Post by JaG - Jean & Graham on Oct 14, 2013 20:52:54 GMT
Tomorrow, Saturday 24th August we move from the first leg of our vacation at Aylesbury. We have had four lovely days with the grand-children and catching up with old friends. Like usual we couldn't get round to see them all. We are heading for Dover with an overnight stop at Hawthorn Farm before setting sail on Sunday morning to Calais with DFDS. I think we have everything packed; now where did I put the kitchen sink?
During the afternoon and early evening we will be driving down, via Paris to our overnight stop at La Plage aux Champs in Saint Arnoult - en - Yvelines. Well at least that's the plan as we have not contacted the site. Just found it on Archies Sites and looked at it on Google Earth. All being well we will leave there on Monday morning to go down to Twin Lakes.
This Blog will not be as intense as last years as this one is more of a go-as-we-please one and we may stay in one spot for one, or two days, or one or two weeks, depending on what we like. We will put up a few photos and let you know where we are and what we are doing from time to time until our return via Bilbao on 8th October.
PHOTOS LINK
24-08-2013
Arrived in Dover this afternoon. It was, and still is, torrential rain. Still, not to be disheartened we went and had a game of bingo at the site restaurant, all in aid of Air Ambulance. We had a good laugh even if we never won nowt. Early night then up at 7am for the ferry, which is only 20 minutes away.
The site (Hawthorn Farm, owned by Keat Farm) is very busy but extremely well organised. Not a piece of paper anywhere and it always looks well kept every time we come here. The reception staff are cheerful and welcoming and at £21 for EHU included it is good value considering it's location. The site is very natural, surrounded by trees and woodland with rabbits happily wandering around the site. Many people come here for the week and there is also a separate mobile home area. Certainly a site to think about if you are down this way.
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26-08-2013
Lesson One – Always have a Back-up plan for overnight camp-site.
From the moment we came off the ferry at 1.00pm in Calais it rained relentlessly. The motorways were quiet all the way to the outside of Paris then, as if someone had opened the flood gates thousands of cars suddenly appeared from no-where, and that is where we were going for a while – no-where. The Paris inner Ring Road was like a Car Park even though it was a Sunday evening. It took around an hour and a half to get through the main part. Thankfully having the 26 foot caravan did help because I just pushed my way in showing no mercy, or is it Merci? Never mind we will be at our overnight stop in about an hour.
We picked the overnight stop campsite from Archies campsite on the TomTom because it was near the motorway, 386km from our destination, past Paris and it looked good on Google Earth. Good old TomTom took us to within three feet of the campsite entrance. Well actually, it took it to within three feet of where the campsite entrance was, five years ago when Google maps were made. It is now a very nice new housing estate, which did not help us a lot as we had no back-up plan and anyway, there were no sites on Archies anywhere to be seen for 20 miles around. So, there we were at 6.15pm on a Sunday with nowhere to get our heads down.
We decided it had to be the alternative – drive onto the motorway and stay at a well lit services amongst the lorries. Not a good idea as it turned out. We settled at one around 8pm, got something to eat in the Café, watched a DVD then went to bed around 11pm. Sleep? Not likely, a lorry turned up with a refrigerator unit that kept going on and off, lorries came and went from everywhere. We had not realised that lorries are not allowed on the roads between 10pm Saturday and 10pm Sunday so all hell breaks loose after that. Anyway, at 2am, with not a wink of sleep we decide to carry on driving with a little help from ProPlus caffeine tablets. At 4am I was getting very tired so we pulled into a quiet Aires and thought we would grab a couple of hours sleep. Guess what? Yep, our old friend the refrigerator lorry turned up and parked next to us. By 6am it was obvious there was no sleep to be had so we decided to drive the full 386km to Twin Lakes, which we did, arriving at around 10am. ‘You are bright and early’, Garry said. Early we were, bright we were not. Never mind eh, we saw it as a different adventure. The site is fabulous, laid back, lovely country surroundings, two nice fishing lakes stocked with 20lb+ carp and others, really friendly staff and guests. A bit like stepping back in time to the way camp sites were, for the better.
Tonight will be an early night for sure. The rained stopped around 10am and the day got hotter by the minute ending in around 26 degrees. By the end of the week it will be 32 degrees and dry.
28-08-2013
Yesterday I saw a fisherman’s dream. Garry, the site owner threw a stick loaf of bread in the No Fishing area.
The ducks made a dive for the bread, pecking away at it for all of two seconds. Next thing a duck was dragged under the water momentarily and this huge mouth sucked the whole loaf off the surface and took it down into the depths. Now, that is the fish I want sometime while I am here. I was warned not to use a pole on this part of the lake because it will certainly get smashed. I settled for my ledger rod with 18lb straight through line with a number 5 hook and feeding fresh prawns, as this is what they like. Fussy fish but well worth it because on my first day I had a 2lb common carp fishing for just an hour.
After evening meal we went into Montendre to the Night Market.
The whole town square is covered in stalls selling fresh cooked food with tables to eat on. Dishes such as snails, paella, huge steaks, crepes and salads, wine galore by the bottle or gallon. There was also clothes,jewelryy and local crafts stalls. The market was open from 5pm to 1am and it was absolutely packed with people. A few souvenirs, coffee and crepes later we went home to open the bottle of Pineau we had bought.
Got out the serious rod this morning, went to the supermarket and bought some prawns. Ten minutes after dropping in the water I caught a lovely 8lb carp, a baby apparently but big for me.
01-09-13
Well, here we are a week down the line on site and what have we done? - absolutely nothing off site and been nowhere apart from a meal in a local restaurant. A little wine and the girls are into 'tree hugging', a local custom it seems.
The weather is 35C every day, the company is fantastic, the fishing, as you will by the link below is fantastic, having caught a 22lb Carp just before dark last night. It is as if we have died and gone to heaven.
Only 30 minutes before my friend caught a 14lb carp. It got its rear fin stuck in the net so we were releasing it when it suddenly flipped. It was like a razor and sliced my finger almost to the bone. That was when he swapped places with me and I caught 'the big one'.
That was just after I caught one of the smallest fish ever to be caught on a hook.
The beer is lovely and cold all day if you want it. In the evening most gather for a natter and a quiz, or karaoke or whatever takes the fancy.
We have decided to stay here until the 22nd September before moving on to our second site. On Tuesday our friends, and my fishing partner go home so we may venture out and explore a bit. Jean is happy conversing and making her cards or, minding my fishing pole while I went to get another cool beer.
04-09-13
Waking up to this every morning. No blaring radios, peace and quiet with no-one rising until around 9am. What more could you want.
09-09-13
Originally it was 14 nights here - now it is 27 nights, until 22nd September then we move on to Le Vieux Port, a total contrast to where we are now. We are there for 7 nights at a deal price of 100E including EHU.
www.levieuxport.com/campsite-france-landes.html?gclid=CODE6uKCirkCFcTItAodKCIAUg
The weather has finally started to cool down, though it is due to get hot again later in the week. After a fortnight of temperatures over 40C the temperatures have dropped to around 22C to 25C. We have had a few showers, which have been welcomed as the grapevines needed a watering before the picking takes place later this month. Even the fish stopped eating during the hot spell however, when the rainstorm came they went into a frenzy and we were back to getting some good sized fish out of the lakes. During one night we had a lightning storm that hit the satellite dish for the site and took out the Sky box and the big TV, which was only 30m away from the our caravan.
Walking around the site you have the opportunity to see Wild Boar and Deer if you are up early enough. The donkeys in the field adjoining the site in the woods will happily trot up for tit-bits of carrots and the woodpecker can be heard hammering on a tree trunk. The acorn tree will hustle and you will see the Red Squirrels busying themselves collecting the hazel nuts. Early evening will see the rabbits scurrying around the woodland and, if you are very lucky you will see a grass snake swimming across the lake with a small fish in it’s mouth. Stella, the site Alsatian will sidle up to me to see if I have any dog biscuits to give her. It is almost as cosy as home.
