Green Spain

Sat 27^th

First thing in the morning we walked down the many steps to the beach. Great views and the hypnotic sound of the waves rolling in.  The sand was very coarse and soft to walk on.  Loads of surfers were already hard at play in the waves. Seems the smaller the board the more expert the surfer! We moved the van to another pitch to allow the gazebo for the marriage blessing event to be set up.

surfing beach below

site above

After lunch we scooted along the coast to Geteria a small fishing port. It gets it name from the fact that it is shaped like a mouse.  All of its restaurants were rammed full of mainly Spanish folk enjoying fresh fish dishes. Many of the restaurants had their charcoal grills out in the street.  Great to see all the different fish being cooked so simply. The smell was wonderful. When we returned to the site we were nosy and went to see what was going on regards the blessing event!  2 gazebos, lots of chairs , a sort of “altar” and lots of chatter from the assembled family and friends. Looked like fun and what a setting with the panoramic view behind them.

not guns! - net guides

fun to watch - powered by jet ski!

Sun 28^th

Overcast – so laundry day. Has to be done. Lazy day with not a lot of activity.

Mon 29^th

Supermarket shop then drive to Cabarceno safari park to stop at the free aire. Huge car park which was mainly full of Brits just off the Santander ferry. Two of them had huge American RVs with cars on trailers. Monsters – far too big for the majority of the sites we had been on so far. Each to their own.  The adjacent elephant park makes it a bit surreal, we walked all of 100m and were looking at a herd of 18 elephants, bison and impala. Nice but still a bit weird! We couldn’t find out about the rest of the park – no posters or leaflets available. Later I found out that there  are 20km of roads and a huge number of different animals to see close up. Next time.

100m walk to this !

Tues 30^th

Breakfast then a last walk to see the elephants! Potes was out next destination as it is right on the edge of the Picos de Europa national park. The last 22km was on an incredibly tight and twisty road down a wonderful gorge. No wonder the speed limit was 40 km/h. The town looked interesting  with lots of narrow streets. The Picos towered above it. Camping Viorana was 1 km out of town and very nice and to our surprise full of Brits. We explored the site and had a relax in preparation for the next few days walks.

views from our pitch

Weds 1^st October

October already!  Where has all the time gone? It was misty when we woke up but it sdoon cleared to reveal the surrounding peaks of distinctive Picos grey. It is different types of limestone and very impressive. We scooted to the visitors centre, then stopped in Potes for a walk around. Lots and lots of places offering very tempting menu del dia. The old narrow streets were full of character and very steep in places – didn’t stop them driving cars up them though.

top station high above

Thursday 2^nd

We moved up the valley to the car park at Fuente De. This is where you can take a cable car up to 1825m high above you. The huge rock face surrounding the place is very impressive and almost vertical. The sound of the cow bells was also very soothing.  Lunch packed in our rucksacks we took the cable car up. It was hot and sunny again so the views that greeted us were magnificent in all directions. We walked up and over into the next valley. We saw at least 5 griffon vultures high above us – huge wingspans. Our lunch stop certainly had a view. The Picos  de Europa is an area we have always wanted to vist – the scenery in front of us as we ate lunch confirmed that they were certainly worth coming to.

breathtaking

amazing glacial patterns

lunch stop view

Despite signs banning overnight stops (!) we enjoyed a very quiet night with 2 other vans also stopping for the night.

The Basque Country

Sat 20^th 

Our destination was Col D’Isepguy right on the Spanish border as we were in need of a “mountain fix." En route we stopped at St Jean Pied de Port deep in Basque country. It is known as the gate way for many of Sanitiago de Compostela pilgrims. We certainly saw many walkers as we drove closer. The town was still very busy and had a buzz about it. The old part was very nice and full of character. The main street for the pilgrims was steep and had loads of cheap hostels specializing in accommodation just for them. All ages and nations were involved. There was a Basque procession through the town and back towards the aire. Very colourful and great to see the traditional dress and dances.

St Jean Pied de Porte - classic river view!

Basque procession

The drive up the col was tight and had great views down the valley. We parked up below the café and were soon joined by 4 other vans for a peaceful night. Great views!

Col D"Ispeguy - great view down the valley 

Sun 21^st

We awoke to a cool morning but the sun soon appeared – as did lots of Spanish cars with walkers. They parked anywhere & everywhere – we hastily moved before we were boxed in! after breakfast we walked up to the ridge above us – well worth the effort. Look at the views. After lunch we drove down to Sare, a small Basque town. The aire was close to town so we walked in for a look in the hot evening sun. Nice place  and very relaxed.

morning sun

Tues 23^rd

After staying at very nice and nearly empty campsite (laundry needs……..  J) at the foot of the Col D’Ibradin we decided to stay at the aire at the top. I had cycled up the previous day and we just had to go and stay as it was a truly weird place! It is right on the border and has a street full of supermarkets and booze shops selling mainly to the French who seemed to drive up in their droves. Views would have been great if it hadn’t been misty. Parked up we went for a stroll – what a strange place. All built on a serious sloping road. The prices didn’t seem that cheap?

lots of shops on dead end road

misty view across to coast - honest

Weds 24^th

We walked to a lake below the Col in the mizzle. No problem as it was quite refreshing. We stayed again at Sare so that I could cycle up a couple of nearby Cols. Not too steep and lovely smooth tarmac. Great on the way down.

Thurs 25^th

Into Spain proper – San Sebastion. We found the aire no problem right by the University. Some very modern and funky buildings. Bikes out we cycled into town on the very well marked out cycle path. What a great City!  Classy sea front, great beaches, great old town with lots of bars and a lively buzz. It was also sooooo clean. The motorists were incredibly considerate to cyclists and always stopped for us at crossings. Brilliant ! That evening we had a drink in a local bar and had our first pintxos – Basque for  tapas. Yummy.

