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2020 - Spain
Time
for
some
winter
sunshine!
We
took
the
ferry
from
Portsmouth
to
Bilbao
at
the
very
end
of
January.
There
had
been
some
pretty
bad
weather
in
Spain,
with
Storm
Gloria
battering
the
country
but now things were improving.
On
our
departure
from
Portsmouth
we
passed
close
by
one
of
tour
new
aircraft
carriers,
HMS
Prince
of
Wales. 72,300 tons and looked magnificent.
We
had
a
very
pleasant
and
calm
crossing,
even
in
Bay
of
Biscay.
As
we
left
Portsmouth
we
were
still
citizens
of
the
European
Union
but
when
we
arrived
in
Bilbao,
Brexit
had
happened
over
night,
and
the
UK
was
no
longer
a
member
of
the
EU.
Passport
control
was
very
relaxed
in
Spain
and
we
were
just
waved
through - so no change there!
Our
first
overnight
stop
was
at
the
Navarette
campsite,
just
outside
Logrono.
We
had
stayed
here
several
times
before
and
on
this
occasion,
the
site
was
very
quiet.
We
were
the
only
touring
unit
on
site
when
we
arrived in the late afternoon and only one other joined us overnight.
Next
day
we
took
the
motorway
to
Zaragoza
and
then
followed
the
N232
eastwards.
Our
destination
this
evening
was
to
be
Morella,
a
hill
top
town
in
the
mountains,
approximately
60km
from
Vinaros
which
is
on
the
Mediterranean
coast.
We
had
driven
past
this
town
several
times
and
always
promised
ourselves
that
we would stop and explore.
Just
a
few
hundred
metres
short
of
the
town
is
a
motorhome
aire
which
offered
a
safe
place
to
stop
overnight and spectacular views of the old town. It is about a 15 minute walk into town.
(top left) The aire at Morella, squeezed between the olive trees.
(left
middle)
view
of
the
town
from
the
approach
road.
Note
the
twin
turrets
of
the
entrance
gate
in
middle
left
of
the
photo.
A
close up of this magnificent entrance is (top right)
(left
lower)
part
of
the
very
long
aqueduct
that
supplied
the
town
with
water.
I
had
always
assumed
that
it
was
only
the
top
level
that
supplied
the
water
but
in
fact,
both
levels
have
a
water
channel! Double whammy!
(above
right)
the
narrow
streets
in
the
town
were
charming.
The
pavements
were
in
a
colonnade
which
provided
shade
for
the
shoppers
and
space
above
for
larger
buildings
whose
foundations
were huge baulks of timber above the colonnade.
(left)
View
from
the
top
of
the
town
looking
towards
the
south
east.
Next day it was a short drive to Torre La Sal and to the campsite, Bravo Playa. We stayed here last year and
really enjoyed the site and the area around.
We
had
arranged
to
meet
friends
there,
Keith
and
Frances
Gander,
Tom
Slater,
Tony
and
Margaret
Lago
and
a
new
couple
Graham
and
Dee.
For
the
first
week
or
so
we
were
also
joined
by
Jon
and
Gaye
Page,
who
are
Carthago owner friends from Worthing.
The
weather
was
beautiful
but
we
were
amazed
to
see
the
storm
damage
to
the
seafront.
The
photo
(right)
shows
a
boardwalk
which
had
been
smashed
to
pieces
by
storm
Gloria.
The
pebbles
had
been
carried
right
up
the
beach
(which
is
normally
sandy)
and
splattered
everywhere.
The
campsites
had
been
flooded
and
there
was significant damage.
The
local
services
have
got
themselves
huge
task
to
re-establish
the seafront.
(left)
Jon
and
Gaye
Page
at
Alcossebre.
This
is
a
delightful
cycle
ride
of
about
16km
from
the campsite.
Another outing (right) and (below)
was
a
hike
with
Tom
Slater
to
the
castle of Miravet.
The ruined castle is right on top of
a mountain, (see below). The coast
and the campsite are in the far
distance. The pathway was pretty
rugged and not easy walking. You
could easily sprain an ankle and it
would not be wise to hike alone.
(left)
We
had
a
visit,
from
Bren
and
Rich.
They
have
been
fellow
campers
in
Bennicasim
and
were
staying
there
again
this
year.
We
met
up
halfway,
in
Oropesa,
for lunch.
It
was
lovely
to
meet
up
with
this
delightful couple.
In the photo,(l-r) Desnée, Rich, Bren and
Tom.
We agreed to meet up again in a week or
so but the Corona virus pandemic brought
about a total lock down in Spain and we
could not make another rendezvous.
Tom
and
George
were
keen
to
explore
the
mountains,
inland
from
the
campsite.
We
cycled
out
to
Cabanes
to
visit
the
Tourist
Office
to
get
a
hiking
map.
It
is
a
33km
round
trip
but
the
outbound
leg
on
the CV146 is a harsh climb!
Armed
with
a
good
quality,
walking
routes
map
we
set
off
on
our
chosen
route.
The
path
was
surprisingly
challenging
with
some
rope climbs on the steeper section (right).
It was all worthwhile just for the views from the top (below).
Tom and George had several, similar hiking trips and cycle rides out.
One
cycle
trip
we
joined
up
with
Desnée,
Margaret
and
Tony,
plus
Graham
and
Dee
in
Torreblanca
(about
11km from campsite). They had travelled by car to visit the market and we met to go for lunch.
Torreblanca
is
slightly
inland
from
the
coast
and
not
particularly
interesting
apart
from
the
large
number
of
wall
paintings
which
are
very
impressive
(below).