We have ventured off site and visited Talmont-sur-Gironde and Royan. Talmont is on the peninsular on the estuary of the Gironde river, the biggest in Europe. The historically listed village is famous for it’s 12th century Roman church built on the cliff. The town itself was built in 1284 by Edward 1st of England, who reigned during this period in this part of France. The main street is only about 4m wide and the side streets are no more than 2m wide. The tiny houses are either residential or converted to quaint shops, such as boutique, an artist working entirely with rose designs and paintings, unusual gift shops, crepe cafes and craft shops. The museum tells the whole history of the village. Then there is the coastal walks either way from the peninsular. It takes a good few hours to explore the village.
Whilst in a Cafe in the village we saw a swallow swoop through to the end above the exit door. There was a nest there and they were feeding their three young, just a few feet from where customers were sitting and right above where everyone exited the Cafe.
Royan on the Charente-Maritime coast can claim to be one of the best Atlantic beach and holiday resorts in France. It has a warm and sunny climate, tourist attractions, a lovely natural location and best of all some wonderful sandy beaches.
Once a chic seaside resort of beautiful Belle Époque architecture, it was flattened in January 1945 by Allied bombing. This attack appears to have been needless - according to one historian the Germans had already left the town – and caused huge damage. The town was rebuilt in modernist style in the 1950s today it is an attractive mix of the old and new, the colourful old villas nestling behind the main part of town.
It also has a fine port to wander around, lots of natural areas rich with wildlife to explore and for those who like to shop there’s plenty to do, too, from Royan’s renowned market to some upmarket stores aimed at Parisian holidaymakers. For despite its growing popularity with some foreign holidaymakers, Royan is still a place where the French like to holiday and enjoy the seaside as only the French can.
On Sunday we went to two local villages that were hosting Table Top sales. One of them covered every street in the village and it lasts all day. Included in the pitch price is lunch, which was brought around by volunteers and included food and drink for everyone on the stall. There seems to be a strong community spirit still in France and they welcome visitors too. Having said that they do sell all the junk type things like in the UK but you can find a few bargains. Jean got a lovely new, modern coat for 10E and we picked up a new steamer for 6E for the caravan. We now have so many euro plug items I have fitted an additional euro socket in the caravan.
16-09-13
The whole area between Montendre and Bordeaux is smothered in vineyards and sunflower fields. The grapes are picked by both machine and by hand during the last week of September and the first week in October. The older generation of growers can be identified by the fact that they plant rose bushes at the ends of their vine rows. They do this to encourage the bees to pollinate the vine blossom. The Sunflowers are harvested at around the same time when they are completely brown so the seeds can be harvested for oil.
Visiting Blaye was a pleasurable experience. The main attraction is the Citadel. In the 17th century, Louis XIV ordered Vauban to strengthen the existing fortifications at the Citadel of Blaye to protect the city of Bordeaux, located upstream of the estuary on the Garonne River. As the cannons at the time did not have sufficient range to cover the 3 km width of the river - and thus prevent the enemy from reaching the city - Vauban built two more forts. With Fort Paté, Fort Médoc and the improved fortifications of the Citadel of Blaye, Vauban was able to set up cross-fires and prevent enemies from sailing up to Bordeaux. Within the city walls there are many quaint shops selling crafts of all sorts, café’s and restaurants. We walked around most of the streets and ramparts noting that a lot of restoration work is taking place all the time. There is even a Municipal Camp Site in the centre of the Citadel.
Now, where shall I start to fix this bike.
On Wednesday and Saturday of each week the streets around the Citadel are turned into a large street market, selling everything from vegetables, clothing, foods, both cooked and raw and even love birds in cages.
From here we left along the coast road towards Bourg stopping at a lay-by overlooking the sea and ate our pizza and fruit salad before setting off along the cliff road. The road is barely wider than our car. There are small hamlets where the houses are on the left and the gardens on the right overlooking the sea. At several points there are large circular nets hanging above the sea on small cranes. Apparently they are baited and dropped onto the sand before the tide comes in. The small fish are drawn into the nets by the bait and they are lifted not long after the tide comes in.
Arriving in Blough we parked up and instantly noticed an eerie silence. It was 1pm and everything was closed for lunch. Not a soul could be seen on any street, not a single vehicle moved in this small town. When France shuts down everyone shuts down with it. They are all either in their homes or in the many restaurants. The Port is far below and the site is spectacular from above, with sheer walls of over a hundred feet down.
This Sunday we went to a car boot sale and to a craft fair in a small village. The village church was open for people to visit and it was beautiful for such a small village church. There was music playing softly and it was as if it was alive.
The village green had a small food tent so we had a light lunch here before heading back to the sunshine of Montendre. On the way we came across a church with an unusual graveyard. There were small houses and monuments within the graveyard, each of which belonged to a family name. As each member of the family passes away so they are entombed in the family crypt the oldest one we came across was dated 1926. There seems to be a lot of these dotted around the country.
The one thing that really stands out in this part of France is the friendliness of the locals towards visitors. They do do not go out if their way to try to speak our language, and why should they however, they do go out of their way to help you understand and speak their language, which is lovely.
As it is the middle of September you can feel the Autumn creeping in. The mornings are cooler at around 13C, leaves are starting to turn brown and drop from the trees. The daylight is getting shorter and the daytime temperature has dropped from 40C only 2 weeks ago to 22C on average.Today I ventured out for a bike ride around the local roads. This are of France is very flat and I biked 15 miles without coming to any hills to talk about. The countryside is littered with abandoned houses and buildings.
23-09-13
Last week we visited a local Distillery, Couks to see how they make Cognac; fascinating to say the least. The distillery was an old farm and there was no external visible sign it was one, apart from the fields of vineyards that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was a business that had been handed down from great grandfather to grandfather, to father and from next week, the son was taking over. He described it not as work but as a passion. We were shown a small area where the grapes were turned into wine, then fermented again to make the raw cognac, which at this stage was 81%. It stands for 2 years in barrels after which it is blended to bring it down to 40%, the legal maximum limit. To allow it to drop of it’s own accord takes 100 years so the grower would never get to taste his own cognac. It was unbelievable to imagine that below our feet was a swimming pool size of wine, all of which would eventually be cognac. The initial process from picking the grapes to laying in the barrel takes three and half months, no longer, no shorter. After the tour we sampled the different years and blends with the option to purchase, which we did.
From here we travelled to a village name Rig? Where we went to a restaurant for lunch. The owner, also Chef showed us around his restaurant which used to be a bakery. The original bakers oven was still in the wall and was over 4 metres back inside.
He also had a selection of motorbikes, one of them being 65 years old as well as old Yamaha and a Chopper bike. All of them started first time and are ridden regularly. The meal was superb and very reasonably priced for three courses.
We walked around the corner to visit a pottery, also in an old converted house from many years back. The owner made a lovely bowl on her potter’s wheel and explained the process, explaining it would be at least one month before the item was ready for sale.
Making our way back to a small village named Soumeras our guide Louise showed us an unusual monument. It was built in 2000 and was in memory not of the dead but of the living. The names of everyone living in the village at that time was engraved in the monument. How unusual is that?
Our time at Twin Lakes has come to an end. We have been here for 28 days and I can honestly say we shall miss it. Where have we been over the last month? – not far for sure, which means we will have to come back next year to see more. The car has had a well earned rest, having used less than 40 litres of fuel in a month. A couple of cycle rides, a couple of meals out, a day tour out locally, a visit to Blayes and Royan, an couple of hours fishing every day, Jean making her greeting cards, a few drinks at night, generally good weather, splendid hosts at Twin lakes and lots of new friends made on the way. And…neither of us has ever been bored or at a loss of something to do. This is a rustic site that needs no changing of anything. It is clean, the facilities are kept spotless all of the time and the quietness of the site in the morning, apart from the tree frog waking you at around 8am is something to be treasured.
Today we move off to our next site at Messanges; a total contrast from where we have been with it being a commercial, large site situated right on the beach. It has been almost five weeks since we left home and still have almost three weeks left. They do say variety is the spice of life.
25-09-13
We have been at Messanges now for three full days.
www.levieuxport.com/campsite-france-landes.html?gclid=CODE6uKCirkCFcTItAodKCIAUg
When we arrived on Sunday afternoon we thought we had arrived at the 'holiday from hell' site. It was packed solid with 100's of children, which went on until late in the evening. The pitches were so close together you could shake hands with three different neighbours.