Concha Bay - San Sebastion

Fri 26^th

Breakfast then cycle into town to visit the Aquarium – as recommended by Tina’s brother Roger. Good place to visit. Lots of history of fishing in the region and lots of very interesting (and some scary!) fish to see. We witnessed the HUGE tank forming the front wall of the lecture theatre  being cleaned by 2 divers. They were very wary of an evil looking yellow fish / eel (help please Rog!). It had scary teeth. The tunnel underneath the main tank was awesome – the shark was huge and you could see it’s teeth and gills really close up. The rays were also very interesting to watch cruising about. Great place to visit.

HUGE tank being cleaned - moray eel above diver!

box fish

We then drove to Zarautz about 20 miles west. The site was high up above the bay. We were amazed at how many people were on site. Lots of surfer dudes as the beach is renowned for its surf. They must be keen as the walk down is steep. We found a spot for the night close to the “premium” spots right on the edge overlooking the beach and mountains. We had to move next morning as the spot was reserved for a blessing!!! More to follow on that…………………….

Les Landes - lots of trees and sand!

Sat 13^th

Another short and easy drive to Gastes a tiny village on the edge of a huge lake (theme developing here J) with sandy beaches. The aire has nice views over the boats out into the lake and as it turned out of several crude oil platforms! The area is seemingly rich in oil – hence the 35 platforms and refinery in nearby Parentis en Born. The lake is very popular for fishing and there was a completion in full swing when we arrived. Must be clean then. The local fete was that evening and the music was LOUD, AND I MEAN LOUD ENOUGH FOR A PROPER POP CONCERT. Why with only about 70 locals there? Thankfully it was switched off at 11.45pm.

Gastes - front row spot

When we left the municipal police turned up - Mon morning. He was checking the tickets as you could pull a scam by paying for only your day of arrival and day of departure. Rather silly system which as expected many of the mainly French owners were taking advantage of - the rush to the machine to pay was hilarious! Qui moi?? 

Sun 14^th

Hot and sunny again so a cycle ride into Parentis. It was resolutely dead! Nothing open apart from 2 restaurants doing Sunday lunch. At 12 noon precisely the French like to sit down for lunch so there was some life to look at. We found the local bullring on our way back – but absolutely no signs on it or directions to it? Are they sensitive about its existence I wonder in this age of political correctness?

Mon 15^th

Contis plage – back to the seaside proper. Roasting hot again so after a paddle then luch we returned for a laze on the beach and a very brief dip. Boy was it cold.  Contis had a relaxed kind of “surfer dude” air to it. Very under developed, we hope it stays so.

Contis - phare behind us

Contis aire - dunes behind 

Weds 17^th

After one night at Vieux Bocau aire we moved to the nearby Soustons Plage aire as it was so much nicer. Vieux Bocau was a very nice town, so nice in fact I celebrated by having a haircut! A very developed classy resort thankfully not full of tourists as the schools were back – ha ha. We were facing a sea lagoon with the beach 400m behind the adjacent dunes. Again the soothing sound of crashing waves to fall asleep to………zzzzzzzz.

lagoon

Thurs 18^th

Our squealing rear brakes had returned despite having a new handbrake cable fitted on our brief return to the uk by “Fiat Professional” (my a***). It had got to the point of being embarrassing arriving in an aire and to have all the folk stare at us as we squeaked past! Enough – lets get it fixed. We found a very helpful Peugeot car garage who said – bring it in. Their trolley jack said “no merci” when asked to lift the rear so a nifty air bag / jack was employed. I want one. Both handbrake drums were full of brake dust. Hour and a half later we were squeak free. The two mechanics were great characters and full of banter. We could now arrive in silence.

silence at last

Auriac sur Dropt to Biscarossse Plage

Sat 6^th – weds 10th Sept

We parked up on the drive of the very accommodating Doreen and Iain in Auriac Sur Dropt right in the  Dordogne. Tina had met them over dinner whilst in Cyprus visiting a friend a few years ago. They had said come and see us – so we did!  They were great company and made us feel at home. They are in the process of selling up and returning to the UK after having rebuilt 2 houses in France over a period of 12 or 13 years. Respect to them! Iain and myself had some good chats about motorbikes – but he never did get round to starting his classic Matchless 350 and letting me ride it round their adjacent field.

Auriac - free parking at Chez Doreen & Iain

Chateau Duras - near Auriac

We left Auriac in the very hot sunshine and headed for Sanguinet a small beach resort on a very large lake south west of Bordeaux – Les Grands Lacs. The aire was nice and shady and right across from a lovely sandy beach. The water was warm but very shallow. You had to wade out miles to get enough depth to swim. What a nice place – just like the seaside!

Thurs 11^th & Fri 12th

The seaside proper – we moved all of 30km to Biscarosse Plage. The aire was HUGE – 200 vans capacity . Lots of shade as we were among the tall pine trees just behind the dunes. Very relaxing and cool. The beach was incredible stretching in both directions as far as the eye could see. The sun was hot and the waves cooling. Lovely.

Biscarosse Plage

aire

Next day it was scoot out and a ride up the coast to the Dune de Pilat. It is the highest and longest sand dune in Europe at 111m tall and 3km long. Brilliant views form the top across the Arcachon Bay and of the sandbanks. After a late lunch it was back onto the beach for a couple of hours before tea o’clock.

steps or walk?

3km long!

views across to sandbanks