Friday 29th

We left our last aire in Spain at 9am, travelled 105 miles to Portugal and arrived just after 10am, not bad for a motokennel eh? We are now on GMT instead of CET so have an extra hour in Portugal :-) We are going to slow down a bit now and not do so much driving around so hope to stay around The Algarve for a while. The sun is shining very brightly, it's warm, the air is free and there is free wifi at the library 100 metres away :-)

Thursday 28th (cont.)

Here is the photo of the leccy point which only tall (dark, handsome (added by Bri)) people can reach.

Our stay here didn't last as long as anticipated, before dark fell upon us we scooted off to an aire just outside Seville. Now we have proper leccy hookup, proper wifi and should be safe for the night, it's at a motokennel dealer!

Oh, unfortunately the photos of the last town didn't do t justice so I'm not posting them.

Thursday 28th

A very peaceful night after which we made good use of the free water etc. before heading another 80 miles west towards Seville. 80 miles of olive groves, truly amazing, and now we have arrived at Marchena where we see the re-emergence of orange trees :-), Theresa Green? Nah! 

The free aire here has free leccy (if you're tall enough to reach it), now let me see, who do I know who's tall? I think it has been put so high to stop the vandals as apparently they were damaged in 2011. Surprisingly we can get free wifi in this (non tourist town), we even got it at the aire for a while but Mr Techno-Cretin is struggling to get it working again so I suspect we are in for another walk into town later. The town is lovely, I'll try to get a photo on the blog.

I think Bri fancies a haircut when we pass through Seville as Rachel says there is a good barber there ;-)

Wednesday 27th

Dost mine ears deceive me? What's this I hear on the roof of the motokennel? The first rain in I don't know how long, fell upon us during the dark hours and has driven away from the costas to the main olive growing region of Spain, 50 miles west of Granada. We are en route to The Algarve, so an overnighter at ................ you won't be able to pronounce it so i won't bother writing it, then one more before Portugal should do it. The landscape here is SO different! Thank goodness we have left all those ugly plastic tents behind and they have been replaced with olive groves. The hills have real texture, its like they've been crocheted, lovely.

Tuesday 26th November

Happy Birthday to blog follower Nige :-)

Algarve plans are brewing...... the present unofficial free aire we are at has views of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, complete with snow! A little odd as we are by the sea in t shirts and shorts, well obviously I'M not wearing them, but the humans are.

The Clingfilm Capital of Europe

We don't care for the acres and acres of countryside wrapped in Clingfilm, it doesn't make this area of Spain very appealing :-/ although the sunset on the backdrop of the mountains goes someway to make up for it.

After a stressful drive through Almeria city centre (think we must've seen the worst it  had to offer) we eventually found a great spot to stay the night at a marina in Roquetas de Mar, in The Gulf of Almeria, free of charge of course! I think we are going to take it easy for a couple of days in this area, before possibly making the big leap to The Algarve. We are just kicking ideas around at the mo' though, watch this space........

Sunday 24th (still) Goodbye Costa Calida, Hello Costa de Almeria

For those of you not interested in the intricacies of wild camping in Spain, wild?? how can it be wild when we are in a motokennel that has an ensuite for heavens sake!  Sorry, where was I, oh yes, if you aren't interested in the intricacies of wild camping in Spain then stop reading now, if you haven't already.

By wild camping I mean not at campsites or recognised aires, you can't imagine the joy expressed by Bri & Rache when they see other motokennels parked up, safety in numbers, especially with all the warnings about Spain! Today we left a beach where there were about 20 of us although we had a completely unobscured view of the sunrise (as you may have seen). The plan was to head to the next 'tip off' about 50 miles further down the coast. Lesson 1, ALWAYS fill up with water when there is some available. We left the beach driving past a water point, Bri being blasé about how much water we had on board. We stopped at a market 9 miles down the road to hear the warning buzzer of low water! It was a lovely coastal drive, BACK to our starting point :-/ After filling up it was back on the road again, quite a good day really so far, beautiful sunshine always helps. We stumbled across Mojacar then headed to the 'tip off', some you win and some you lose. We drove miles through pre wrapped pizza, very apt as it was through acre upon acre of plastic covered tomato plantations, on the hope we would find a tasty morsel at the end. When we arrived at the village the 1st place we parked was grim, even by dog standards it was poor. We decided to head off into the sunset on the hope of finding another motokennel to snuggle up to, but before we left the village Rachel spotted one, never before has she been so pleased to see a German!

Sunday 24th (still) Goodbye Costa Calida, Hello Costa de Almeria

For those of you not interested in the intricacies of wild camping in Spain, wild?? how can it be wild when we are in a motokennel that has an ensuite for heavens sake!  Sorry, where was I, oh yes, if you aren't interested in the intricacies of wild camping in Spain then stop reading now, if you haven't already.