We went into Reception and asked for a list of all vacant spaces so we could pick our own. We found a lovely spot in the pines trees with no-one either left, right, behind was mobile homes that were all empty or in front, yet only two minutes walk from the toilets, showers, seven swimming pools and shop.
We settled for the night dreading the week ahead of bedlum. We need not have bothered. On arising on Monday morning there was a pure silence throughout the whole site. It was 10am and not a sound, no people, no children. It was if they had all been spirited away. What had actually happened was that they had all gone back across the Spanish border late on Sunday night to go back to school. In the afternoon we went to the swimming area that was packed on Sunday. It was 3pm and there were 6 people between 7 pools. Sheer bliss. It was hot too, with the temperatures reaching 34C each day by 1pm. The wave pool is a welcome cooling area every half hour or so.
This is the last week of the site opening so odd people are coming and going taking their things home. There must be over 2000 mobile homes here and probably around 30 are occupied. All the reps for Eurocamp, Keycamp, etc, have gone home two weeks ago. It is like having your own park. Walk to the beach, which is about 300 yards off site and all you see are about a dozen surfers along a mile stretch of beach.
This is a place you would not want to come to for any peace and quiet when the season is in full swing. Having said that it is a place not to be missed in the low season as it is so peaceful, serene and has all the facilities you could want.
On Sunday we move over the Spanish border to Camping Orio,
www.campingseuskadi.com/en/orio/
which is just beyond San Sebastian for our last 10 days.
26-09-13
This morning we have been down to Le Vieux Port beach. What a site - it is a Surfer's paradise.
Apparently this is the best time of the year for the surf. Just down the road near Biarritz the World Championships Roxy Pro Surfing is taking place.
Video link:
Back having lunch and, as the temperature is creeping past 30C it will be the afternoon in the pool complex.
28-09-13
And so it had to come…our last day at Le Vieux Port Holiday Park. Tomorrow we move on to Camping Orio near San Sebastian in Spain for our final 8 nights before heading for an overnight stay at Bilbao Port for our return journey to Portsmouth.
The week has been interesting and quite enjoyable…much more than we envisaged when we drove in last Sunday and saw the hundreds of children around. They were spirited away on Sunday night and did not return until around 9pm last night (Friday). The site closes down tomorrow so there will be a mad exodus of a couple of thousand people, most who have come just for the final weekend.
We had a lovely quiet spot under the pine trees, the weather was exception, being around 32C average daytime to around 23C at night, a little too warm for us at night. No rain at all throughout the week either, which is a real bonus in a place like this. Almost every morning consisted of a bike ride around the local area; you could cover 4 miles on site alone with no problem, Every afternoon was a few hours around the pool, having the occasionally dip to cool off.
The highlights of the week have been the relaxing around the pool in the warm sunshine, a visit to Biarritz today and watching the surfers on the local beach, plenty for anyone in one week.
We took the coast road to Biarritz which was 60km away. It was very difficult to park as it a very cosmopolitan area and a popular visiting area.
The two main attractions we saw were the
Virgin on the Rock
and the Ocean Museum which had many tanks in natural rock of all the fish in the seas around this coast including sharks, seals and every variety of fish too.
If you look at le Vieux Port and think it is for you bear in mind it is over full throughout July and August, meaning there are more people than facilities. In the early late season the weather is just right, well it was for us. The cost of staying on this 5 Star site for a week in September is 100E including electric, which is cheaper than ACSI. The best areas to site are near the beach end if you like the beach and in the ‘G130 – G137 if you like the pool, quiet and close to the bar/restaurant. If anyone wants to know more just contact us.
The site itself is kept spotlessly clean. One of the amusing things we noticed was the toilet/shower area. It shows a woman at one end entrance and a man at the other end entrance. Walk in, look down the other end and there is the woman. They are virtually shared. Also, don’t be surprised to see the women walking out of the showers naked to dry themselves. The squirrels are black and the sparrows are so tame they will sit on your caravan step next to you while you are outside looking for a crumb or two.
Now that we are leaving France it is time to summarise what we have found in the country. First, the cost of living is higher than the UK, especially sweet items. Two custard slices will set you back over 3E. Eat it in Carrefour and it will cost you 3E for one. I would say it is around 20% above the UK. The people are much more friendly than I expected, except in the odd cities. They have very long memories and in the ones we flattened during the second world war unnecessarily they are still a bit hostile towards us. Elsewhere though they are very friendly. What we particularly liked was they would make little attempt to speak English, and why should they, but they will make every effort to get you to understand. There are forests everywhere including many little ones. Many areas allocate a part of forest for families to cut wood for the winter and they always replant when they cut down. Most of the areas we were in grew pine trees. Food growing is very localised, like maze, grapes and sunflowers.
Next week we will probably do more travelling, though we may not. We will see what time brings.
02-09-13
We have spent three nights here in Orio. The weather is still very hot, though humid at around 28C by day and 24C by night. It has been difficult keeping the inside of the caravan cool enough to sleep. There is no rain to speak of forecast, just the occasional few spots during the night.
It is very different from France, some good, some not. The scenery is beautiful and everywhere you go is up a hill; even the Tourism Information is up a very steep back street in the sleepy village. It would not have been a problem except for the fact it was closed when I got there.
Orio is like going back 40 years in Spanish terms; the shops close at 1pm and reopen at 5pm until 8pm, a rarity now, even in Spain so we are told. There is a lovely harbour where most of the cruisers are secured for the winter, just the occasional one going out.
There were quite a few locals fishing off the harbour wall where the river is on the one side and the sea on the other.
This is a village that has more tourists than residents in the summer, so they are probably relieved to have their village back for the winter. The people are friendly though nowhere near as friendly as the French. Being a typical Spanish village virtually no English is spoken anywhere, which is not a problem. Today, outside the Tourism Office I met a couple around our age from Stockholm. They said they had left home in March and walked, yes walked all the way here. And I had just said how tiring it was walking up the hill!
The site has everything one needs; toilets, showers, water to each pitch, free internet, if you can get a strong enough signal, even a place to wash your car.
There is a reasonably priced Restaurant on site and a small shop for essentials.
There are no food shops at all in the village, which seems unusual. Locals have to travel 5km for a small supermarket and 13km to a bigger one. Diesel seems to be about the same price as France. There is a vast difference between the garage price and the supermarket price for diesel. Not just a few cents either, it is 20 cents cheaper!
Yesterday we walked around the promenade then I cycled along the harbour, down the purpose made cycle-ways that run alongside the river to the village centre.
And then I walked up the cliff road to view the bay from the top.
Every morning along the cycleway the teachers from the local primary school take out around 50 children around the track as part of their day. There will be strollers, dog walkers and joggers continually using the cycle track all throughout the day. All along the part that runs alongside the river there are seats set in the wall so that you can watch craft going up and down the river, read perhaps or just take in the scenery. A long, cool drink was welcomed when I got back to the site.
Wi-Fi here is so poor it won’t upload a single photo, even when I am stood next to the mast. Ordered an amplifier for our next trip. Picks up all Wi-Fi up to smile away - so it says.
Fruit and veg is very poor in this area, and well overpriced even on the local markets. Oranges cost 60p each! , cauliflower almost 2 euro. Wine is cheap though.
Only 7 days and we will be home. Sad, sad.
03-10-13
Well, what a night. At around midnight the wind rose to over 40 kph with gusts of 70kmph, so they said in Reception. I was out at 2am putting in new bigger pegs as the wind pulled the normal ones out. The canopy was flapping so hard it was jolting the caravan back and forth, so not much sleep. Still Jessymoo, it stayed the course and survived. Same tonight then calm for a week, which is good for the crossing. It was still 26C all night and is 32C now.
Market day in the village. I would swear the same stalls are in Chesterfield on a Saturday.
I think a nice bike ride is on the cards for later on this afternoon, after a bit of catch up sleep.
Tomorrow I have planned a route in the mountains along gravel roads some of the way to seek out the vineyards that make the local wine, Txakoli.
