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Diapers & Detours

Our first trip as parents.
The apartment is rented out for the next three to four months and we’re back in our home on wheels. Let’s see where those wheels will take us! Read more

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🇪🇸 San Vicente de la Barquera, Spain
Diapers & Detours
Xago
Jun 29–30 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Around Avilés there are two beaches that are said to be the best beaches for surfing when in Asturias. Las Salinas (west) and Xago (east).
We went to Xago as were heading east in general.
From Avilés the road leads through a huge industrial quarter where towers for windmills are built. For kilometres this is the only thing you see - a big field as „storage“ for massive pipe-like heavy tower-parts lying around. This was a bit of a throwback in time for us, since we saw many Siemens Gamesa, Nordex and Vestas imprints on those. (Nordex was one of Marnies biggest clients when working for Siemens.)
So after passing through this industry-district we arrived at the beach. Jaro really didn’t want to sit in his car seat anymore and made that loud and clear. So we went to check out if there are some waves and if we could possibly surf - and boy! Waves are back and huge! Unfortunately too huge and quite „unorganised“. For the rest of the day we tried to figure out where to go next and what to do, as it was still rainy (annoying when traveling with the van) and the surroundings didn’t seem to be as camper-van friendly.
The parking lot at the beach had bad reviews and it wasn’t recommended to stay; but as the evening unfolded we decided to stay since it was nice vibe there with seemingly nice people. We spent a quiet night and found a place for us to go the next day..Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Avilés
June 29 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Probably the biggest city we’ve visited since Porto (but by far not as big!).
The colourful houses let the old town be pretty even with rain (we were better prepared this time). We strolled around, had lunch in a cafe where Jaro had lots of space to show off how fast he’s already crawling and then just made our way back „home“.Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Our overnight
June 28 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
In San Esteban we stayed over night. The spot was better than we’d expected - the train was really quiet passing by and the water really calm.
It was a bit of journey to get here as there weren’t many good finds for overnights around.Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Cudillero
June 28 in Spain ⋅ 🌨 20 °C
After the beach we had planned a second stop for the day. Cudillero an „Asturian must see“! We were told to come early as it might get full of people there on a Sunday. We weren’t there early and still got a spot to leave the car. Probably because of the weather. With sprinkling rain (normal Hamburg whether) we thought we’d go anyway. It was a 20 min walk to the marina and old town and arriving there it rained heavily. We were ill prepared and had no umbrella (which we didn’t even consider bringing at all) and left the rain jackets in the car - so with several shelter-stops and a pause at a laundry service (also just for shelter) we made our way back to the car and continued.
Still - it’s a beautiful town with many cheese shops. ;)

PS for musical background please choose Shakira here as it is playing back and forth in may head with her album Laundry Service.Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Praia do Silencio
June 28 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
After leaving Camping Gaviota and this beautiful long and wide coastline, we went to the „silent beach“. A place where the bay and its cliffs mute all sounds except the waves. Magic! Crystal clear water.
As there is only access by foot there was a bit rubbishing washed up on the beach (one of the few times on the whole trip) - so we ended up collecting a bit and bringing it up to the waste bins.Read more
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An invitation by the sea
June 26 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
We were told this was the Spanish version of the Australian twelve apostles. Well, I think I can see the similarities, but it’s also different. As Catedrais is a rock formation at the sea. Some cliffs, washed out by the ocean. While low tide is on, the beach is accessible and you can walk through arches and along those massive rocks. It is like the sea invites everyone to watch what is beneath its surface for a moment. You can finde variable seashells, crabs, underwater plants - until the tide comes back in. It definitely made us miss diving!
All three of us were fascinated by the scenery and Jaro was playing in some left-over-sea-puddles happily. We stayed until sunset.

