

We had firsthand experience of a local phenomenon called the Bora Wind – a fierce katabatic (downdraught) wind blowing from the high inland Velebit mountains to the Adriatic Sea. It made the night in Raca very disturbing with the van being constantly buffeted.

We then followed the fantastic coast road to the Zadar district and the impressive Oaza Mira campsite. What a great site – large, level pitches, water and power on the pitch, easy access and… direct access to a private beach from which we can launch the kayaks.

9-12 September: Pula area of Croatia.

Drove south out of Slovenia and into Croatia stopping at the Arena Indije campsite near Banjole in the Pula district. The site had direct access to the Adriatic but the vehicle access paths and the pitches were a joke! Most of the pitches were on severe slopes which were littered with large rocks and trees. It had rained heavily the previous night so the access was muddy and slippery. After a couple of frustrating attempts we found a fairly level pitch not too far from the sea.

We had some good weather in Banjole and were able to paddle the sea kayaks around the islands and bays. Alan also had an unsuccessful at temp at sea fishing from one of the islands. The geology was interesting as it was mainly Karst limestone and impossible to walk on in bare feet!

8-9 September: Vrsic Pass and Ankaran Slovenia.

Drive south from the site near Kranjska Gora over the challenging Vrsic Pass to the Slovenian Adriatic coastline. The road over the Vrsic Pass was built by Russian prisoners of war during the First World War. Twenty five hairpin bends on the way up and the same number down the other side. The van’s brakes were smoking badly at the end of the descent and we had to stop for an hour to let them cool. We spoke to a German in a Hymer motorhome – he was not so fortunate as his brake fluid had overheated and discharged leaving him with no brakes! We left him waiting for a breakdown truck.

Our stop that night was on the Adriatic coast at Ankaran near Koper in a site called Adria. All in all it was very unremarkable!

5-7 September Camp Spik, Gozd Martuljek near Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

5 September – arrived in Slovenia

Arrived in Slovenia having driven through Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Italy. The German autobahns had major delays due to road works. Austrian tolls for our 4 tonne motorhome were particularly expensive. We broke the journey up with 2 overnight stays in German campsites.

2-3 September 2024 Edegem, Antwerp, Belgium

Met with Alan’s old school friend, Jim Walker, and his wife Jackie.

Toronto: 15 – 18 December

Stayed with Caro’s sister, Vicky, in Toronto. We met Vicky’s son, Jack, and his girlfriend, April, for lunch. Unfortunately the weather was less than festive so it was followed by a walk in the rain.

Edmonton: 11 – 15 December

Our kind and generous friends, Paul and Vicki Stenerson collected us from Edmonton airport and put us up in their lovely home and shared some amazing food with us. We met Dixie their wonderfully trained and affectionate Australian Shepherd.

We had a couple of runs with Paul around the neighbouring (large) park, and Caro walked with Vicki and Dixie. The going was a bit slippery in road running shoes!

We visited Elk Island National Park to view Bison but despite grand efforts within the park we failed to see any. However, as we were leaving the Park, we spotted a couple of groups of Bison quite near the main road!

Paul and Vicki served Albertan beef – easily the best beef we have ever tasted!

The Reynolds-Alberta Museum:

On 11th December we left Canyon County, California at 05:00 and headed to Burbank airport near Los Angeles for the flight to San Francisco. Total confusion at the United Airlines check-in counter – our names were on the flight manifest but our ticket information “was not synch’d on their system”. They told us to contact the ticket booking company (Trailfinders) as only they could sort it out. Frantic calls to Trailfinders in the UK resulted in them contacting the airline who said there was nothing wrong with the ticket! After a bit of searching we found a United Airways check-in person who had a modicum of customer service and brain. They called the airline ticket service and the problem was resolved in about 5 minutes – 2 minutes after the deadline for checking in bags! The helpful staff member got our bags on the flight and we got on with minutes to spare.

Santa Clarita, California: 8 – 11 December

On 9th and 10th of December Paul and Nobuko showed us the sights and sounds of Santa Clarita and Los Angeles. The surrounding mountains were the most impressive feature followed by the Getty Center (art museum) and trailing a long way behind, Beverley Hills and other city areas obsessed with wealth and material possessions!

On 8 December we went for a run along Santa Barbara beach followed by breakfast at a brunch specialist restaurant called Chads. We then drove to Ventura and then east into the mountains. Plenty of hair-pin bends and lakes. As we headed towards Santa Clarita we passed acres of orange groves. Finished at our friend’s (Paul and Nobuko) place in Canyon Country just east of Santa Clarita.

California Highway 1: 5 – 8 December

On 7 December we left Pismo Beach and visited a Monarch butterfly over-wintering site on the outskirts. Numbers were down from previous years (over 200,000 in 1990) but there were still thousands clinging to Eucalyptus trees.

We headed to the unusual Danish-themed town of Solvang. Very pleasant town with its replica medieval Danish houses and shops. Unsurprisingly, a large number of Danish people had settled in this area. This was verified by testing some of the delicious danish pastries on offer.

Next stop was Gaviota and some “wind caves”. After a steep climb we reached the caves. The sandstone caves certainly looked like they had been eroded by water, assisted by strong winds.

Stop for the night was the very pleasant Franciscan Hotel in Santa Barbara. The Tunisian hotel receptionist upgraded us to a suite when Alan handed him his Irish passport. The receptionist felt the Tunisians have a common bond with the Irish (“oppressed nations” etc). Having had our fill of tacos… we sought something different for dinner and found a Nepalese restaurant which served excellent food.

On 6 December we drove from Carmel to the Big Sur. Great winding road alongside tall sea cliffs. Had a surprisingly good brunch in an inn in Big Sur hamlet. We drove a little further south but had to turn around due to a road closure on Highway 1. One of the most memorable things was passing dead skunks on Highway 1. We could smell them several hundred metres either side!

We then drove north to Salinas and turned onto Highway 101 to head south. We had to detour off the highway just north of San Luis Obispo as it was closed after a lorry overturned its cargo of wood chip.. We stopped overnight in the unremarkable town of Pismo Beach.

On 5 December we rode a San Francisco “street car” (tram) to collect a hire car. We drove south onto Highway 1 and headed for Monterey where we visited the much lauded aquarium. On arrival surprised to find that you could not buy tickets at the door and have to buy them online. After this challenge and forking out the $130 entrance fee (!) we spent 2 hours enjoying the very well presented exhibits. The highlight was the Sea Otters.

Stayed in Carmel that night. We found the town to be very upmarket with extremely tidy boutiques and expensive restaurants. The minimum house price in estate agents windows was over $2 million for what looked like a large garden shed!

San Francisco: 3 – 5 December

On 4 December we did the tourist thing: open bus tour of the city followed by a boat trip around the bay. Great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. Surprised to see a Salesian College in the city.

