Category: Travel

Across Northern Spain and on to the Vuelta

We finally got out for some bike rides, going several times to Aunac for coffee.

We also got a load of nice dry firewood for the winter…the pile looked huge,

but between the two of us we got it neatly stacked in about an hour and a half.

We try to take Max down near the campground at least every couple of days so he can run around off-lead – he’s got a lot of energy!

After Colin having a bone-scan and getting his most important prescription filled we left for Spain again on a Thursday afternoon, making it along secondary roads almost to Bayonne.  We stopped for the night at an Aire, then took a very convoluted route following the GPS to cross the border south of Saint-Pee-sur-Nivelle.

We ended up on a very winding road up and over into Spain, then finally hit a more main road north to Irun.  What followed was a long day of driving along a motorway, heading further and further west all the way past Gijon.  We planned to find a nice quiet town or village near the ocean but got a bit of a surprise.

The coast is lovely, but must be a magnet for the locals as the beaches were totally packed and there was absolutely no place to park, especially for a campervan.  The town of Lluanco for instance, had a beautiful beach but was so crowded we immediately gave up and drove around the point and a bit further on the motorway and then away from the coast to the town of Pravia.

We crossed the river and found a very nice parking area off the main road and stopped for a well deserved quiet night.

The next day was a much shorter drive westward along the north coast to Foz, stopping at Ribadeo for fuel and groceries.

We’ve been to the campground just west of Foz a few times now and they have decent wi-if and nice hot showers, although no laundry.

I did get to see the last part of the day’s Vuelta on the tv in the bar – they’re still somewhat south but are coming north in a few days.

It wasn’t too terribly far the next morning to our destination of Baiona (where Tuesday’s Vuelta stage ends) and we arrived early afternoon.

Once again we found it very crowded and nowhere to park.

We hadn’t intended to stay the night anyway so ended up trying to back-track along the route to what will be the last climb of the stage.

Well…talk about an excersize in frustration!  The GPS was useless and because my mobile wi-fi device was out of data we basically drove around and around the general area and finally gave up and stopped for lunch at one of the few places that actually had room for a campervan to park.  We watched the day’s Vuelta stage on their tv until we noticed that they were closing up and we had to leave without seeing the end.

After trying once again to find the route the GPS led us up a perilously narrow road that we had to stop and back down very very slowly.  I got out and directed Colin as he had to keep on a very precise line to avoid falling off the pavement on either side.  Luckily we made it safely and headed back to a large park we’d seen along the way and settled in for the night.

The area has large amounts of open land upon which both cows and horses roam freely so drivers must be aware – several of the horses came around in the evening to browse near the campervan.

Lazy Days in Sunny Spain

The trip back to Spain in late June was pretty good and we made it in two days as usual.

We stopped not far from the border before crossing over to buy some sheep cheese from a local producer, and it was delicious.

Getting back to good weather was great, and having the sun shine every day was wonderful.  We had a few high winds, and as usual have been dealing with water issues.

We ended up getting the tanker truck up to top up the pool, and also the lower tank as getting water from the co-op is kind of hit-and-miss at times.

We thought we were going to lose a bunch of the new oleanders but we got the water delivery just in time.

Also, the pump from the lower tank to the upper died so we had to get a new one – the new one was defective so had to be exchanged for another one, and that one only lasted a week or two.  Luckily the store we got it from is very kind and took the pump back and we got a different kind from another store.

Then the pool pump wasn’t working, but fortunately it wasn’t the pump that died, just a ‘condenser’ that was cheap and easy to replace.

Colin and I both had a health issue – he had a UTI and spent most of one day at the hospital to get a test, then wait for the results and get a prescription for antibiotics.  My illness was similar to what happened in the spring and I wondered if it was covid, or perhaps a sodium deficiency – many of the symptoms are surprisingly similar.  In any case I was tired and had no energy for several days but luckily it passed and I seem fine.

Max seems to like it at the house as he can easily jump over the wall and go exploring.  He has three favourite places to go – up the steep hill to the east of the house, up the track past the neighbour’s house (he gets their dogs barking so we usually know if he’s over there) or else down on the rambla.  

We don’t Iike it when he goes on the rambla as he has to cross the road to get there but he almost always comes running if he hears me whistle.

The Tour de France was better than usual, and Tadej Pogacar won in very convincing fashion, with Remco Evenepoel coming third overall.  Then the Olympic time trial and road race were both won by Remco – it was great to watch!

Saying goodbye to my fur-baby we once more had to return to France for Colin’s prescription.

It was quite funny going through the tunnel on this route – leaving sunny Spain and several km later entering foggy France.

Having enjoyed the sheep cheese so much we got some more on the way back, this time a more mature/robust one.

