2nd January
We spent the morning packing and left the house around midday. We were sad to leave everyone - especially Haribo! The drive east to the coast was gorgeous. We decided to go around The Pyrenees rather than over them for fear of snow and ice and cold. But the road we took followed the top of the foothills and was stunning all the way along. We drove quite slowly stopping for lunch and viewpoints and eventually we came to the coast just south of Perpignan. We were quite excited to see the sea as we have been inland since Montenegro! We were aiming for an 'aire' in a town called Collioure but as we entered the town we saw several campers parked on top of a cliff. We tracked them down and found them all parked there ready to stay the night - despite the huge 'no campers' sign. Assuming it didn't apply out of season and finding safety in numbers we pulled up with the rest of them! It was a really nice spot overlooking the sea and the mountains. We went for an evening stroll along the headland and found some old Napoleonic forts and another great view to the town. All in all a nice, quiet evening.
Lunch. ^
Lovely drive. ^
Wild camp - back by the sea! ^
3rd January
We set off early-ish towards the Spanish border. The road was very pretty but very wiggly and we were a bit annoyed to find that we got stopped at the border. They seemed to take a very long time with our passports, but of course we got them back in the end and were waved through. We followed the windy road to Cadaques - a small coastal town where Dali lived. The area was hilly and wild and very beautiful but Cadaques itself was too stressful to drive around (small roads that don't allow campers!) so we ended up leaving, which was a bit of a shame. We drove across the rocky peninsula - which was still gorgeous but had no opportunities for camping. Sadly we found ourselves coming down the hills to a big flat sprawl of hotels - the Spanish coast we were expecting. We tried a few beach towns to look for somewhere to stop but all were a bit unappealing. We then came to the area around Parafrugell, which gets hilly again and the roads get very narrow and steep. A nice area for a holiday I'm sure (in fact the only cars we saw there were English), but not good for WEX. It was coming up to late afternoon and we were both getting tired and grumpy. Then, after unexpectedly finding ourselves on a motorway, we somehow ended up driving into Platja d'Aro, where we saw an 'aire' sign! We were very happy. When we turned the corner to find a scrubby car park with - literally - 50 other campers parked in it, we were not so happy. But we had had enough of driving and stopped anyway. The afternoon was gloriously sunny and hot and we sat in t-shirts enjoying a cold beer. Despite the ugly setting we actually had a pleasant evening - in the middle of the 'aire' was a skate park which was full of kids playing on a Friday night. We went for a walk into the town - not much to see but felt very 'holiday-ish' with the tourists and warm evening. We also happened to park next to an English camper - an older couple who came to Spain every winter and had stayed in this car park for one month already. Each to their own I suppose.
Cadaques. ^
Plato d'Aro
4th January
After yesterdays horrible drive and finding the coast still to be a nightmare, even in January, we thought that we would head inland already. I wanted to visit Montserrat - a ridged and jaggedy mountain range just north of Barcelona. The drive there was also quite unpleasant as the roads were fast and very busy. However, coming towards the mounatins was pretty cool and we stopped for lunch at the bottom of them with a great view up. After lunch we decided we would drive to the top to see what was happening up there! It was a stunning drive and just near the top we found a small, hidden lay-by which would be perfect for camping one night. We walked the rest of the way up the mountain, through the expensive carpark, to find what seemed to be a small village - which we weren't expecting. The main attraction is the monastery but there were also shops and canteens and stuff. We looked at the amazing views and had a wander around until it started to drizzle and we went back to the van. Even though the weather was a bit grim we were pretty pleased with our spot and we cooked dinner and chilled out inside. When it got dark though, the wind really started howling and after a while of the van shaking and everything on the roof banging around we decided to drive down the mountain a bit. We'd seen more laybys at the bottom which we thought would be okay to stop in now it was dark. We pulled in and fell asleep. At about one o'clock in the morning we were woken up by the sound of tyres screeching and loud Spanish boys shouting. There were two cars outside driving around the van and it was terrifying. We were freaking out and wondering what to do when eventually the cars sped off up the mountain road. We got straight in the front and drove to the village, where we found nowhere to park and ended up driving about fifteen kilometers, on pitch black roads, to a big town (found out the next day it was Esparreguera) where we parked with other cars under a street light. Not a good nights sleep.
Montserrat (and where we didn't camp.) ^
5th January
We woke up early and un-rested and followed a main road inland to Lleida, where we then went south on a small road that passed several lakes. Thankfully todays drive was more relaxing than the previous days and we were waiting for Spain to redeem itself. At lunch time we stopped in a fishing area by a lake just outside of Mequinenza. After we'd had lunch here we decided to relax for a while and we felt it would be safe to stay the night. We had a lovely afternoon watching dog walkers pass by and - really wierdly - watching the Cambridge rowing team practicing on the lake! Very odd to hear English voices echoing through the hills. We also went for a walk into Mequinenza, which was quite an uninspiring modern town. We had dinner and just as we were watching the sunset we heard choir singers and drums coming from afar. We assumed it was coming from the church on the hill and we remembered that it was 'Three Kings' - a religious holy day in Spain. Anyway the music was lovely echoing along the lake and we had a good nights sleep here.