If my writings tomorrow are jibberish you will know I have found it.
04-10-13
Wow, what a storm that was. It only lasted about an hour but put down some serious amount of water. The good old canopy threw every drop off in bucket loads. I managed to video a bit of it for you to see what it looked like. No fork lightening though just sheet. You can actually see the eye of the storm, like a funnel opening as it passed overhead. Not seen one like that before.
Threw it down most of the night. Cleared the air though and it is a pleasant non humid 25C. Put off the vineyards until tomorrow as it is going to be nice weather.
06-09-2013
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Yep, you are right – we did find the Txakolina, the local white wine. And very nice it is tooooo!!
We left this morning to do a 60km round trip through the mountain passes taking in Aizarna, Bidania, Urkiza, down into Tolasa then back via the main road. The scenery was stunning and at times we were above the cloud base. We stopped loads of times for photo shoots and just to admire what was around us.
Basque Scenery
Abandoned buildings in forests
and on the side of the road too!
I think the farmer may have forgotten where he left his tractor....5 years ago
Meeting a car going the other way on these roads was not good and as we left one village two dogs decided it was their road, not ours. The one eventually moved to the side but the other, as the video link shows, decided if we wanted to pass him sat in the middle of the road we would have to make all the moves, which we did if course. The one thing that strikes us about this area is that they grow nothing in particular; a few corn on the cob, a few cows for milking, a few sheep and that is about it. The short video we have uploaded are extracts from the in-car video that records sound and video whilst the car is moving. At £16 we considered it a good investment and as you will see the quality is OK too.
Yesterday, as the weather was cooler Jean decided she wanted to make some greeting cards as she has sold all of the cards she has made since leaving home. She would like to say a big ‘Thank You’ to everyone we have met on our travels over the last seven weeks who have bought cards from her. The result of the sales has accrued 53 Euros for Help for Heroes, which will go with the other £50+ at home to be paid in after all Christmas sales have been made.
I disappeared for a 12 mile bike ride. Around here is a labyrinth of cycle-ways and I found a lovely one that follows the river.
Tomorrow, as it is going to be warm and dry I am going to visit the next two villages along the coast by bike, about a 20 mile round trip. That will be our last full day here before we pack up on Monday morning and head for Bilbao Port to stay overnight ready for the 10.30am sail to Porsmouth. A mini cruise to finish the seven week holiday off, lovely.
06-10-13
Today’s cycle ride did not goes as expected. I followed the riverside road for around 3 miles out of town expecting to see the next village around the corner. Instead the cycle road came to an abrupt end and I found myself on the main car road facing a really steep hill. With gritted teeth I climbed the steep hill, being passed by about 20 ‘proper’ cyclists on the way up expecting to see the seaside village in front of me but no, all I saw was the road weaving through the forest with lots of ups and downs and no village. Decision time – forget it, go back down the hill, onto the cycle track and back into the village to mix in with the local people enjoying the Sunday morning sunshine. Never mind, it was a nice 10 mile ride.
And so we have reached the final day in Northern Spain. Orio is one of those places that grows on you day by day as you discover new things.
Starting with Camping Orio. The site is well laid out, pitches are of a generous size and you are not on top of each other. Toilets and showers are always clean and of a good standard. There is a small Launderette which costs 3.8E for a full wash and a dryer that cost 3E, though was not working while we were there. Almost all pitches had a water tap and 10amp EHU. Free Wi-Fi was via a password which gave you 2 hours of usage. There was no limit to how many 2 hour tickets you could get from Reception. We usually picked up 2 a day for use on the Nexus 7 and laptop uploads. The signal strength was very poor almost all of the time, which is something the management say they will be looking at for the future. The staff are always friendly and helpful and will give any help when requested.
Orio itself has something for everyone. The sandy beach is only a 5 minute walk away, village 10 minute walk. There is a restaurant on site which although limited in menu, is also very reasonably priced. Within 10 minute walk there are several others too. Around 15 minute walk gets you to the train station that takes you into San Sebastian in 45 minutes, costs 2.30E each way and runs every hour, half hourly on certain days. The whole area is geared for cycling, being mainly flat surfaces too. There are routes in and around the village, along the river side for a couple of miles out of town. There is also a ridgeway cycle/walking route for the more enthusiastic. Fishing is popular on the harbour walls as you can fish sea on one side and river on the other. In the village there are several shops dotted around from a bazaar to small supermarkets in the side streets. It follows tradition of closing down between 1pm and 5pm then reopening until 8pm, all the year round. The village is surrounded by mountains and there are some lovely routes to take by car to see the scenery and visit the vineyards. On a Sunday the traffic is redirected away from the main square because the local people visit the many café’s, attend Church then have their lunch in the restaurants, parks or by the sea with the children. It is very much a community spirit throughout the village.
Is this the place for you? Well, there are certainly a lot of British around here, either passing through or staying a while. On Camping Orio around 50% are British. If you have children they would love it as it is safe, lots of play areas and cycle ways they can cycle in safety while seeing interesting things too. All of the parks are situated on the cycle routes. It is certainly somewhere you would not be disappointed with, in our opinion of course.
The cost of living is probably on par with the UK, though if you want good fruit and veg you have to pay a higher price than in the UK. So it’s time for us to conclude now and start our three day journey home.
And what about the cost of this 7 week holiday? Well, roughly.
Total money spent = £2,800
Miles covered door to door = 2631 miles
Fuel used = 91 gallons
Average = 28.91 miles per gallon
Tomorrow we leave for Bilbao, stay overnight in the Port then the 24 hour mini cruise to Portsmouth before heading back to Chesterfield by Wednesday tea time.
07-10-13
We spent the morning steadily packing away. No hurry to leave as we only have 120km to Bilbao Port and do not have to leave the site until 5pm if we wish. As it happened it was a lovely warm sunny day so we left at 2pm. A steady run down and we arrived at Bilbao Port at 4pm. There were already around a dozen others who had arrived and were parked on the main car park. Shortly after we arrived the Check-in opened so we checked in and moved into the lines for boarding the next morning. It was still warm and sunny so down went the legs, out came the table and chairs, along with the alcohol. It was lovely sat there in the sunshine having a drink and chatting to others on their way home. When the sun went down we all retired to ourcaravanss and we watched a DVD before retiring to bed.
08-10-13
Not too much sleep last night. There are so many noises on the dockside…ship’s engines ticking over, lorries moving back and forth, people in and out of their caravan/motorhomes to the toilets and the Spanish lorry drivers having a party until after 3am. Our ferry arrived at around 7am.
Boarding went smoothly and we were underway by 11am, only 30 minutes late. As we were going to be at sea for 24 hours time was irrelevant. We were lucky enough to have an outside cabin so had a view of the sea from the portal.
Brunch was the order of the day as we had only had cereal in the caravan before boarding. That saw us through the day before having an evening meal on Deck 10 at the top.
There were various events going on throughout the day such as quizzes in one of the three bar areas, a cinema showing different films and, if you were brave enough, the small swimming pool on the top deck. There was British TV in various lounges as well. All in all there was enough going on to fill in your time. Free internet access was in all lounge areas too.
On retiring for the night it was noticeable that the ship was moving back and forth when you lay down, yet the wind was only 10mph. Shortly afterwards the ship slowed down to a crawl and the swaying stopped, allowing us to drop off to sleep.
09-10-13
We woke from a good nights sleep at around 7am. The shower was a welcome wake up tonic and, after having a light breakfast we went out on deck to watch the final part of the journey past the Isle of Wight and into Portsmouth harbour. It was interesting to see the warships moored up and the new stealth navy vessel being finished off.
By 10am we were off the ship and on the motorway back up North and Chesterfield.
It has been 7 weeks and 1 day since we left home. We were ready to return to the comforts of home, though have thoroughly enjoyed our almost flawless trip. A short stop for an early lunch and we were pulling into the drive at 2.15pm. The roads home had been very busy however, they flowed freely. Time for a nice cup of tea before anything gets done.
Thank you to everyone who’ve been with us throughout, or sometime during our 7 week trip. We have loved every minute of it, and reporting on it too and we have actually had 5 different holidays in one….Aylesbury, Twin Lakes, Le Vieux Port, Onis and finally a mini cruise home. Now we are home, somewhere we are also both happy with – and start planning next year’s long haul holiday.
