Get close to the Piglet

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 6 Comments

Colin Chilling

The sun has returned and Colin was straight out there working on his tan.

Marsh Harrier?

We saw this boy circling over one of the reserves by the campsite, from the early morning walk. Marsh Harrier? It looks a bit like the picture in Wikipedia.

To Market

It is market day today in L’Estartit and we cycled in first thing (11.30 am)

Iles Medes

The Islands from which the campsite, Camping Les Medes, takes its name are just offshore, on the right as you cycle in to town.

Market in L’Estartit

We picked up a bit of fruit and veg for lunch and stopped for coffee overlooking the town square. We met a friendly Irish couple who divided their lives up between Manchester, a caravan in County Antrim and an apartment in L’Estartit. Property is cheap here at the moment, by UK standards.

Chris and Jen

Tony and Rose, and Mark and Penny have moved on now but Chris and Jennifer are here for a couple more days; they showed us how to play pétanque. You have to get your boule ( a heavy metal ball… Nia is chucking one in the next pic) as close as possible to the litle orange ball which is called a cochonnet. This is apparently French for piglet. It was great fun ane we are now on the look out for a second hand set of boules.

Bouleing

It was girls vs. boys and somehow the girls won…not sure why but they must have cheated somehow.

Tagged with: boules, Colin, market, motorhome, Petanque, photography, Spain
Posted in - Spain, 2015 Spring, Catalonia, L'Estartit

The Rain in Spain

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 2 Comments

Sunday was a bit wet and we cycled in to L’Estartit with Rosie and Tony, through the floods.

Nia and Tony

A lagoon had appeared , engulfing the cycle path, where a stream which normally crossed under the cycle way had become blocked by a shallow sandbank.

Unplugged

Tony and I had to stop and watch this digger carve out a channel in the sand to let the water out. There was an impressive cataract when the final bucket load of sand was removed.

Harbour in L’Estartit

On the Rocks

We chained the bikes up at the tourist office and walked along to the small cove at the east end of L’Estartit to watch the waves and give Colin, Penny and Nia a run.

L’Estartit from the Cliffs

There is a bracing walk up the cliffs above this cove where you can get a good view out to sea over Les Iles Medes, and back inland over the town.

Spring is coming

More Flowers

We walked along the clifftop for a while then retraced our steps to L’Estartit and stopped in at Kim’s Bar for a morning coffee.

Cycling to Gualta. Nia and Penny

The rain was well set in by Tuesday and we cycled inland to ‘L’Horta de Can Patxei’, one of our favourite restaurants here, set in an apple orchard by the little village of Gualta. Mark and Penny, two friends we have met here at Camping Les Medes, and Rosie and Tony came with us. Penny and Mark are from Somerset, and so are used to floods. Penny has written freelance articles for MMM (for non motor-homers, this is the best motor-homing magazine available in the UK).

Penny and Mark

Lunch

We had a great lunch. I had bacalla- cod in a tasty vegetable sauce-absolutely delicious. The staff at the restaurant are delightful and were amazed that we had cycled 5 miles through the rain to visit them. In fact they came out in the rain to see us off (perhaps they just wanted to make sure we left the premises). We are returning on Saturday just to let them know we got back safely.

Tagged with: cycling, L'Estartit, Mavis, menu del dia, motorhome, photography, Spain
Posted in - Spain, 2015 Spring, Catalonia, L'Estartit

Two Cats in a Boat

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 4 Comments

We arrived here at Camping Les Medes in Cataluña, one of our favourite sites, on Wednesday and found a nice corner for Mavis next to the garden and tennis court.

Thursday was still sunny, and after a quick tennis knockabout we cycled in to L’Estartit for a snack lunch at Kim’s, one of the seafront restaurants. Following lunch we explored the rocky coves at the far end of the village.

Tennis Star

On Friday we hung around on the campsite to watch the edlipse then set off cycling inland, along the River Ter.

Eclipse from L’Estartit

Loads of birds appeared soaring high up at eclipse time…..vampires?

Friday’s Trip

River Ter

There are a lot of cormorants and egrets about here at the moment.

The cycle path along the river leads to the main road from Toroella to Pals. Crossing this you can carry on next to the river until you reach the small village of Gualta.

Bridge at Gualta

The bridge has been deeply ridged by decades of cart traffic.

There is a restaurant …. L’Horta de Can Patxei….in an apple orchard next to Gualta which we have visited before…open 1 -3.30 every day except Monday…Perfecto.

Not Pleased

Colin and Penny had to sit in the dog cart, just outside the restaurant, while we ate. They weren’t impressed, but a couple of small spanish girls came out after a while to play with them which did take their minds off their greedy owners.