We took a slightly different route than when we came down, following smaller roads rather than taking the peage so we did see some new sights along the way, including some interesting roundabout displays…

…as well as some roadside statues…

Arriving back in Mansle we were glad to find that the almost constant rain we experienced in June had finally given way to nicer weather.

Cabin Fever, Then Green Light!

The town’s ‘beautification’ project is starting to show – some of the bushes are blooming and look just lovely.

The river has risen and flooded again as the rain just keeps coming and going.  The date of opening for the campground keeps changing – usually it is May 15 but with all the rain it’s been delayed – the most recent news is July 1…I guess we’ll see.

As we were both starting to get cabin fever we took a little trip to the coast for a couple of days, heading to the Ile D’Oleron (just south of Rochefort), which is accessible via a bridge.

We found a lovely place to camp that was about 100 meters from the ocean – almost all of the other campervans had dogs, and most of them also had bikes.

The island has many great walking and cycling trails.

At the north end of the island is the lighthouse.

….

We went to the town of Boyardville for lunch and you could not get fresher seafood – I bet the mussels were harvested that morning.

…

We spent another quiet night at the aire, then left for home around noon, taking the coastal road almost all the way to the bridge.

Colin had two very good appointments – one with his cardiologist and the other with his oncologist.  So now we finally have the green light to get out of town again!

Back to France and Not Getting to Italy

We had to return to France again so Colin could refill his most important prescription – they’ll only give him four weeks at a time because of the cost.

The trip back was pretty good and we took basically the same route as we did the last time at least until we got past Pau.

We stopped before the border to have a bite to eat at a nice pullout in the Valley of Aragon – a very pretty area.

…

Crossing the border we encountered evidence of the recent protests such as the upside-down town signs, although without the tractor blockages.

The flooding at the campground and hippodrome has mostly gone down…

…and the irises in our terrace boxes are flourishing.

We got a new pressure washer and I finally had a go at the terrace – what a difference!

…

I didn’t get Colin a cake for his birthday so I (quite reluctantly) made him one a couple of days later.  My first-ever cake was a success!

A lovely carrot cake with cream cheese icing – a bit too sweet for my taste but if I ever make another one I’ll use a lot less sugar.

We’ve had water coming into the spare bedroom with all of the rain – looks like we need some work done on the roof.  We have poly and towels over the bed and on the floor to try to mop it up.

We’ve been working on our ‘to-do’ list and the most recent accomplishment was hoisting Colin’s vintage 1965 Viking ‘Severn Valley’ that he raced on successfully in ‘65 and ‘66.  It’s now hanging proudly above the lounge.

And since we can’t make it to Italy as planned we’re watching the Giro on TV.

Flooding in France, Lack of Water in Spain

The town of Mansle is doing lots of ‘beautification’ work – putting in planters and some lovely cobbled sidewalks, etc.

It’s a bit of a pain while the work is being done but should look great when it’s finished.

The nearly constant rain has caused the local rivers to flood and the Charente is no exception.

We can’t take Max down to the campground for his run anymore as it, as well as the hippodrome next door are completely under water.

Colin goes out each Wednesday afternoon driving the ‘pickup’ car for the local cycling club and I’ve developed a habit of popping down the the kebab shop for a donair and fries to eat while he’s gone.

Max is ok when he’s with me but he does look for Colin.

They’ve completed pruning back the trees around the square – it’s amazing that in a few months they’ll be shading the whole place again.

The trip back down to Spain was good – a bit of rain on the way but not too tough.  Getting back to the house was great – and the weather was so much better than it had been for weeks in Mansle.

There’s still a lot to do in the garden – getting water at first was a bit of a pain, but once the local orchardists and farmers started using it again we had no problem.

The pellet burner was great – having it on for a couple of hours a day gets the radiators heated and the whole house gets warmer.

We haven’t been out on our bikes at all, and both Colin and I were struck down with covid (we think).  He got sick several days before me and we both lost almost two weeks being unable to do anything.

Max has settled in very well – he just needs at little more exercise to work off some of his energy.  He’s a very well behaved fellow with an extremely gentle disposition – I think Colin lucked out with him.

Little Max

Well, it’s been awhile!

I had a bit of an adventure going up to Madrid to pick someone up from the airport – hope I never have to do that again!  It’s quite a long drive so I opted to stay at a hotel before making the pickup and returning back the next day.  I ended up getting help three times along the way – all at Repsol gas stations.  The first time was just outside Lorca when the dash display indicated that one of the tires was low, and the other two times when, despite using GPS, I got mixed up in the maze of motorways around Madrid.  I eventually made it and was very glad to book in and relax.

The drive back the next day was much better – at least I only got turned around once but basically knew where I was going.