6th January
Walk by the lake. ^
Camp by the lake. ^
Cambridge rowers. ^
6th January
Setting off south today we entered the Spain we had been looking for! We put on some rock'n'roll and had an amazing drive through canyons and dusty deserts. We stopped for lunch by a bright blue lake and carried on the drive, passing old villages hanging off the cliff faces. The roads were long and empty, the sun was blaring hot and it was a fantastic day. At one (of many) viewpoints we stopped at we saw a herd of ibex jumping down a 20 foot rock and then, whilst we were having a wild thyme tea (!), we saw two massive golden eagles flying around a canyon. It was all pretty spectacular. Early afternoon we found we were coming up over a mountain peak (no snow in sight) and over the top was a complete change of scenery. Suddenly we were surrounded by pine trees. Down a small track off the road (a few kilometers before a village called Fortanete) we found a grassy area that was absolutely perfect for camping. We enjoyed the last of the sun - as soon as it was gone it got very cold - and we collected fire wood for the evening. Just as it was getting dark (which is getting later everyday now) we built a fire in our barbeque and had a fantastic evening drinking, playing cards and enjoying the stars. We think this is our best wild camp yet.
Lunch. ^
Driving. ^
Incredible wild camp (Pete is a cowboy.) ^
7th January
As it was a bank holiday yesterday and we couldn't go shopping we needed to stock up today. We drove to Teruel, through more amazing scenery, and found a supermarket. All stocked up we set off into the Montes Universales. Passing through more desert we started climbing and found the scenery becoming less barren and more green. When we were at about two thousand metres we actually saw snow! Snow was the last thing we had expected to see that morning! Anyway, the scenery was stunning but sadly the snow meant we were a bit nervous to camp incase it was icey in the morning. So we carried on and slowly we started to come down the otherside of the mountains. When we were lower down the road started to follow a lovely river which eventually opened up into a lake. Here we found a track leading to the top of a big plateau, over looking the lake and surrounded by sheer orange cliffs. We gently drove WEX over the rocky path and set up in an incredible spot facing the setting sun. Another great afternoon reading and admiring the vultures soaring over head. Couldn't get much better than this.
Lunch on a river. ^
Driving. ^
Bullring in tiny mountain village - there is one in every town. ^
Collecting water. ^
Need we say more... wild camp. ^
8th January
Woke up and had a coffee whilst watching the sun light creep down the cliff face. Set off south-west towards Cuenca. On the way we passed an 'Enchanted City' which we stopped to see what it was. The place was completely deserted but there was still one man there charging an entry fee. We drove on and found that after Cuenca the land became rolling hills of cultivated land. It was still very pretty - the earth here is so red! - but less chance of free camping. We stopped for lunch on a track by some old crumbling houses and found a little wooded area by a small canal where we could park the van, hidden from the road. Pete got out his hammock and we had another chilled afternoon in the sun. Yet another lovely day and good wild camp.
Sunrise. ^
Ciudad Encantada. ^
Red countryside. ^
Wild camp. ^
9th January
Today we needed to find internet to email relatives in Gibraltar. We passed several towns but had our first real experience of Spain being closed. Unlike other countries we've been in - Eastern countries included - we could not find any wifi and even Burger King was shut! We went on, all the way to Ciudad Real, and found that even McDonalds wifi didn't work. We were pretty annoyed at the unorganised-ness of it all! The area we were passing now was flat, built up and ugly and we used main roads to just get through it. It was a very long, boring day of driving. We eventually came to some much prettier scenery - rolling green hills and orchards - but found that everywhere was fenced off and owned by Ranches. It was getting late now and we couldn't even find a layby to stop in, let alone somewhere to camp. We nearly stopped in a horrible side road but got put off by the boy racers driving past. We kept on driving and, looking for a smaller road to camp on, we found ourselves on a tiny track through more fenced off hills. We'd been on the road today for nearly nine hours and in the end we pulled in on a track that led to one of the Ranches. At least it was quiet. Feeling tired and pissed off we were not very happy when a truck drove out of the Ranch and stopped next to us. In very rubbish Spanish I managed to ask the farmer if we could sleep here for one night and were very pleased when he smiled and said 'Si'!! Thank god. We were knackered and had an early night.
