Day 23 - Villajoyosa

Planned to get up early in readiness to visit the market but sods law intervened and I overslept so it was a little bit more of a hurry to be ready on time. However, we did get out for 10:15am to tag along with the back markers who were making their way down the lane to the market in town.

Tina found that she felt very unhappy with the number of people jostling at all of the stalls. We did buy some items and on leaving we bought a cooked chicken and potatoes for our evening meal. We were now on our way for the meet up for breakfast..

First a quick detour into the supermarket for more provisions and 4 more bottles of our favourite tipple. This should last a little longer when we get home. We found the cafe bar and ordered coffee with a bacon baguette. Very tasty and filling and set us up for the day. I had ridden the mobility scooter down to the town and we used it to transport the bag of items we had purchased. SO glad I had it serviced and new batteries before we left the UK. We got back at lunchtime although we had already had enough to eat.
On Tuesday our neighbours arrived, a couple from Wales, I helped them blow up their awning with my electric pump as they would have been exhausted trying to do it by hand. Today he came around and asked about where to purchase a LPG gas bottle connection for a Spanish bottle. We agreed that I would take him into Benidorm to purchase one which took about an hour. He was grateful. He told me that they were staying 50 nights and this would cover the 6 nations rugby tournament for which he is a fan. He will be glued to the TV tomorrow when Wales first play.
Later Tina continued to read her book that we downloaded on to her kindle app on her iPad and then another episode of our series. We have been following the antics relating to Brexit and wonder what is going to happen. Feelings on the subject are so diverse!!

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Day 22 - Villajoyosa

We recently run out of the small dog biscuit that the b oystering enjoy when at home. Tina thought that we had a bag in the ‘van but of course we didn’t so today we went to find the Pets store we spotted yesterday when shopping at Carrefour. Of course they didn’t have the same make but eventually we chose a small bag that we thought they might enjoy. We would go back and get more if they did eventually like them.
We then wanted to give the dogs a run on the beach so I set the navigation on my phone and we went off searching for a beach nearby. This was in the west of Benidorm but did not allow dogs onto the sand so we decided to try somewhere closer to the campsite.
On the way back we took a detour to have a look at another campsite called ‘El Torres Camping’. The campsite is close to the beach and so we decided to have a stroll. We soon came across a couple feeding some wild cats. They visit every day to feed approximately 12 wild cats that have been abandoned. They pay for this out of their own pocket and have some funds from a charity. Some of the cats had been neutered and the vet bills paid for out of their pensions. Some were healthy but one or two were quite poorly. They described how there were other colonies of wild cats all over Benidorm that they try to support. Tina dropped some money in the collection tin.

We had a lovely walk along the paved walkway but again the beach was off limits to the dogs. This campsite would have been preferable to where we currently are as it provides a better dog walking facility.
We watched our series and later I listened to the AFC Bournemouth match against Chelsea. I was fully expecting that we would get stuffed as we had a couple of key players out injured however as the match got into the second half I couldn’t believe it…we took the lead. Eventually the final score was 4-0 to Bournemouth … an excellent result.
Whilst Tina was in bed she called out to ask if we could take a cat home. She has a good heart but I explained that this would be impossible. They are wild cats and besides the issue with pet passports and rabies injections they would probably not even get in the vehicle let alone travel the 1000+ miles home. She was of course disappointed but understood. Bless her!!
We are off to the market in the morning so need to get up a little earlier ...

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Day 21 - Villajoyosa

Another quiet day of doing some of the essentials….
We needed to go shopping so we thought that we might try Carrefour as it is a French based supermarket and we wanted some items that are predominantly French like ‘Rillet’ This is a meaty type pate that I love to spread on bread or crackers as part of our regular lunch. We were successful in finding it.
Trying to get in the car park I had to make a decision as there was a height barrier showing 2.1m. Fortunately, I do know the height of the ‘bus’ following our incident getting to the site at the beginning. Our declared height in the brochure is 1.99m so I gave a try. Luckily we didn’t hit the barrier as we had 11cm spare …. Approximately 4ins.
We did have an intention of taking the dogs for a run in the afternoon but this didn’t happen…probably tomorrow. We did sit and watch more of the series…we are thoroughly enjoying this series on Virgin on demand showing on Sky Witness. Tina is hooked!!

