Having managed to miss the first Spanish lesson of the New Year, we did finally remember the day of the week and headed to the restaurant for a communal meal of eggs and chips. Nothing fancy about this meal but it was a mere 3 Euros…

Tuesday we drove over to the natural wetlands at Bahia de Cadiz which is located near to San Fernando and is inland from Playa de Camposoto.

There is a large visitor centre here but despite Google indicating it was open, this was far from the situation on the ground!

We headed on to the sea front, parked the car and were then able to walk right along the spit of land almost to the port Novo Sancti Petri.

We parked somewhere close to the arrow on the Map below.

The walk was around 6 miles in total and the route out was along a trail and boardwalk whilst our return journey routed us along the beach.

We managed to record the return leg of the walk here.

On Wednesday we managed an afternoon cycle ride to Trafalgar. An extremely pleasant ride out South from Conil on what we thought was a very calm and still day. It turned out this was because we had the wind behind us. The return journey against the wind in the late afternoon was absolutely freezing cold!

Thursday I actually managed to attend the Spanish lesson; it really does appear I’ve forgotten way too much since our visit last year. Shopping and chores in the afternoon!

The weather stayed fine and sunny from Tuesday (3rd Jan 2023) until and including Saturday. Yesterday it rained all day and we took the opportunity to stock up on supplies at the Carrefour in San Fernando and then we headed off to Decathlon at Peurto Santa Maria. At Decathlon we managed to find all the things we needed on our shopping list.

Then we managed to buy loads of stuff which we definitely didn’t need!

Today the weather forecast was for more rain but so far it has remained dry and fairly sunny. It’s around noon presently and the outside temperature is 19C.

The Three Kings celebration has historically been the Christmastime festival in Spain. As far as we can tell, most of the celebrations seem to take place on the eve of Epithany (Epithany is also known as Three Kings day and is the 6th January) but as it’s Spain, parties and celebrations seemed to take place across both days.

At lunchtime on the Three Kings eve, a parade started on the beach with three kings depicted on horseback. These meandered through the streets of Conil before a larger carnival took place in the evening.

I wasn’t really sure why this modest parade needed two brand-new quadbikes, mounted by fully armed Gardia leading at least two more security vehicles. The Spanish Gardia don’t appear to be starved of funding – the local patrol cars are brand new BMW EVs.

Saturday we enjoyed a walk around Conil.

Later we enjoyed a beer or two at “The Shack” on Conil beach.

Sunday evening we headed to the restaurant and were persuaded to try the fish special. After much discussion we finally realised that the local speciality fish in Conil is Bocinegro – which translates to Sea Bream.

It was delicious.

Today we headed east along the coast to the village of Bolonia, which lies on the shore of the Strait of Gibraltar some 20km west of Tarifa and just a 45 mins drive east from Conil de la Frontera.

Playa de Bolonia is some 3.8km long and the beach and bay is very unspoilt by its population of 117 (Wikipedia). However, we weren’t visiting Bolonia beach for a spot of sun-bathing nor a swim in the sea.

Today, we were visiting Baelo Claudia, originally a fishing village and trade link when settlers arrived some 2,000 years ago – Roman settlers.

Although prosperous at the time of Emperor Claudius, it went into a decline which was hastened by earthquakes – finally being abandoned in the 6th century. The ruins of this ancient Roman town, close to the beach at Bolonia, are considered to be the most complete Roman ruins yet uncovered in Spain.

It is possible that Baelo Claudia had some government administration purpose but Tuna fishing, salting and the production of garum were its primary source of wealth.

It is hard to comprehend the construction and the facilities the inhabitants enjoyed, all un-covered at this site, much of it constructed in the century before Jesus Christ.

The layout of the city has the main street (decumanus maximus) running from gate houses East – West alongside the main wall and parallel to the ocean. This is intersected by the cardo maximus which ran North – South. At the intersection of these streets was the Forum, or Main square and around the main square were located many public buildings.

The main building near the square is the Basilica, an administrative centre and the seats of the courts of justice.

The amphitheatre is partially restored and is used for plays and concerts.