By wild camping I mean not at campsites or recognised aires, you can't imagine the joy expressed by Bri & Rache when they see other motokennels parked up, safety in numbers, especially with all the warnings about Spain! Today we left a beach where there were about 20 of us although we had a completely unobscured view of the sunrise (as you may have seen). The plan was to head to the next 'tip off' about 50 miles further down the coast. Lesson 1, ALWAYS fill up with water when there is some available. We left the beach driving past a water point, Bri being blasé about how much water we had on board. We stopped at a market 9 miles down the road to hear the warning buzzer of low water! It was a lovely coastal drive, BACK to our starting point :-/ After filling up it was back on the road again, quite a good day really so far, beautiful sunshine always helps. We stumbled across Mojacar then headed to the 'tip off', some you win and some you lose. We drove miles through pre wrapped pizza, very apt as it was through acre upon acre of plastic covered tomato plantations, on the hope we would find a tasty morsel at the end. When we arrived at the village the 1st place we parked was grim, even by dog standards it was poor. We decided to head off into the sunset on the hope of finding another motokennel to snuggle up to, but before we left the village Rachel spotted one, never before has she been so pleased to see a German!

Good Morning Sunday 24th

Looks like another beautiful day down here in sunny Spain :-) dunno where we are going but not too far, probably in a south westerly direction

Friday 22nd

Happy Birthday Amy :-) see you in4 weeks:-) xx

Saturday 23rd

Headed 45 miles further south, now at a deserted beach stealing wifi from the nearest cafe. Toasty out here.

Thursday 21st 

Greetings my dear blog followers. Firstly I must apologise for not posting every day but, lack of Internet, power to the iPad and just pressure of life means I've been a bit lax lately. Anyway, if anybody is still following us then here is the latest. I'm typing this on Thursday night in a remote location so it won't get published until we find a McDonalds or the like. 

We went to Benidorm, well you just have to don't you, we stayed in little Britain, a campsite which was home from home for the 60+ which I suppose means it should've suited me, being 13 dog years but sorry, not my cup of tea at all! We walked down to the seafront, it was an achievement not to be run over by a motobility scooter, they are EVERYWHERE!!! I was desperate to get on the beach but of course us furry ones aren't allowed, I suppose in case we dump on somebody sunbathing :-/ I just love feeling of the warm sand between my pads, just LOVE it (in the words of Kevin Keegan) but alas, we will have to wait for another beach. So after the briefest of visits to the front (& McDo's) we took our life in our hands and shimmied our way around those damned scooters back to little Britain. Benidorm, it's Botchergate for the aged, but with sun. Once back to the 'relative safety' of Camping Britannia, names have been changed to protect the innocent, we (or should I say they) had a couple beers with Paul & Marissa & discussed the future (few weeks). This morning we did everything that needed doing, coffee with The Joneses (P&M) fond farewells then off to.............. Lidl :-/ then McDo's (email not working properly) then..........on the road again. Goodbye Costa Blanca, hello Costa Calida, 125 miles further south (recommended by Nigel & Beri). A long hard afternoon through wilderness until we arrived at this gem La Azohia just before sunset, beautiful. Beer, wine (not crossing MY lips, if I had any) & a lovely meal watching the sunset over The Med. I was thinking, "careful" I hear you say, so far I think Spain is like ......... pizza, crusty around the edges, but mainly a flat unappetising expanse of caca, pardon my Spanish, with the occasional tasty morsel. Let's see how the next few weeks go.......

Tuesday 19th

Having been here (Javea) longer than anywhere else it is time to move on to............Benidorm!! Yes, we are going to a campsite at Benidorm for one night only to recharge & clean everything but more importantly meet up with Paul and Marissa (who we met a week ago), then we will be back on the road continuing south.

Moi at St Bees, I mean Spain somewhere B-)

Saturday 16th

Tonight we toast some of those we ave met on our trip. Nigel & Beri for telling us to visit Javea/Xabia, when everywhere else failed this came up trumps. The camper guy from Alicante who told us we couldn't park where we had but told us where to go, if you know what I mean. Dave, the lovely guy travelling solo whom we met at Peniscola and left s 2 cans of Spanish brown ale (Argus Negra). After a tough old day we can now relax. Bri and Rache will drink and drink, I got treats for barking the 2 times someone came to the van, and now have the treat of all treats, the so called empty can of chicken supreme, yum yum :-p