Despite ongoing water issues, and another plumbing problem things were pretty good over the next couple of months.  The pellet burner was great, until it conked out with an ‘auger motor’ problem.  The weather is generally very lovely during the day – lots of sunshine and very little rain – but it does get very pretty cold at night so having a heat source is nice.  A couple of small electric heaters just doesn’t provide enough warmth for the whole house.

Colin picked up an adorable little rescue dog that came from North Macedonia and they arrived back at the house right before Christmas.  Max is wonderful – he seems very well trained and is fairly young with lots of energy.  He’s a good jumper so the walls around the back terrace don’t keep him in, and he can run like a greyhound when off the lead.

We headed back to France the third week of January and took it easy, making the journey in three days rather than two.  We chose a different route than usual since we both agree that the part between the border and Bordeaux is incredibly boring, and getting around Bordeaux is usually a pain.

The choice had mixed results – the countryside was more interesting but the road wasn’t as good.  As soon as you left Spain – going into a tunnel and coming out in France – the road deteriorated (might as well have been in Italy!).  Also we had to try to avoid road blocks from the farmers – they’re out in force with their tractors blocking every second motorway in protest.

They’ve also turned many of the road signs upside down.  We got diverted a couple of times, and always just said to each other ‘follow the big trucks – they always know an alternate route’.  We were delayed a bit, but made it back in the early afternoon.

Since our arrival we’ve had an excellent fish-and-chips lunch at the NutHouse and Colin has had a very positive blood test.  Max has settled in quite nicely and seems to know we are now his family.  I’m missing the weather in southern Spain – not much rain here but lots of low cloud and mist.

Stray Cats, Hunting Dog, and New Kitchen!

We’ve had a few nice bike rides…

…always with a good cup of coffee at the halfway point.

There was a beautiful full moon that set just as the sun was rising…

We made another trip to Vera for a couple more plants…

I always drive with a bag of cat food in the car to feed the strays in Las Pocicas – one time I stopped there were at least 13 of the poor little things.

I joined another local facebook group that has some members that also like cats – apparently one of the local vets gives a discount for neutering feral animals but there are also a lot of rules that make it somewhat complicated.  I’d like to help somehow, though.

We took a nice day trip down to the coast to the village of La Isleta Del Moro which was very lovely.

We had an excellent coffee at one place then walked around and picked a nice restaurant for lunch.  

There are lots of date palms in the area, and now that I know what they look like compared to all of the other palms I see them everywhere.

…

There’s a hunting dog across the way that we always hear barking and recently she’s begun to come over to visit us.  They keep her very hungry so we’ve been feeding her – she loves the food but loves the attention at least as much.  Colin has named her Jayne, but I call her Lady J.  She’s very affectionate and just adorable.

Our kitchen renovation was started!!  Neil arrived and the transformation was made from:

..to:

…to:

I love it so much!  Colin had to return to France for some appointments so he hasn’t seen the end result yet other than what I’ve been able to show him via facetime.

In addition Neil solved a major electric problem that happened the morning he was planning to leave – it took two days to solve and if it wasn’t for him I would have been totally hooped.  The house is fairly old and the electrics are crap, to put it nicely.  Luckily Neil’s an expert and after tracking things down like a detective all seems ok now.

The last few days we’ve had some extremely fierce winds – one of the jacarandas has been torn apart as has one of the potted yuccas.  Neither one seems to be dead as there’s some growth at the bottom of each so hopefully we won’t completely lose either – we’ll see.

Jumbo Rules

After a very long night we got up to a cloudy and partly rainy day.  Two cars joined us in our pull-out spot.  I took a walk down to the bottom of the hill and the parking area there was completely full.

I believe they are mostly hikers rather than cycling fans as this seems to be an area that’s part of a system with many walking trails.

We spent a quiet morning waiting for the race to arrive for the first pass.

A couple of motorcycles joined our group at the side of the road, and the race arrived for the first time just after lunch around 2:14.

The breakaway was fairly large, with Remco tucked in the middle.  

The peloton arrived about 5 minutes later with Jumbo at the front.

More fans arrived as we waited for the second pass.

We once again saw our ‘hairy friend’ (as we call him) on his photo-moto just before the breakaway arrived for the second time.

We’ve met him several times now over the last years, starting at the Tour of Burgos in 2018.  We’ve seen him at the world championship in Harrogate, and several other times since, sometimes having brief conversations or at least a quick wave as he goes by.

After the breakaway and the peloton had gone by for the second time we took down the flags and got on our way.  We weren’t slowed down much by the ‘after race’ traffic and made it to a nice aire in the town of Valdepeñas for the night.  Coincidentally it was the same town that we stopped at on the way north to get some groceries.