Menu del dia

This is the menu…in Catalan. A lot of it is much closer to French than Spanish…formatge for cheese like fromage in French and mel for honey like the French miel. We couldn’t work it all out but luckily the staff had good English.

We wended a slightly wobbly way back after lunch, past a couple of cats sunbathing in a old rowing boat, usefully moored in the middle of an allotment.

Two Cats in a Boat

There is a very naughty low pressure system sitting over North Africa and sending cold weather and rain along the Spanish mediterranean coast. The forecast is bad for the next few days and we have had to get our coats out of long term storage…

Winter is Here

The Peaceful Mediterranean

Colin

Colin enjoyed a good run on the beach

Water World

Today, Sunday, it is a little wet here. We will head off to L’Estartit today. On foot…it’s a bit blowy for bikes.

Tagged with: border terriers, Catalonia, cycling, Eclipse, Mavis, menu del dia, motorhome, photography, Spain
Posted in 2015 Spring, Catalonia, L'Estartit

Anyone for Tennis?

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 6 Comments

Having visited the cut price sports shop at Benicarlo (two rackets, two balls…€17) we decided to christen the rackets on the astroturfed tennis court here at Ribamar.

Luckily the guys who set up the courts for us …I think we were the first match of the year…left without watching us lob our new tennis balls pretty much everywhere except where they were aimed. Still it was good exercise and nobody was yellow carded, sent off, or whatever the disciplinary action is in tennis.

Early Morning

We took Penny and Colin down to the sea yesterday. There are a number of small pebble, sand and crushed shell beaches hidden between the rocky bits of shore here.

As per usual Colin stood and watched while Penny and I explored the beach.

Curlew

These locals watched us for a while then flew off.

Rescue

Colin got stuck on one of the rocky bits and had to be helped down…Mr Athletic he isn’t.

The Dog Cart

Later in the day we explored to the south of Alcossebre and discovered a good sandy beach. There is a reasonable bit of surf here but its a bit early in the season for swimming yet.

Valentin’s

Today, after a long walk through the forest, we biked in to town and worked through the menu at Valentin’s, one of the seafront cafes in Alcossebre. We chatted to Valentin himself, a cheerful polyglot Romanian who has been building his business up here for the last six years. It was a great meal, topped off in the Spanish way with a couple of tumblerfuls of liqueur thrown in with the bill. The white one wasn’t milk, as Valentin told us, but a liqueur similar to Baileys but not so rich….lovely.

Post Prandial Torpor

Here we are, a couple of fat snakes sitting in the sun digesting the days nosh.

Sunset

We did venture out with the canines in the late afternoon for a final amble. It was a red sky, which is supposed to be good but my weather app says rain, and we may head off in a northerly direction tomorrow.

Tagged with: border terriers, Colin, Mavis, motorhome, photography, Spain, tennis, Valentin's
Posted in - Spain, 2015 Spring, Alcossebre, Fuentes, Valencia

On the Beach again…..Ribamar

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 4 Comments

Last Two Legs of Trip

Ribamar

We have moved about 30 miles south to Camping Ribamar (N 40.270208, E 0.307067), a spacious and quiet site close to Alcossebre.

Our Pitch at Ribamar

Lighthouse near Fuentes

The site is about a mile from Fuentes, which is an easterly prolongation of the town of Alcossebre. It is a rocky but pleasant shore and there are long walks along the shore in both directions.

Peniscola is about 10 miles to the east. When we walked west along the shore on the day we arrived, we reached the lighthouse after about a mile and then there is a good walkway to Fuentes and Alcossebre.

Hills behind Ribamar

Pine forests sweep down to the coast from the higher ground to the north and this is a relative disadvantage to the site; the pines are home to Pine Processionary caterpillars, so called because they march around in a head to tail procession. They have toxic spines which they can fire off like harpoons when irritated, and are very dangerous to dogs. So Penny and Colin have been kept on the lead and not allowed to run through the woods. The caterpillars are a problem from January to April.

Seafront at Fuentes

Yesterday was my birthday and we cycled in to town for the traditional lunchtime blow out.

Birthday Lunch

We ate at the Restaurant Baverie by the harbour, as recommended by a couple who we had met on a walk the day before. It was a good 4 course menu del dia served up by the charming Spanish owner, who greeted us like long lost friends. There were quite a few Spanish here. Its good to find a place which is popular with the locals.

Pud

I won’t bore you with the full details but this was the epic pudding…apple strudel with caramelized crepes..very yummy.

