Yesterday Joe headed off to the bar to watch the England Scotland rugby game. A good battle with Scotland a little unfortunate to lose the Calcutta cup. Around 50 campers were crammed into a corner of the restaurant with John live-streaming the game over his VPN.

Tomorrow we head West.

Friday was market day. Moe was dress shopping whilst Joe sought out the local post office to send some documents back to Blighty.

Friday evening was another communal meal – Spanish omelette, followed by beef stew and flan for desert. Great rock n roll duo had the oldies dancing to the oldies!

Thursday was another fine day, with a much warmer feel to the air. We headed out on the bikes to Novi Sancti Petri where we enjoyed a picnic on top of the cliffs overlooking the Ocean.

Earlier in the week we visited El Puerto de Santa Maria, staying for a few nights at Camping Playa Dunas. The campsite is large with three service blocks. We had a pitch on the edge of the site overlooking the football and sports grounds.

After setting up Nellie (which takes all of about 5 minutes) we headed along the coast to Puerto Sherry, a magnificent marina set in the heart of the Bay of Cadiz, near El Puerto de Santa Maria. Despite its name, I don’t think it’s actually a true port in industrial terms.

We found a nice waterfront bar in which to enjoy a late afternoon Gin & Tonic.

Monday we headed into Cadiz itself. There is a catamaran service operated by the government of Andalucia with crossings every hour or two from El Puerto to Cadiz (and return). The catamaran port is around a 20 minute walk from the campsite and tickets were easily purchased from the dockside at a mere Euros 2.90 each for the 30 minute crossing.

As we approached the port of Cadiz, there was a single cruise ship docked so Cadiz wouldn’t be too overrun with tourists.

We have visited Cadiz on many occasions and you can read more about this beautiful town here:

Eurotrip 9, 2022 – Cadiz day 1 – Caravan Ramblings

Eurotrip 7, 2018 – Day 15, Carnival of Cadiz… – Caravan Ramblings

On this occasion we wandered around the quaint streets, lunching at La Taperia de Columela. A popular haunt with locals and tourists alike. Nothing cultural to report, this was just a chilled day in one of Spain’s finest cities.

Tomorrow we head off in the Campervan for a few days away from our campsite in Conil.

During the latter part of this week, we took part in the weekly quiz, again falling short of a prize slot, enjoyed a picnic on the beach, tapas in Conil and a second visit to El Nautico.

Richard and Jennifer headed off to Malaga after another lovely lunch at El Nautico.

*************** Tuesday 11th February, 2026 ***************

This years blog is starting to look more like a restaurant review page than a travel blog! Today we walked along the beach into town as there was a jacket Moe wanted to buy. However, being a Tuesday, the clothes shops were all closed although we did stumble across an Italian Pizza restaurant for lunch.

It’s become a tradition of ours to eat Pizza on a Tuesday – mostly at our favourite pub in Topsham, the Bridge Inn. A fine example of a “time-stood-still” pub with the most amazing fresh Pizzas cooked to order by “Ember Pizza”. There are no finer pizzas to be sampled…

Today’s offering was at Zio Lele, opposite the indoor market in Conil. I’m more of a meat feast kind-of-guy but the fish pizza was excellent. The view isn’t quite the same as the one on offer across the River Clyst in Topsham, but I doubt many were enjoying it on a wet Devonian February day. The weather here remains warm, dry and pleasant.

We didn’t really plan our day properly as later in the afternoon we were entertained at Jennifer and Richard’s plot for even more food – homemade flatbread and a selection of chocolate cakes.

*************** Saturday 8th February, 2026 ***************

One of our favourite restaurants has just re-opened after their new year vacations – El Nautico at the Port of Conil. Despite Richard being told there was no need to book, different rules apply on a weekend, where booking is apparently essential.

We managed to secure a table for a somewhat hurried meal. No changes to the menu, the view or the company! All first class.

We arrived in Spain nearly four weeks ago and the overall weather has been disappointing. We have had rain, cloudy days, sunny days but with a bitterly cold northerly wind, freezing cold nights and finally this week, some signs of spring in the air.

Today is the third or fourth day of unbroken sunshine with pleasantly warm temperatures during the day and chilly overnight. A quiet Friday so far, catching up with a few chores and relaxing after a day of excess yesterday in Vejer de la Frontera (initially) and later at Conil de la Frontera.

As it’s Friday night, there’s a “care in the community” meal at Rosaleda restaurant. Seafood starter, Pork cheeks and flan for the princely sum of 15 Euros per person.

It was Flamenco night.