We enjoyed lunch at a beachside Tapas bar and cooked a BBQ back at the campsite later in the evening. Really nice sunset today.

We were woken this morning to the sound of torrential rain bouncing off the caravan. Within a few minutes the road had turned into a stream and our awning floor is looking a little bit soggy.

Fortunately this inclement weather appears only to be with us for the day and then we return to sunny days, but not quite as hot as we have a northerly wind in place.

Since our last diary entry, we have taken in some nice walks around Conil de la Frontera and two of our favourite bike rides.

One day we cycled to the surfers beach at El Palmar and stopped off at one of the beachside bars for refreshments.

And then on New Years Eve, we cycled over to playa La Barossa. A pleasant 22 mile ride when you take into account we didn’t start the tracker right away.

Tea for New Years eve was a very tasty Tuna pasty from the local supermarket, washed down with some local red wine.

*** Wishing everyone a Happy and prosperous 2023 ***

Christmas has been and gone. Tempus Fugit et al – we’ve been camped here at Conil de la Frontera for over a week now and Christmas day seems a distant memory. We did contemplate a pre-Christmas day visit to the “English (Litchfield)” butcher in Chiclana, in an attempt to re-create a traditional English turkey meal, but decided instead to embrace our surroundings and do something a bit different.

And what better way to spend Christmas day than watching the world go by at the beach, with a bottle of sparkling and a nice ploughman’s (constructed from Spanish Iberic meats and cheese).

It was another glorious day with highs around 23 degrees and full sun.

Boxing day arrived and a repeat of the dry sunny and still weather. Today we headed off on the bikes to Novi Sancti Petri and enjoyed a picnic alongside the cycle track there.

We stopped at the Port of Conil on the way back but sadly our favourite bar was closed.

It was a pleasant 16 mile ride through some interesting wooded areas and finally returning to Conil on the spectacular cliff tracks.

We have spent the last couple of days taking care of the mundane; washing the car, washing our clothes; shopping; sunbathing and reading. We also arrived at the “English” butcher today and were bemused by how busy the cafe was next to it, and just how many “local” residents from Rosaleda were enjoying their Expressos. Turns out they were also intent on shopping there but alas, he’s not open until manana!

Whilst there we visited a fantastic bakery, a prior award winning establishment in the “Ruta de pan”. It’s in the middle of an industrial estate and all the bread is authentic Sourdough. Moe found the cakes more interesting than the bread…

Today, 28th December and the site is still dressed for Christmas!

There always seem to be a few issues when we arrive on site, particularly after a long journey through Spain.

The first issue was the fridge – the door was stuck closed. It turns out that the bottom hinge has moved or bent downwards slightly, so the catch doesn’t release the door. It seems to be a bit of a known problem with the Dometic RMS 8551 3-way fridge.

Anyhow, here is a link to the door repair.

Dometic RMS 8551 door repair.

We had also brought some Sikaflex 522 sealant adhesive to reseal above and below the awning rail. The warm dry weather should assist with the curing of the adhesive.

Finally, on Wednesday, we were ready to pop up the awning. We had driven to LeRoy Merlin in order to buy some weed barrier in an attempt to cover the muddy bits of our pitch.

When we are away for this length of time, we always wonder what we have omitted to bring with us. That’s apart from the myriad of jobs to fix all the broken bits of caravan. Most of the screws rolling around on the floor can be identified and re-inserted but there’s always a couple of bonus ones!

The first omission is that Joe didn’t pack any contact lenses – or maybe he did but just doesn’t remember where. The nearest optician in Conil was “Centro Optica la Bodega” and the chap was ever so helpful. He explained that he didn’t have any lenses of my exact power in store and it would take nearly a week to get hold of my Acuvue Oasys dailies. I ordered them and then he asked if I had enough lenses for the next week, which I didn’t. He handed me two trial packs of Mincon lenses, the left eye slightly stronger in power but he say’s that won’t be a problem.

The NEXT day I get a Whatsapp at 09:00 from him to say the lenses have arrived. What a stunning service. Can you imagine approaching an opticians in England with two empty contact lens pods, no prescription and seeking a 3-month supply? Thought not!

