Just arrived

[Dobby 2]

Hi all,

Currently in camping Regio in Salamanca having arrived earlier today on the Plymouth to Santander route. Crossing was was smooth with fine weather, as it was here earlier, at 22 degs. At Santander the only thing that happened was the stamping of the passports, he did not want to see our COVID travel pass and there were no checks, or questions, as to the contents of the vehicle. That saved my bacon. Quite a few fellow countrymen here on site and happy to say all friendly. Staying here for a couple of days then heading to Caceres in Extremadura for a week. Will keep updated if you wish.

 

[Dobby 2]

2nd Installment.

Awoke to clear skies and a fresh 11 degs. Cycled into Salamanca which is easy to do as a designated cycle path, right outside the campsite, takes you safely into the heart of the city. (The bus stops hourly just outside the gate) And what a city.
Huge buildings of pink hued sanstone, a very impressive cathedral and exceedingly large churches in abundance. My personal favourite was the Plaza Major. A magnificent square, said to be, the best in Spain and it's hard to disagree. Lemonade and a beer, in glorious sunshine €7's.

Cycled back late afternoon, 25 mins, to catch a few relaxing rays at a comfy 22degs. Campsite good with plentiful facilities yet still have signs posted restricting said facilities ie every other shower closed and a maximum of 8 people. It's so quiet here at present it isn't a problem.

As an aside to yesterday s post. We glanced at most of the service stations and garages on the way down from Santander and prices are high at 1.99 to 2.04 a litre for deisel. You do however get a 20 cent reduction at the till. Caceres beckons tomorrow.

 

[Armytwowheels]

Sounds good, have a great trip.

 

[irnbru]

I like Caceres , are you going to the aire or campsite?

 

[Dobby 2]

I like Caceres , are you going to the aire or campsite?

Campsite. Have hired a car to hunt (with a camera) wildlife in Extremadura. Have been to the campsite 3 times before. You get your own personal shower block next to your pitch. Also has a nice pool and reasonable restaurant.

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[irnbru]

Campsite. Have hired a car to hunt (with a camera) wildlife in Extremadura. Have been to the campsite 3 times before. You get your own personal shower block next to your pitch. Also has a nice pool and reasonable restaurant.

Yes we liked our time in the campsite and pool. We might have been unlucky with the restaurant though! Mixed grill was extremely greasy.

 

[Dobby 2]

A pair of bee eaters I took in Extremadura a couple of years ago.

 

[Dobby 2]

Yes we liked our time in the campsite and pool. We might have been unlucky with the restaurant though! Mixed grill was extremely greasy.

Very unfortunate. You just never know.

 

[Dobby 2]

Caceres

Travelled from Salamanca yesterday, for the most part on the old road, which had very little traffic but much birdlife. Camping Caceres is pretty much full with everyone enjoying the 29/30 deg heat. We are staying for 7 nights, 1 of which is free, and with our ACSI discount, we have paid 82€ 's for 6 nights. Not bad for a pitch with sun all day/eve, it's own toilet/shower block, fresh water and EHU.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Hi all,

Currently in camping Regio in Salamanca having arrived earlier today on the Plymouth to Santander route. Crossing was was smooth with fine weather, as it was here earlier, at 22 degs. At Santander the only thing that happened was the stamping of the passports, he did not want to see our COVID travel pass and there were no checks, or questions, as to the contents of the vehicle. That saved my bacon. Quite a few fellow countrymen here on site and happy to say all friendly. Staying here for a couple of days then heading to Caceres in Extremadura for a week. Will keep updated if you wish.

Yes please do keep us updated, we are following you next week.

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[Speve]

For good birding as well as Caceres try Mon Frague and La Aldea at El Rocio two great places to go we always spend at least a month at El Rocio it’s so different

 

[Dobby 2]

For good birding as well as Caceres try Mon Frague and La Aldea at El Rocio two great places to go we always spend at least a month at El Rocio it’s so different

Hi Steve, Went through Mon Frague today in a sweltering 38 degrees. Our 4th time and I think the vulture population has shrunk. We have been to El Rocio (strange place ) and Donana National Park which is a great wildlife area.

 

[Dobby 2]

The last 3 days have been very warm up to 38 degs at times and not really cooling at night. The site (Camping Caceres) is having a busy time with leavers soon being replaced. I would recommend booking if you are thinking of coming here. There will be a space in 2 days as we are moving on to Aranjuez where we can visit the palace and gardens with an option to catch the train into Madrid, which will be a first for us.