A comfortable 12 hour flight with New Zealand Air from Auckland saw us land in San Francisco at 11:00 on Sunday having left Auckland at 20:30 on Sunday…

Our taxi to the Riu Plaza Hotel on Fisherman’s Whatf was a Tesla. It was a little disconcerting when the driver put the car into self-drive mode and took his hands off the steering wheel. It was interesting to note that the car did not keep the recommended two seconds behind the car in front..

In the evening we walked around Fishermans Wharf and had dinner in an Italian restaurant called Cioppinos. Excellent clam chowder served in a round sourdough bread.

Milford, Auckland: 1 – 3 December

On 3 December we caught a bus to Brown’s Bay and ran back to the hotel. Had a tasty Indian lunch in Takapuna and then hopped into a taxi to Auckland airport for our flight to San Francisco.

On 2 December met up with Alan’s ex-colleague, Andy Ryan and his wife Su. Had a lovely lunch with them in Devonport.

On 1 December dropped the motorhome at Dunedin Airport car park. Flew Air New Zealand to Auckland. We are staying in the City of Sails Motel in Milford just north of the city. A rather noisy evening with some motel guests getting drunk and rowdy. They were kicked out later so things improved late evening.

Portobello, Dunedin: 28 November – 1 December

On 30 November, our last full day in Dunedin, we explored the other side of the bay and the mole and beach at Aramoana. Alan tried fishing off the end of the 1200 metre mole but had no luck. A grunting noise to his left turned out to be a huge male fur seal ten metres away resting behind a rock! No wonder there were no fish! Caroline explored the pristine beach and found collections of shells in a few eddy spots.

On 29 November we ran to the aptly named Allan’s Beach to view New Zealand Sea Lions. There were three on the beach just lolling about in the soft sand. The New Zealand Sea Lion is the rarest of all Sea Lions. Later we drove to Taiaroa Head on the point of the Otago Peninsula to see an Albatross. We were lucky and saw several. Quite majestic. Seagulls were openly nesting in the same location with many chicks visible.

On 28 November a four hour drive from Te Anau took us to the city of Dunedin and beyond to our campsite at Portobello on the Otago peninsula. Very wet and windy shortly after we arrived but improved late evening, The Otago peninsula is famous for sightings of Albatros, Blue Penguins and Sea Lions.

Te Anau (and Milford Sound): 25 – 28 November

Stayed at the Lakeside campsite with great views of Lake Te Anau. On 26 November we went on an organised trip along the lake to Milford Sound. A truly memorable experience! The Sound is actually a fiord with a terminal moraine at the entrance to the sea. The trip was with Fiordland Tours and we would recommend them to others.

Lake Hawea: 24 – 25 November

The campsite at Lake Hawea was perfectly situated on the shore of lake. Nice location spoilt by noisy weekend visitors.

On 25 November we drove to Te Anau, stopping at Arrowtown. Highlight of the visit to Arrowtown was a classic car/bike show at the local school. The town itself was too tourist-centred for our taste.

Twizel: 22 – 24 November

On 23 November Alan fished the hydro-electric canals near Twizel. The canals and dam structures are quite an engineering fete with amazingly blue, clear, fast water running through them. A number of salmon farms are situated along the miles of canals. Conditions were tough with a 30 mph wind and strong currents but patience paid off with Alan landing a 4 lb Salmon and half a dozen 10 inch trout from the dam area on the Pukaki Canal. They were all caught on a trout/salmon spinner.

Caroline hired a bicycle and explored the area around the canals. Difficult pedalling in the strong wind!

We left the surprisingly pleasant town of Methven and headed for Twizel. On the way we stopped at a great museum in a lovely heritage town called Geraldine. It was full of agricultural equipment, classic cars and bikes and memorabilia from the 1950/60s.

We had to stop for photos at Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki. The latter provided stunning mirror images of the surrounding mountains including the highest in New Zealand, Mount Cook, thanks to a lull in the wind.

Twizel is a town developed in the 1970/80s as a consequence of hydro-electricity construction from Lake Pukaki. Large canals have been constructed to carry the water from the lake and dams. Monster trout and salmon have been caught in the canals. Surprisingly for a town with such an abundance of electricity, when we arrived at the town campsite, there was an all day power outage!

Arthur’s Pass: 19 – 21 November

On 21 November we drove from Jackson’s, through the Otira Gorge and Arthur’s Pass to our next stopover – Methven, back over to the east side of the Southern Alps. We then crossed the fantastically blue Rakaia river on the aptly named Southern Scenic Route.

On 20 November we explored the sights around the Jackson’s Retreat campsite, first a waterfall and then a quartz crushing mine (for gold). We initially had to give up on the mine as the path we were following had not been used for years and, as we had no machetes, we could not fight through the jungle to make progress. Back at base we established an alternative route and ran that later in the day.

On 19 November we drove south on highway 6 from Westport down the west coast. Another great road very suited to motorcycles. We stopped at Punakaiki to view spectacular “pancake rocks” and not quite so spectacular glow worms. Just after Greymouth we headed south east towards the mountains and Arthur’s Pass stopping at the Jackson’s Retreat campsite for two nights.

That night we visited a glow worm site next to the campsite. It reminded us of the rhyme :

Oh, I wish I were a glow worm,
for a glow worm’s never glum,
’cause how can you be grumpy
when the sun shines out your bum?

Westport: 18 – 19 November

We followed the Buller River from its source, Lake Rotoiti at St Arnaud, through gorges to its estuary on the Tasman Sea at Westport. Stayed in the Carters Beach campsite which has the best kitchen facilities so far!

We observed New Zealand Fur Seals a few miles from the campsite at the curiously named Cape Foulwind.

St Arnaud: 16 – 18 November

We stayed at the Kerr Bay national campsite in Nelson Lakes National Park. The site is on a terminal moraine that terminates the six mile long glacial moraine lake of Lake Rotoiti. The lake is full of brown trout and Alan regrets not having room to bring a fly rod on the trip!

We both regret not having our own kayaks!

The site is surrounded by woodland and full of Tuis and Bell Birds with amazing voices.

Picton 15-16 November

On 16 November we joined a group kayaking on Queen Charlotte Sound. A great experience which provided excellent views of the Sound’s spectacular mountains, vegetation and sea life. We paddled from a bay just north of Picton and crossed the Sound, landing at Mistletoe Bay for a lunch break. The return trip was a little choppy as the wind had strengthened. Total distance paddled was 12 miles.

Arrived in Picton on 15 November and stayed overnight at the Picton Tasmin Holiday Park.

14 – 15 November: New Plymouth to Picton via Ferry

On 14th November we took the Surf Highway (Highway 45) along the west coast out of New Plymouth and headed south. Stopped for the night at an unremarkable town called Levin. Next day headed to Wellington and the ferry to Picton. It was a calm, 4 hour crossing full of empty, smelly livestock lorries.

11 – 14 November: New Plymouth, NZ.

