Wednesday 6th December 2107

Although we had enjoyed some very warm sunny weather during the day and made the most of this strolling along the wonderful sandy beach, as soon as the sun disappeared behind the mountains, the temperature plummeted like a stone. We had even begun to experience some frost in the mornings! A couple of days catching up with domestic chores and a little shopping and we decided to head back to one of our previous campsite near Barcelona, Vilanova Park, to begin the long journey back to England for Christmas.

06.12.17 Route

Towing Kilometres – Today: 396 Cumulative: 5,618

Back in familiar territory we made our way to Vilanova Park, near Vilanova i la Geltrú and to the pitch we had used previously. Our intention was to spend a couple of days here, catch up with Lutz, whom we had met on our last visit and sit out the forthcoming Public Holiday celebrations on 8^th December.

The campsite was busier than we had expected, but having 2 Public holidays so close to each other and a weekend, perhaps the Spanish were making the most of this time before Christmas with their friends and family.

Once settled in, we paid a visit to Lutz and met his friend Rudi, a keen kite surfer.

Lutz had been busy, toing and froing between Barcelona and Berlin for some social events as well as paying Camp Nou a visit, in nearby Barcelona, to watch a Champion’s League match. (I think it might have been a German team ………. 🙂 )

Ray invited Lutz and Rudi over for a meal and a convivial evening was spent catching up and getting to know Rudi.

Monday 27th November 2017

Last evening we had accepted a kind invitation over to New Forest residents Phil & Jenny’s van to share a bottle, eh-em, and a good chat session went on for some time. Thank you both. This morning we packed up and readied the van for our next leg of the trip. We said our goodbyes to  P & J and also to Tomás before carefully making our way out of the sites gate to get on our way.

Continue reading South To Find Sand →

Thursday 16th November 2017

As much as we enjoyed staying at Vilanova Park, except maybe at the weekends when the locals are a little on the loud side, it was time to move south in search for more sunshine.

We had chosen to move down towards Valencia and had chosen a site about 40km north of the city. A quick scan of the Camping Card book introduced us to Camping Monmar, a €17 per night site with the added bonus that if we stayed 10 nights we only have to pay for 8.

The route was almost entirely on the AP-7 toll road. It cost us about €30 in tolls, but was stress free towing for the 258km route. We could have saved a few euros by moving over to the often running parallel A-7, but the amount of trucks on that road made me think the tolls were worth paying.

I’m still really impressed with the way the Kuga tows. Usually set the adaptive cruise at an indicated 94kph and the car averages 26 to 28 mpg.

16.11.17 Route

Towing Kilometres – Today: 258 Cumulative: 5,068

We were met on arrival by Tomás, who invited us to choose from a number of available pitches. All were a little on the snug size for our van, awning, car combination but we managed to get comfortable with a number of motor mover manoeuvres.

Camping Monmar Pitch

The facilities are very clean with ample hot water. There is a bar and café/restaurant, and a swimming pool which unfortunately has been closed for maintenance. The local town is about a mile away, with supermarkets, bars, and an excellent bakery.

The beach is about 300yds away. The surrounding area is not the most picturesque we have seen on our travels but there are many things to visit relatively nearby. A train to Valencia costs €8.70 return, a bargain.

Tomás provided us with a map and took the time to mark out many of the places nearby that he recommended we visit. We intend to stay here for at least 10 nights, and we will receive our first visitor of the trip, Kims’ sister Carol is flying out on Monday.