Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed. 31st. Oct. Big day today, Madrid. The rain stopped eventually last night and this morning dawned bright and sunny. We set off for the Metro and the big city. We found the tour bus ticket office and for the princely sum of €12 each got 2 day tickets for the 2 tours that circle the city, hop on hop off service. What value!! We sat on top of the open top bus for nearly 2 hours, getting our bearings and picking out preferred spots to visit at leisure tomorrow. We lunched on calamaris sandwiches, a first, delicious. We had dressed for cool weather and it wasn’t enough. Nothing had prepared us for the cold autumnal weather but we will dress accordingly tomorrow. We were pleased we had taken our flasks of coffee. The sights and architecture of Madrid are very pleasing, the trees are turning golden and the wide streets and parks are easy on the eye. We spent some time looking for a restaurant, recommended in the Lonely Planet guide to Spain, on the Plaza Mayor, for my birthday dinner tomorrow, only to find that it wasn’t there any more!! Exactly the same thing happened to us in Rome last year. Still, it isn’t going to be difficult to find a good place to eat here. Full report to follow. Loving Madrid but it’s tired us out today so it’s time to relax, have dinner and prepare for another full day tomorrow.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon. 29th. Oct. Yesterday, Sunday, we awoke to brilliantly clear blue skies, the like of which you only see in the mountains. Unfortunately, the van was covered in frost, and it was freezing. I had to get out of bed at 6 am and put the electric fire on. As the morning went on, the day became sunny and warm. We took a walk along a rough track down to the lakeside. It was a memorable walk and although down a steep hill, thoroughly enjoyable. Unfortunately the path ran out and we had to go back but by then it was lunch time so it was probably just as well. The afternoon was warm enough to sit out and enjoy the sun. Flies still a nuisance but learning to live with them. Killed about 20, new personal best!! Evening turned cool again, we were glad of the hook up and put the fire on. Another frost overnight, just like England. After some housework we set off for Cuenca. The journey was a real pleasure, over the rolling plains and stunning countryside of Castilla La Mancha. The roads were quiet and well maintained, a treat to drive. We arrived in Cuenca around 2pm and had fun driving around the centre, getting stuck in one way systems and getting into narrow streets we had no right being in. A girl at the local Repsol petrol station told us we could park overnight in a car park at the top of the old town. We are now thousands of feet above sea level, overlooking a magical historical town, perched on the edge of 2 gorges. Our views are spectacular and the lights of the town are just coming on. It’s magical, we’re so lucky. We had a drink in a nearby restaurant and the food looked so good we’re going back to eat in a minute. My phone is out of credit and the only Tabac is shut so I can’t get online to post this tonight. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Tues. Dined in local cafe, had local delicacies, game pate, pork cubes in tomato and peppers and lamb chops. Was OK, at least it was local cuisine. Couple of glasses of Tempranillo washed it down. Poor Jan had some ‘cheesecake’ which was a bit odd. Spent quiet night, cold again though and awoke to cloudy skies. After sorting out the phones we left Cuenca and headed for Madrid. The journey was painless, and quick, the scenery was fine although constant rain spoiled the views. We are currently on a campsite about 8ks outside the city listening to rain banging on the roof. I think we will stay in the warm and the dry for the rest of the day and head into Madrid early tomorrow when the forecast is good. Can’t get over how cool it is. Hope the weather is warmer further south. Big day tomorrow, looking forward to the big city. To all our American friends, stay safe, you too Ruth.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri. 6th. Oct. Well, the best laid plans don’t always come to fruition. The bus we planned to get didn’t turn up and as we’d planned to leave Valencia this afternoon it really didn’t leave us enough time to make our second visit. We’ve been wild camping for several days and the batteries were beginning to look a little low. The sunshine has been in short supply and we really need to hook up. I found a site at a farm not far from a town called Chiva, on the road to Requena. The farm is owned by a German biker and is aptly named Biker Farm. We are parked in an olive grove, overlooking pretty views of the hills, the only people here, being constantly buzzed by a million flies. Shame, it’s a great spot, with all the facilities we need. We thought we might spend the weekend here but if the flies are this bad tomorrow we’ll head out. We’ve decided to head for Madrid so have said goodbye to the coast for a while. Looking forward to seeing some real Spain in the next few days. Sat.27th. Oct. Left behind Biker Farm with its flies and noisy alsation dogs. The views couldn’t make up for the discomfort caused by both. Set off for an ACSI site, found on the internet at Villargordo del Cabriel, an idyllic spot by a lake, high up in the hills past Requena. The journey took us through mountainous and wooded countryside, on the A3 motorway and at last it felt like we were seeing some of the picturesque Spain which we had mostly missed on our way down the coast. We left the motorway in search of coffee and found a roadside restaurant which oozed character and smelled of wood fires. The coffee was excellent, as it has been everywhere in Spain. The Italians make great fuss about their coffee but Spanish is better.