We cycled back along the harbour. In coats! I’m afraid its getting a little nippy here with temperatures plummeting to 15 degrees!

Apartments with Boats

These waterside properties come with parking for your yacht/cruiser/fishing craft whatever.

On guard

Fuentes

We have discovered tennis courts here so that is the plan for this morning, then maybe an exploration of Alcossebre in the afternoon.

Tagged with: alcossebre, Fuentes, Mavis, motorhome, photography, Spain, valencia
Posted in - Spain, 2015 Spring, Alcossebre, Fuentes, Valencia

There are Bones in these Olives

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 4 Comments

We spent the last couple of days at the Calig campsite exploring Vinaròs and Cervera. We cycled back to Vinaròs on Wednesday to pick up a Sim from the local vodaphone shop.

Roundabout en route to Vinaròs

Cafe in Vinaròs

Handily, there was a cafe just by the vodaphone shop where Nia settled down whilst I talked gigabytes and euros with the vodapeople.
The waiter was charming, and determined to speak English.
‘I am learning English. We speak in English’
Nia:’Two glasses of white wine please’
Waiter: ‘Red wine.’
Nia:’No, white wine please’.
Waiter: ‘OK’
He turned up shortly with a bottle of red wine..’This is very good Valencian wine…’
Nia didn’t have the heart to ask for white again…and it was a nice drop of red…but we had to decline the bottle.
He then turned up with a dish of olives…’Be careful, these olives have bones…’
Bones…stones…no big difference.

After the wine tasting we walked around Vinaròs for a while then had lunch on the front, at a good restaurant called El Barco…the boat.

Breakwater at Vinaros

There is a long breakwater to cycle along at Vinaròs for a bit of post lunch exercise.

The Boss

Old Crane

Nets Drying in the Sun

Wings Drying in the Sun

..
On Friday we cycled to Cervera del Maestrat which is an old hilltop town about 7 miles away. The route there is along a fairly main road but there was little traffic. We were passed by a couple of cheerful be-lycra’d pelotons.

Bike route to Cervera

Cervera from afar

We stopped by this orchard on the way, for a breather and photo opportunity.

There is a lot to see in Cervera .This gaudiesque building is half way up the village and sits opposite a beautiful cactus garden.

We abandoned the bikes towards the top of the village and walked up past the old church to a ruined and part restored castle on the hill top where we had our picnic lunch.

Church from the Castle Entrance

On the Ramparts

Looking South

We cycled back for a barbecue…chicken kebabs and roast red pepper.

Pool at L’Orangeraie

We left Camping L’Orangeraie on Saturday morning heading towards Alcossebre, 30 miles down the coast. The site pool looks very inviting but we never took the plunge…a bit early in the season.

Tagged with: Cervera, Mavis, motorhome, photography, Spain, valencia, Vinaròs
Posted in - Spain, 2015 Spring, Càlig, Valencia, Vinaròs

The Daily Bath…more from Mrs Frank Skinner

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 2 Comments

The temperature is climbing here in Càlig so we are staying put for the time being.

We started the day with a bike ride in to Càlig to pick up baguettes and some lovely jam filled pastries for a picnic from the Panaderia (spanish for shop full of melt in the mouth bread and loads of unhealthy sweet cakes, biscuits and stuff).

Nia and Jenny

We then set off with Chris and Jenny, two friends we met in Benicarlo, for another bike ride through the oranges and a picnic in the olive groves.

The Picnic

The Torpid Terriers

Penny and Colin enjoyed the picnic.

More Blossom

We got back mid afternoon in time for a bit of sunbathing.

Penny Chilling

Me Chilling

As my contribution to International Women’s Day (2 days ago), I have appended to today’s post another excerpt from Mrs Frank Skinners excellent pamphlet ‘How to Manage a Home…Hints to Girls about to Marry’. Published in the early 1900’s, (price 1 penny) I am sure the advice is as sensible now as it was then. Not all the content is completely applicable to motorhomers and we have skipped, for example, the section on blackleading the grates. It is now a bit late for Nia to benefit from reading the paragraph entitled ‘The Kind of Man to Marry’ (which is thoughtfully placed in the early pages). But there is much of value….

Mrs Frank Skinners two pennyworth.

Tagged with: advice to girls about to marry, border terriers, Càlig, cycling, daily bath, Mavis, motorhome, photography, picnic, Spain, valencia
Posted in - Spain, 2015 Spring, Càlig, Valencia

Vinaròs…the Gluttons tour continues.