Time to climb out of the passenger seats and go your own way.
Best wishes, Graham & Jean
During the afternoon and early evening we will be driving down, via Paris to our overnight stop at La Plage aux Champs in Saint Arnoult - en - Yvelines. Well at least that's the plan as we have not contacted the site. Just found it on Archies Sites and looked at it on Google Earth. All being well we will leave there on Monday morning to go down to Twin Lakes.
This Blog will not be as intense as last years as this one is more of a go-as-we-please one and we may stay in one spot for one, or two days, or one or two weeks, depending on what we like. We will put up a few photos and let you know where we are and what we are doing from time to time until our return via Bilbao on 8th October.
PHOTOS LINK
24-08-2013
Arrived in Dover this afternoon. It was, and still is, torrential rain. Still, not to be disheartened we went and had a game of bingo at the site restaurant, all in aid of Air Ambulance. We had a good laugh even if we never won nowt. Early night then up at 7am for the ferry, which is only 20 minutes away.
The site (Hawthorn Farm, owned by Keat Farm) is very busy but extremely well organised. Not a piece of paper anywhere and it always looks well kept every time we come here. The reception staff are cheerful and welcoming and at £21 for EHU included it is good value considering it's location. The site is very natural, surrounded by trees and woodland with rabbits happily wandering around the site. Many people come here for the week and there is also a separate mobile home area. Certainly a site to think about if you are down this way.
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26-08-2013
Lesson One – Always have a Back-up plan for overnight camp-site.
From the moment we came off the ferry at 1.00pm in Calais it rained relentlessly. The motorways were quiet all the way to the outside of Paris then, as if someone had opened the flood gates thousands of cars suddenly appeared from no-where, and that is where we were going for a while – no-where. The Paris inner Ring Road was like a Car Park even though it was a Sunday evening. It took around an hour and a half to get through the main part. Thankfully having the 26 foot caravan did help because I just pushed my way in showing no mercy, or is it Merci? Never mind we will be at our overnight stop in about an hour.
We picked the overnight stop campsite from Archies campsite on the TomTom because it was near the motorway, 386km from our destination, past Paris and it looked good on Google Earth. Good old TomTom took us to within three feet of the campsite entrance. Well actually, it took it to within three feet of where the campsite entrance was, five years ago when Google maps were made. It is now a very nice new housing estate, which did not help us a lot as we had no back-up plan and anyway, there were no sites on Archies anywhere to be seen for 20 miles around. So, there we were at 6.15pm on a Sunday with nowhere to get our heads down.
We decided it had to be the alternative – drive onto the motorway and stay at a well lit services amongst the lorries. Not a good idea as it turned out. We settled at one around 8pm, got something to eat in the Café, watched a DVD then went to bed around 11pm. Sleep? Not likely, a lorry turned up with a refrigerator unit that kept going on and off, lorries came and went from everywhere. We had not realised that lorries are not allowed on the roads between 10pm Saturday and 10pm Sunday so all hell breaks loose after that. Anyway, at 2am, with not a wink of sleep we decide to carry on driving with a little help from ProPlus caffeine tablets. At 4am I was getting very tired so we pulled into a quiet Aires and thought we would grab a couple of hours sleep. Guess what? Yep, our old friend the refrigerator lorry turned up and parked next to us. By 6am it was obvious there was no sleep to be had so we decided to drive the full 386km to Twin Lakes, which we did, arriving at around 10am. ‘You are bright and early’, Garry said. Early we were, bright we were not. Never mind eh, we saw it as a different adventure. The site is fabulous, laid back, lovely country surroundings, two nice fishing lakes stocked with 20lb+ carp and others, really friendly staff and guests. A bit like stepping back in time to the way camp sites were, for the better.
Tonight will be an early night for sure. The rained stopped around 10am and the day got hotter by the minute ending in around 26 degrees. By the end of the week it will be 32 degrees and dry.
28-08-2013
Yesterday I saw a fisherman’s dream. Garry, the site owner threw a stick loaf of bread in the No Fishing area.
The ducks made a dive for the bread, pecking away at it for all of two seconds. Next thing a duck was dragged under the water momentarily and this huge mouth sucked the whole loaf off the surface and took it down into the depths. Now, that is the fish I want sometime while I am here. I was warned not to use a pole on this part of the lake because it will certainly get smashed. I settled for my ledger rod with 18lb straight through line with a number 5 hook and feeding fresh prawns, as this is what they like. Fussy fish but well worth it because on my first day I had a 2lb common carp fishing for just an hour.
After evening meal we went into Montendre to the Night Market.
The whole town square is covered in stalls selling fresh cooked food with tables to eat on. Dishes such as snails, paella, huge steaks, crepes and salads, wine galore by the bottle or gallon. There was also clothes,jewelryy and local crafts stalls. The market was open from 5pm to 1am and it was absolutely packed with people. A few souvenirs, coffee and crepes later we went home to open the bottle of Pineau we had bought.
Got out the serious rod this morning, went to the supermarket and bought some prawns. Ten minutes after dropping in the water I caught a lovely 8lb carp, a baby apparently but big for me.
01-09-13
Well, here we are a week down the line on site and what have we done? - absolutely nothing off site and been nowhere apart from a meal in a local restaurant. A little wine and the girls are into 'tree hugging', a local custom it seems.
The weather is 35C every day, the company is fantastic, the fishing, as you will by the link below is fantastic, having caught a 22lb Carp just before dark last night. It is as if we have died and gone to heaven.
Only 30 minutes before my friend caught a 14lb carp. It got its rear fin stuck in the net so we were releasing it when it suddenly flipped. It was like a razor and sliced my finger almost to the bone. That was when he swapped places with me and I caught 'the big one'.
That was just after I caught one of the smallest fish ever to be caught on a hook.
The beer is lovely and cold all day if you want it. In the evening most gather for a natter and a quiz, or karaoke or whatever takes the fancy.
We have decided to stay here until the 22nd September before moving on to our second site. On Tuesday our friends, and my fishing partner go home so we may venture out and explore a bit. Jean is happy conversing and making her cards or, minding my fishing pole while I went to get another cool beer.
04-09-13
Waking up to this every morning. No blaring radios, peace and quiet with no-one rising until around 9am. What more could you want.
09-09-13
Originally it was 14 nights here - now it is 27 nights, until 22nd September then we move on to Le Vieux Port, a total contrast to where we are now. We are there for 7 nights at a deal price of 100E including EHU.
www.levieuxport.com/campsite-france-landes.html?gclid=CODE6uKCirkCFcTItAodKCIAUg
The weather has finally started to cool down, though it is due to get hot again later in the week. After a fortnight of temperatures over 40C the temperatures have dropped to around 22C to 25C. We have had a few showers, which have been welcomed as the grapevines needed a watering before the picking takes place later this month. Even the fish stopped eating during the hot spell however, when the rainstorm came they went into a frenzy and we were back to getting some good sized fish out of the lakes. During one night we had a lightning storm that hit the satellite dish for the site and took out the Sky box and the big TV, which was only 30m away from the our caravan.
Walking around the site you have the opportunity to see Wild Boar and Deer if you are up early enough. The donkeys in the field adjoining the site in the woods will happily trot up for tit-bits of carrots and the woodpecker can be heard hammering on a tree trunk. The acorn tree will hustle and you will see the Red Squirrels busying themselves collecting the hazel nuts. Early evening will see the rabbits scurrying around the woodland and, if you are very lucky you will see a grass snake swimming across the lake with a small fish in it’s mouth. Stella, the site Alsatian will sidle up to me to see if I have any dog biscuits to give her. It is almost as cosy as home.
We have ventured off site and visited Talmont-sur-Gironde and Royan. Talmont is on the peninsular on the estuary of the Gironde river, the biggest in Europe. The historically listed village is famous for it’s 12th century Roman church built on the cliff. The town itself was built in 1284 by Edward 1st of England, who reigned during this period in this part of France. The main street is only about 4m wide and the side streets are no more than 2m wide. The tiny houses are either residential or converted to quaint shops, such as boutique, an artist working entirely with rose designs and paintings, unusual gift shops, crepe cafes and craft shops. The museum tells the whole history of the village. Then there is the coastal walks either way from the peninsular. It takes a good few hours to explore the village.