On the way back to the caravan, Moe grabbed this great picture of a menacing orange sky. At some point during the night, the heavens opened…

***************

Vejer de la Frontera – Thursday Week 4

Dawn broke across the campsite at 08:20 today – visible in the distance across the sea and over the horizon. As seems to be the way at Camping La Rosaleda, this event was witnessed by few and around 09:30 we emerged from our slumber and readied our selves for the battle ahead.

Today we had reserved a table at the magnificent Moroccan restaurant in Vejer, called El Calife – rated number 2 on TripAdvisor. It’s a 16km cycle ride with a very steep 3km climb up the hairpin road to this spectacular “white village”. Our route took us through La Muela where we stopped at a busy cafe. Richard ordered a round of Carajillo coffees which warmed us after the long slog from the N340 into the village of La Muela.

Carajillo coffee seems to be similar to an Irish coffee in that it’s an Expresso with a shot of Brandy or Rum but not typically served with any milk or cream.

We arrived at the Plaza D’Espana in Vejer with its iconic fountain forming the centrepiece.

After securing our bikes to various orange trees, we descended through the depths of the ancient building and into the garden courtyard for lunch.

We chatted with a group of teachers on a school trip from Norway and France. The kids were apparently exploring the famous streets of this old town with a packed lunch, whilst the teachers wiled away the afternoon at El Calife.

We ate well. Jennifer had an Aubergine Tagine; Moe the Lamb Kebabs (followed of course by desert) whilst Richard and I shared the BBQ meat platter.

A “Cointreau” Cajillo was the appropriate way to end this feast.

The cycle back to Conil, with the wind behind us and the steep descent from Vejer hillside was a little more pleasant than the journey out. It was now a stunning evening and we stopped at Atalaya park for refreshments. Moe and Jennifer shared another desert – Chocolate cake!

***************

Earlier in the week, we had our third quiz evening with Jennifer and Richard where, despite a much improved performance than the prior week, we were still 3 points off top spot.

This day the 5th February was the long anticipated opening of the restaurant “El Nautico” at the Port of Conil. Moe and I set off just after noon for the 4 mile walk to be disturbed by a phone call from Richard to inform us that the opening day was not in fact today but tomorrow.

We modified our walk and headed along the beach into Conil. Our favourite “beach bar” was also still closed but work is underway with an anticipated opening of the “Shack” on 20th February.

Sunday was a cold and dull day but we cooked a BBQ later on as we appeared to have an abundance of meat rapidly reaching it’s expiry date. Monday was another cold and damp day so appropriate for a visit to my favourite DIY store “Leroy Merlin” and then on to the Carrefour at San Fernando.

Richard picked a cold day to hire an “electric” moped which I trialled around the campsite. They are available for hire in town from 35 Euros per day with a variety of electric motors up to a stunning 1000W Bosch design. Check out Niu electric scooters on Google.

Tuesday was slightly warmer and we decided to cycle to Trafalgar for lunch. It’s a nice cycle ride on a divided road, part of Euro Velo 8 which starts in Cadiz and meanders across Spain. The route to Barbate at least is now all on a dedicated cycle path.

Lunch was at “Las Dunas” bar and lounge aka the Flintstones bar due to the wooden seats and various constructs. Inside was warm with a giant log fire in the middle.

The poor weather continued for much of weeks 2 and 3 and walks / cycling required long trousers and multiple layers. We managed a few trips out on foot and on the bicycles along with two quiz evenings and two Friday night “care-in-the-community” meals!

Moe caught a cold which thankfully for once, didn’t develop into a chest infection.

We cycled to the port of Novi Sancti Petri (Tuesday 21st) and ate at the Lighthouse restaurant. Stunning location and excellent food. We had a lite lunch consisting of Thai dogfish racion and Tuna croquettes.

Friday 24th was Moroccan night at the Rosaleda restaurant. Moroccan chicken was the main course and we were entertained by belly dancing.

The following week we managed several walks in the area including cycle rides to the surfer’s beach in El Palmar and through the woods around Roche. Lunch at Blanco y Verde (or is it Verde y Blanco?) on the Wednesday.

A selection of photos from our walks and cycle rides.

Friday night was “rock night” at Camping Rosaleda restaurant with entertainment from the band Los Intocables (translates to “The Untouchables”). Chicken skewers for the main course.

Saturday the 1st and we visited the award-winning Panaderia, La Cremita for a selection of sourdough bread and empanadas. Note for the future – avoid Saturdays. The queues are enormous!

Later in the day we enjoyed afternoon tea and cakes with Jennifer and Richard.

We have just passed the end of our first Week at Conil de La Frontera. Today it is raining heavily and there’s plenty of time to catch up on our blog for the last few days.