Friday 15th

After 3 weeks on the road we finally succumbed to the temptations of a campsite. The day started well with a lovely stroll along the prom at Peniscola followed by a leisurely drive to our next 'tip off' resort Bennicassim. The prom there was excellent, well over a mile long and deserted, the only thing was the whole place was deserted so we continued south searching out something to match Peniscola. Unfortunately the resorts deteriorated so we finally decided to head to the hills for a recognised aire. Lovely views of the hills with the sun setting, yes, time was cracking on and Bri had said he wouldn't drive in the dark (the eyes aren't what they were). The aire was just parking bays on the roadside that weren't really wide enough for Rapi, not that I'm calling him fat or anything. After eating, we decided to bite the bullet and drive to a campsite only 3 miles away. So here we are snuggled up on our own little pitch, it's peaceful and warm toilet and shower block en suite with washing machines to boot, luxury for a mere €16. Tomorrow we will all be clean and smelling of roses before we hit the road to rough it again.

Thursday 14th

If I swore I would swear at how cold it was this morning! Brrrrr, it was like being back in England, the oldies had more skins on than an onion but I had to be just au naturelle as usual :-/ We had our last walk around Morella then programmed the satnav for Lidl down in Vineros on The Med. About an hour later it was the weekly wine restock then off with the thermals and jeans as the heat finally hit us. What a difference a drop of 3,000 feet makes, still a tad breezy but close the blinds on the motokennel to keep the place cool. It was market day in Vineros so we moved on to Peniscola down the coast. We searched around for a non official aire and spied a van by the beach, it soon moved off but after lunch a guy from another Brit van we parked next to rolled up. Bri "Did you stay here last night"? "No,I only arrived an hour ago". That was enough, the Brits set up camp for the night, Rachel made a lovely meal for the 3 of them, wine,  beer, you get the picture. There are now 8 vans here! Oh,and most importantly not forgetting, Rache, Bri and moi went for a paddle in The Med :-), although I had to have the beach brushed out of me afterwards :-/

Friday 15th

Last night was windy in the extreme, outside of the van. It's a lovely place this but heading further south now B-)

Tuesday 12th

After yesterday's cold and windy arrival at Morella it was nice to wake up to a better day. We walked the 1 mile into the ancient town, knocks spots off Carcassonne, this is quality not tacky :-). We had a stroll around the walls and saw several very large birds gliding on the thermals. Let's call them condors, they were much bigger than me and came for a closer look at us, a remarkable sight! We then went into the town itself, the best place we've visited so far :-).

So good that tonight will be our 3rd night here then we are off to the coast :-)

Monday 11th

Yesterday, Sunday 10th, 34 years of wedded bliss I believe for the old couple. We left Bielsa and continued south through some lovely gorges and scenery until we reached an aire at Tamarite (east of Zaragoza, north of Llieda) 121 miles. Rachel made Bri his favourite for the anniversary, steak :-p, but as it was smothered in peppercorn sauce there was none for me :-(.

This morning Bri and I had a short walk before sunrise, returning to find the local fuzz checking out Rapi, fortunately (for them) they didn't wake Rachel! No problemo of course so after emptying what needed emptying and filling what needed filling (diesel at €1.19 per litre :-)) we continued south. If I had a biccie for every time Rachel said 'this is bandit country' I'd be a stuffed doggie. It DID have the appearance of something from a spaghetti western and we had the feeling that if we broke down the injuns would appear over the hill! Passing through one desperado village we saw a camel in somebody's garden!!! Obviously sold his mother-in-law whilst on holiday in Morocco. Having successfully crossed the Depression del Ebro we arrived 133 miles later at Morella (an ancient hill top town about an hour from The Med), siesta time zzzzzzz. We will stay at least one night here before heading for the coast.

Saturday 9th

After the usual wifi updating from the local tourist office we went for a short walk above the town before the usual Lidl shop then on the road again. The forecast wasn't good for Luchon tomoz so we thought we would get some decent scenery before the weather closed in. Up over the Col de Peyresourde, a regular Tour de France route, but thankfully we were in Rapi :-)! As we parked at the summit Bri exchanged 'bonjours' with cyclist almost there, turns out he was another stupid Brit! After our lunch stop we headed to a lovely village called Arreau. We had a look around,stocked up on water then headed towards Spain. The latest plan was to stop the night at the last aire in France (we like France), the aire was advertised in the book as 'stunning views', at 6,200 feet I should think so!  As usual whenever we stop somewhere I can't wait to get out, Bri opened the door, I shot out, Bri shut the door, I asked to come back in. It was blowing a hoolie and snowing! Now I don't mind a bit of exercise but that's just plain silly! After a brew the 3 of us got together and decided we should head somewhere safer. An hour later we arrived in Bielsa, Spain. Warmer, a bit of sun and blue sky, nice B-)

Friday 8th Big Bird Plays Chicken

We like this place :-) its full name is Bagneres de Luchon but is known as just Luchon. Unfortunately I suspect the weather may drive us away but this will be our 2nd night here, we will see what tomorrow brings.