Camp. ^
10th January
We woke up very early, and before setting off we made a sign saying 'Gracias' and left two beers on the side of the road for the farmers. Originally we had wanted to look for more wild camping in the Sierra Morena, but after yesterday we felt we might not have much luck around here. In need of a rest from driving - and in more need of a shower - we instead headed to McDonalds in Cordoba to find wifi. We found that even McDonalds doesn't open in Spain until midday but luckily it was in a huge mall which had wifi anyway. We sat in the half open mall and looked up campsites. We found one about half an hour down the road near a town called La Carlota. We headed straight there and checked in. We set up our chairs and hammock - which was very exciting as we haven't been on a campsite since Czech Rupublic! A great day spent having a long hot shower, cleaning the van and washing clothes! Wild camping can be fantastic but it is nice to be able to sleep knowing you definitely won't get woken up in the middle of the night. Pete cooked pork and made salsa and we had delicious burritos for dinner. We sat out in the warm evening drinking beers.
Sunrise. ^
Bull! ^
Burritos. ^
11th January
Gorgeous sunny day. We sunbathed, I wrote up the blog and we washed again and cleaned more clothes. Pete played the guitar and all the olive pickers in the surrounding fields watched and cheered! This area is all olive groves - even the campsite has quite a few olive trees. We picked some ourself and put them in brine - hopefully we'll have our own olives in a few months. Nice relaxing day.
Enjoying the sun (in January!) ^
Olives. ^
12th January
We had quite a chilled morning packing up, I skyped mum and dad, and we left about midday. We were heading south and to begin the drive was really nice - another blue skied day we were passing rolling hills covered in olive trees. After a couple of hours we stopped at a small church on a hill, thinking we might stay for the night. But after another car showed up we decided we didn't really feel comfortable and we decided to move on. We headed towards a lake and the town of Zahara, which was on the north border of a big national park. Driving towards the national park was quite breathtaking with huge mountains surrounding us on all sides. We tried our luck for a wild camp around the lake but found nowhere - all parking spaces were already taken by the locals on this sunny Sunday afternoon. We carried on and found ourselves winding up a small road into the hills. Another irritating drive where all we could see either side of the road of barbed wire fences. Still it was very beautiful and we passed several 'pueblos blancos' (white villages) perched on hillsides and cliff faces. Also all the local people were out for evening strolls along the roads. Eventually we came to a picninc area that was hidden from the road by trees. It was a great place to stop. We had a beer and watched the last of the sun go down behind the mountains. We also went for a little ramble up the rocks to get a view down to the valley we were in. There was also a map that showed a couple of walks from the next village (Benaocaz) and we decided we would do one tomorrow. Early night.
Olives. ^
Driving. ^
Wild camp. ^
Little climb and view down to WEX. ^
13th January
We were pretty upset to wake up to the sound of rain on the roof. We had a lazy morning - hoping that the rain would stop. It didn't. In the end we decided to drive to Benaocaz and maybe have a walk anyway. When we drove though it only got worse - I think we drove into a cloud - and neither the village nor the walk seemed very tempting in this constant drizzle and fog. So on we went. We passed Ubrique, which looked quite nice but it was still grim weather so we just kept on driving. We also found that this was the most unaccessable National Park ever - everything fenced off and very few opportunities to stop or go out for a walk. It was very weird. Eventually it did start to clear up (or we drove out of it) and we even found a picnic stop with a lovely 2km walk. It was really nice to get out and walk through the forest - it is mostly cork trees in this area so all the bark from the trunk had been removed and the tops were all twisted and gnarled, like fairy trees. On the walk we passed a little stream and it cheered us both up that we'd managed to find somewhere to explore the area a bit. After this stop we carried on south-west. The land started to flatten out and passed some more white villages. We passed an actual Spanish cowboy; wearing an old, worn cowboy hat and a poncho, riding a huge auburn horse. It was the coolest thing Pete has ever seen. After a while of not finding anywhere to camp we noticed that the satnav said we were less than an hour from the coast. We decided to head there where I had already researched free camping. In about 50 minutes we were in Conil de la Frontera and we joined a few other campers parked right on a huge sandy beach. There were some huge campers with the usual retired people, but there were also some little campers with young people in! Some of the first we've seen! We couldn't have been happier. We walked down to the sea - The Atlantic - and wandered along the vast stretch of sand, collecting shells. We had a short walk around the town and had a beer in a beach front bar watching the sunset. For dinner we had a yummy Spanish style thing with chorizo and eggs and we stayed up drinking homemade Sangria. Excellent.