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Day 20 - Villajoyosa

We had a leisurely morning with a late breakfast. I serviced the ‘van with water and elsan emptying. Delightful!!
After lunch we went exploring for the local beach and port. It wasn’t long before we parked up outside of the port entrance and took a stroll along the shoreline. Woody has been suffering with some stiffness in his hind legs so we wanted to give hime a run by throwing the ball. He has the idea of racing after it but not always retrieving it….well it is giving him some exercise as well as us.

The stroll was most enjoyable. We took our time and stopped at one point to sit and take in the view and the atmosphere. There were very few people about. The weather was warm with a slight wind…certainly not cold…probably about 18°C.

Later we continued watching our series on the Ipad. I reminded Tina that we would finish all of the episodes well before we are due to get home. Her attitude was that we would find something else to watch !!
We might go and find another beach tomorrow ...

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Day 19 - Villajoyosa

At the coffee morning yesterday a trip was planned to go and support the local Rugby Union side. A number of the rallies were riding bicycles to the stadium and I offered to take any one else wanting to go. As it turned out I did not have anyone riding with me to the stadium at 11:30am

The brits gathered together pre-game and some bought beer and food. The match kicked off at 12 noon. It seems that the local side were near the bottom of their league whereas the side they were playing were league leaders. It became very apparent within a few minutes of kick off the gulf in quality of the two sides.

There were a number of yellow cards giving a player 10mins sitting in the sin bin…a chair on the side of the pitch and taking no active part for this 10 mins. There was also one red card shown to a player. The match finished 44 - 20 to the visitors.

After lunch we both relaxed and continued watching our series. In the evening I watch some FA cup action on the television.

Not sure what we have planned for tomorrow….

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Day 18 - Villajoyosa

Yesterday Phil had declared he wanted to get an oil change organised on his VW. There was an Audi dealer just along from the Expats Cash & Carry and he had checked that they were open this morning. We decided to check this out after the weekly coffee morning.
We carried our chairs around to the rally tent and joined the others. Coffee, Tea and biscuits were served and then Howard, the steward, explained what was happening this week by way of activities. They included Bike rides, Karaoke, Whist, Quiz night and a visit to the local Rugby stadium for the match on Sunday. Our folding rocker chairs got a lot of interest.

Soon after coffee morning we were in the cars and travelling to the expats Cash & Carry for the Audi dealer and some shopping. The Audi dealer was of course shut so Phil will need to organise something on Monday. We spent some time once again perusing the shelves in the Expats C&C and bought most of our weekly shopping needs. However, there were still one or two items we needed so a trip into town to the Mercadona was needed. Some fruit, vegetables, bread and of course some of the Caramel Vodka was purchased.

Once again the rest of the day was quiet and a repeat of past days.

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Day 17 - Villajoyosa

We had been talking about visiting one of the chocolate factories that are local to us so this morning we made a plan to do so. It is about a 15mins walk down the lane opposite the main entrance to the site and then a little further down the main road. We went around to Phil & Clare to ask whether they would like to join us which they did.
I knew that I would struggle with walking that distance so I unloaded the mobility scooter from the back of the ‘bus’ and put it together. I was so glad I did. On arrival we were greeted by the owner who couldn’t speak English but he still was able to conduct a tour of the museum. And explained with sign language and a few translated signs how it all worked in the past. We were convinced that it hadn’t been used for some time and had no likelihood of ever doing so again.
We were then invited into the small shop where there were samples of the different types of chocolate on sale. We all enjoyed the tasting and eventually picked out our favourites and bought some bars together with some chocolate covered raisins. Very yummy..
The rest of the day was very much like we have been enjoying…relaxation and watching some television and our series….Happy days.

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Day 16 - Villajoyosa

What a night…. We were very concerned for our awning as the wind was very severe. We wondered if it would still be there in the morning even though the storm guys were attached to the trees. Fortunately, it was still there and on checking the forecast the winds will be with us for a few more days. We therefore made the decision to take the awning down and store everything back into the ‘bus’
After a couple of hours everything was stored away and the sense of relief was immense. Our neighbours immediately behind us also made the same decision and their awning was taken down and stored away. It is too much money to replace if it gets torn or rips away from the caravan with potential damage to the side of the ‘van. Good decision we think.
We had a visit from the couple we met on the last site, Phil & Clare, who arrived here today for their month long stay. They will still be here when we leave on the 13th February. We made them a drink and caught up on what they had been doing during the last week.
The rest of the day was relaxing, watching our series and eventually to bed. The wind had quietened down by now so we will see what we get tomorrow….