On 13th November Alan had a days guided trout fishing on one of the Taranaki rivers. A great days fishing with six fish landed despite the windy conditions. Best Brown Trout was 5lbs and best Rainbow was 6lbs. New Zealand lived up to its reputation as the best Brown Trout river fishing destination in the world!

Whilst Alan was fishing, Caroline spent the day exploring New Plymouth by bike and climbing the mighty Paritutu Rock – a 158 metre high remnant of a volcanic crater (with spectacular views).

On the evening of 12th November we had dinner at Hiran and Pretheeva’s house in New Plymouth. Pretheeva is the sister of our (Alpaca) neighbour, Anila. We had a great evening and a lovely meal and were lucky enough to meet Anila/Pretheeva’s mother.

On 12th November we ran around the Pukekura Park in New Plymouth. The park has some lovely Japanese water features and is famous for being one of the sets for the film, The Last Samurai.

On 11th November we drove from Otorohanga to New Plymouth along the wonderful State Highway 3. The best driving road so far!

New Plymouth is dominated by Mount Taranaki and can be see from miles around. It is the second highest mountain in New Zealand’s north island. We stopped in the town and hired a couple of bikes and rode part of the town’s coast path, including the spectacular Te Rewa Rewa Bridge.

7 – 10 November: Rotorua and Tongariro, NZ.

On the 10th we travelled north west to Otorohanga and the highlight of the tour so far – a Kiwi sanctuary! The birds live inside with natural lighting, climate and vegetation. The lighting is reversed so that these nocturnal animals are awake during the day. We were lucky to see them as they sleep 18-20 hours a day! We had a good view of two of the birds.

The birds breed and, once sufficiently grown, are released into a protected wild environment (areas protected from rats etc).

On the 9th we ran in the Tongariro National Park. The 9.75 mile route took us from the Whakapapa campsite to the Taranaki waterfall and then onto the volcanic lake called Tama Lake. An amazing route with spectacular volcanic features. The ascent was nearly 400 metres so we were a little jaded at the end but it was definitely worth it!

On the 8th November we visited some geothermal areas. The first was the Waiotapu Geothermal Area which included the slightly disappointing Lady Knox Geyser. However, the rest of the Waiotapu area was worth the visit. Not having had our fill of geysers, mud pools, hot flowing streams and sulphur gas… we visited and bathed in the charming, non-commercialised Kerosene Creek. We then drove to the Whakapapa campsite at the Tongariro National Park.

Drove from Coromandel along the northern side of the peninsula. Decided to give Hot Water Beach a miss. Spent the night just north of Rotorua in a campsite on the shores of Lake Rotorua

5 – 7 November: Coromandel Peninsula, North Island, NZ.

Hired sit-on top kayaks and paddled about 5 miles to the edge of the neighbouring headland. Fished for a while but no luck.

Lovely six mile run along the headlands and woodlands. Saw the famous Kauri trees which were decimated in the 170/1800s when the British navy felled them for masts and spars.

Exciting drive along the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula: narrow road with hairpin bends. It would make an ideal motorcycle route. Staying in the campsite at Long Bay just north west of Coromandel town. Our pitch is at the water’s edge facing directly west so fantastic sunset views. Fished the rocks near the campsite and caught one small yellow fish, possibly a Snapper.

Spoke with one of our fellow campers, a New Zealander, who asked us where we were from and then said “Get up at the sparrows fart to go tiki-touring in the wop-wops….”. After she has translated this for us she then dais “Do it while you can – shrouds do not have pockets!”

2 – 4 November: Paihia, Bay of Islands, North Island, NZ.

On 4th November we left the site at Paihia and headed towards Coromandel. On the way we spent the morning deep sea fishing out of Paihia. We caught a Parrot Fish and a number of Red Snapper.

On route to Coromandel, we stopped for the night at Drury just south of Auckland at the Murphy’s Law (Irish) pub. It wasn’t very Irish but did have a decent overnight camping facility.

The place was full of other tourists…

29 October – 1 November: Auckland

On 1st November we collected our hired motorhome. Surprised to find it was a UK manufactured Auto-Trail model. It is a similar layout and size to our own Adria Coral motorhome. The three year old hire van has covered some 97,000 miles but is still going strong. We drove 100 miles north to the Bay of Islands to stay at a campsite at Paihia.

On 31 October we visited the Kelly Tarlton’s SEA LIFE Aquarium. Apart from the many fish, there was a great display of Scott’s Antarctic hut with all the gear and provisions. The highlight for us were the King Penguins. Some great views of them nesting and swimming. In the late afternoon we met an ex-colleague of Alan’s, Andy Ryan, who emigrated to New Zealand a decade ago. Interesting discussions where we learned of the high cost of living and low salaries in New Zealand.

On 30 October we met with Alan’s school friend, Graeme Tremlett, who lives in a suburb of Auckland.

29 October: bouncy flight from Singapore landed us in Auckland rather jet-lagged.

Very comfortable and relaxed Singapore Airlines flight from Bangkok to Singapore. We are staying at the Holiday Inn just north of Little India so ok for curries!

28 October: flight from Singapore to Auckland, New Zealand.

27 October: visited the Tangs department store, Bum Boat trip on the River, visited the Asian Civilisations Museum and scaled the Marina Bay Sands building.

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26 October: used the buses, monorail and MRT (tube) to reach various sights: Sentosa Island, Clarke Quay and Gardens by the Bay.

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25 October:

After a 2.5 hour delayed flight from Bangkok to Udon Thani, we were met by Alan’s brother Mark and his wife Tik. They kindly drove us back to the Rattanawapi area where they live. It was great to catch up with them after 7.5 years!

On Monday we drove two hours north to the temple complex of Wat ahong sila wat near Bueng Kan. This also was on banks of the Mekong but further downstream where there are more boulders and the river is narrower. Flow was about 5 mph in the middle.

On Sunday Mark and Tik showed us the Sala Keo Ku Hindu/Buddhist sculpture complex near Nong Khai. Fascinating creatures and some good size catfish! Later Tik showed us her farm with rubber, banana, coconut, guava, lime and papaya trees.

On Saturday we had a great day out, first visiting the Mekong River at Pak Khat. A race was taking place of Thailand’s version of dragon boats. Each boat/canoe held fifty paddlers! Afterwards we visited a nearby Buddhist temple with excellent views of the Laos mountains and the Mekong River. In the evening Tik cooked a delicious green chicken curry and sweet and sour pork.

After a 2.5 hour drive south from Bangkok we reached the Blue Sky Resort on the Gulf of Thailand coast. A quaint little setup with a small number of bungalows but many attentive staff. The area is free from tourists (except us) and English is not spoken. It did make eating out a bit more fun when you are not quite certain what has been ordered. Some excellent, fresh sea-food, including bass and shrimps.

The city is as busy as we expected and we found the Thais to be typically very friendly and polite. We hired a long-tail boat for a two hour river/canal exploration – some amazing sights and sounds! Would not have wanted to swim in the water though! The temple complex at the Reclining Buddha site was well worth visiting. The King’s Palace was unfortunately closed.