(and cheaper) I just wish they could find some bigger cups!! We drove into the town of Utiel and located a supermarket where we stocked up on essentials, Scotch at €4.79 a bottle being just one!! Arrived at our campsite around 1pm and got settled onto an enormous pitch with all the services. The whole place has a great feel to it and the sun shone warmly, even our flies seemed to have followed us here. There are cabins here, several of which are occupied by groups of weekending, gregarious Spaniards of differing ages having a noisy good time. The clocks go back tonight so we’re expecting them to have an extra hour of partying. Got some washing done, and settled in for a night of TV. Still working this far from home. Come dancing again. Deep joy!! There is a chill in the air up here that we haven’t felt on the coast, I believe we’ve driven up towards the cooler weather. I think it’s a good idea to do Cuenca, Madrid and Toledo now and head south again before winter sets in, we don’t like the cold. It’s strange but Jan’s hip has started to ache at the first sign of cold weather. Will walk it off tomorrow. Time for a drink.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri. 6th. Oct. Well, the best laid plans don’t always come to fruition. The bus we planned to get didn’t turn up and as we’d planned to leave Valencia this afternoon it really didn’t leave us enough time to make our second visit. We’ve been wild camping for several days and the batteries were beginning to look a little low. The sunshine has been in short supply and we really need to hook up. I found a site at a farm not far from a town called Chiva, on the road to Requena. The farm is owned by a German biker and is aptly named Biker Farm. We are parked in an olive grove, overlooking pretty views of the hills, the only people here, being constantly buzzed by a million flies. Shame, it’s a great spot, with all the facilities we need. We thought we might spend the weekend here but if the flies are this bad tomorrow we’ll head out. We’ve decided to head for Madrid so have said goodbye to the coast for a while. Looking forward to seeing some real Spain in the next few days.

Kevnjan's new adventure

Thurs. 25th. Oct. Wow. We drove past the Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencieas, yesterday on our way to El Saler where we finally managed to find a spot for the night. Today we got the bus into Valencia and got close up and personal with the sights. It is a collection of ultra modern, fantastically original buildings, designed by various architects for the exhibition of all that’s best in arts and science in Spain and the rest of the world. Each building is enormous and unique, I’m still trying to figure out how the enormous curved roof over the Palau de Artes does not come crashing down on the building below!! I think I’m probably not the only one. Astonishing!! Pictures on facebook. We had a walk around the whole estate, which is enormous, with gardens to match and decided to visit the Oceanography. Each place charges an exorbitant entrance fee and our choice was the most expensive. €55.80 for the two of us, no concessions. I have to say, it was a full day, we saw a dolphin show which was entertaining, clever little critters!! Amazing creatures, far cleverer that most of us I think. The other exhibits were brilliant, cleverly designed and well presented. We took lots of pictures and saw lots of fish, and other seafood!! I mean sealife!! Jan saw sea horses for the first time and was captivated. The weather could have been kinder, the rain kept off for most of the day but by the time we left it was pouring with rain and still is. Must go back into the city tomorrow to see the old town, I could spend hours, or even days more where we were today but could run out of money. Walked for miles, think we might try the tour bus tomorrow. Dinner time.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed.24th.Oct. Forgot to mention while we were in Pensicola that their favourite joke is to swap around the s and the i. Could almost be English humour. Not much humour here tonight. Spent most of the day driving down to Valencia to discover a dearth of campsite. We were looking forward to a few nights with hook up and all comforts but are on an aired with no electricity, about 6 - 7 ks outside the city. Strange that such a popular destination is so poorly served. Still there's a bus stop right aoutside and we're looking forward to a new adventure tomorrow. In the meantime I have steaks to barbecue and Tempranillo to drink. Buenos noches mis amigos.