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Day 15 - Villajoyosa

This morning I decided to get the ‘bus’ sorted out. We had a low tyre pressure warning come up on the dashboard during the last couple of days so I thought that we had better get it checked out. Did some research and found a Tyre fitting place just along from the Expats Cash & Carry where we had breakfast on Tuesday.
I asked them to check the tyre pressures on the rear and I was soon on my way… no charge. Tina had stayed back in the caravan and was doing her tidying session. I then made my way into town to find a cash point. I went to the first bank and they wanted to charge me €1.85 for the privilege so I went and found another bank just 20 metres away and there was no charge. Success.
On getting back to the campsite I started to look up in the handbook how to clear the warning sign we had been getting. It talked about a button in the glove box but there was no such button. Eventually I figured out it must be changeable in the dashboard settings. Soon had the brown warning sign gone.
We continued to watch our series in the late afternoon and evening after Tina had done some washing and I helped with putting it on the line. We also took the opportunity to attach the storm guides to the awning as the wind was increasing and we could feel the effects on the caravan. We tied the guys to the trees on the pitch rather than use the pegs which I was concerned would pull out.
The wind continued to get stronger the later it became and we are concerned that we might lose it during the night. I suspect we will make a decision in the morning whether we take it down. Currently we are getting very little sun as we have a huge American RV next to us blocking the rays however it is also giving us some protection from the wind.
Let's hope we don’t have to get up in the night to rescue the awning …. Let you know tomorrow.

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Day 14 - Villajoyosa

Our day started with a planned visit to the Expats Cash & Carry for their English breakfast. I ordered the standard breakfast and Tina had a bacon sandwich both with a mug of coffee….all for around €6. We were really disappointed as the sausages were luke warm and overall the quality was not great. It certainly does not compare with our usual haunt in Andover - Too Fast to Filling. Overall I don’t think we will be doing this again which was disappointing.
Next we needed to visit a large supermarket for some supplies. We chose Lidl near Benidorm. You certainly know what to expect from this chain of supermarkets whether you are in England or Europe. We stocked up on the essentials including some pastries which can’t be resisted. Close by was a Carrefour with a fuel station. I took the opportunity to fill up at €1.15 per litre which is just a little over £1 per litre. I still don’t understand how diesel is cheaper that petrol in Europe yet is more expensive in the UK. The government encouraged us all to switch to diesels and then hiked the price. Politics I guess.
The rest of the day consisted of a shower and beard trim, watching our series and relaxing… 
This evening the wind is getting up and might cause some concern during the night….more tomorrow

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Day 13 - Villajoyosa

Today we said farewell to our friends Terry & Brenda. They left before noon without any plan where they might stay tonight. They did know the direction they would travel ..south towards Algeciras. Unlike us, we would have to have a site in mind, they only needed to be able to find an Aire to stay on for the  night. This is one of the main benefits of having a Motorhome in France or Spain.
The activity organised today for our fellow ralliers was a bike ride out to the Norwegian church. A number of the bikes were electrified ….. maybe we should have brought ours….there again maybe not.
In the afternoon we ventured into town to find the “Chinese shop”. This was a shop that seemed to go on forever. It had a small entrance but once in there the racks of goods went on into the distance. All manner of things. Tina decided to buy a broom for sweeping the grit out of the awning and a jug for the UHT milk which we bought in cartons.
The rest of the afternoon and evening we spent relaxing and watching our series. Doing nothing does seem to tire both of us out.

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Day 12 - Villajoyosa

Woke up a little later as I was watching Match of the Day until 1am. It was colder this morning but soon warmed up during the morning even though it was overcast for most of the day. We had heavy rain for most of the night but had stopped by dawn.
We were invited around to Terry & Brenda’s van for coffee mid morning where we chatted and reminisced about our past travels and some of our experiences. We missed the rally coffee morning and so we didn’t get any updates on what was happening.
We returned back to the van for lunch and continued with our series during the afternoon. 
We invited Terry & Brenda over to our van for their last evening with us. It will be strange to say good bye tomorrow morning. We did discuss the possibility of meeting up later this year if we go north and maybe visit Scotland. They might show us some of the places they have visited and enjoyed. This could be in September depending on how Tina is feeling. She seems to be a lot better at the moment…encouraging.
It has been a quiet day and even though we offered to go out during the day we stayed on the campsite and did very little…relaxing.