 

[Dobby 2]

OK so Thursday I lied. This morning on leaving Caceres HWMBO said do you want to go down to Donana instead. as we have plenty of time. Being an enthusiastic wildlife photographer I had to think for a split second and say OK then. So we are currently billeted in camping El Rocio for 3 nights, having been here once before. There are plenty of spaces, a smattering of Brits, but it's mostly Neederlanders filling the spots. The pool is open and very warm. It's not as hot as Caceres but it's a much more pleasant heat. Better for sleeping. On the 29th May there will be more than a million people here for the festival. Details here https://www.spanish-fiestas.com/festivals/el-rocio/. Needless to say we won't be anywhere nearby.

 

[Itsmcb]

The festival sounds like one of those "once in a lifetime" experiences. Seems a shame to miss it if your already there.

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[Dobby 2]

We went to Cordoba yesterday and visited the Mezquita ... Cordoba's great mosque. (Photo's below) It's huge and very impressive.You need to book a timed ticket, online is easy, and it's only 10 €'s. We stayed in the Autocaravanas Cordoba @ €23's per 24 hr period, very easy to get to, and it's just 10 minutes walk from the beautiful old part of the city. You can just park for a few hrs if you wish as they charge by the minute 0.036 cents I think. (It's on Search for Sites)We did sit out, as did many people, the reason being it was 34 degs at 7pm. We had 1 beggar approach us, I respectfully declined, and he walked away without issue.

We have now travelled north and are currently in Aranjuez at Camping International Aranjuez. With an ACSI card it's 40 €'s fo two nights. They have a nice pool, which is open, and good facilities. We have booked tickets (on-line) for the Royal Palace and gardens tomorrow morning, again it's a walkable distance of just 20 mins.

Just for info. We did eat in the restaurant at El Rocio campsite and the food was very good. Bread, tuna mixed salad to start, 2 X Bar b que chicken, with chips, mushrooms and green beans plus 2 glasses of wine and dos cervesa grande was 37 €'s. The site is not open when the festival is on.

 

[royandsharont]

You will enjoy the Palace and the riverside boat museum. The Capo di Monte room is exceptional. If you fancied a day in Madrid there is a fast train from there straight to Puerto del Sol and all the pleasures Madrid has to offer

 

[nicholsong]

Caceres

Travelled from Salamanca yesterday, for the most part on the old road, which had very little traffic but much birdlife. Camping Caceres is pretty much full with everyone enjoying the 29/30 deg heat. We are staying for 7 nights, 1 of which is free, and with our ACSI discount, we have paid 82€ 's for 6 nights. Not bad for a pitch with sun all day/eve, it's own toilet/shower block, fresh water and EHU.

Makes UK campsites seem like a real rip-off.

 

[Dobby 2]

You will enjoy the Palace and the riverside boat museum. The Capo di Monte room is exceptional. If you fancied a day in Madrid there is a fast train from there straight to Puerto del Sol and all the pleasures Madrid has to offer

Thanks for the info.

 

[Dobby 2]

So.
We visited the palace in Aranjuez and it was a lovely snapshot of what the palace is like. There are a gazillion rooms you don't see, as the place is humongous. It would challenge Sherlock and Dr Watson to find the entrance first time. The gardens were huge and many sectioned but were in need of much TLC. The boat museum was fascinating with some exceptionally unique craft on display. Photo's were not allowed in either of the places so I cannot post any. Our choice of stop in Aranjuez was Camping International (ACSI) which was an excellent site an easy walk from the palace.

Not so for the next place we visited which was Cuenca.(photo's below) A town famed for it's clifftop houses. We stayed the night at the Playa Municipal (search for Sites) It's situated, on tarmac, in trees an easy walk, though uphill, in to the town. No services but a very quiet night along with a good few motorhomes and camper vans. The sound of the river will lull you to sleep. From there we went to Camping Valencia at Pucol, on the coast just north of Valencia. A lovely site, super facilities, but big children's club and nothing along the sea front, so no real choice for eating out. We did have a meal in the site restaurant, grilled chicken, chunky chips and grilled vegetables, which was very good, and along with a couple of alcoholic drinks came to €28's. It was much cooler by the coast at 27/28 degrees as opposed to 38 in central Spain.