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tues. 23rd. Oct. Drove to San Carles de la Repete as advertised. A classy well to do town with a large marina and clearly very well off. The waterfront and beaches are beautifully presented and it’s by far the most attractive place on the Ebro Delta. Sadly, all the boats are laid up for winter and we didn’t get our boat trip. Not a flamingo in sight, but I’m glad we took the trouble to visit the town, had a good walk around and had lunch on the promenade. After lunch, headed south for Benicarlo and on to Pensicola, doing a little shopping on the way. Parked on the sea front at Pensicola and spent the night there. The weather has started to behave itself again, back in the 70s and we had the afternoon on the beach, even got in the sea for a swim. This is the life. Last night we walked into town and treated ourselves to dinner out as we’d missed out the night before. Mussels, and mixed shellfish for two, wonderful. It’s nice to treat yourselves now and again. Excellent food, good value, great company. Today, we walked up to the old town, a walled fortress on a promontory, high up overlooking the sea. It was worth the climb and €2.50 each got us into the 14th. century castle for a look around. Jan was in her element, she loves old buildings and old things, I’m surprised sometimes that she hasn’t traded me in for something older. We got back to the van around 1pm and took our lunch onto the beach where we spent the rest of the afternoon. I can highly recommend this lifestyle, had another swim, the sea’s still quite warm. Jan was doing a chicken curry for dinner and we realised we were short of rice. No shops open for miles so Jan thought it would be a good idea to go to a bar/restaurant and order a portion of rice to take away. Good excuse for a beer, I thought. The man in the bar didn’t quite understand and presented us with a whole packet of rice, uncooked, obviously. They really are so helpful, pity though, Jan had to cook her own rice. As we got back to the van, we noticed that all our camping neighbours had disappeared, bad sign!! Found a polite note from the local police inviting us to move on. Bit of a nuisance that. Still, found some free parking, about 500 yards away, where all our neighbours were already encamped. The views aren’t so good but at least we won’t get fined or moved on. Just finished the curry. Rice was great!! So was the curry. Time to watch a film and take wine. Moving day tomorrow, think we may make Valencia, depends on the weather, if it’s fine we may have to find another beach. Happy days.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Monday, 22nd. Oct. Arrived in Ebro Delta on Saturday afternoon and found free camping by a restaurant near town of Poble nou de Delta. The sky was full of storm clouds and mosquitoes. The whole area is a vast wetland consisting of paddy fields and marshland. We met up with Rob and Sheila again and had a beer in the bar. The rains came down and we spent the rest of the day in the van. On Sunday we took a long walk and saw some amazing bird life, what we enjoyed most though was a procession of crayfish across the car park, clearly they were heading for a new home. If you approached them they reared up and threatened you with their pincers. A pretty brave display from creatures not more than 3 or 4 inches long. Further along Jan spotted a snake in the road, only about 6 inches long, a viper I think, very distinct grey markings, you could hardly see it against the grey of the tarmac. We put several pictures of our ad venture on Facebook plus our videos since leaving England. We had a reasonable wifi connection from the restaurant but not good enough to skype. The four of us planned to eat dinner there on Sunday night but contrary to their published closing time on 11pm, we discovered that the restaurant closed at 6pm last night. We don’t seem to be getting much luck with eating out so far. Jan knocked up a spag bol and we invited our friends to dinner at our house. Today I think we will go to San Carles de la Repete to see if we can get a boat ride around the coast to view the flamingos and other sights on offer. Afterwards I think we will head south, away from the delta and the mosquitoes which are really unpleasant. The sun’s shining and we feel lucky. Bye for now.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri.18th. Oct. Cambrils was highly recommended by the guy in the tourist information office but hasn't come up to expectations. Yesterday we explored the town and walked for miles. Found it nondescript and the shops expensive. It seems that the further south we ga the higher the prices. The weather has broken and it rained most of the night. Washed the van today, first time since leaving England. I'm going to miss some of those flies!! We've got clean washing, clean van and it's time to move on. Heading for the Euro delta tomorrow, a national wildlife park. Looking forward to that. Will report in a day or two. Time for wine.

kKevnjan's new adventure.