14-25 October: Thailand

25-28 October: Singapore

28 October – 3 December: New Zealand

3-11 December: California, USA

11-15 December: Edmonton, Canada

15-18 December: Toronto, Canada

The original plan was to tour northwest Spain after a ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff, France. Weather issues meant we had to be a bit flexible! The log below is in reverse chronological order (latest part of trip at the top).

Saint Pol de Leon (Roscoff): 7-8 June 2023

Our final campsite before catching the ferry back to Plymouth. A spectacular coastline with many rocks exposed at low tide. Surprisingly windy and less warm than areas further south.

Saint-Nazaire: 5-7 June 2023

We stayed in Pornichet at the excellent Le Bugbeau campsite, about 8 miles west of Saint-Nazaire. We cycled into Saint-Nazaire and explored the fascinating WW2 German U-boat pens. Incredible amount of heavily reinforced concrete! Whilst there we visited the memorial to the British servicemen who took part in Operation Chariot in 1942 to blow up the gates to the massive dry dock. HMS Campbeltown was rammed into the lock gates and later exploded. We also toured the French navy submarine Espadon, a diesel-electric vessel used in the early 1960s to sail under the Arctic ice.

Pons, France: 2-5 June 2023

Given the slightly crowded campsite we encountered on the Atlantic coast, our next stop was inland and the town of Pons. This is a medieval town with many old buildings, rivers and old tanneries. Our initial plan was to stay in a campsite 1 mile north of the town but on arrival we found it to be under development with no water or electricity! We elected to stay at the municipal site in Pons town. A good choice! weather was a hot 30°c outside and close to 40°c in the van!

On Caroline’s birthday (3 June) we cycled a 26 mile circular route to the River La Charente. That river earlier flows through the town of Cognac and reminds us of the Oxford stretch of the River Thames. A beautiful part of the world, sparsely populated, with rolling fields planted with vines, wheat and French beans. Alan tried fly-fishing on the river but the surrounding vegetation made it very difficult. Signs around the river suggested the river held, Pike, Perch, Zander and Black Bass. It was great to see the river teeming with life, including small fish, Herons, Kingfishers and Damselflies. On the way back, Caroline rode over a 1 metre long snake that had decided to try to cross the road. With the heat and sun we were getting dehydrated by the time we arrived back at the campsite.

Moliets-Plage, France: 31 May – 2 June 2023

We left Spain and drove first to Biarritz town which we found to be very busy, highly developed and the roads narrow. We took the opportunity to stop at a supermarket on the outskirts. On returning to the motorhome we were told by a security guard that we cannot stay there overnight! I explained that we had no intention of doing so! All in all our memories of Biarritz will be of a busy, stressed out, not very pleasant place.

We drove about 50 miles north of Biarritz to Moliets-Plage, a large campsite with many facilities next to a dramatic Atlantic beach . The campsite was busier than we were expecting with mainly German visitors. We concluded that the Whitsun week must be a vacation time for Germans. The area reminded us of Le Touquet with the mainly flat geography, large sand dunes and woodland. Lots of marked trails through the woods for running.

Ruiloba: 29-31 May 2023

We left Potes and headed north to the Atlantic coast. The drive out of the Picos was difficult as the roads were very narrow in places but at least the road surface was reasonable! Pitched on the Camping El Helguero campsite near Ruiloba which is about 35 miles west of Santander.

Potes, Picos de Europa: 24-29 May 2023

From Riaza we drove north east towards the Picos de Europa. The weather forecast for Potes had improved so we were pleased to finally be able to head for our original destination! The last 30 miles of the journey was difficult: twisty narrow mountain roads. It would have been bad enough in normal conditions but the Spanish authorities had elected to remove the top layer of tarmac on a 10 mile stretch requiring speed to be reduced to 5-10 mph in places. We were grateful to reach the La Viorna campsite 1 km outside Potes! The campsite is well equipped but the pitches are tight and it is extremely difficult to park a large motorhome!

Riaza: 23-24 May 2023

Drove north past Madrid. Pleasantly surprised to find little traffic on the motorway around Madrid. Stayed overnight at Camping Riaza – a very tidy campsite just outside of the village of Riaza.

Parc Natural de las Hoces del Cabriel: 21-23 May 2023

Headed from the Ebre Delta in the general direction of Madrid. Stopped for two nights at a lovely campsite on the shores of a very large reservoir – Ambalse de Contreras. The campsite (KikoPark Rural) reception was in an old, tiny pueblo complete with small church. It could have been a setting from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly! Spotted a lot of deer on the slopes around the reservoir.

Ebre Delta: 18-21 May 2023

From Zaragosa we headed east towards the Mediterranean. Our first stop was the unique River Ebre Delta. A massive piece of flat silt land with paella rice fields and marshland. Many bird species including Flamingoes.

Zaragoza: 16-18 May

We left a very wet Lourdes and drove over the Pyrenees into Spain and experienced a dramatic weather variation once we had crossed the mountain from wet to dry. Zaragoza was unbelievably windy but at least the sun was out! We stayed at the municipal site on the NW side of the city – one we had used last year. The site was next to a canal that we followed when cycling into the city centre and old town. There were plenty of cycle lanes in the city centre but very confused junctions meant you were not quite sure which way to look! As usual for Spain, there were impressive Cathedrals and Palaces in the old town as well as Roman building remains.

Lourdes: 15-16 May 2023

The weather forecast showed heavy rain for SW France and NW Spain. We therefore decided to change our plans and divert towards the east of Spain. We stopped at Lourdes on the way as Alan was curious, based on family tales, to see the grotto. We found our way into the complex at Lourdes and the heavens opened and continued throughout the night. It was good to see the famous grotto and the surrounding churches – very impressive. We were lucky to get off the flooded campsite in the morning without getting stuck in the mud!

La Rochelle: 12-15 May 2023

We spent 3 days just north of La Rochelle and enjoyed running into the town with its very impressive harbours and train station. A canal ran from close to our campsite into the port. It was like running back in Mytchett! We cycled the 28 mile return trip to Île de Ré. Dramatic changes in scenery along the way: Canal, yacht marina, old port, WW2 submarine base, industrial port area and finally, the quiet and picturesque Île de Ré. The route to the island included a spectacular 3 mile long bridge.

Poole to Kimmeridge (Dorset) and Kingswear (Dartmouth) to Sharkham Head (Brixham, Devon)

We were exhausted after finishing these stages of the Path. The final run from Kingswear was very hilly and finished us off!

We have now completed 370 miles or 58.7% of the Coast Path.

We are left with just three more runs before we have completed a contiguous stretch from Dartmouth to Poole. The bit remaining is around Lulworth Ranges and is quite isolated.