An early start the next morning allowed us to get home in the early afternoon in time for lunch – it’s great to be home!

Oh – Jumbo Visma swept the podium in the end, with Sepp Kuss taking the top spot (well deserved) and his teammates Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic joining him.  Jumbo have won all three grand tours this year – a major feat.

On the Bear Trail Again!

Leaving the Angliru as soon as it got light the morning following the last stage we went the short drive north to Oviedo to do some grocery shopping.

After stocking up we headed to the spot we’d chosen for this day’s stage – a place they pass thru twice.  As we neared the road Colin said ‘this looks familiar’ – it was the ‘bear trail’ road!  We’d been on it a few times in past years so knew of more than one place that might be great to stop in.

However the best place was already taken over by the ‘VIP’ tents so we had to back-track a bit to another spot that was actually perfect.  The race splits off the main road on the first pass and goes up a small mountain before circling around and going past us again on the road back north.

For the first pass I walked a very short way up the ‘mountain’ road – it was quite steep and the sun was actually getting very hot…

…but that didn’t deter the fans, both young…

…and old.

The breakaway arrived just before four…

…with Remco once again in the lead…

…about ten minutes ahead of the peloton, with Jumbo all together at the front.

As usual the helicopters let us know as the race approached again.

They arrived for the second time at 5:14, this time Remco alone in the lead…

…with the rest of the breakaway in pieces behind him.

Rather than stay the night after the race was done we drove for a couple of hours, stopping at an aire in the village of La Magdalena a bit south of the Luna reservoir – it was very quiet and peaceful.

Getting started the next morning at a decent time we continued south, skirting Leon and Benavente where the road veers a bit to the southeast and onwards almost to Madrid.  We’d already decided to skip Friday’s stage and headed instead to the route of Saturday’s stage that looked more interesting.

There are at least three climbs on the stage that they go up twice so we just went along the route and picked a nice spot at the side of the road not far from the bottom between two climbs.

We are in a rare place that we just can’t get the internet in – I realize how much I use it and have resorted to reading my book instead.

There are a couple of cattle ranches in the valley below with a lovely river running through.  In the evening there was a spectacular lightening show with sheets lighting up the sky one after another, followed of course by the thunder.  Then the rain arrived – just torrential but thankfully not all night long.

Off to the Races Again!

After corresponding with his oncologist back in France who told Colin that his most recent blood test wasn’t that bad we decided to go ahead on our planned road trip up north to see some of the Vuelta.

On the first day we made it a fair distance – past Toledo and on to the shores of a reservoir/lake.  We were looking for a park-4-night place but ended up just pulling over on a very wide spot with a lovely view.

The second day’s travel was much shorter as we stopped in the hilltop village of Portillo – you could actually see Valladolid in the distance to the north.

We stayed at the park-4-night for two very rainy, stormy nights, emerging from the campervan during one break in the rain to walk to a local restaurant for lunch.

Along the way we noticed many gray gates that we could see weren’t made to keep people out, and realized after awhile that they were for the bulls.

Before leaving on the second morning I took a walk to a nearby viewpoint – there were wonderful views in all directions.

The trip to Valladolid was quick and easy – we knew exactly where we wanted to go and for once the GPS took us right there.  It’s just to the south of the city in a large nature park with plenty of excellent places to spend a couple of nights, and most importantly it’s right on the Time Trial route for Tuesday’s Vuelta stage.

On the Sunday afternoon there was a huge group of motorcycles that rode past, accompanied by police – not sure what that was about but it was kind of impressive.

With Monday being the first rest day of the Vuelta we got to see many of the riders doing a re-con of the course.  We were joined at our chosen spot by a couple of campervans from Belgium, one of whom had a Giro wolf and a Vuelta bull in his front window – also a moose from a race in Norway.

In addition on race day they put out a large teddy bear in Jumbo kit that they called ‘Wout van Aert’ – since he’s not riding in the Vuelta I guess he’s just hanging out enjoying the sun and watching.

As usual on race day more and more folks arrived to watch – we’re just before the 8 km to go marker and at the top of a very small hill.

Throughout the morning most of the racers did a lap or two of the course…

…as current world TT champion Remco was in the rainbow jersey.

I got a decent photo of Ganna approaching us with the photo-moto right behind him – he ended up winning the stage.  If only he was on a different team I would be a huge cheerleader for him.

The crowds at our place got so big we even got our own police guards.

Remco flew by…

…and shortly after the current leader Sepp Kuss, who managed to keep his overall lead.  Remco did make up a bit of time on his main GC rivals so it was a good day overall.

As per usual within a very short time almost everyone had left the site…

…and another quiet night was had.