Day 46 - Time for home…

Our last morning in Spain and we are rather rudely awakened at about 7.15 by a large horse lorry manovering into the horse yard. To be fair on this occasion it isn’t so bad as the alarm was set for 7.30, ferry is at lunchtime and we’re squeezing what we can from the final minutes. 



Outside is grey and rainy like a Cornish spring break.Last ‘tostada’ breakfast and we turn around the van with both of us inside which is a bit challenging with the extra bags on board but we have a good system now. Some adjustments for looking after the wine bottles when on board the ferry and it’s done. 
It stopped raining for just long enough to have a quick walk around the harbour and watch a surfer who is seeing the waves as a challenge…slightly scary to watch but admirable.

For the last time we take the ‘slow road’ out to the village and onwards for ten minutes during which time we see several walkers on a stretch that’s also on the Camino de Santiago. Once we’ve got some cheap fuel we move onto the motorway for the few miles to the ferry… though we did stop once more for some extra wine!

Then it’s the winding service road following the yellow signs for the ferry and a lot of queuing but we’re on and avoiding looking at the gale force winds warning near home … fingers crossed for a calmish one….

Our evening on board is a very different experience to last time. We are able to stand outside and watch Spain disappear into the grey clouds, catching a glimpse of last nights park up as we pass. Its a while before bedtime so we sit in the bar with a g&t as a range of ‘entertainment’ takes place around us…including a memorable ‘like a prayer’ rendition by a rather camp steward who appeared to be entertaining the staff as much as us. 
Excitement at the prospect of a music quiz, though it was super frustrating, pen couldn’t touch paper until all 15 songs were played, then 90 seconds to list them. A test of memory not knowledge and how ever fast you scrawl 90 secs was never going to get the lot, but we still won! Possibly the worse prize ever … an exercise book in a tote bag ! Definitely added to the entertainment though. The whole evening felt like part of the holiday rather than an ordeal… and helped ease us back into English bar prices. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 41 - Riberduero to Embalse de La Cuerda del Pozo

Image
 Waking to sunshine and cuckoos, definitely spring now. Really hard to leave with the sun shining so we take our time doing all the necessary tasks when you are taking advantage of staying at a campsite.  A little later than we should leave we hot the road but only for a couple of miles to the limestone castle in the adjacent village of Penafiel. On paper this is a walkable distance but being at the top of a high hill the drive is very welcome.  The castle is unlike any other we’ve seen. It sits along a narrow ridge and to do this had to be built long and narrow. It’s almost ship like with one tower in the centre like a giant funnel. It’s also unlike any other in that the only way to visit it is on a Spanish speaking guided tour and on a ticket that includes seeing the ‘wine museum’ that is housed within the castle walls (€6.60). We tack onto a tour but are unable to keep up with the Spanish, so wander at the tail end of the group enjoying the sunshine and trying to work ...
Read more

Spain Day 5 - San Sebastián to Pamplona

Image
Bright sunshine to wake to at last! Off to Pamplona. Mostly motorway but we moved to the smaller road for the last 20 mins or so. Blue skies and snow capped mountains visible as we climbed. Stunning roadside mirador opportunity where we also got our first view of circling vultures and saw trees filled with nests of processionary moth caterpillars high in the pines.  Finally got a chance to make a brief visit to a bigger supermarket and fill up the fridge and the fuel tank just before we reached the city. The aire here is very new, on the outskirts of town next to the fire station, but only a short walk away from the centre (with a glass lift to save the climb). Google wasn’t happy with the address but got us near enough to follow the signs. It’s the first time that we’ve seen lots of English vans, mostly returning from winters on the ‘costas’. It’s nice to chat about their recommendations and experiences. The aire seems to be somewhere that young people hang around and smoke weed w...
Read more

Ready to go!

Image
Seems a long time since we were heading back from Scotland and talking about avoiding some of the British winter and taking the van to Spain, but nine months later we are about to hit the road.  The last couple of weeks have been filled with packing and re-packing to make the most compact version of everything. With a vague idea that we might keep going for six weeks and temperatures that could easily stretch from single figures to 30+ deciding what is needed is a challenge! Ten years on I’m still managing to find tiny mods that add space (like the magnetic knife rack holding little metal boxes) …and adding more fairy lights. The long ferry journey will be a new experience. Graham lacks 'sea legs' so it remains to be seem how crossing the Bay of Biscay will go. Particularly as they’ve brought the sailing forward tonight due to impending high winds! There’s also the added complication of having to have some things in a bag to take to the cabin …this destroys my van organisation...
Read more