We sought some sun and warmth as spring on Exmoor was particularly wet and cold. We flew from Exeter and stayed in the Casas de Sol Bungalows near the Playa Blanca port for one week. The weather was warm 27°c and sunny.

An overcast day and 8°C greeted us when we arrived in Sidmouth. it was quite a climb out of the town west towards Budleigh Salterton. We crossed the River Otter after a lengthy turn inland to a bridge and were pleased to see marshland being developed for conservation on the Otter estuary.

We took the motorhome to a site in Burton Bradstock. We ran the coast path 17 mile stretch in three sessions: Chideock to Charmouth; Chideock to Burton Bradstock and Abbotsbury to Burton Bradstock.

Our first ski trip for six years. We drove the VW Tiguan to Val Thorens with two overnight stops on the way in Ashford and Macon. We dropped by to see Sue and Tony in West Wickham on the way. Overnight hotel in UK was Premier – very good. Overnights in France were Ibis Budget – disappointing, particularly for the price as they were dearer than Premier.

In Val Thorens we stayed in the Pierre et Vacances property Le Tikal. Great facilities there with a one bedroom apartment and on floor ski locker. It was ski-in and out of the building. We parked in the town’s P2 covered car park (pre-booking definitely necessary!). Directly opposite the apartment building was a supermarket, restaurant and ski equipment shop.

Alan hired skis (Elan RS 170 cm) and found them to be great, especially for short turns. There was more than enough snow on the slopes and temperatures during the day at around freezing. We had a couple of great days skiing when the sun came out and it had snowed the previous night. The high point of our trip was taking the lifts to the Col De Rosael (3000 metres) and skiing over to the Orelle valley. Most days we used the local (debutante) lift passes which gave access to some good pistes in the Val Thorens area. On Saturdays the Val Thorens lift pass is discounted and… the number of skiers is lower (changeover day).

The costs in the resort (and France generally) were high – particularly in restaurants, e,g a small cup of coffee is 5-6 Euros, a meal out is about 70 Euros. We found costs to be at least 1.5 times higher than Spain last year.

After the Saturday trip to Orelle the weather deteriorated. Heavy snow forecast for 4 days from Sunday and temperatures dropping to -14°C. We did not want to ski in those conditions and were worried about driving off the mountain (23 miles of steep, hair-pin bends) on our Wednesday departure date. We made the decision to leave on Sunday and headed home.

We stayed in the same overnight hotels on the way home. The Le Shuttle was hassle free. The M20 near Ashford was closed due to an accident so our journey to the Ashford Premier took longer than expected. We awoke in Ashford to a very cold day and lots of ice on the roads. Our plan to visit Derek and Bev near Bognor Regis were impacted by closure of the A27 but we did make it albeit a bit late. The journey home from Sussex was relatively uneventful with just one closed road (A29). We reached Exmoor about 16:30 and had to carefully drive to home as the roads were wet and temperatures were falling below zero. It was good to get home to find no disasters other than mice having helped themselves to a bag of grass seed stored in the garage!

Caroline had a bad cold and very sore throat but this eased by morning. Then it started snowing heavily….

Temperature was below freezing and snow was still on the ground. This 4.7 mile run and 200 metres of climb was well worth the effort! Fantastic views of Minehead and the Bristol Channel. The route initially followed the River Avill valley and then climbed steeply onto the ridge.

A great performance by the group at the queens College, Taunton. : Steve Knightley, Phil Beer, Miranda Sykes

Budleigh Salterton to Exmouth. 6.88 mile run with 5.88 miles of the coast path.

Budleigh Salterton made infamous in the Blackadder sketch: “Goodbye Millionaires’ Row, hello Budleigh Salterton Twilight Rest Home for the Terminally Short of Cash”.

We joined members from the Basingstoke Canal Canoe Club for a paddle on the Jubilee River between Maidenhead and Windsor. The man-made river was well disguised with plenty of vegetation. The three weirs had little flow so getting over them was slow work. The Thames at Windsor was on yellow boards which made paddling up stream to the get out point very challenging.

Plenty of trains, concrete and diversions on this South West Coast Path 7.9 mile run from Teignmouth to Starcross. The route took us through Dawlish and it was interesting to see that construction work is still ongoing after the devastating storm of 2014.

An usually calm October day for a paddle with Liz M from Charmouth to Lyme Regis along the Jurassic Coast.

We stayed on another municipal campsite which again was clean and well equipped. The site is between Carlingford Lough and the Mourne Mountains with the 485 metre Slievemartin peak being a couple of miles away. We drove through the infamous Warrenpoint on the way in which invoked memories of the “troubles”.

On 12th September we ran a couple of trails parallel with Carlingford Lough.

On 13th September we climbed to the top of Slievemartin

On the way down we sought an advertised glacial feature – an erratic named Cloughmore.

This was our first venture into Northern Ireland. We were surprised by the amount of agricultural land and some of the scenery is attractive. Our campsite outside Antrim is a council-run facility but very tidy and popular with locals. Lough Neagh, the UK’s largest lake, is only a quarter of a mile away.

Saturday 10 September 2022 – weather was good so we trolleyed the kayaks to the Lough and ventured out for a paddle. The Lough is quite impressive as it is so large you cannot see the furthest shore and there is an abundance of vegetation at its edges. We got as far as the River Maine and met a paddle boarder who used to be the chairman of the Northern Ireland canoe association and he used to live in Windsor…

We made it to the very north of Ireland. Donegal has dramatic sea loughs and tall, rocky peninsulas. The geography of the Rosguill Peninsula was beautiful with yellow sandy beaches and rocky headlands, sadly spoiled by a dearth of large mobile home parks (though luckily mostly vacant when we visited). Unsurprisingly, the majority of the visitors were from Northern Ireland. The campsite had direct access to a long sandy beach. The highlight was visiting a remote beach known as the Murder Hole.

A very tidy campsite near Lough Arrow. The wind was too strong for fly-fishing so we made do with a run and Caro did a bike ride. The surrounding hills are dotted with megalithic tombs and a long distance trail called The Miners Trail hints that the local economy relied on coal mining for around 400 years, until the last mine and associated power station closed near here in 1990.

What a difference a day makes; blue sky and tranquil breezes have given way to cooler wet weather. Undeterred we set off for a slightly soggy run to explore more of Achill Island (Irelands largest island).

30th August 2022 – paddle to the Achill “Seal” Caves

We paddled about 2 miles east from Dugort beach to the cliffs that housed the infamous Seal Caves. We found the caves but no sign of any seals!

1st September 2022: 11 mile paddle from Dugort beach to Aarnagh Strand.

We awoke to perfect weather conditions and decided to paddle 5.5 miles east to Aarnagh Strand. About 7 miles of this round trip was across open water and the rest had no feasible landfall – hence the need for calm weather. We explored the substantial caves and rock formations, perfect for kayaking.