The weather has been very calm prior to today with plenty of sun and no wind. Cool days warmed by the sun’s rays but night-time temperatures have been dropping to low single digit Celsius.

The end of the week was marked by the festival of San Sebastian. The Romeria de San Sebastian festival takes place on the closest Sunday to 20th January and in the case of 2025, specifically the 19th. The event honours San Sebastian, patron saint of cattle ranchers, and features the participation of dozens of horse riders and floats along with what seems to be the entire population of Conil de La Frontera.

It takes 2 – 3 hours for the procession to meander the few kilometers to the woods of El Colorado. Here the party atmosphere, which started much earlier in the day, continues un-abated until long after darkness has descended.

There are many ingenious ways families carry sustenance for the day ahead.

This family found a novel way to carry their box of wine or sherry…

In the middle of the afternoon we headed out on our bikes for a loop around the urbanisation, Roche. We attempted to pass along the “fiesta” road through El Colorado but this proved impossible due to the crowds of revellers.

Finally, around 9pm the remnants of the procession made their un-steady way back to Conil for late-night Mass.

Whilst the Romeria de San Sebastian was the highlight of our first week here in Spain 2025, Friday night was the first “community” meal. A three course set menu with Flamenco dancing.

New for this year was the after-dinner brandy selection. No Veterano was available but whatever brandy was served up, it was an extremely generous and satisfying offering for a couple of Euros. Served in a substantial glass, whose shape was a fusion of square and round.

The cycle ride below is a circular route from the Rosaleda campsite and is predominantly off-road and most of the off-road section is a dedicated cycle path. It’s around 18km and the route Moe and I cycled on the afternoon of the Fiesta. I also did a similar route earlier in the week.

Sunday also saw the arrival of our friends Jennifer and Richard at the camping ground.

It seemed an age ago that we welcomed in the New Year and it took a week to pack the caravan and campervan. With “feels like” temperatures of -6C in East Devon and roads on higher ground closed due to snow, it was no fun and we were glad to be on the road shortly after noon on Thursday 9th January.

We took the longer route to Portsmouth (A303 and A34) which at a distance of over 150 miles took some 4.5 hours.

We were quickly checked-in at 6pm and then had about 3 hours before the next movements through security. We headed over to the Ship and Castle for a couple of pints and a meal. There was already a familiar face in the bar, heading to our campsite in Spain and a little later we were joined by another group.

We were almost last to board, just after midnight with one caravan behind us and a lonely static. We were on the lorry deck and hoping this would facilitate our departure in two mornings time.

Our outside Club cabin was on the ninth deck and included with it, for the duration of the trip, was the magical Commodore Lounge pass. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is served in this lounge (complimentary) and it’s far away from the maddening crowds of the main ship.

As fellow travellers heading to Conil de La Frontera gathered in this lounge, our section of a dozen familiar folk resembled a party boat as we made full use of the “Wine Taps”.

By the end of the day, it was difficult to know whether it was the boat or the wine causing an element of instability.

Our unit, travelling on the garage deck was one of the first to disembark and we headed off to Caceres, our first and only stop on the journey south. The roads as always were quiet and we arrived at Caceres to be greeted by the same faces we had met on the Brittany Ferries boat, Salamanca.

Covering 353 miles from Santander to Caceres took around 7 hours leaving just 250 miles the following day to Conil.

There were about five of us parked together at Camping Caceres and we enjoyed a meal later on in the restaurant.

Sunday was another uneventful travel day but as we had now left behind somewhat murky weather, our caravans were filthy and we found the perfect place to wash them The last service area before Sevilla has lorry washing bays, perfect for ensuring our caravan would arrive pristinely clean.

This was a great idea because the Campsites really don’t approve of washing your outfit on the pitch…

Arriving mid afternoon at Camping La Rosaleda, our pitch reservation was in order (just as well because the site is another sell-out) and we started to set up on a large double pitch. This enthusiasm for setting up didn’t last long before we headed off to the bar where we enjoyed drinks and dinner. As a Dutch couple said to us, the bar has been really quiet but today, the British invasion arrived…

We ate pork at the restaurant and caught this glimpse through the door of the restaurant kitchen… Mind boggling.

Monday and we setup the awning and all our bits and pieces. The weather was an extremely pleasant 20C with no wind.

We finished just before evening and then drove to the Mercadona supermarket for supplies.

Dawn broke on Tuesday and another beautiful day emerged. Slightly more breeze today and temperatures I guess were around 16C to 18C. We took a picnic to the beach and a long walk around the town of Conil.