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Day 11 - Villajoyosa

We woke to a sunny morning with a moderate temperature set to climb to around 16°C. Over our meal last night we decided to go and find a Caravan parts shop in Benidorm. Terry was having problems with the electric side of his fridge and it needed a new element. We set the sat-nav and proceeded to drive towards the town. I did notice a fuel station selling Gas which was really close to where we are staying. Noted this for the future when the re-fillable bottle needed replenishing.
It wasn’t long before we were parked up outside and strolled in to the shop. It seemed to have most things anyone might need that enjoy our lifestyle. Of course they did not have the part Terry needed. I however, wanted some waste pipe to connect the van to the on site drain. I foolishly did not bring a specimen of the pipe I needed as I thought that it was a standard size. MISTAKE. There are indeed 5 sizes and the shop supplied all of these sizes. I actually picked out the correct size but was persuaded to choose the next size down. On returning to the van I did make it work with some ingenuity.
On leaving the shop we drove through the main part of Benidorm it seemed and it reminded me of Blackpool. Not somewhere where I would want to spend too much time.

We had been told of an Expats Cash & Carry so we made our way there. It was a treasure trove of all things British. Terry & Brenda were well pleased that they were able to buy Ribena, their drink of choice, which they had forgotten to pack. We promised ourselves that we would come back and have the English breakfast. I thought that “Too Fast too Filling” in Andover was cheap at £4.95 but the price here was equivalent to €3. Bargain. We hoped to persuade Terry & Brenda to stay an extra night so we could visit on Monday morning. However, when Terry enquired he was told that the site had no pitches available…completely full for Monday night.

The pitch we are sat on has a really good view but is permanently in shadow from the very large American motorhome pitched next door. What makes it worse is that no one is using it at present. In the afternoon we took our chairs and the “boys” around to Terry’s pitch which was enjoying the sunshine. We introduced them to our favourite tipple…Caramel Vodka. Surprisingly Brenda enjoyed it and I think that they may well be looking for it next time they are in Meradona, the Tesco equivalent in Spain.

Tina retired to her bed early as she was very tired after doing some washing using the €4 machines. I went and spent a couple of hours with Terry & Brenda chatting. It was like old times discussing all sorts of subjects and reminiscing. Lovely evening. Came home and watched “Match of the Day” and saw the highlights of AFCB 2-0 win against West Ham.

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Day 10 - Villajoyosa

Relaxing start to today even though it was overcast the temperature was still acceptable. After breakfast we decided to go and do some shopping at the Supermarket. The literature for this site says that there is a supermarket on site so both Tina and I walked down to reception and looked all round and couldn’t find anything. We enquired in reception and was told it was in the coffee bar. Sure enough there was 3 shelves with a few things all of which we did not need and none of the things we did need.
We then asked the stewards about the nearest supermarket which is in town so we collected the car and travelled into town. The roads were narrow and the entrance to the underground car park was not high enough. We soon spotted a car park space. We did some basic provisions and added to our collection of alcohol.
Earlier we travelled back to the spot where we encounter the impassable tunnel and took a few photos. This time we found out where the road came out which would have been great if it had not been for the caravan.
Mid afternoon I asked at reception about a TV cable. These were free to use and just needed €20 as a deposit. Brought it back to the van and tried the Satellite input in the battery box. The connection was the wrong type. Went back to reception and they put out a radio message for someone to help. The guy came with a screw type connection but when we tried it we realised that I did not have a fly lead for inside the van. Next we connected to the TV point on the other side…. I later realised that this is for an external output and not an input socket. We finally routed the cable in through the locker door, under the seating and over the door to the TV. Perfect. We can now get BBC, ITV (4 channels) and many Spanish channels which are no good to us.
Our friends arrived late afternoon and we spent some time catching up before we arranged to have a meal in the site restaurant. Very nice to chat again and spend time with Terry & Brenda. The food was very acceptable and reasonably priced at €12 for a drink, starter, main & dessert.
Tomorrow we are going to find a caravan dealership for some parts etc that Terry needs and I want some piping for our waste connection.
As we walked down for dinner we passed the swimming pool. Wouldn’t it have been good if this was an inside pool. Could do with a swim ...