Today, Sunday, we are in Bonterra Park, in Benicassim. We were lucky to get a nice big pitch, as it's pretty full. The first four pitches reception told us were free actually had people on them. Such is life. It's an ACSI site and the premium pitch we are on, EHU, water waste etc is €22's per night. The facilities are superb with two pools, bar/restaurant with a happy hour from 3-6pm and the most modern shower/toilet blocks. It's currently 9pm and 23 degrees which is very pleasant. We should sleep tonight after the vino tinto.

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[Dobby 2]

Well.

We stayed for a week at Benicassim having been joined by some friends we made on the Pont Avon, when it had an engine fire in the Bay of Biscay, back in 2019. We had a pizza in Pinarlandia pizzeria, just around the corner from the site, and they were excellent. There was a market, on Thursday, in the main car park by the town, mainly local fresh produce ( kilo of cherries €3.50) but with some clothing/shoe stalls.

On the Saturday we left to visit the Ebre Delta to photograph some birds. We stayed one night at the Casa De Fusta, water and waste dump but no EHU. €9's a night now but used to be free. It's surrounded by rice fields. It's a nature reserve but at present there are tens of gas powered bird scarers, covering a huge area, these are going off every couple of minutes all day and all bloody night. I did manage to get some decent shots so all was not lost.

We are now at camping Tamarit Beach Resort, just north of Tarragona. It's a bigger site than we would normally frequent but it's excellent. The pitch we are currently on is large and is €26' s per night Inc ACSI discount. There are two restaurants, supermarket, bakery, crepery, a massive pool with plenty of sunbeds etc.

We walked into town, along the beach, last night and ate in Polini restaurant right on the sea front. The food was good and the service excellent. I unfortunately knocked over my wife's glass of wine, spilling said contents and breaking the glass. The mess was cleared up straight away and a fresh glass of wine was brought to the table. On checking the bill when leaving we found we hadn't been charged for it. Nice.

Tomorrow we are catching the bus into Tarragona to see the Roman Amphitheatre and have a look around .

 

[Dobby 2]

No 12

Was the bus that we caught from a stop a gentle 20 minute stroll from the campsite. €1.50 was the cost for a one way ticket into Tarragona, where the bus stops right beside the Roman Amphitheatre. They obviously knew we were coming as there was no charge that day to enter. Likewise with the museum which is situated just across the road. You can go right up to the roof of the museum, via a very narrow spiral staircase, where the views of the city are fantastic. You can see the wonderful cathedral not far away.

We found a little square just north of the exit of the museum and partook of some refreshments. We then visited said museum, paying €9's (5 for her and 4 for an old git) for the privilege. It was worth it though, as like most old cathedrals, it was magnificent.

Tomorrow we head north towards Ainsa but who knows where we will end up. The joy of motorhoming.

A few shots of the cathedral, with the biggest organ I have ever seen and some views from atop the museum.

 

[Dobby 2]

Pena Montanesea

Was the campsite we stayed at just north of Ainsa, after a 3.5 hr drive from Taragonna. It was €22's per night, had a nice swimming pool and a good restaurant. The Hamburguesa Completa was superb. They had a supermarket with the essentials. It was quite a large site and I don't think I would want to stay in high season but it was very quiet for the 3 nights we stayed. The staff were very friendly.

We cycled into Ainsa one day, via an off road path through some woods, but if you haven't got a mountain type bike you are better off walking. It's away from traffic and the second half is a tarmacked road (no traffic) and it takes you right into the old town. There is also a spacious Aire just outside the walls. There are also walks that run parallel to the nearby river which are very relaxing.

On leaving Ainsa at 08:00 this morning, we went to Mirador de Revilla, to try and see, and photo some vultures. It entails a 7 kilometre drive, up a sub standard road (they were repairing potholes in 2016 and they were still at it) with more hairpins than Hilda Ogden and Ena Sharples put together. Once there you have a 45 minute hike on a forest/rocky path around the mountainside to get to the Mirador. Boy is it worth it. We saw and photo'd Lammergeier falcons and numerous Griffon vultures. To see them flying below you, 50 - 60 ft away is amazing. The scenery itself is awesome.

We then made the decision to drive to the coast so we could relax and wind down before our return crossing (Santander to Plymouth) on Thursday. It took 4 hrs, as my gluttonous maximus will testify, but we are currently in Orio at Kanpina, at €20 per night, and are only 2 hrs from Santander.

Below is our lunchtime view, at Revilla parking area, and one small portion of the magnificent scenery, where the vultures roost, at the Mirador.