¿Buenos dias, amigos, qué tal?

The fire devastated landscape over the border in Spain

After four days at the dealership aire at Latour-Bas-Elne we set off again and headed for the Spanish border. This was only about 35 km away but involved a slow winding ascent into the hills and then a long descent on the other side. Looking up and to our left we could see the toll road, raised up over the valleys and burrowing through the hills. A much flatter but more expensive way to travel. There were no officials at the border post and we just drove on through carrying on towards Barcelona. On our way down th mountain from the border the landscape for miles either side of the road had been ravaged by recent fires and totally devastated. It was quite saddening to drive though it looking as it did knowing that most of the fires are started deliberately or due to carelessness.

Dinner in a lay-by

Our stop that night was supposed to be Camping Can Marti, an aire (or 'area' in Spanish) on a holiday park near Tossa de Mar, but when we arrived at the end of a single track road the gates were shut and padlocked. A big sign said “closed 01/09/2012”; a bit of a surprise as our information had said it wasn't closed till the end of September. Tricia suggested we have some lunch and decide on a course of action. There was no way we could turn round and it would be extremely difficult to reverse the van and trailer all the way back to the start of the road. The only solution would be to take the car off the trailer, unhitch it from the van, tow it back down the road with the car, reverse the van back and turn it round then reattach car and trailer. As Tricia started to make lunch a man emerged from Camping Can Marti and asked if we would like to turn round in the park. We jumped at the offer and I was able to make a wide sweep round just inside the gate and then, after thanking the man, we drove a little way back down the road and stopped in a pull-in to have lunch.

First night in Spain near Arc de Bera

Continuing on after lunch to find another aire we could get into we drove for miles but there were none signposted. By this time it was getting quite late so when we spotted an artic' pulling-up on some waste ground on the other side of the A340 just after we had passed the Arc de Bera, a Roman triumphal arch, we decided that would do for us too. We turned round at the next roundabout and then tucked in behind the artic' for the night.

Odissea Camper Area, Denia, home for three weeks

The night passed uneventfully and we were soon off again and, bypassing Barcelona, we headed on towards Valencia. Instead of taking the A-7 motorway around Valencia and risk having to pay a toll when it became the AP-7 we decided to take the V21, which was a dual carriageway road that looked as if it circled to the south of the city on our map. As we travelled along the V21 Tricia spotted a Repsol petrol station that sold GLP gas (Autogas) so we managed to replenish the tanks, we had put some petrol in earlier at great expense and had been running on that for a few miles, having run out of gas. Continuing on we quickly discovered that the V21 did not skirt the city at all but headed right into it and somewhere in the city we had to make a left turn onto the V31. When the time came for the turn I was in the wrong lane with no chance of changing lanes so we were forced to carry on till we could find somewhere to turn round. The road was three lanes wide in each direction so wasn't really a problem but cars were parked along the side of the road with some sticking out farther than others. Most drivers had turned their mirrors in but one hadn't and that was the one sticking out as we came past. We then had to stop while insurance details were exchanged but after that we managed to find our way back to where we should have turned and continue on out of the city again. Next time we will pay the toll rather than risk ending up in city traffic again.

BBQ night with Ken and Jenny 

We arrived at Odissea Camper Area at about six thirty in the evening and were welcomed by Ruben who said they had several pitches that would be suitable for Harvey. We chose the one at the far end of the site because there was room for the trailer and the car and, once settled, we had a look around. There were toilets, showers, a washing machine and a drier and all the facilities were clean and well maintained. The waste dumping area was easy to access and there was drinking water available so we had everything we needed and quickly decided we would stay for a week.

There is a camp site next door to Odissea and it has a bar called Delfin which also serves food so a very pleasant evening was spent in there drinking wine and cervesa. The beach is only about 100 metres from the site so on we spent an afternoon there and had our first swim in the Med.

The view from Coll de Rates

On Thursday we drove into Denia nad then followed the coast road to Les Rotes where we stopped for an iced coffee and to admire the view. Tricia spotted a guy climbing out of the sea onto some rocks with out his trunks on and we thought this was a bit odd till we found out this peninsula was popular with naturists!

Ruben had given us a map of the local area when we arrived and pointed out where the local markets were held and where the nearest supermarket, Lidl, was. So we got on our bikes and cycled up the road and found that there was Chinese supermarket just before Lidl and it sold absolutely everything. Checking out the items for sale in the middle of Lidl (they are all laid out the same which makes finding things really easy) I came across push bike saddles for 15 Euros. Cycling was big at the time because the Spanish equivalent of the Tour De France was on. The saddles looked really good and more comfortable than our original ones so we bought them.