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Day 9 - Villajoyosa

No height for a Caravan

We made our usual start this morning with a cuppa at 8:00am and leaving the site at just after 9:30am after saying good bye to our neighbours, Phil & Clare, who we met on arrival. We will see them again in a week when they are due to come to the site we are at.
The journey to the site on the Toll motorway was uneventful. We did remark how much cheaper the Spanish tolls are compared to France. We had travelled over 100 miles on the motorway and the toll was only around €14.
When we came off the motorway for the final approach I followed the satellite navigation which took us down ever narrower roads some of which I struggled to get around the corner with our 45 foot unit. At one point it wanted me to take a right angled bend into a very narrow street which I declined and carried on thinking that was a good decision. MISTAKE !!

Soon after we came upon a tunnel which would have taken us under the main road. However it was tall enough for cars but certainly not for caravans.

Our space to turn

There was not enough room to turn around the caravan whilst still attached to the car so we had no choice but to disconnect the van and turn it manually. By this time we had collected an audience… an elderly Spanish gent who had placed his car so that it blocked anyone else coming through the tunnel. He couldn't speak any English and we couldn’t understand anything he was saying. He was in awe with the caravan moving, on the motor movers, with no pushing and pulling by us.

We soon had it spun around and reconnected to the car. Let's get the paperwork out and read the instructions. Sure enough it gave us another way in, albeit slightly longer, but it was on main roads. Let’s get back to the point we came off the motorway and follow the instructions. This short journey proved to be a little problematical. Getting around the bends was hair-raising as we were missing brick walls by millimetres. Tina commented later how she really couldn’t have done it. I still reflect on how I did it … but we did. Lesson learnt… DON'T ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR SAT-NAV - LOOK AT THE PAPERWORK.
We soon arrived at the site about an hour later but in one piece. Booked in and found our pitch. It is an extra large fully serviced pitch with water, electric and waste drain. The campsite was only opened 2 years ago and is very modern and immaculate. However, Tina has already commented that there is no dedicated dog walk…she will have to find somewhere away from the site.
We set too and erected our awning and tried to use our rock pegs. They have packed the fine sand on the pitches so much that we were having trouble getting the pegs in the ground…we did get a couple in so tomorrow it will be one of those jobs to continue. 
We made ourselves known to the stewards and acquainted ourselves with the daily activities that are planned….usually about one a day. These can include meals, walks, get togethers, boules etc. I can see us choosing some of these carefully.
Our friends from past trips, Terry & Brenda, are due to arrive here tomorrow and we are very much looking forward to catching up with them. They are making their way down to Southern Spain to catch the ferry to Morocco again. We will be following their exploits on their blog
The site here is Camping Alicante Imperium and is €18 with ACSI. Did I mention it has site wide free WIFI.

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Day 8 - Benicarlo

Rest & relax day today…. Started by having Egg & Bacon baguettes for breakfast..yummy. Then we decided we should go into town to find the supermarket. We explored the road running alongside the waters edge and it reminded me of Morocco. Next to navigate around the narrow and often one-way streets.

We eventually found a Mercadona. After adding things to the basket which I was not aware we needed we searched for the drink we brought back with us last time we were in Spain some 3 years ago. Eureka, we found the equivalent being a Caramel Vodka 70 cl bottle for €4.39.

Our next challenge was to find a fuel station to top up the fuel tank. Fortunately it was the cheapest yet at €1.24 per litre. Then back to the campsite where we just had to taste the newly purchased drink….it would be wrong not too. It was just as we had remembered it. Next decision is how many bottles to bring home and when do we buy them! Leave this for another day.

We took our boys down to the beach this afternoon which is approximately 100m away and gave them a run. Woody nearly got his feet wet but at the last minute was able to avoid the incoming tide of water. Later in the afternoon we were invited into our neighbours for tea and biscuits. We passed away a good couple of hours chatting and will meet up in 8 days when they arrive at the site we are travelling too tomorrow. The sun soon came out during the day and the temperature was soon up to 25°C in the ‘van. Very comfortable and we hope this will be better the further south we go tomorrow.
This evening more episodes of our series and early to bed ready for a prompt start at around 9:30am

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Day 7 - Benicarlo

Well I have to report that “The Lady” was not on the corner this morning. She obviously needed to sleep as she probably was “working” late into the night. What a way to earn a living!!