We drove from Cong to Renvyle and admired wonderful views of the Connemara landscape. The Renvyle camp site is literally on the beach so we could not resist the temptation to launch the kayaks and paddle out a mile or so to some uninhabited islands. The North Atlantic swell was very evident on the ocean side of the islands! The surf on the beach made launching and landing quite challenging!

We rented a fishing boat on Corrib. It was a 3.5 mile cycle to Derrys Quay where the boat was moored from Cong. With the limestone rock, sunshine and deep vegetation, the Lough reminded us of some of the islands around southern Cuba! The fishing was not quite so good however ?. We saw a few trout on the surface but were unable to hook one despite trying numerous different methods. Blue Damsels were in abundance on the Lough but the blue flash damsel nymph fly that is usually productive failed completely. We had to settle for catching some good size Roach. It was like fishing for Bonefish without the screaming reel! Shoal after shoal came near our boat and a small Gold Ribbed Hares Ear fly accounted for about 10 fish.

Cong is a small town between Lough Corrib (largest Lough in Ireland) and Lough Mask (second largest). For a little place it has a lot to see; beautiful views, a pretty river, a big castle (now a very expensive hotel), a ruined Abbey, a dry canal (which was built to connect the two Lough), lots of caves and the odd sinkhole in the limestone. As if that wasn’t enough it was the primary filming location for The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, and although there are a few places sporting that name, it isn’t over touristy or cheesy.

We hired a rowing boat and rowed about half a mile to an island on Lough Derg. The reeds around most of the island were holding mainly Roach. No sign of any Pike. Alan caught two Roach on a fly. Later in the day we were rewarded with a sight of the nesting White-tailed Sea Eagle.

We are camped at the Lakeside Holiday Park near MountShannon, County Clare. This is a wonderful site right on the shores of Lough Derg. Conditions were perfect for a paddle on this, the third largest lake in Ireland. We had to avoid Cribby island as rare White Tailed Sea Eagles are nesting there.

We attended the christening of Catt and Patrick’s son, Teddy, at Castleconnell church. There was a good contingent from England: Jackie (Caro’s Mum); Liz (Caro’s sister) and her husband Richard; Catt’s friend and godmother, Laura. After the ceremony we all descended on Patrick’s parent’s (Eddie and Fionnuala) place (Fairy Hall) near Killaloe for some wonderful food and conversation.

We elected to run up the hill away from the Lough. 167 metres of elevation gave some dramatic views of the Lough and the surrounding hills.

We left Tramore this morning and headed to Michelstown via the Dungarvan coast road. That road is still narrow and twisty! We stopped at the Clongibbon House Hotel in Michelstown as we heard that Alan’s cousin, Louise McCarthy, was working there. Unfortunately it was her day off! We enjoyed a cup of coffee in the hotel which looked like something out of the 1930s.

From Michelstown we headed for Ballylanders which is where Alan’s Mum was from. We got directions to “Anagura” , the family home, from the post mistress in Ballylanders. On the way to the house we stopped at the Griston Bog Nature Reserve. This was the peat bog used by Alan’s mother and her family to dig peat as their only source of fuel. The bog is not worked any more and is used by schools to teach children some Irish history.

The lane on which Anagura is located was too narrow for the motorhome so we had to resorts to bikes for the last 1.5 miles. Anagura now looks live a lived-in house and is well kept and tidy. Unfortunately, Alan’s cousin Louise was not at home.

We then headed for the Galty Mountains in search of Alan’s distant cousins, Dan and Davey Cooke. It was a bit of a challenge with lanes too narrow for the motorhome and steep 1 in 3 climbs. We again had to resort to bikes but eventually found farmhouse Carhur set on the side of the Galty Mountains. We were greeted by cattle dog Rocky and shortly afterwards by Davey Cooke. Unfortunately Dan Cooke was having to spend the night in Cork hospital for ongoing throat cancer treatment. Had a great chat with Davey who told us they still have 14 beef cattle but the rest of the land has been planted with pine trees. it was good to see the old barn in the farmyard which must have stood for hundreds of years. We said our goodbyes and cycled down the steep track back to the motorhome before setting off for our next campsite- Ballinacourty in the Glen of Aherlow.

Today we did a short run along the coast road west of Tramore. Great views of the “Metal Man”, a shipping navigation aid built in the 1800s to help ships identify the correct headland for Waterford Harbour. The Tramore headland has three tall stacks (one with the metal man on) the next headland has two stacks.

We then cycled to Tramore town to catch prawns (for bait) in the rock pools on the western edge of the Strand. The prawns were much smaller than those we caught in the 1970s and no use as fish bait.

We did the Doneraile Walk… out of Tramore westwards to the campsite at Newtown Cove. Some splendid views of Tramore Strand stretching a couple of miles eastwards towards the large sand dunes. This brought back memories when Alan’s family hired slightly wild horses and galloped the length of the Strand in the 1970s. Well, I say galloped, but some of the family never made the start having been thrown by their horse.

In the evening we ventured down the cliffs to the Pollack fishing spot. Having been unable to find suitable prawns (the perfect bait for this spot) Alan was forced to use Mackerel feathers. Result was one very small Pollack!!

An uneventful 3.5 hour ferry crossing saw us in Rosslare at 16:30. The 50 mile drive to Tramore via Waterford brought back a few memories, particularly central Waterford. Both Tramore and Waterford have expanded dramatically since our last visit about 12 years ago.

We are staying on Newtown Cove Caravan Park, a short walk from Newtown Cove. Alan’s family will remember an incident at that cove 50+ years ago when a lady swimmer asked us if we had seen her dentures. She had lost them whilst swimming earlier in the day and she was hopeful our fishing tackle may have snagged them! She went away disappointed.

We walked to the hidden fishing spot which was discovered by Alan’s father when he lived in Tramore during the 1940s. The fishing mark is difficult to get to as it entails climbing/sliding down some near vertical cliff. Whilst there today we noticed a lot of bait fish being harassed in the bay – probably by marauding mackerel. We will try to collect some prawns tomorrow and fish the mark tomorrow afternoon. Must remember the rope and climbing boots….

Monday 16th August 2022 : Exmoor to Fishguard

Last night was a surprise when the water supply to our house failed. The water source is a spring in a farmer’s field about half a mile away. The spring has dried up during the recent exceptionally hot weather. We need to arrange for a borehole to be dug when we get back to secure our own water.

The motorhome was packed and we headed for Fishguard. The journey that should have taken 4 hours ended up taking 5.5 hours due to heavy traffic on the M5 and M4. Our first night was spent at the Harp Inn, 5 miles south of Fishguard. The ferry is tomorrow (Tuesday) at midday.

This is our plan for our tour of (mainly) the west of Ireland.

We had to wait until the scorching heat (29°c) had reduced before we paddled to Upton Arm. Water levels were low but not as bad as a lot of other areas. Had a lovely supper picnic on the bank.