Wed.17th. Oct. Yesterday we went back to Tarragona town, there was a market on and we can'tresist a market. We went with our new friends Rob Sheila from Hallowed way. I called at the tourist office to find the nearest supplier for LPG. It's not widely available in Spain and we were pleasantly surprised to find there is a garage about 15 ks away which has it. We filled up,did some shopping and booked onto a site in Cambrils, just below Salou . The sun came out and we headed for the beach for a swim. Disappointed in how dirty the beach is. Watched England draw with Poland. Was it the longest game in the whole world? Washing day tomorrow.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon.15th. Oct. Campsite closed yesterday so pitched up on waste ground by beach along ith assorted Dutch, German and English freeloaders. The weather was perfect and the sea warm. Spent the day doing not much. Spoke to mum on phone in the morning and Smigiels in the afternoon. These are the places where you meet people who can wise you up as to the best places to go, where to free camp and get the best deals. Tomorrow I think we may have to think about finding some LPG. Gettin a bit short. It looks as though we may have to travel some way. I think we need a book with this information in it. Our new English friends have one, I think I'll have to order it online. Got o go now because I'm waffling.

Kevnan’s new adventure. Sat. 13th. Oct. Left Sitges around 10am. Weather dull and damp, would have liked to look around the town but unfortunately I had a job walking. I didn’t mention that during the night in Barcelona I somehow managed to miss the ladder, getting down from my bunk and damage a toe, next to the big one on my right foot. It’s severely bruised and maybe broken and I have taped in to my big toe with duct tape in the hope that it will get better!! Anyway, we moved on, driving down the coast to Tarragona. We are on a site called Las Palmeras, about 3 miles out of town, right on the beach, on Friday we stuck around the beach, had a swim, sunbathed and rested my toe. About 6pm the clouds gathered and I thought we were in for a bad storm, put all our stuff away and waited for it. We got rain in torrents but surprisingly no real thunderstorm. This morning began a little overcast and improved as we headed into Tarragona on the bus. It’s an attractive old Roman town with an amphitheatre and other archaeological remains dotted about, and a very pretty seafront. We wandered around, despite the painful toe and enjoyed the sights and sounds of a typically Spanish Saturday morning and afternoon. We found a Medieval market around the cathedral, in honour of some saint’s day or other. Same old stuff, had a kebab for lunch. Sadly, the cathedral was closed so I couldn’t improve my score for the week!! We were glad to hear that Biscuit the cat has returned home, 11weeks after leaving, having been left in our care, Julie and the girls are very happy. Well, it’s dinner time and I have to take some Scottish medicine for my toe, we still have English TV, courtesy of the satellite dish, so having watched the football last night, I’m obliged to let Jan have Strictly Come Dancing tonight. Bit of a double edged sword then!! Discovered a spot where several Germans and Dutch are wild camping, just along the coast, we will have to join them tomorrow as this site is closing for the winter. Hope all our readers are well, more soon.

Kevnjan’s new adventure. Thurs. 11th. Oct. So – we left the safety and security of our site at Blanes on Tues. Morning and headed for the shops, Lidls was first to appear and we shopped for all the necessities, whisky, wine, food and after a few more miles, Carrefourres, for the luxuries, fish, air freshener, rubber gloves!! We had every intention of finding a spot by the beach to wild camp for a night or two. The big snag with that is that there is a railway line which seems to run the entire length of the coastling, cutting off the road from the beach, we found a similar situation along much of the Adriatic coast in Italy. The bridges are too low to get the van under and those stretches of beach which are accessible have no parking. Anyway, after a few abortive sorties into totally unsuitable narrow towns and villages we happened upon Santa Susanna. A quiet stretch of road ran parallel to the railway line and a small bridge gave us pedestrian access to the beach. As it was around 2pm. We figured it was as good as we were likely to get, a bonus was that the parking meters are closed for winter. We spent the afternoon on the beach, surprise, after a lunch of delicious prawns and ryvita. The evening was odd, we were clearly a tourist attraction for the locals who kept driving past in their cars and scooters to have a good look. One guy, on a particularly noisy scooter made the trip 10 – 15 times, he gave up around midnight, about the same time as the trains!! It was a very hot night and we could have done with the air conditioning but not on the batteries, so we opened the skylights and sweated it out. Oh how we suffer!! After some research on the internet I found a car park suitable for vans, in Barcelona, it was recommended by fellow travellers and we thought for €18 per day it would fit the bill. We felt it would be better than booking onto a site and travelling in by train. We arrived at 9.30am, without in incident and discovered that the fee for 24 hours was €30. We paid up and tried not to grumble too much. The car park was secure and had all the