We set off just after 9:30am which we had set as a target time. We planned to use the toll motorways which are significantly cheaper than those in France. We had around 200 miles to travel. We stopped at noon for a rest break for us and the dogs and then soon carried on arriving at the site at around 2:30pm. The approach road was narrow and twisting much like the roadways on the campsite.

The staff all speak English which is a novelty and we had a good welcome. We were shown our pitch for the next two nights and soon we were putting the legs down. When I tried to connect the electric the socket would not go into the post. Tina involved our neighbours next door and eventually the cable was connected with brute force and some wiggling.

We made a cuppa for our neighbours, Phil & Clare, who come from East Anglia. During our chat it seems they are going to many of the campsites we are using albeit they are on different dates and timescale. They had arrived the day before and intend to stay 10 nights here and then going onto Alicante Imperium where we will see them again.

Late afternoon we invited them to join us at the bar for a drink. We had been given tokens for a free drink each. The cold beer went down very well.

We are staying at Camping Alegria del Mar which is both Camping & Caravanning Club and ACSI site (€18). We will probably go and explore tomorrow in the town and do some shopping and top the fuel tank.

We will retire to bed early as we are both tired from the journey.

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Day 6 - Capmany

Lovely relaxing start to the day with a latish breakfast. The temperature here was 18°C when I ventured out to get fuel in readiness for our journey tomorrow.
The VW Transporter is the first vehicle we have had that uses AdBlue to control the emissions. When we took possession of the vehicle it had 2500 miles to go until it required topping up. If you forget the engine just will not start. Yesterday the dashboard was showing 1100 miles remaining so I thought it would be an opportunity to get some. I don't know why but I assumed that it would come in Gallon containers like Oil… no it is dispensed from a pump much like petrol or diesel only the nozzle is smaller. I needed to add approximately 12 litres.
We went out to Figueres to try and find a supermarket. Driving around an unfamiliar place is not easy at the best of times especially when I had no idea of the names of the large supermarkets. Eventually we stumbled upon a Aldi …what a blessing. On our journey back to the campsite we saw a girl at the junction with the main road, I will call her "Lady of the road". We saw her last night on arriving and I saw her again this morning when trying to get fuel. We really should be introduced … well maybe not… Tina would not be amused. I will leave it to your imagination as to what she is plying…just to mention a lot of trucks pass by her junction and oh we saw another just before this one. I have taken the photo from the video on my dash-cam so I hope the quality will be OK.
This afternoon it is still windy but not cold as we have the door open and in summer clothing. This is what we have come south for!!
However as the sun went down so did the temperature so the heating came back on. Wonderful sky again tonight with streaks of red. What do they say... Red sky at night shepherds delight...let’s hope tomorrow will be as good.
More episodes of our series this evening and probably an early night as we want to make a sensible early start around 9:30am

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Day 5 - Just inside Spain

Hooray … the electric heating worked all night and kept the ‘van warm so we both had a good nights sleep. I gave Tina her first morning cuppa at 8am so that we could be on the road for what we knew was going to be a long drive.
We left the site at 9:30am when the temperature was 11°C … oh how the temperature has changed for the better the further south we travel. Fortunately there was no fog during the drive just fine misty rain. As we neared the French / Spanish border we encountered some very strong winds which were buffeting our unit. It was frightening how much we were being constantly edged of course. Slowing down seemed to help but the anxiety continued.
Soon we arrived at out next campsite which was not far inside the border up in the hills. There are a number of vans here.. Dutch and German mainly. We arrived at around 4pm so I could watch the second half of the televised AFC Bournemouth match with Everton which didn’t make for great viewing as we lost 2-0. After the match I set too and fixed a couple of things around the ‘van.
This evening I purchased some WIFI from the campsite so we could stream some of the episodes of our current series. We are really enjoying this and we will continue tomorrow.
We are staying at Camping l’Albera which is an ASCI site (ID 2804) at €18 per night. Camping & Caravanning Club charged us £21.45 per night (with 10amp electric). It just shows how good a value the ACSI scheme is.

This evening we enjoyed having the door open as the temperature was still warm into the evening. The sunset was amazing.
Rest day tomorrow so we need fuel and some provisions so a trip back towards the border is called for where the cheaper fuel is and all the outlet stores… will need to keep the credit card under lock and key just in case Tina sees something !!