Bri got his trusty old steed out this aft and went for a cycle up some hill. The silly old geezer, or should I say wheezer obviously forgot how hard it was cycling up hill for 9miles. He gave up after a climb of 2,700', that's feet not inches! After about 2 miles of rapid (his words not mine) descent on the traffic free roads was confronted with a car coming uphill. You can probably guess which idiot was on the wrong side of the road! The man's not safe to be let out alone, he blames altitude sickness, WOTEVA :-/

Thursday 7th

Spain or France? The temperature dropped quite a bit during the starry night but as soon as the sun was up it gave us an idea of how hot Spain would be if we headed south.

 It turned out to be a day of ups and downs. Rapi the motokennel must've thought that he was in for an easy life when the old couple turned up to buy him, how wrong! Let's do The Pyrenees. We, or should I say Bri & Rache decided to stay in the mountains as long as the weather stayed nice. We set off about 2,300' above sea level, then up another 2k, down 2k, up 4k, down 2k........ you get the picture. My ears were popping like nothing else! Poor Rapi was fine on the ups but oh dear, the downs, some rather nasty smells I'm afraid. No, it wasn't emitted by a human! The only way he was coaxed down from the highest perch was in 1st gear but we made it to Bagneres de Luchon smelling sweet. Rapi was happy, back home in his country of birth :-)

Rapi takes a well earned rest after climbing to 6,800 feet in Spain and gazes longingly at his homeland.

Wednesday 6th

What a peaceful night in the moat, slept like a puppy :-) We had a wander around the city walls then headed off south west. A lovely smooth gently snaking road took us down 3000 metres into a hot and sunny Spain, then a right turn to one of the worst places any of us have been to, the shop known as Andorra! Not even fuel at less than £1 a litre or a ridiculous amount of spirits for £30 will ever tempt us back! Found an aire at the first town south of Andorra, lovely scenery and in the local park a kayak slalom course (made for 1992 Olympics) awesome! Not that I could have a go, I wasn't even allowed in the park, but snook in.

Eventually we got the wheel arch thingy fixed, hooray! After a very brief encounter with The Med where we got battered (by the wind) we decided to head for the hills and are seeking refuge in the old moat at Mont Louis, about 45 miles south west of Perpignan and 5000 feet higher! Yes, the aire is actually in the dried up moat of the city so we should be safe tonight :-). The temperature is still reasonable although there is a dusting of snow on the tops. We are heading in the general direction of Spain/Andorra tomoz.

Will Update Blog Tomoz

Some Photos

Where we've been the last few days

Ooops

I'm sorry my dear followers, having checked my blog you have missed some 'stuff' due to a technical problem at this end. I will strive to rectify it.

This is me (& Bri's HUGE feet) on part of our great walk yesterday morning :-)

Monday

Had a brill steep walk on Monday (think I put a photo on yesterday) then after being recommended an aire south of Perpignan (St Cyprien) spent the night at the windiest place on earth!! Even with the stabilisers down the van was rocking, I hid under the table all night :-(  We obviously survived it and although its warm its also a tad wet so the old man has checked the forecast and Spain seems sunny so we'll be there soon B-)

Colin ambled into the local 'convenience' expecting to pick up a couple of flies.

Hair of the Dog

Despite the old man waking with a bit of a head he's not easily put off, here he is the next day purchasing the more expensive Merlot for €1.30 per litre :-p

Esperaza

Left Carcassonne at 7.45am! Headed to the hills and met up with our own personal tourist guides for Spain at the lovely aire at Esperaza, sounds Spanish but it's not. The oldies left me in the motokennel for the evening whilst they spent it in the other van planning our Spanish excursion over wine, cheese, pâté, olives etc.

Carcassonne

What an amazing place (ye olde city of) Carcassonne is! A bit too 'Bowness' for my liking, however there is no disputing that it must be one of, if not, THE best and biggest medieval cities! As we have no 'target' now we have decided to slow down a bit and stay the night here despite it being the first aire we have had to pay for, €6. We have had 8 nights away so I think the purse will stand €6 even if the oldies could've got 4 bottles of decent wine for that! In the evening we returned into 'the city' (10 minute walk from our aire) and it was so much better without all those tourists!

Tomorrow we are heading back to the foothills of the Pyrenees where we may meet up again with the English couple we saw in Grisolles (correct spelling this time).

Leaving Carcassonne at 7.45am!!!