amenities we needed, (albeit, a little primitive.) Got the tram into the city and looked around for the open topped tour buses. This is always our first job as it gives you a sense of the layout of the city and helps you decide what to see later. We were horrified to see queues of hundreds of people waiting for the buses. It’s no exaggeration to say that each bus was full and there were plenty of them, and the queues were just getting longer. An executive decision was made not to waste our day in Barcelona queuing for buses. We discovered that the regular buses were on strike!! This happened to us in Florence!! We walked from Plaza Catalunya to the Gothic quarter, admired the old cathedral and surroundings and realised that it was lunch time already. I think I like Barcelona, it’s full of impressive, stylish buildings and pleasant open spaces and plazas, the people are pleasant and friendly but it’s so crowded. Everywhere you go there are crowds and it puts me off a bit. After lunch we headed for the must see Sagres Familia, the spectacular cathedral started in the late 19th century which is still unfinished. This made 2 cathedrals in one day, a new personal best for me!! To make matters worse we had to queue for nearly an hour to get in and then pay an admission fee of €14 each. I must say, I was impressed, not to say staggered by the astonishing workmanship and art embodied in every part of the building, and it’s still 20 or 30 years away from being finished. It was worth every cent and I’ll willingly pay again to see it when it’s finished. That’s if I’m still around of course. We did a lot of walking around Barcelona but enjoyed it immensely. We rounded off the day by walking back to Las Ramblas for a wander around, couldn’t find the bloke that robbed my brother a few years ago though!! We sat in a square, just off the Ramblas and ordered drinks and food. The street entertainers kept us amused, though not nearly as much as the waiter!! We ordered prawns and noodles to start and leg of kid with roast vegetables for main. About half an hour later we were presented with paella!! I suppose it’s just the custom that you order what you want and you get what they think you’d like!! We agreed to take the paella but drew the line when they tried to overcharge us. Nothing nasty, just a mistake. Looking forward to my kid sometime though. Back to the van and a nice whisky. Spoke to Brian, they’ve sold the house and should now be clear to buy their camper. Good luck. Today we left Barcelona, couldn’t face the crowds for a second day. Now in Sitges, parked on the seafront, weather not so good, we had thunderstorms last night and looks like we might get more today. Still warm though and we’ve just been in the sea. Time for a cup of tea.

Kevnjan’s new adventure. Mon. 8th. Oct. I can’t believe I haven’t posted a blog since Wednesday last week. I have to say that it has been pretty uneventful here. The sun has shone and as a result we have been inactive, sloths have had more activity than us!! We’ve walked, swum a lot and got plenty of rays, apart from eating and drinking it’s been really quite dull, just as we like it. Even the drinking has been low key, a couple of times I’ve had a beer and Jan a fizzy water, in some sleazy bar, overlooking the sea but apart from that it’s been cartons of vino tinto at €1.20 a litre, perfectly drinkable if, like me most of your taste buds are sunburned. We had a little phone fun today as mine refused to give me internet access after a top-up. The man at orange and I had an interesting conversation in Spanglish which thankfully resulted in the restoration of said internet. There was a market on the seafront today and we attended. Jan has been wanting an ankle chain for a while and we found her a silver one with dolphins on it. A couple of other items which she’d been wanting were also there so we had a good and successful shop. I love markets!! So, we are leaving here tomorrow, having been beach bums for the week, hopefully will find somewhere to wild camp for a day or two, you know how I hate spending money on sites. Slowly heading towards Barcelona but if the sun stays out it will have to wait for a cloudy day.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed. 3rd. Oct. Another perfect day. We went to the beach and just relaxed, the sea is cool but pleasant and we spent lots of time swimming. Our investment in fold up sun beds is paying off now, we are saving €14 a day on renting. I posted yesterday's blog on the phone and was really pleased that it worked, there are times when the laptop isn't convenient. I think I'm in serious danger of learning all the tricks of the phone. Better late than never. More of the same tomorrow, weather permitting.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tues.2nd.Oct. Left our friends in San Pere Pescado and headed for Cadaques, the home of the late Salvador Dale. It was a hairy drive over mountainous roads, but worth the effort. We were rewarded with a beautiful, unspoiled white town with blue seas and great charm. It's easy to understand what Dali saw in it. Sadly, we could find nowhere to park overnight and had to make the trip back over the mountains and spend the night wild camping in Figueres . An executive decision was made, in view of the splendid weather, to head down the coast an waste some more time on the beach. We are now in Planes, the day is fine and we are about to eat dinner. Ruud and Bear, if you read this please email me as I've mislead your address.