Whilst in a Cafe in the village we saw a swallow swoop through to the end above the exit door. There was a nest there and they were feeding their three young, just a few feet from where customers were sitting and right above where everyone exited the Cafe.
Royan on the Charente-Maritime coast can claim to be one of the best Atlantic beach and holiday resorts in France. It has a warm and sunny climate, tourist attractions, a lovely natural location and best of all some wonderful sandy beaches.
Once a chic seaside resort of beautiful Belle Époque architecture, it was flattened in January 1945 by Allied bombing. This attack appears to have been needless - according to one historian the Germans had already left the town – and caused huge damage. The town was rebuilt in modernist style in the 1950s today it is an attractive mix of the old and new, the colourful old villas nestling behind the main part of town.
It also has a fine port to wander around, lots of natural areas rich with wildlife to explore and for those who like to shop there’s plenty to do, too, from Royan’s renowned market to some upmarket stores aimed at Parisian holidaymakers. For despite its growing popularity with some foreign holidaymakers, Royan is still a place where the French like to holiday and enjoy the seaside as only the French can.
On Sunday we went to two local villages that were hosting Table Top sales. One of them covered every street in the village and it lasts all day. Included in the pitch price is lunch, which was brought around by volunteers and included food and drink for everyone on the stall. There seems to be a strong community spirit still in France and they welcome visitors too. Having said that they do sell all the junk type things like in the UK but you can find a few bargains. Jean got a lovely new, modern coat for 10E and we picked up a new steamer for 6E for the caravan. We now have so many euro plug items I have fitted an additional euro socket in the caravan.
16-09-13
The whole area between Montendre and Bordeaux is smothered in vineyards and sunflower fields. The grapes are picked by both machine and by hand during the last week of September and the first week in October. The older generation of growers can be identified by the fact that they plant rose bushes at the ends of their vine rows. They do this to encourage the bees to pollinate the vine blossom. The Sunflowers are harvested at around the same time when they are completely brown so the seeds can be harvested for oil.
Visiting Blaye was a pleasurable experience. The main attraction is the Citadel. In the 17th century, Louis XIV ordered Vauban to strengthen the existing fortifications at the Citadel of Blaye to protect the city of Bordeaux, located upstream of the estuary on the Garonne River. As the cannons at the time did not have sufficient range to cover the 3 km width of the river - and thus prevent the enemy from reaching the city - Vauban built two more forts. With Fort Paté, Fort Médoc and the improved fortifications of the Citadel of Blaye, Vauban was able to set up cross-fires and prevent enemies from sailing up to Bordeaux. Within the city walls there are many quaint shops selling crafts of all sorts, café’s and restaurants. We walked around most of the streets and ramparts noting that a lot of restoration work is taking place all the time. There is even a Municipal Camp Site in the centre of the Citadel.
Now, where shall I start to fix this bike.
On Wednesday and Saturday of each week the streets around the Citadel are turned into a large street market, selling everything from vegetables, clothing, foods, both cooked and raw and even love birds in cages.
From here we left along the coast road towards Bourg stopping at a lay-by overlooking the sea and ate our pizza and fruit salad before setting off along the cliff road. The road is barely wider than our car. There are small hamlets where the houses are on the left and the gardens on the right overlooking the sea. At several points there are large circular nets hanging above the sea on small cranes. Apparently they are baited and dropped onto the sand before the tide comes in. The small fish are drawn into the nets by the bait and they are lifted not long after the tide comes in.
Arriving in Blough we parked up and instantly noticed an eerie silence. It was 1pm and everything was closed for lunch. Not a soul could be seen on any street, not a single vehicle moved in this small town. When France shuts down everyone shuts down with it. They are all either in their homes or in the many restaurants. The Port is far below and the site is spectacular from above, with sheer walls of over a hundred feet down.
This Sunday we went to a car boot sale and to a craft fair in a small village. The village church was open for people to visit and it was beautiful for such a small village church. There was music playing softly and it was as if it was alive.
The village green had a small food tent so we had a light lunch here before heading back to the sunshine of Montendre. On the way we came across a church with an unusual graveyard. There were small houses and monuments within the graveyard, each of which belonged to a family name. As each member of the family passes away so they are entombed in the family crypt the oldest one we came across was dated 1926. There seems to be a lot of these dotted around the country.
The one thing that really stands out in this part of France is the friendliness of the locals towards visitors. They do do not go out if their way to try to speak our language, and why should they however, they do go out of their way to help you understand and speak their language, which is lovely.
As it is the middle of September you can feel the Autumn creeping in. The mornings are cooler at around 13C, leaves are starting to turn brown and drop from the trees. The daylight is getting shorter and the daytime temperature has dropped from 40C only 2 weeks ago to 22C on average.Today I ventured out for a bike ride around the local roads. This are of France is very flat and I biked 15 miles without coming to any hills to talk about. The countryside is littered with abandoned houses and buildings.
23-09-13
Last week we visited a local Distillery, Couks to see how they make Cognac; fascinating to say the least. The distillery was an old farm and there was no external visible sign it was one, apart from the fields of vineyards that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was a business that had been handed down from great grandfather to grandfather, to father and from next week, the son was taking over. He described it not as work but as a passion. We were shown a small area where the grapes were turned into wine, then fermented again to make the raw cognac, which at this stage was 81%. It stands for 2 years in barrels after which it is blended to bring it down to 40%, the legal maximum limit. To allow it to drop of it’s own accord takes 100 years so the grower would never get to taste his own cognac. It was unbelievable to imagine that below our feet was a swimming pool size of wine, all of which would eventually be cognac. The initial process from picking the grapes to laying in the barrel takes three and half months, no longer, no shorter. After the tour we sampled the different years and blends with the option to purchase, which we did.
From here we travelled to a village name Rig? Where we went to a restaurant for lunch. The owner, also Chef showed us around his restaurant which used to be a bakery. The original bakers oven was still in the wall and was over 4 metres back inside.
He also had a selection of motorbikes, one of them being 65 years old as well as old Yamaha and a Chopper bike. All of them started first time and are ridden regularly. The meal was superb and very reasonably priced for three courses.
We walked around the corner to visit a pottery, also in an old converted house from many years back. The owner made a lovely bowl on her potter’s wheel and explained the process, explaining it would be at least one month before the item was ready for sale.
Making our way back to a small village named Soumeras our guide Louise showed us an unusual monument. It was built in 2000 and was in memory not of the dead but of the living. The names of everyone living in the village at that time was engraved in the monument. How unusual is that?
Our time at Twin Lakes has come to an end. We have been here for 28 days and I can honestly say we shall miss it. Where have we been over the last month? – not far for sure, which means we will have to come back next year to see more. The car has had a well earned rest, having used less than 40 litres of fuel in a month. A couple of cycle rides, a couple of meals out, a day tour out locally, a visit to Blayes and Royan, an couple of hours fishing every day, Jean making her greeting cards, a few drinks at night, generally good weather, splendid hosts at Twin lakes and lots of new friends made on the way. And…neither of us has ever been bored or at a loss of something to do. This is a rustic site that needs no changing of anything. It is clean, the facilities are kept spotless all of the time and the quietness of the site in the morning, apart from the tree frog waking you at around 8am is something to be treasured.
Today we move off to our next site at Messanges; a total contrast from where we have been with it being a commercial, large site situated right on the beach. It has been almost five weeks since we left home and still have almost three weeks left. They do say variety is the spice of life.
25-09-13
We have been at Messanges now for three full days.
www.levieuxport.com/campsite-france-landes.html?gclid=CODE6uKCirkCFcTItAodKCIAUg
When we arrived on Sunday afternoon we thought we had arrived at the 'holiday from hell' site. It was packed solid with 100's of children, which went on until late in the evening. The pitches were so close together you could shake hands with three different neighbours.