Ran 12 miles of the SW Coast Path and met old pal, Kevin O’Rorke

Ordinarily we would not visit Cornwall in peak summer season but Alan’s friend Kevin O’Rorke was spending time there with 26 of his relatives. He lives in the USA so Alan had not seen him in about 16 years. We took the opportunity to meet Kevin and also to notch up a few more miles of the coast path. We ran just over 12 miles of the path and have now completed 44% of it.

A great start to the 70th Queen’s Jubilee celebration with a concert by Show of Hands and Madrid based Irish American Roots Quartet, Track Dogs. Excellent vocal harmonies and trumpet playing.

The final run in this weeks marathon. Some great sights: The Young Offenders Institute, Portland Prison and the sailing facilities built for the 2012 Olympics.

The geology changed dramatically on this run along the west coast of the Isle of Portland from Portland Bill to the Chesil Beach visitor’s centre.

There were numerous diversions on the route as a result of cliff subsidence.

The animal sculptures were very unexpected: an elephant, bison and bear.

Today we did a westerly run from Town Bridge in Weymouth out to the Tourist Information building on the approach to Portland Bill and then back on the westerly coast path to the campsite at East Fleet.

We were pleasantly surprised with the parts of Weymouth we ran through- lovely parks and marinas. Loads of charter sport fishing boats!

Even bumped in a trio of Alpacas as we made our way alongside the Fleet Lagoon.

The Portland Bill circuit will be completed on a later trip.

An unusual stretch of the coast path with much of it more than one mile inland of the Fleet Lagoon. The Lagoon is bordered by Chesil Beach. A warm day and the 7 mile run back to the campsite at East Fleet felt like hard work. The campsite is to be recommended.

Mytchett to Greetham (Rutland) 18 March 2022

Stayed in the Basingstoke Canal Authority’s Mytchett campsite. We always underestimate the noise in that area (road, rail, air). We then drove to an “affiliated” site on a farm in Greetham near Rutland.

Santander 16 March 2022 – The end of the Spanish Tour.

We are on the Santander to Portsmouth ferry. ETA Portsmouth is 19:15 on 17 March. Weather was a bit windy with a Force 6 in the Bay of Biscay. Interesting to see the pilot hop on and off the ships.

El Molino de Cabuerniga, Sopena 15 March 2022

For our final site in Spain we chose Cabuérniga which is a hamlet on the banks of the Rio Saja. Our favourite of all the sites on this trip. The local area reminded us of Austrian Alpine meadows. The site itself was practically empty which added to the tranquility. The green fields and livestock also reminded us of Exmoor!

Tordesillas: 14 March 2022

Heavy rain and cold (6°c) today for our journey from Salamanca to Tordesillas. The weather prevented us from taking a closer look at Tordesillas but the River Duero (called the Duoro when it gets to Portugal) that runs by the town had an impressive flow.

Salamanca 13 March 2022

We arrived at the Regio campsite in Salamanca yesterday afternoon. The site is spacious, quiet and with good facilities. Today we cycled the 6 miles into the old town of Salamanca, remarkable for the golden sandstone building material throughout the city. Plenty of Roman and Renaissance influences but no sign of the Moors.

Cáceres 11 March 2022

We cycled the 4 miles from the campsite to the old town of Cáseres. Hardly anybody there so seemed surreal.

Cáceres is a city in western Spain’s Extremadura region. Founded by the ancient Romans, it retains widespread evidence of subsequent occupation by many different cultures. Its old town, Ciudad Monumental, has a mix of Gothic and Renaissance architecture, with cobbled medieval streets, fortified houses and palaces. Encircled by 12th-century Moorish walls, it also has around 30 towers, some occupied by nesting storks.

It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is where Game of Thrones was filmed.

We visited the city’s museum which had a great mix of ancient artefacts and modern art, including some works by Picasso and Miro.

Seville: Real Alcázar & Cathedral: 9 March 2022

We cycled into the old town again to explore a couple of Seville’s most awe-inspiring sights. Seville really developed as an Islamic centre from the 11th Century, and 240 or so years later was further enriched by the trappings of Columbus ‘discovering’ the Americas. The architecture of the city is a rich mixture of history and culture.

The Real Alcazar (Royal Palace) is a magnificent mixture of Mudéjar (Islamic) and Christian architecture. The site was originally a fort in 913 and was revamped many times in the following 11 centuries.

Adjacent to the palace is the worlds largest Gothic Cathedral, built between 1434 and 1517 on the site of the remains of a large mosque.

Seville 8 March 2022

It rained quite hard during the journey from Ronda to Seville. We found our parking place a couple of miles from Seville’s old town. The parking spot is a dedicated motorhome parking area. No real facilities but very convenient for seeing the city’s sights. It is next to the city’s river (Rio Guadalquivir) and docks so the scenery is not as good as some we have seen! We were surprised to see ocean going ships in the docks and river but have since learned the river is navigable to Cadiz on the Atlantic coast.

We cycled to the old town and through a couple of beautiful parks. In the middle of one of the larger parks we found the Plaza de España. An amazing building constructed in 1929 for the EXPO.

Ronda 7 March 2022: Bridges & Bullfighters

Cycled into Ronda to view the town’s bridges and the bullfighting stadium.

There were a selection of bridges: The New Bridge; the Old Bridge and the Even Older Bridge. All of these are built from the local stone. The later bridges being much higher than their predecessors.

We had a tour of the bullfighting stadium. The main events take place in September each year so there were no bulls in residence.

Ronda 6 March 2022

Drove from Cabopino near Marbella to Ronda. A great drive along a road that snaked up the mountain, climbing from sea level to over 1000 metres. What a great road for a motorcycle! We saw many motorcycles travelling down the mountain and at the top we understood why – the equivalent of the ACE cafe!

The drive was also memorable in that we could see Gibraltar in the distance.

Very impressed with the El Sur campsite just outside Ronda. Arrived without a booking but no problem finding a spot.

Cycled into Ronda to view the famous bridge. This included descending 200 metres in altitude on a cobbled, very steep lane and, unfortunately, having to climb the same lane on the way back,

Marbella 5 March 2022

We took the bus from Cabopino to Marbella. Good service – frequent and good value.

Once in Marbella we focussed on the old town as the rest did not interest us. We were impressed by the small pedestrian alleyways with their tiled floors. First stop was the Plaza de Naranjas (‘Orange Square’). It was smaller than expected but lots of activity as it is surrounded by restaurants.

Next we walked to the church of the Ermita del Santo Cristo de la Veracruz. Curiously there were Canadian flags flying in the street leading to the church – obviously a legacy of Paul Stenerson’s stay there in the 70s! From there we walked north to find the Bullfighter’s Bar. There was no sign of the bar as the area it was in appeared to have been fairly recently re-developed.

Whilst looking for the bar we became aware of a North African guy who was following us. We confirmed this by taking a circular route and doubling back. We told him to stop following but he persisted. He spoke English. In the end we walked into a police station (Guardia Civil) with him still following us. We made the police understand the problem and they took him away for questioning. This unfortunately left us with a worry about crime in that part of the old town.