Shrine. ^
Walk in National Park. ^
Cork Trees. ^
Cork! ^
Driving. ^
Evening and camping in Conil de la Frontera. ^
14th January
We spent the day chilling by the van and taking walks along the massive beach. The sand stretches on for miles both ways and it is all empty with small sand dunes. So lovely to be on some un built up coast. It was a very windy day though which meant meant the weather changed every five seconds. I the morning we set off for a stroll in the sun and then had to turn around when a huge black cloud came in and completely soaked us. By the time we were back at the van the sun was out again - perfect to dry our clothes! It was like this all day, but still it was warm and nice. It was also a day for wind surfing (apparently), as in the afternoon the beach was full of people with their kites and surfboards. It was fun to watch them. We didn't quite brave getting fully in (it's not that warm) but we did have a paddle - that's our sixth sea we've seen on this trip. Lovely day.
Moody beach shots. ^
Camping in front of the town. ^
15th January
In the morning Pete went for a run along the beach whilst I stayed in bed. When he was back we had a cup of tea and then went into town. We needed some bits from a shop and wanted to track down and fishmonger, as we were craving some seafood now we were back on the coast. The town was actually quite nice - and busy at this time of day. We managed to find the fishmonger and it was so cheap so we got prawns, cuttle fish and horse mackeral and then bought ingredients for a paella. Back at camp we prepared the fish and Pete cooked up an amazing paella for lunch. Who needs to go to restaurants!? It was much less windy today but it meant that the clouds weren't being blown away, so it was a bit overcast. But still it was warm and we sat outside all day reading. In the evening we were still full from lunch so we had a small dinner and went to the bar for a drink (and to use the loos!)
Around town. ^
Some animal cruelty. ^
Paella! ^
16th January
In the morning Pete went for a run and I did a bit of yoga on the beach. Another overcast morning and almost as soon as we got back to van it started to rain. Alot. We sat in and had brekkie and played battleships until it calmed down a bit. We decided to stay here and wait out the rain as we can see both ways up and down the coast and it looks much the same anyway. It was quite a nice day anyway - I wrote up the blog, Pete played guitar and we went to the bar in the afternoon for a beer. For sunset (the weather was better) we went for a long walk to the western end of the beach and then tracked down a shop in town for some beers. For dinner we decided to use what we had and made a really good tapas selection of chorizo cooked in red wine, roasted veg, potatoes and sardines. Yum. In the night was a huge storm, it was so bad we had to move in the middle of the night because we were afraid of getting blown away or flooded.
Local strays. ^
Walk. ^
Tapas. ^
17th January
In the morning the rain hadn't stopped. We waited a bit but then thought we might as well move on - it couldn't be worse. In the hope that it might clear we headed to Cape Trafalger, but when we got there the rain was just ridiculous. We carried on, stopping in Barbate to go shopping, and got to Zahara de los Atunes. I had been to this beach as a kid with my family and wanted to revisit. Sadly the rain didn't stop pretty much all day. We stopped in a carpark of a resort (closed out of season) and waited it out. There was a small break in the rain and we managed to have a look at the beautiful beach. Rain all night - not much sleep.
18th January
A cloudy start to the day (no rain though), we set off towards Tarifa. I had read about free camping on Valdevaqueros beach (10km before Tarifa) and we got to the sandy carpark to find several little campers and a lot of surfers. The rain had obviously got here too as the carpark was half full of sand and water, but the beach was a lovely bay with huge sand dunes behind and an incredible view out to Africa. I didn't think it would be so close! And on top of that the sun was starting to come out from behind the clouds. We had a great day chilling out on the beach, watching some of the surfers. We noticed people walking to the end of the bay with empty bottles and coming back full of fresh water. We decided to explore and managed to find a spring, amoungst the bamboos, at the very end of the beach. In the afternoon I did some yoga and Pete went for a run again. Really nice beach and good atmosphere here from the other campers. In the night there was a huge storm - the rain was torrential and so loud on the van all night. There were also some serious winds which shook the van and we didn't get too much sleep again.
Lots of wind farms on the coast. ^
Valdevaqueros beach and spring. ^
19th January
Woke up pleased to find we hadn't been blown over or washed away. The sun was actually poking through and we decided to go and have a look around Tarifa. After a cup of tea we drove the 10 kilometres to the town and parked just outside the centre. It was Sunday morning so the shops weren't yet open but the cafes were full and the old, walled town was very pretty. We searched for the lighthouse - which is on Palomas island, connected by a road - and is the most southern point on mainland Europe. We walked along the road with the Atlantic on one side and the Mediterranean on the other and the wind was crazy. We could lean right into it and it was blowing up half the sand from the beach into our faces! Annoyingly the entrance to the island was closed so we pushed back through the wind and found a cafe to stop in. On our walk back through town the shops had started opening - every other shop is a surfing shop - and the town felt nice and bustling. We drove back to the beach and had a glorious afternoon soaking up the sun and watching the kite surfers. We packed our bags and got ready to head to Gibraltar toworrow to meet the McIntosh family!
Tarifa. ^
The Med and The Atlantic. ^
Leaning into the wind. ^
Europe and Africa.
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