Thursday, and the weather continues to be set fair – no wind, high of 21 degrees and lots of sunshine. We drove to Chiclana to fill one of the Safefill gas bottles and then in the afternoon took a walk down to Conil beach.

Later in the evening was our first communal meal at the Rosaleda restaurant – Christmas dinner – despite not a Turkey in sight it was nevertheless a hearty offering.

Entertainment provided by “Spanish Elvis” although his repertoire of “covers” stretches way beyond Elvis…

On Christmas eve we set off on our bikes – after spending the morning making them ready for the road. Another sunny day, highs around 20 Celsius, no wind and a stunning ride out.

*****

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

*****

Previously on day 3, we had travelled some 350 miles from Santander to Caceres and it had taken 7.25 hours, which included one stop for fuel and a second combined stop for lunch and more diesel. Today we had a shorter journey of 250 miles.

After yesterday’s drive and a few beers watching the World Cup final (devoid of any stresses associated with following England), sleep came easy and by 09:00 today (Monday) we were ready to drive the final leg south to Conil de la Frontera.

A similar story to the prior day – one mid-morning break for fuel and an early afternoon lunch break just south of Seville. A mostly un-eventful day (apart from a near collision with a maniacal coach driver), we arrived at Camping La Rosaleda around 14:30.

We received a warm welcome at reception and booked onto out usual pitch where we will stay for around 6 to 8 weeks of our 90 day stay.

The site is surprisingly busy and the weather just superb with the daytime high today of between 21 and 23 Celsius. However, our pitch was sodden and muddy – a result of torrential rain and storms which have beset this region for at least the last 3 weeks. Always worth noting that lovely weather in Spain is not guaranteed over the winter months.

After a quick wash of the caravan, which had turned a mucky grey / black colour, we headed to the bar for a couple of drinks and dinner. Desert was a “something” Pedro Ximenez.

A couple of night-time photos from Camping La Rosaleda.

After a very calm, almost 36 hour crossing, we docked at Santander one hour before the official arrival time. This didn’t of course make any difference to our dis-embarkation which commenced promptly at 08:00 Spanish time.

After the extreme cold weather in England we were pleased to be greeted by a lovely sunrise and temperatures hovering around 10 degrees.

Here are a few pictures from our time onboard “Galicia”.

We exited the port at precisely 08:30 after being waved through the various check points and customs areas without issue. Our location on the lorry deck was a big advantage for a prompt departure ahead of the 350 mile drive to Caceres.

We headed south on the Autovia network. The first hour of travel through the mountains was a little scary with very strong, blustery winds and accordingly we made fairly slow progress. As we moved away from Santander, the weather improved with the wind dropping and temperatures around 10 – 12 degrees Celsius.

We stopped for fuel after a couple of hours driving and a further fuel / lunch break just after 1:00pm – Diesel prices at Euros 1.71 are not dis-similar to the UK. The final leg of the journey took us into the campsite at Caceres just before 4pm and at the start of the 2022 football World Cup final.

By the time we had setup the caravan, Joe headed to the bar to watch the second half; extra time; and penalties. At the last world cup final we had been staying in Chalons-en-Champagne after visiting the Ardeche – France won and the streets and roads were chaos. No such repeat tonight, Argentina winning after penalties following a 3-3 score line aet.

Here at the campsite, this year we are on Pitch 37.

We are just heading around the Northern corner of France near to Brest. About to cross the Bay of Biscay. The journey so far overnight has been very quiet and calm – long may that continue.

Our drive of some 120 miles from East Devon to Portsmouth was uneventful and took some 3.5 hours. We have just had around two weeks of very cold temperatures (feels like lows of minus 10) and are hoping for some decent winter sun.

Portsmouth traffic was gridlocked and our usual petrol station, the Shell garage on the dual carriageway some 200m from the port entrance has closed down and is part demolished. Re-fuelling will delay what we hope is a swift exit from Santander on Sunday morning.

We are on-board one of Brittany Ferry’s new vessels, Galicia and it’s very comfortable. We are also parked on the lower lorry deck so hoping that will elicit a quick exit.

it’s a beautiful sunny day as we enter the Bay of Biscay…