La Viñuela to Cabopino 4 March 2022

Drove from La Viñuela to Cabopino over some stunning mountain roads. Cabopino is located about 12 miles east of Marbella. It is on the coast and hence much busier than the hill country. The drive was made difficult by a very strong and gusty side wind. A guy on a motorcycle was really struggling. Reminds me of crossing the old Severn Bridge on a fully loaded Yamaha XS650 in the 1970s!

The Cabopino campsite is full but is well laid out within a pine forest so there is some privacy and space.

Managed to buy fresh Dorado (Gilt-head Bream) and cooked it on the BBQ griddle. Very nice.

The beach faces west and hence some lovely sunsets.

La Viñuela Reservoir Cycle 3 March 2022

Yes… the reservoir again… this time we cycled around the perimeter. Unfortunately the navigator made an error and we ended up covering 18.5 miles and climbing an extra 200 metres of extremely steep mountain. Just the one puncture on the ride. Definitely in need of a drink of water when we got back to the campsite.

La Viñuela Reservoir 2 March 2022

A lovely blue-sky day allowed us to run the 8.5 miles to the northern end of the reservoir and back.

La viñuela 1 March 2022

We arrived at the La Viñuela campsite yesterday on a Spanish bank holiday (Andalucía Day). The site’s restaurant was heaving with locals but the hubbub died down late evening.

We are lucky to have a pitch on the site that directly looks over the reservoir and surrounding hills. Today we cycled the 10 mile round trip to a local village to buy groceries. This included a stop at a local butcher where we bought the largest chicken breasts ever!

We walked part way round the reservoir and Alan did a little fly casting practice..

Los Escullos to the Caldera de la Majada Redonda 26 February 2022

The Cabo de Gata natural park owes its dramatic landscape to volcanic activity from 16 to 8 million years ago. Just north of the campsite is a large round Caldera; a collapsed volcano.

Today was windy and overcast, so we took ourselves off for a run up the rambla (footpath following a dry stream bed) to explore. The path took us to the bottom of the basin of the caldera, where we were surrounded by the steep walls of the now-extinct volcano.

Los Escullos: cycle to San Jose 25 February 2022

We cycled 5 miles cross country to the seaside town of San Jose. The ride was a bit rocky in places.

Had lunch in San Jose: salad, sardines and squid. There were a couple of kittens in the restaurant and by the looks on their faces they had not been fed for a week!

On the return journey we detoured to the north of the town to see a wonderful example of the local windmills. The ride back was quite hard into a 25 mph headwind.

Los Escullos 23 February 2022

A little windy today and cooler at 16°c.

Went for a 6 mile run along the coast. Dramatic scenery – could have been from a western film complete with Aloe Vera plants.

Los Escullos, Cabo de Gâta 22 February 2022

We arrived at Los Escullos yesterday afternoon and will be here for 7 nights. Nice site but a little cramped. Good crowd of mainly Dutch visitors. The site is within the Cabo de Gato National Park.

Cycled to the nearest village of La Isleta and had a seafood paella lunch with a tomato salad. Cycling back on a full stomach was not so easy!

In the evening we took part in a quiz event with a neighbouring English couple from Lympstone, Devon. Needless to say we did not win.

Sopalmo, Mojacar 20 February 2022

Met up with our friends Derek and Bev yesterday at their lovely apartment in Palomares. Stayed at Sopalmo campsite last night. Nice spot next to a “ramblas” (dry watercourse, great for running and walking).

Today went for a 4 mile run down the ramblas to the sea.

At lunchtime Derek and Bev joined us for a BBQ lunch followed by a walk up the ramblas!

La Manga 19 February 2022

We leave La Manga today and have enjoyed the two days spent here. Some campers spend 3+ months here during the winter but this is not for us. The site is too big (1000+ pitches).

Had a lovely dinner in the site restaurant last night: broccoli with cheese, Mediterranean salad and Gilt Head Bream (Dorade) for main course.

We have been following UK’s Storm Eunice with trepidation. 75+ mph at our place on Exmoor before the power/internet failed.

Off to the Mojacar area later and will stop off at Palomares to see our friends Derek and Bev.

La Manga del Mar Menor 17 February 2022

We arrived in La Manga today and were pleasantly surprised when we found the campsite to be better than expected. Our pitch is a good size and next to the beach and close to a restaurant.

Jumped on the bikes for a 22 mile cycle up the heavily developed spit that virtually encircles the Del Mar Menor lagoon. Back at base we had that popular Spanish dish, Chicken Curry, for dinner!

La Predera, Bigastro 16 February 2020

La Predera is a hamlet next to the small town of Bigastro about 200 miles south of Valencia. We were pleasantly surprised by the “Predera Camping” site with its shaded, generous size pitches. Today we went for an invigorating five mile run passing many lemon, orange and clementine trees.

Yesterday, after a 50 mile detour, we found a stockist selling the Alde heating fluid. Last night we managed to re-fill the system and bleed it. The heating is now working ?.

Really lovely weather – about 20°C and blue skies.

Valencia 14th February 2022

After a 200 mile drive from Pamplona through mainly semi arid desert, we reached Valencia and the Mediterranean!

Celebrated by buying a bag of delicious local oranges

Irun and Pamplona 13th February 2022

Comfortable overnight stay in a dedicated motorhome parking facility in Irun. Heating stopped working in the motorhome when the system disgorged its antifreeze fluid! Next few days will be spent looking for ALDE antifreeze…

Visited Pamplona on the way to the next stop in Zaragoza. Pamplona is famous for the running of the bulls event. The old walled city has wonderful architecture reminiscent of buildings in Havana, Cuba. Caro had a go at running with the bulls but they could not keep up. The bull ring is an impressive structure and we cannot fail to recall Hemingway’s time in Spain.

San Sebastián 12th February 2022

A sunny start to our visit to Spain (it was raining the days before we arrived). We joined a throng of Spaniards for a walk along the promenade in San Sebastián and stopped for Pintxos (Basque tapas). The waitress was surprised when we asked for one of each!

The aquarium was worth a visit; an interesting combination of maritime museum, natural history and actual fish.

San Sebastián old town was nice, with interesting old architecture surrounded by some new, but a lesson learned was to check for motorhome parking options before driving into a city centre!

Our tour of Spain began with a very comfortable 35 hour ferry journey from Portsmouth to Santander. The Gods were kind to us as the Bay of Biscay was as calm as it can be in February.

Sea Kayak trip with the Exmoor Canoe Club. Teignmouth to Babbacombe on 23rd January 2022

A nine mile paddle with about 14 others from the club. Very cold with a SE wind about 8 mph.

Some great caves and Old Red Sandstone rock formations, some of which looked decidedly precarious.

Sea reasonably calm except for the Teign estuary over a sand bar on the way out.

Long carry at end when tide out.

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