Beer can recycling in Benigembla

Looking westward from the site there are some really interesting looking and very craggy hills so we decided to take a run in the car and do a bit of exploring. The first foray into the hills was a short one because we had to get back to the van for a previously arranged Skype call. This had whetted our appetite, however, and we decided to come back for a proper look later in the week.

On Wednesday we decided we would stay for a second week and on Thursday we saw Ruben and another guy erecting a gazebo on two of the pitches. When we asked what it was for we were told it was for a meet of a motor-home club and as Motor-home Facts was mentioned I assumed it was them. Ruben asked if we would like to join in as they were going to have a BBQ on the Saturday night and a Paella on the Sunday afternoon. We were a bit reticent at first but when we found out that other campers on the site, Germans and Dutch, were going we paid our 12 Euros. On the Friday Ken and Jenny turned up from Motor-home Facts and then I found out that the meet was really for a Spanish club called AC Pasion (pronounced Athy Passion) and Ken was a member of this group also. Over the course of the weekend we found out that Ken and Jenny live near Torrvieja, which is close to Benidorm, and Ken had organised a couple of meets for Motor-home Facts members previously at Odissea in Denia and at their sister site in Calpe. The BBQ was a bit of a let down because, although the food was good, we didn't get to eat it until about 10 o'clock. Spaniards eat late anyway but everyone was seated and waiting from about 20:30. Still, we had drunk a few cervesas and sangrias by then and were in good spirits. Sunday's Paella, on the other hand, was really terrific. There was so much left over because of the amount that had been cooked that people were putting it in Tupperware boxes to take home and we got enough for two more meals.

Will it or won't it? Castell de Castells

We went to the Delphin that night with Ken and Jenny and got some good tips for places to stay around Torrevieja. After that weekend we decided to stay a third week.

On the Tuesday of our second week we packed a picnic lunch and set off into the mountains; heading for a village called Castell De Castells because I thought it had an interesting name. First stopping at a view point at Coll de Rates for a photo opportunity. When we got to Castell de Castells, we drove into the village looking for a somewhere to stop and have lunch, a park or a square with benches to sit on. We didn't find any and the streets were so narrow we were in danger of getting stuck with our little Corsa. In the end we had to retrace our steps and beat a hasty retreat. We carried on to Benigembla, where there were murals of Spongebob Squarepants characters on the road through the village, but still couldn't find anywhere suitable for a picnic.

After driving around a bit more, still hunting for a picnic spot, we decided to check out a beauty spot that we had passed previously and meant retracing our steps back towards Castell de Castells. We found the road and followed it for more than the marked 4km, with it getting narrower and more like a farm track, without seeing whatever it was that was being advertised. However, we found a nice spot under some fig trees and had our lunch. After lunch we continued along the road, which suddenly improved, and ended up at Vall de Ebo where we saw a sign for the Cove de Rull and decided to investigate. The cove was similar to Cheddar Caves or Wookey Hole with spectacular stalactite and stalagmite formations; some had quartz crystal in them that sparkled in the lighting. After leaving the cave we continued on to Pego and then back to Denia.

The road to Vall de Ebo

Odissea Camper Area has another location a bit further down the coast at Calpe which Ken and Jenny had said was much nicer than Denia so we decided we would go and have a look for ourselves. The new site is in a residential area quite a way back from the beach but has been really nicely done with good access to the services area and nice modern toilets and showers. Having said all that, after a look around Calpe beach front we decided we preferred Denia.

Another Brit couple turned up on Friday and we decided to make their acquaintance. They were Welsh and had been motor-homing in Spain for about six years. Terry and Natalie were making their way around the coast to Cadiz and had decided to stay here until the Monday because they liked the beach. I got some good website URL's from Terry and we took them to the Delfin for a beer on the Sunday night, which turned into a late night/early morning session.

Calpe sea front

After waste dumping on Tuesday morning we went for a cycle ride after lunch to Oliva. We cycled along the coast road past the very imposing Oliva Golf Hotel and along to a beach front camping site called Eurocamp. The caravans and motor-homes were parked in the dunes just back from the beach and we thought this would be a good place to bring Harvey until we realised that we would probably take up three pitches.

Castillo de Denia

Yesterday, Saturday, we cycled into Denia and spent the day site-seeing. The castle was quite impressive; entry was only 5 Euros for both of us and the views from the battlements are pretty spectacular. After the castle we found a street with several cafés where we sat out and had Tapas for lunch. After lunch we chained our bikes up near the port and had a wander round the old town then headed back to Les Deveses, where Odissea is situated. On the way back we checked out a “fixer-upper”, a house in need of some remedial work, with a large piece of land but it didn't appear to be for sale.

Today we have been very lazy and just sat in the sun reading and pottering about. Tomorrow we will be busy again packing everything up and getting ready for leaving on Tuesday; when we will be heading for a proper camp site, Camping La Manga, at Cartagena.