Chilling in Spain 2023
This year we had planned a long van trip to Spain which would focus on a much smaller region, so involve much less driving and more chilling than last year’s trip. We had planned a couple of routes, from a book that Harriet gave us for Christmas, around the Rioja region. However, the weather, as we write this, is looking a pretty awful in that area and so we might just head for the sun, wherever that might be.
We have had a request for a blog, so we will do one, although it may not be every day as we are planning to relax a bit more on this trip.
After researching the weather we ended up at Tordesillas as it seemed to have a reasonable campsite to use as a base for the first few days. Little did we know that it was where our holiday novel, The Last Queen, was set, which just made it all the more exciting.
After doing lots of culture, we headed for the Rioja region, where we did some wine tasting. Then to the mountains, bit of a drive but well worth it. The final part of the journey was chilling on beaches. However the weather was STILL unsettled, or so the forecasts said, so we decided to come home two days early. This cost us an extra £6, so not to bad. We did then get 2 nights in Santander which was well worth it.
Lessons from this trip? We think it is to have a planand an aim. The first 2 parts of the trip were mapped out for us from the book , which worked well. We should probably have planned the mountain and beach plans more. Changes for the van? Perhaps a better outside table, don’t bother with the bbq and citronella candles for bloody flies and mossies.
The Return
We had an OK night’s sleep despite the flies – citronella candle for Christmas please. We packed up and got the van ready for the
Santander – the final countdown …
For a final day, we planned to explore another part of Santander. This mainly consisted of a walk along the three beaches of El Sardinero,
Disappearing ways
After a dodgy night’s sleep, we packed up the van ready for our next adventure. The rain in the night had brought the mozzies out
San Vicente culture fix!
There was a lot of rain overnight, that made for a poor nights sleep. We left the blind off the front window so that we
San Vicente de La Barquera
We woke to the sound of rain – quite heavy rain!! As a result, we abandoned the idea of a final morning swim and decided
Day 3 of pure relaxation
The weather was looking good today, so we thought we would have another day of pure relaxation. We went for a swim from the beach,
What a Rubbish Market
So we got up with a mission, to attend the market in Potes. It seems to have a certain level of fame and had been
Day two of pure relaxation.
So we got up in a leisurely fashion and had bread toasted with jam and peanut butter for breakfast. We then went and tried out
Washing Day
After our “moderate” 16km walk we had a day off. Sue got her laundry fix and I rested my aching knee. We could have gone
El teleférico de Fuente Dé
We finished off the cake from La Guardia for breakfast and then headed off early for our cable car ride. There were already loads of
Picos de Europa
We set off at about 9 o’clock amid pale grey skies. Fortunately the sky had cleared by about 11, so we got to see the
Elciego – Marques de Riscal
We got up at 6 in the hope of catching a beautiful sunrise over the mountains. There was a lot of mist, but it cleared
La Guardia
Before we headed to La Guardia, we went on a fairly long walk to a computer store in Logroño, so that Dave could try to
Logroño – capital of La Rioja
We headed off early for the 45 minute drive to the next campsite Camping de La Playa in Logroño. (So called because the owners are
San Millán de La Cogolla
So today we headed off early in order to do the two monastery tour which we had enquired about yesterday. We walked into San Millán
Santo Domingo de La Calzada
We left our campsite, but not before having a magnificent demonstration of the very high-tech toilet cleaning machine!! Unfortunately, our toilet was not a standard
Burgos bound
We left our spot by the river fairly early after a reasonable night’s sleep – apart from the times we were kept awake by barking
Third time lucky ….
We headed on to our next stop at Covarrubias to what sounded from the reviews like a fairly dodgy campsite. There were some gorgeous countryside
Onward to Peñafiel
We headed off fairly early and looked for a place to stop off en-route for a Spanish breakfast. Simancas fitted the bill nicely, with another
Tuesday – laundry day!
We had a slow start to the day and took advantage of the sun to do some laundry and to chill in the campsite planning
Zamora: a day of surprises!
After a leisurely start at the camp site, we headed for Zamora as, even though we’d realised most attractions would be shut on a Monday,
Tordesillas – the town that split the world in two
We had a slow start to the day and then headed off, past the poppies to visit Tordesillas. We wandered over the medieval bridge into
Early Up
We got up at 5.30 for a 7a.m. arrival and were very pleased to see slightly unexpected blue skies. After a bit of a wait
Ferry Day
Having realised to our great consternation that breakfast and dinner were not included this year, unlike last, we headed off to breakfast, with the intention
A Nice Surprise
After the debacle of our previous ferry boarding last year we arrived more than 2 hours before the ferry sailed. We got straight through, no