The
centre
photo
is
a
garage
door!
In
the
left
and
right,
the buildings windows give you an idea of scale.
At the campsite, we enjoyed social evenings with some of the Brits that were there or close by.
Ray
and
Melissa
Knight
drove
up
from
their
home
in
Alcalali
to
see
us
for
a
day.
It
was
great
to
see
them
again
and
catch
up
on
each
others
news.
Ray
was
pleased
to
show
off
his
new
Mini
Cooper
S
Countryman.
A
lovely
car.
They
would
have
stayed
for
a
few
days
but
Melissa
had
to
get
back
to
get
the
charity
shop,
that
she
supports, up and running after its refurbishment.
We
also
had
a
visit
from
Bob
and
Caroline
Shepherd,
who
stayed
for
a
few
days
in
one
of
the
campsite
bungalows.
They
were
on
their
way
back
to
UK
from
their
apartment
in
Teulada
(just
south
of
Javea).
It
was
good to see them and they were looking forward to a new Cockerpoo puppy when they were back home.
Keith
and
Fran
arrived
to
join
us
after
delaying
their
departure
from
UK.
They
had
their
new
puppy
with
them,
also a Cockerpoo, called Daisy. A wriggly, fluffy bundle of energy!
As
a
group
we
would
meet
up
with
other
Brits
for
the
‘5
o’clock
club’
A
drink
or
drinks
at
the
bar
before
going
back
to
our
motorhomes
and
caravans
for
dinner.
On
Fridays
we
would
walk
or
drive
down
to
Camping
Didota,
about
700
metres
away
for
a
Tapas
evening
and
a
variety
of
musical
entertainment.
They
served
a
very
good
tapas meal for €4.50 and the entertainment was a high standard.
On
Thursdays,
the
bar/restaurant
on
our
own
site
had
a
regular
entertainer,
Bosco,
who
played
a
range
of
music
on keyboard and sang all the songs that got people, particularly the Germans, up and dancing along.
(left)
Desnée,
Caroline
and
Francis
enjoying
one
of
the Thursday evening events.
Then,
suddenly,
everthing
stopped!
The
Corona
Virus
had
hit
Spain
and
on
March
14th
Spain
declared
a
National
Emergency.
Total
lock
down
started as from March 16th.
All
entertainment
cancelled,
bars
and
restaurants
closed,
everyone
confined
to
the
campsite
and
to
be 2 metres away from other people.
You
could
only
leave
the
site
to
shop
for
food
or
visit the Pharmacy.
It
was
no
longer
an
enjoyable
holiday
and
became
fairly
stressful.
No
vehicle
movement
was
allowed
apart
from above reasons.
Our
return
ferry
to
the
UK
was
booked
for
March
31st
from
Bilbao.
We
watched
the
Brittany
Ferries
website
carefully. Some sailings had been cancelled but our route was still running on schedule - phew!
But
then,
March
17th
late
evening,
the
Brittany
Ferries
website
announced
“
All
sailings
to
Spain
cancelled
until
April
23rd
at
earliest
!!!
Our
opinion
was
that
there
was
no
guarantee
that
they
would
reinstate
sailings
for
the
foreseeable
future!
We
needed
an
escape
plan!
Frantic
activity
on
a
slow
Internet
link
and
we
eventually
managed
to
secure
a
booking
on
the
Euro
Tunnel
for
Friday
20th
in
the
evening
-
yesss!
That
gave
us
just
£
days
to
get
to
Calais!
We
were
up
and
about
until
1:30am
packing
up
everything
ready
for
an
early
departure
later
that
morning.
Filling
water
tanks,
emptying
waste
water,
putting
away
table
and
chairs,
stowing
five
weeks
worth
of
camping
paraphernalia.
We
had
to
pay
our
bill
when
the
office
opened
at
8:00am,
unplug the electric and we were on our way!
It
is
around
1600
kms
to
Calais,
so
we
needed
to
cover
at
least
530kms
per
day
for
three
days
and
fingers
crossed for no punctures nor breakdowns!
Wednesday
18th,
good
progress,
the
autoroutes
were
deserted
apart from the odd truck.
We
thought
we
may
have
trouble
getting
into
France
because
they
were
also
on
strict
lock
down.
At
the
border
the
police
saw
we were British and waved us through.
We
stopped
for
the
night
in
a
beach
side
car
park
at
Narbonne
Plage,
in
France.
The
town
was
deserted.
Just
us
and
another
two German motorhomes in the place!
Off
early
next
day,
beautiful
and
sunny.
Again
an
easy
journey
on
the
beautiful
A75
(toll
free
apart
from
the
Millau
Viaduct).
I
think the A75 is one of my favourite routes through France.
Stopped
overnight
at
a
lovely
village
aire
in
La
Ferté
Beauharnais
(just
11kms
off
the
A71
autoroute).
Again
everywhere deserted.
Managed
to
buy
bread
at
the
Boulangerie
in
the
morning.
Direct
route
took
us
through
the
outskirts
of
Paris
where
there
was
minimal
traffic.
A16
to
Calais.
We
arrived
4
hours
early
for
our
train.
Drove
straight
on,
without
a
wait.
The
Euro
Tunnel
train only had 4 motorhomes and nothing else on the train!
Back home in Worthing before dark and in time for dinner!
The
Euro
Tunnel
fare
was
very
reasonable
and
Desnée
and
I
decided we would use the service again on future trips abroad.
PS. Brittany Ferries did not re-instate sailings as from April 23rd!
Our
friends,
that
we
left
behind
at
Torre
La
Sal,
followed
our
escape
route the following week.