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 4 Comments

Monday is Washing Day

As you can see from the clothing tastefully draped around Mavis, we have had a serious washing day. Nia did the washing bit, I was in charge of watching it dry in the hot Spanish sun. So pretty fair division of labour there, and we got some reading done. Very relaxing but not really much to blog about.

Yesterday however we jumped on our bikes and cycled to Vinaròs which is a coastal town a bit to the east of Benicarló.

Our Cycle ride…the route is in red.

Tree Nursery

We passed this olive tree nursery with loads of olive trees, from small to huge, all in wire/landscape fabric baskets. Some must have been very old.

The route goes under a railway on the outskirts of Vinaros and the tunnel has been blocked to anything wider than a bike; we had to take the wheels off the dog cart to get it through. This performance held up a guy cycling behind us who turned out to be a Brit from Camping Vinaros. We asked him the way to the centre and he kindly took us a good cycle tracked route through the town to the seafront.

Cycle track along the seafront

Vinaròs Esplanade

Lunch

We stopped at a great restaurant on the front and did some serious work on the menu del dia.

Menu del Dia

Montaditos

Montaditos…various yummy things on lightly toasted bread. Vegans please look away.

After lunch we ambled around Vinaròs which has some elegant old buildings, and a spectacular church.

Harbour

Fellow Travellers

We met this lot on the way home, with the shepherd busy on his smartphone…I wonder if he had some sort of sheep app?

Having cycled to Vinaròs along the side roads, through acres of orange and olive groves, we returned along a more mainish road…a bit more direct. It was about a 21 mile round trip, pretty level, so a nice days outing.

I met this fine chap on the evening dog walk…some kind of partridge?

Tagged with: Càlig, cycling, Mavis, motorhome, photography, Spain, valencia, Vinaròs
Posted in - Spain, 2015 Spring, Càlig, Valencia

Cycling through the Orange Groves

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 2 Comments

On Friday we took a ride through the olive and orange groves surrounding the campsite.

Our route

Fountain in Calig main square

Tiled Mural in Calig

Another Side

First stop Calig, where there is a lovely 30’s building, tiled on all sides, just on the right as you enter the village.

The Church

About a mile outside the village we came upon the church depicted on the mural…..it was locked up and appeared to have been mothballed.

The route leads uphill, away from the church, and through miles of orange groves.

There is a short segment of main road…we were passed by about 4 cars in 20 minutes; it is very quiet and peaceful here and a massive contrast to the hurly burly of traffic only 8 miles away on the coast. We found a great picnic spot in the hills overlooking the med in the distance.

Citrus World

These are many grapefruit and lemon trees scattered throughout the site. One of the owners, Patricia Orge, was pruning when we got back from the ride and kindly gave us a couple of fat pink grapefruits.

Moonset

Today Saturday we headed north to the small town of Sant Jordi.

These are the almond orchards next to the site.

Heading for Sant Jordi

There are many old tractors, and other agricultural machinery, displayed on the farms on the roadside en route to Sant Jordi.

Sant Jordi

Fountain in Sant Jordi

We stopped by this fountain on the way into the town…as Nia pointed out it is modelled on a similar one at the Alhambra.

This is the church which looks out over Sant Jordi, in the Moorish style.

Detail of Church Tower.

Cyclamen

Nia snapped this outside the church.

We cycled back to Calig for another major blowout, at a restaurant just on the edge of the town, which had to be followed by a long snooze in the sun.

We are more than impressed with Camping L’Orangeraie; it is quiet, peaceful and friendly and we have lots of space on the terraced and beshrubbed pitches. The facilities are perfect…spotless, bags of hot water etc.

Posted in - Spain, 2015 Spring, Càlig, Valencia

Camping L’Orangeraie

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Peter and Nia — 2 Comments

Breakfast

I took Penny and Colin out first thing to see the sunrise….not sure they were that impressed and to be fair, without any clouds, it wasn’t a great display.

Later that morning we had a lovely surprise, a blog first, when a couple who had been following our blog tapped on the door and introduced themselves. It was Chris and Jenny, in Benicarló for a rally. We had a good exchange of sites and other motorhoming stuff over coffee and will hopefully meet up again later in the tour.

The New Site

Just a small hop today.

We moved on later that morning, via the local Carrefour, to Camping l’Orangeraie, a lovely French owned site about 8 miles inland from Benicarló. It is about a kilometre from the small town of Càlig.

Mavis in L’Orangeraie

The site is set in amongst the olive groves, close to the village of Càlig.

It is a small peaceful site with a number of large terraced pitches, each separated by lemon trees, figs and other shrubs. The owners are delightful; relaxed and welcoming.