2015 - Spain
Page 3 of 4
Living costs in Spain are still very reasonable in comparison with other euro countries. Diesel was less than 1 pound per litre and eating out was excellent. The food standards were high and the prices low. In a small restaurant in Benicassim town centre you could have a three course lunch , Menu Del Dia, which included a half bottle of local wine for €6.50 (about £4.75). They were not large portions but very good quality.
(left) Desnée and Sandra waiting for their lunch. Another lovely restaurant was at the southern end of the promenade at El Torre Saint Vincent. Lovely views of the beach, good people watching and delicious, fresh food. (below left) El Torre Saint Vincent (below right) the restaurant
We really enjoyed our stop over at Benicassim but all too soon it was time to start heading homewards. Some motorhome owners make the journey back to the north coast of France in two days but that is not for us! We like to limit our driving to about four to five hours per day and in reality this is about 250 - 300 km each day. However, our first drive north was to be a bit longer than average as it is best to avoid stopping in the Barcelona area. Our destination was to be Capmany (7) which is north of Figueres and just south of the Spanish/French border. 412km north of Benicassim. We had not been here before but found the site in the ACSI guide book. When we arrived we realised that Capmany was just a very small town but the campsite was easy to find and very pleasant. So much so that we decide to spend two nights there and enjoy the sunshine and peace and quiet. We noticed that many of the cork oak trees appeared to have burnt trunks and we were told that two years ago a forest fire from France destroyed the entire campsite. All that survived was the concrete structures of the toilet block and the reception building. everything else was burnt to the ground including numerous static caravans. The Dutch owners were desperately trying to rebuild the business and we wish them the best of luck - they deserve it.
(above) the peaceful campsite (right) the charred trees and shattered rocks from the forest fire but nature was bouncing back very quickly. It was a 10 minute walk into Capmany centre. An unremarkable town but a charm of its own. We were hoping to find a shop open to buy some food for dinner and breakfast. We nearly missed it! There was no outside advertising just a few loaves of bread stood in a window. We peered inside and saw there were other items in stock and so went in.
Through the door and you stepped back 100 years or more. It was indeed a little shop that sold all the essentials but it was also a bar and a cafe with rickety wooden tables and chairs. The owner was a genial chap and he tried to use the few words of English that he had learnt. Items were hand wrapped and placed into a grocery bag for us. It reminded me of rural village shops when I was a small child. In the shop we were surprised to hear English being spoken by another couple and it turned out that they were also staying at the campsite. Phillipa and Peter Ennis run a B&B in Kendal and were a very interesting pair to talk to. Time to move on again with a short journey into France and stop over at Narbonne (8). We had driven through Narbonne before but never stopped. We had located an aire, La Narbonette which sounded attractive. Access to the aire was controlled by a barrier and you had to operate a machine to issue a ticket and raise the barrier. All very straight forward - er, well no, it wasn’t! The operating instructions were on a small, hooded display screen at about waist level. The display was very faint and the sun shone straight in past the hood. You had to bend down to see the screen under the hood, shade the sun with your hands and then see what you had to do. But for those of us that wear varifocal spectacles you were now peering through the long distance part of the lenses. So lift your glasses up to the reading part of the lens but now you had let the sun back on to the screen. After several minutes of faffing about I deciphered that after pushing the appropriate button the correct number of times you were then required to enter your registration number and push another button the correct number of times to issue a ticket. Eureka! the machine issued a ticket and the barrier raised. Quick - jump back in the cab and pass through before the barrier dropped!!! We then enjoyed watching various nationalities arrive and go through the same procedure. The best time was about three minutes - but I think they had done it before!!
The pitch sizes were generous, electric hook up was supplied as part of the price and the aire was floodlit at night. We paid on the way out €9.00. Behind us was a park and we were most impressed to see the huge number of Narbonne citizens who ran around the perimeter path. They obviously take keeping fit seriously! Across the road in front of us and approx 300m to the left, was a very large Carrefour shopping mall. We wandered across to pick up some shopping and discovered some lovely homeware shops. Oh dear! It was an expensive shopping trip!
The weather was still beautifully warm and sunny and so we decided not to continue north but to travel just a few kilometers east to Narbonne Plage (9) hidden under 8 on the map. It is only 17 km from Narbonne to the beach but you have to travel over the top of some low mountains to get there. This road is stunning scenery which a camera cannot do justice to. You wind along through pine trees and then have a magnificent panoramic view towards the coast. All around, at some distance, are sheer rock faces of limestone plateaux. We think it is one of the most scenic routes that we have discovered during our journeys.
As you can see (left) the route is choked with traffic - not. We had this same traffic situation throughout our entire trip. (below left) Narbonne plage aire. Just over the sand dune in front of us is a vast sandy beach. (below right) on the beach looking towards Narbonne Plage town as the sun was setting. There is a cycle path all along this coast. from the aire it is about an 8 minute ride into town. Narbonne Plage town is not much to see but there are restaurants, cafées and shops.
We spent a lazy day chilling out in the warm sun and cycled into town for lunch. The aire is manned, floodlit at night and has good water and toilet facilities but no electric hook up. The fee is €10 which is a tad high for no electric. Day 28 - The journey north continued and sadly, we left the lovely sunshine behind us. It had been 29C in Narbonne Plage. We followed the A75. This is a toll free autoroute and it is a beautiful region of France to travel through. The route took us over the famous Millau Viaduct which is the only section which is a toll road and quite expensive at €25.70 (£19) for about a 5km section. The alternative is to go through the town of Millau but that adds at least 25 minutes to your journey.
We spent a lazy day chilling out in the warm sun and cycled into town for lunch. The aire is manned, floodlit at night and has good water and toilet facilities but no electric hook up. The fee is €10 which is a tad high for no electric. Day 28 - The journey north continued and sadly, we left the lovely sunshine behind us. It had been 29C in Narbonne Plage. We followed the A75. This is a toll free autoroute and it is a beautiful region of France to travel through. The route took us over the famous Millau Viaduct which is the only section which is a toll road and quite expensive at €25.70 (£19) for about a 5km section. The alternative is to go through the town of Millau but that adds at least 25 minutes to your journey.
Even if bridges are not your thing the Millau Viaduct will blow your socks off. Travel over or under or view from a distance you cannot help but admire the amazing feat of engineering. The photo above, taken from the Internet is looking north. The river Tarn is out of sight in the bottom of the gorge. Our destination was the small village of Ruynes en Margeride (10) (close to Saint Flour and midway between Aurillac and Le Puy en Velay) We selected this village from the Aires de France book. The overnight parking was free but there were fresh, waste water, loo dump facilities and time restricted mains hook up if you needed any of them. A token for €2 entitles you to use the facilities..
Photo from Internet
(left) The parking area is in the middle of town, alongside a walled municipal park. When we arrived, there was a funeral in progress in the church. By the number of cars parked around the church it must have been a very popular person! This was a pretty, small French, agricultural community but with its own small shops and hotel. A very good overnight stop and worth remembering for another time.