We went into Reception and asked for a list of all vacant spaces so we could pick our own. We found a lovely spot in the pines trees with no-one either left, right, behind was mobile homes that were all empty or in front, yet only two minutes walk from the toilets, showers, seven swimming pools and shop.
We settled for the night dreading the week ahead of bedlum. We need not have bothered. On arising on Monday morning there was a pure silence throughout the whole site. It was 10am and not a sound, no people, no children. It was if they had all been spirited away. What had actually happened was that they had all gone back across the Spanish border late on Sunday night to go back to school. In the afternoon we went to the swimming area that was packed on Sunday. It was 3pm and there were 6 people between 7 pools. Sheer bliss. It was hot too, with the temperatures reaching 34C each day by 1pm. The wave pool is a welcome cooling area every half hour or so.
This is the last week of the site opening so odd people are coming and going taking their things home. There must be over 2000 mobile homes here and probably around 30 are occupied. All the reps for Eurocamp, Keycamp, etc, have gone home two weeks ago. It is like having your own park. Walk to the beach, which is about 300 yards off site and all you see are about a dozen surfers along a mile stretch of beach.
This is a place you would not want to come to for any peace and quiet when the season is in full swing. Having said that it is a place not to be missed in the low season as it is so peaceful, serene and has all the facilities you could want.
On Sunday we move over the Spanish border to Camping Orio,
www.campingseuskadi.com/en/orio/
which is just beyond San Sebastian for our last 10 days.
26-09-13
This morning we have been down to Le Vieux Port beach. What a site - it is a Surfer's paradise.
Apparently this is the best time of the year for the surf. Just down the road near Biarritz the World Championships Roxy Pro Surfing is taking place.
Video link:
Back having lunch and, as the temperature is creeping past 30C it will be the afternoon in the pool complex.
28-09-13
And so it had to come…our last day at Le Vieux Port Holiday Park. Tomorrow we move on to Camping Orio near San Sebastian in Spain for our final 8 nights before heading for an overnight stay at Bilbao Port for our return journey to Portsmouth.
The week has been interesting and quite enjoyable…much more than we envisaged when we drove in last Sunday and saw the hundreds of children around. They were spirited away on Sunday night and did not return until around 9pm last night (Friday). The site closes down tomorrow so there will be a mad exodus of a couple of thousand people, most who have come just for the final weekend.
We had a lovely quiet spot under the pine trees, the weather was exception, being around 32C average daytime to around 23C at night, a little too warm for us at night. No rain at all throughout the week either, which is a real bonus in a place like this. Almost every morning consisted of a bike ride around the local area; you could cover 4 miles on site alone with no problem, Every afternoon was a few hours around the pool, having the occasionally dip to cool off.
The highlights of the week have been the relaxing around the pool in the warm sunshine, a visit to Biarritz today and watching the surfers on the local beach, plenty for anyone in one week.
We took the coast road to Biarritz which was 60km away. It was very difficult to park as it a very cosmopolitan area and a popular visiting area.
The two main attractions we saw were the
Virgin on the Rock
and the Ocean Museum which had many tanks in natural rock of all the fish in the seas around this coast including sharks, seals and every variety of fish too.
If you look at le Vieux Port and think it is for you bear in mind it is over full throughout July and August, meaning there are more people than facilities. In the early late season the weather is just right, well it was for us. The cost of staying on this 5 Star site for a week in September is 100E including electric, which is cheaper than ACSI. The best areas to site are near the beach end if you like the beach and in the ‘G130 – G137 if you like the pool, quiet and close to the bar/restaurant. If anyone wants to know more just contact us.
The site itself is kept spotlessly clean. One of the amusing things we noticed was the toilet/shower area. It shows a woman at one end entrance and a man at the other end entrance. Walk in, look down the other end and there is the woman. They are virtually shared. Also, don’t be surprised to see the women walking out of the showers naked to dry themselves. The squirrels are black and the sparrows are so tame they will sit on your caravan step next to you while you are outside looking for a crumb or two.
Now that we are leaving France it is time to summarise what we have found in the country. First, the cost of living is higher than the UK, especially sweet items. Two custard slices will set you back over 3E. Eat it in Carrefour and it will cost you 3E for one. I would say it is around 20% above the UK. The people are much more friendly than I expected, except in the odd cities. They have very long memories and in the ones we flattened during the second world war unnecessarily they are still a bit hostile towards us. Elsewhere though they are very friendly. What we particularly liked was they would make little attempt to speak English, and why should they, but they will make every effort to get you to understand. There are forests everywhere including many little ones. Many areas allocate a part of forest for families to cut wood for the winter and they always replant when they cut down. Most of the areas we were in grew pine trees. Food growing is very localised, like maze, grapes and sunflowers.
Next week we will probably do more travelling, though we may not. We will see what time brings.
02-09-13
We have spent three nights here in Orio. The weather is still very hot, though humid at around 28C by day and 24C by night. It has been difficult keeping the inside of the caravan cool enough to sleep. There is no rain to speak of forecast, just the occasional few spots during the night.
It is very different from France, some good, some not. The scenery is beautiful and everywhere you go is up a hill; even the Tourism Information is up a very steep back street in the sleepy village. It would not have been a problem except for the fact it was closed when I got there.
Orio is like going back 40 years in Spanish terms; the shops close at 1pm and reopen at 5pm until 8pm, a rarity now, even in Spain so we are told. There is a lovely harbour where most of the cruisers are secured for the winter, just the occasional one going out.
There were quite a few locals fishing off the harbour wall where the river is on the one side and the sea on the other.
This is a village that has more tourists than residents in the summer, so they are probably relieved to have their village back for the winter. The people are friendly though nowhere near as friendly as the French. Being a typical Spanish village virtually no English is spoken anywhere, which is not a problem. Today, outside the Tourism Office I met a couple around our age from Stockholm. They said they had left home in March and walked, yes walked all the way here. And I had just said how tiring it was walking up the hill!
The site has everything one needs; toilets, showers, water to each pitch, free internet, if you can get a strong enough signal, even a place to wash your car.
There is a reasonably priced Restaurant on site and a small shop for essentials.
There are no food shops at all in the village, which seems unusual. Locals have to travel 5km for a small supermarket and 13km to a bigger one. Diesel seems to be about the same price as France. There is a vast difference between the garage price and the supermarket price for diesel. Not just a few cents either, it is 20 cents cheaper!
Yesterday we walked around the promenade then I cycled along the harbour, down the purpose made cycle-ways that run alongside the river to the village centre.
And then I walked up the cliff road to view the bay from the top.
Every morning along the cycleway the teachers from the local primary school take out around 50 children around the track as part of their day. There will be strollers, dog walkers and joggers continually using the cycle track all throughout the day. All along the part that runs alongside the river there are seats set in the wall so that you can watch craft going up and down the river, read perhaps or just take in the scenery. A long, cool drink was welcomed when I got back to the site.
Wi-Fi here is so poor it won’t upload a single photo, even when I am stood next to the mast. Ordered an amplifier for our next trip. Picks up all Wi-Fi up to smile away - so it says.
Fruit and veg is very poor in this area, and well overpriced even on the local markets. Oranges cost 60p each! , cauliflower almost 2 euro. Wine is cheap though.
Only 7 days and we will be home. Sad, sad.
03-10-13
Well, what a night. At around midnight the wind rose to over 40 kph with gusts of 70kmph, so they said in Reception. I was out at 2am putting in new bigger pegs as the wind pulled the normal ones out. The canopy was flapping so hard it was jolting the caravan back and forth, so not much sleep. Still Jessymoo, it stayed the course and survived. Same tonight then calm for a week, which is good for the crossing. It was still 26C all night and is 32C now.
Market day in the village. I would swear the same stalls are in Chesterfield on a Saturday.
I think a nice bike ride is on the cards for later on this afternoon, after a bit of catch up sleep.
Tomorrow I have planned a route in the mountains along gravel roads some of the way to seek out the vineyards that make the local wine, Txakoli.
If my writings tomorrow are jibberish you will know I have found it.
04-10-13
Wow, what a storm that was. It only lasted about an hour but put down some serious amount of water. The good old canopy threw every drop off in bucket loads. I managed to video a bit of it for you to see what it looked like. No fork lightening though just sheet. You can actually see the eye of the storm, like a funnel opening as it passed overhead. Not seen one like that before.
