Author: CaravanRamblings

This was our first full day at La Rosaleda, near to Conil de la Frontera.

The hillside location offers some stunning views over the surrounding countryside and

whilst we had chosen a nice plot, we had not opted to pay an additional 4 euros per day for one of the grand pitches.

 

 

 

The site is a category 1 – the highest ranking in Spain and the facilities are absolutely first rate in terms of both quality and cleanliness. It’s also a great time of the year to visit – we are using our ACSI card and the price is 16 Euros per night – even cheaper if you want to spend 30 nights here (8.5 euros per night).

After replenishing supplies at the local supermarket, we finished off setting up the awning and adding some refined touches

– including the remote controlled candles – a recent birthday present from one of my good friends.

Another day on the road. This time a 400km journey to Conil de la Frontera departing Caceres around 10am.

This should have been a relaxing days travel but the weather in Caceres was atrocious and the inclement weather persisted for most of the journey.

Heavy rain and wind weather warnings were posted for the region and extracting the van from the Caceres site was truly miserable. The heavens opened up and it was freezing cold. It was pointless trying to stay dry – the adopted approach was to basically wear a pair of shorts and bare feet rather than soaking lots of footwear and clothing.

This persisted until our arrival south of Cadiz and latterly we’ve enjoyed a fine evening. The forecast looks good for the next week.

Travel day from Salamanca to Caceres. A leisurely few hours drive to Camping Caceres, near of course to the town of Caceres.

To say the least, the campsite was interesting.

 

Each pitch had its own personal “hut” comprising a private Toilet, Shower, Wash Basin and outside sink.

 

 

 

 

Not only did every pitch have the private bathroom facilities but

also a sun canopy as can be seen on this picture. Whilst the sun canopy might be of some value during the summer months, right now a waterproof shield would have been far more appropriate.

The campsite is situated around 4km from the Old Town of Cacares

and this little gem is worthy of a visit. a bus service stops within a 5 minute walk of the campsite with buses running between once and twice each hour, dependent upon day of the week.

 

 

 

 

After our brief sightseeing trip to the Caceres Old Town we ate at the campsite restaurant. For 20 Euros each we enjoyed a 3 course meal, with the main meal consisting of a mixed grill sharing platter. The meat mountain was extensive to say the least…

I had previously said that the unique attraction of the Don Quijote campsite, located east of Salamanca, appeared to be its location

next to river Tormes and the cycle route into the centre of the town.

Don Quijote is not going to win any prizes for the quality of its toilet seats. There aren’t any… But the cycle route nevertheless is first rate and apart from the lack of toilet seats, the campsite is a very pleasant place to stay and the facilities are kept very clean.

It’s about a 5 mile ride into Salamanca, dependent of course on

Excellent Cycle routes

 

where you are going and beyond the riverside cycle path there is plenty of other cycle friendly territory.

 

 

 

Salamanca itself is a very old town and some of the architecture

is stunning. Pictured here is a typical street in the old town. April seems a great time to visit, as the streets and Plaza’s were very quiet and pleasant.

Nothing much to report about today other than we enjoyed a stunningly peaceful crossing through the Bay of Biscay and arrived on time in Bilbao.

Disembarkation took some time as apparently the EU has stepped up its border controls. I think someone needs to tell Junker that he needs to stop and check people wanting to get into blighty and not those leaving, wishing to spend their hard earned pounds in euroland.

We headed South on the beautiful and quiet Autopistas of Spain and arrived at Don Quijote around 7:00pm. The only eventful part of the journey was navigating through the centre of Salamanca with the large van on tow…

The site is ok, its unique selling point being a very pleasant 6km cycle ride into the centre of Salamanca. We’ll be trying that tomorrow.

Adios…

The previous day we had experienced some electrical issues and the battery wasn’t powering the motor mover. So another panic to find a leisure battery supplier and then a short drive to

Portsmouth, arriving with half an hour to spare before boarding the Brittany Ferries Cap Finistere.

 

 

A leisurely 24 hours to find out where we go from Bilbao…

 

Despite the lack of organisation, we decided to head to the Caravan Club site at Rookesbury the day before the ferry crossing to Bilbao.

Thinking behind this is that we can only extract the Van from our house with the motor mover and any problems would give us a half day to sort out.

Everything was looking good for a mid afternoon hitch-up and arrival at Rookesbury before rush hour. That is until disaster struck.

In the frantic speed to move the van, I hit my head sharply on a high fence.

The scene was like an extract from Game of Thrones. Mo was fantastic trying to stem the bleeding – described as Vesuvius. Anyhow, during the call to 999 the bleeding slowed enough for Mo to drive me to A&E, the 999 call handler probably still looking for the answer to question 42.

At this point I was shirtless and bloodied with my favourite T Shirt firmly attached to my head.

The visit to hospital and A&E lasted just 1 hour.  The decision not to don a shirt and covered in blood ensured rapid attention. I asked the consultant if they prioritised head injuries but apparently the real reason was to get rid of the half naked bloody man from reception! Mind you, the consultant was an absolute star.

Six stitches and a kit for Mo to extract them in 10 days to avoid paying a Spanish doctor. I actually feel like the caravanner equivalent of a Wharfedale Rugby player. Patched up and ready to give all for the cause.

We finally arrived at Rookesbury just before 8 and busy writing the blog from a local hostelry which has some appropriate analgesia and wifi. No EE signal around here…

Hopefully that’s the bad luck over…

Welcome to Eurotrip 3, 2015. The latest adventure begins. The culmination of four days frantic preparation and we are on track to leave this afternoon.

Preparation in the loosest sense of the term because it is absolute chaos. Chaos with our latest contract for the day job and chaos with the organisation.

Anyhow, here we go. We have a ferry booked for tomorrow and a return Euro tunnel crossing in a few weeks. Everything else is flexible and will be decided on the hoof. Anyone got a dice?

So, Portsmouth tonight and then hopefully a pleasant crossing over the Bay of Biscay tomorrow.