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Day 4 - Bordeaux

It's surprising how being warm at night can affect ones sleep. We both slept really well even though we wanted to get on the road as early as possible. On picking up the gas bottle whilst preparing for travel it was surprising how much gas we had used over the past 2 days.
We left the site at 10am to make the 200 mile journey to our next overnight stop. We had chosen to use the toll roads and this would have made it very easy however we did encounter a great deal of thick fog which lasted for most of the day. This made it tiring as I needed to concentrate on the road…we could at times see no more than 50m in front of us. What was most amazing is the vehicles speeding past at 80-90 mph towing trailers. Unbelievable!!
Our site tonight is very well presented…clean, well kept and it seems well organised. The electric here is working a treat as I have not had to attach a gas bottle and we are warm.
Streamed some of the episodes of the series we are getting into. Wonder if I will be able to get “Match of the Day” tonight although it will finish around 1am Europe time.
Tomorrow we have another long journey of 300 miles to our first stop in Spain. The temperature rose today from 3.5°C to 11°C so hopefully we are going to see an improvement tomorrow. My cold has improved overnight and feel much better. Tina has been doing really well and relaxing and keeping an eye on me!

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Day 3 - Tours

Last night we once again had problems with the electric and consequently had no heat all night. It was cold!!! I turned the gas heating back on this morning at 6am before going back to bed.
Now that its light we can reflect on the site. The pitches are a little muddy from being over used throughout the winter months but it does suit our purposes for a stop on our way to Spain. It would have been cheaper to have used our ACSI membership….we’ll know for next time!
This morning we went off to find a cash point, some shopping and top up the fuel tank so we made our way to Auchan… a large hypermarket chain in France. Tina grabbed her favourite foods .. French bread and goats cheese whilst I like Rillet.
On the way we came across a motorhome and caravan dealer. Were we tempted with the vans….not really. We needed a new breakaway cable as I had broken our yesterday.
Quiet afternoon and evening streaming our new boxed set of “Madam Secretary”.
Moving on tomorrow with an overnight stop at Bordeaux some 200 miles south. Hopefully it will be warmer and the drizzle will have stopped.

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Day 2 - Tours

We were up really early. I was making our first cuppa at 6am as we wanted to be away when the gate unlocked at the site at 7am. We were waiting just a few minutes and then the gate opened and we were on our way to Eurotunnel.
Our booked departure was 9:50 but with the extra hour for the different time in Europe and the train journey we would not be in France until 11:30. However, getting to Folkestone earlier meant we could get the 08:51 train giving us an extra hour for the journey to Tours which was approximately 350 miles.
We drove at a steady 56mph (90kph) and finally arrived at the site earlier than I expected at 17:30 just as it was getting dark. The next challenge was to find a suitable pitch and more importantly the water tap.
The van was very cold and we put the electric heating on but it was constantly tripping as it was competing with the fridge and the charger. Eventually we decided to use some of our precious gas for the heating as we were finding it cold now that the sun had long gone.
Glad we have a day off from driving as I have the sniffles and I am sure the start of a cold. Looking forward to the lie in. We retired at 10:30 pm after watching some episodes from “Madam Secretary” using the sites free WIFI
We are staying on http://www.camping-tours.fr/en/accommodation/pitches/ for two nights booked through Camping & Caravanning Club at a cost of £20.25 pun. It is also an ACSI site (ID 1981) at €18 pun.

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Day 1 - Canterbury CCC

Well we are here at the start of our holiday. We had a scare last week with a health issue with Tina. After visiting A&E on Saturday in Winchester for 6 hours then a visit to see a consultant on Sunday we finally got the all clear on Tuesday after Tina had a scan of her neck arteries.
We left home at 11am and the storage yard at 12 noon arriving at the Camping & Caravanning site in Canterbury around 3pm. We have sited ourselves on a pitch which should be an easy exit for the 7am start we hope to achieve tomorrow.
After topping up the fuel tank at Asda at 123.7p per litre and buying some more tea bags we are all set for the journey tomorrow. We are 17 miles from Eurotunnel which should take us 30-40 mins in the morning.
Tomorrow is the big journey so lots of driving…. More to follow...

Check the blog at ricefamilytravel.co.uk

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