Threw it down most of the night. Cleared the air though and it is a pleasant non humid 25C. Put off the vineyards until tomorrow as it is going to be nice weather.
06-09-2013
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Yep, you are right – we did find the Txakolina, the local white wine. And very nice it is tooooo!!
We left this morning to do a 60km round trip through the mountain passes taking in Aizarna, Bidania, Urkiza, down into Tolasa then back via the main road. The scenery was stunning and at times we were above the cloud base. We stopped loads of times for photo shoots and just to admire what was around us.
Basque Scenery
Abandoned buildings in forests
and on the side of the road too!
I think the farmer may have forgotten where he left his tractor....5 years ago
Meeting a car going the other way on these roads was not good and as we left one village two dogs decided it was their road, not ours. The one eventually moved to the side but the other, as the video link shows, decided if we wanted to pass him sat in the middle of the road we would have to make all the moves, which we did if course. The one thing that strikes us about this area is that they grow nothing in particular; a few corn on the cob, a few cows for milking, a few sheep and that is about it. The short video we have uploaded are extracts from the in-car video that records sound and video whilst the car is moving. At £16 we considered it a good investment and as you will see the quality is OK too.
Yesterday, as the weather was cooler Jean decided she wanted to make some greeting cards as she has sold all of the cards she has made since leaving home. She would like to say a big ‘Thank You’ to everyone we have met on our travels over the last seven weeks who have bought cards from her. The result of the sales has accrued 53 Euros for Help for Heroes, which will go with the other £50+ at home to be paid in after all Christmas sales have been made.
I disappeared for a 12 mile bike ride. Around here is a labyrinth of cycle-ways and I found a lovely one that follows the river.
Tomorrow, as it is going to be warm and dry I am going to visit the next two villages along the coast by bike, about a 20 mile round trip. That will be our last full day here before we pack up on Monday morning and head for Bilbao Port to stay overnight ready for the 10.30am sail to Porsmouth. A mini cruise to finish the seven week holiday off, lovely.
06-10-13
Today’s cycle ride did not goes as expected. I followed the riverside road for around 3 miles out of town expecting to see the next village around the corner. Instead the cycle road came to an abrupt end and I found myself on the main car road facing a really steep hill. With gritted teeth I climbed the steep hill, being passed by about 20 ‘proper’ cyclists on the way up expecting to see the seaside village in front of me but no, all I saw was the road weaving through the forest with lots of ups and downs and no village. Decision time – forget it, go back down the hill, onto the cycle track and back into the village to mix in with the local people enjoying the Sunday morning sunshine. Never mind, it was a nice 10 mile ride.
And so we have reached the final day in Northern Spain. Orio is one of those places that grows on you day by day as you discover new things.
Starting with Camping Orio. The site is well laid out, pitches are of a generous size and you are not on top of each other. Toilets and showers are always clean and of a good standard. There is a small Launderette which costs 3.8E for a full wash and a dryer that cost 3E, though was not working while we were there. Almost all pitches had a water tap and 10amp EHU. Free Wi-Fi was via a password which gave you 2 hours of usage. There was no limit to how many 2 hour tickets you could get from Reception. We usually picked up 2 a day for use on the Nexus 7 and laptop uploads. The signal strength was very poor almost all of the time, which is something the management say they will be looking at for the future. The staff are always friendly and helpful and will give any help when requested.
Orio itself has something for everyone. The sandy beach is only a 5 minute walk away, village 10 minute walk. There is a restaurant on site which although limited in menu, is also very reasonably priced. Within 10 minute walk there are several others too. Around 15 minute walk gets you to the train station that takes you into San Sebastian in 45 minutes, costs 2.30E each way and runs every hour, half hourly on certain days. The whole area is geared for cycling, being mainly flat surfaces too. There are routes in and around the village, along the river side for a couple of miles out of town. There is also a ridgeway cycle/walking route for the more enthusiastic. Fishing is popular on the harbour walls as you can fish sea on one side and river on the other. In the village there are several shops dotted around from a bazaar to small supermarkets in the side streets. It follows tradition of closing down between 1pm and 5pm then reopening until 8pm, all the year round. The village is surrounded by mountains and there are some lovely routes to take by car to see the scenery and visit the vineyards. On a Sunday the traffic is redirected away from the main square because the local people visit the many café’s, attend Church then have their lunch in the restaurants, parks or by the sea with the children. It is very much a community spirit throughout the village.
Is this the place for you? Well, there are certainly a lot of British around here, either passing through or staying a while. On Camping Orio around 50% are British. If you have children they would love it as it is safe, lots of play areas and cycle ways they can cycle in safety while seeing interesting things too. All of the parks are situated on the cycle routes. It is certainly somewhere you would not be disappointed with, in our opinion of course.
The cost of living is probably on par with the UK, though if you want good fruit and veg you have to pay a higher price than in the UK. So it’s time for us to conclude now and start our three day journey home.
And what about the cost of this 7 week holiday? Well, roughly.
Total money spent = £2,800
Miles covered door to door = 2631 miles
Fuel used = 91 gallons
Average = 28.91 miles per gallon
Tomorrow we leave for Bilbao, stay overnight in the Port then the 24 hour mini cruise to Portsmouth before heading back to Chesterfield by Wednesday tea time.
07-10-13
We spent the morning steadily packing away. No hurry to leave as we only have 120km to Bilbao Port and do not have to leave the site until 5pm if we wish. As it happened it was a lovely warm sunny day so we left at 2pm. A steady run down and we arrived at Bilbao Port at 4pm. There were already around a dozen others who had arrived and were parked on the main car park. Shortly after we arrived the Check-in opened so we checked in and moved into the lines for boarding the next morning. It was still warm and sunny so down went the legs, out came the table and chairs, along with the alcohol. It was lovely sat there in the sunshine having a drink and chatting to others on their way home. When the sun went down we all retired to ourcaravanss and we watched a DVD before retiring to bed.
08-10-13
Not too much sleep last night. There are so many noises on the dockside…ship’s engines ticking over, lorries moving back and forth, people in and out of their caravan/motorhomes to the toilets and the Spanish lorry drivers having a party until after 3am. Our ferry arrived at around 7am.
Boarding went smoothly and we were underway by 11am, only 30 minutes late. As we were going to be at sea for 24 hours time was irrelevant. We were lucky enough to have an outside cabin so had a view of the sea from the portal.
Brunch was the order of the day as we had only had cereal in the caravan before boarding. That saw us through the day before having an evening meal on Deck 10 at the top.
There were various events going on throughout the day such as quizzes in one of the three bar areas, a cinema showing different films and, if you were brave enough, the small swimming pool on the top deck. There was British TV in various lounges as well. All in all there was enough going on to fill in your time. Free internet access was in all lounge areas too.
On retiring for the night it was noticeable that the ship was moving back and forth when you lay down, yet the wind was only 10mph. Shortly afterwards the ship slowed down to a crawl and the swaying stopped, allowing us to drop off to sleep.
09-10-13
We woke from a good nights sleep at around 7am. The shower was a welcome wake up tonic and, after having a light breakfast we went out on deck to watch the final part of the journey past the Isle of Wight and into Portsmouth harbour. It was interesting to see the warships moored up and the new stealth navy vessel being finished off.
By 10am we were off the ship and on the motorway back up North and Chesterfield.
It has been 7 weeks and 1 day since we left home. We were ready to return to the comforts of home, though have thoroughly enjoyed our almost flawless trip. A short stop for an early lunch and we were pulling into the drive at 2.15pm. The roads home had been very busy however, they flowed freely. Time for a nice cup of tea before anything gets done.
Thank you to everyone who’ve been with us throughout, or sometime during our 7 week trip. We have loved every minute of it, and reporting on it too and we have actually had 5 different holidays in one….Aylesbury, Twin Lakes, Le Vieux Port, Onis and finally a mini cruise home. Now we are home, somewhere we are also both happy with – and start planning next year’s long haul holiday.
Time to climb out of the passenger seats and go your own way.
Best wishes, Graham & Jean