PS We start to feel that high season + vacation time is starting, as campgrounds and view points get more and more crowded.Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Alles ok hier
Jun 26–28 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
Camping Gaviota was recommended by a friend in her Google-list with „Alles ok hier“ (all ok here). A campground that we actually really enjoyed! It seems to be family run, it’s small with shade, the beach is just across the street and the people here are really friendly!
We stayed for two nights, went to the beach, rode our bikes to another beach and would have stayed longer of there had been surfable waves. ;)Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Praia do Esteiro
Jun 25–26 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
After a tiny bit of city-feeling we went back to the next beach-parking-lot. Again, quite uneven it took us a moment to find a spot that is mostly level (and always makes Marnie nervous, cause „can’t we just park?“); but then we spend a nice afternoon. Draining grey and black water, refilling the fresh water tanks and a stroll at the beach. Unfortunately not surfable at the moment. We spend a quiet night here and made our first Turkish eggs - yuuuum!Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Market in Viveiro
June 25 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
In Viveiro we finally managed to go to a market. It’s always nice to support local producers but to be honest - it can also be a bit stressful. You have to talk to people, they might ask for what you want before you’ve even decided what to have - all that in a foreign language with probably such a speed you won’t understand all of it. But it is good training! And other than we thought these vendors didn’t ask what we wanted but we’re only commenting about Jaro - how cute he is and if he is really not wearing too much (sun protection seems to be a foreign concept here).
But we got all the produce we were looking for, had a coffee and walked through the old town. Just one more stop at the church (where a seagull pooped on me) and then back to the car to go to the next… beach!Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Time for a hike!
June 24 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
As we are no early birds we prepared all we could in the evening to have an easier start the next morning for our ~8 km hike with ~200 m of elevation. Goal was to get to the viewpoint Fuciño do Porco. There was one shorter way to get there which we wanted to do first, so we could just turn around and take the same route back of it was too exhausting or too hot.
Unfortunately we missed that waypoint and startet with the longer bit to the viewpoint. It felt good to hike and it was a shady walk through the gum tree forrest. The viewpoint was fantastic! But also crowded (as there is an option to drive here). We took a break, enjoyed the views and then returned closing this hike as a loop. Unfortunately by then it was later than we’d hoped and not much shade - which is why we hiked this part as quick as possible to then cool down under the trees. The rest of the day Nick and I wanted to just relax - whereas Jaro was as fit as ever since he’d been carried the whole way. We managed to find a good balance of relaxing and play time before having dinner and going to bed. Loved it!Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Praia de San Román
Jun 23–25 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
After the nature park we drove to the next beach, San Román. There was a restaurant with a green lawn where you could stay for free.
Unfortunately it wasn’t level and the van was slightly sloped to one site (which we do notice most while sleeping). Other than that the place was great! Beach and river just on the other site of the restaurant and trees with shade; Jaro could just play outside.
The restaurant though - praised in some google reviews for its seafood - was bad and expensive for vegetarians. They even managed to make very pale non-delicious french fries. We gave it a try and well, ended up hungry.
Since it was still beautiful there we stayed for two nights and did a hike from that started here!Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Hot, hot, hot!
June 23 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 37 °C
From Pantín we drove along the coast to San Román, the next beach. Luckily we checked our available routes beforehand and found out about the Costa Ártabra.
We’re not sure, what it is, but it’s beautiful! Cows and horses roaming as free as possible in our western world and we’re just visitors passing through.
With our van we drove this hilly track up and back down at the other end of it. When entering the park it was, well, warm. Something like 28° C I believe. In the park we could watch the temperatures climb up to 38° C and back down to 27° C out at sea level. I was impressed on how unimpressed the animals seemed to be.

PS probably cool hiking area - when not that hotRead more
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Diapers & Detours
Pantín
Jun 21–23 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
As far as I’ve heard, Praia de Pantín is a world known beach for surfing. They even have competitions here. Well, not in summer I guess. We arrived after a nice drive along the coast from Valdoviño beach (where we stopped before - it was so crowded there) and checked out the parking-camping situation on both ends of the bay. The western side has a greener bit where we could stay, but the walk to the beach would be longer. There is a river meandering towards the ocean. The other side is more of a parking lot but seems to have cool vibes and views as well; and a way shorter walk to the surf spot.
We decided to stay on the eastern end and had more or less two very chill days with a bit of surfing. The water was quite flat and you really had to wait for a wave, but it’s still good practice. Some surf schools were there - especially for kids - but there was enough room for everyone. We talked to some other campers and just had a good time here (once went to Ferrol for groceries and to escape the heat).

Fun-not-so-fun-fact: all public toilets on beaches up there are closed. Why?Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Brunch break
June 21 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
This river-boat-ramp-spot is what we decided for. It was calm here. First we wanted to go to the beaches directly but on a hot Sunday in Spain it would not only be crowded, but there is also no shade to hide from the sun. Here was no shade either, but at least just a handful of people. We had our brunch and survived the heat.Read more
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Diapers & Detours
The overnight
June 20 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
As it was already late we didn’t want to drive too far. The first spot we thought would be a good idea was not only super full, but also in a small town that had some fiestas going on. So we decided to go further. The second spot we tried to go to was a view point higher up and google misled us a bit just before arriving. We had to turn around in the middle of the night in a steep hill to get back and go to our final stop - just a couple of minutes further next to a church. We slept well. The next morning was quiet, we had some playtime with Jaro in bed up until all church-goers arrived for the service. This was when we finally got out of bed in search for a good spot for brunch. ◡̈Read more
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Diapers & Detours
For dinner in Spain
June 20 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
We arrived here quite late, but it seemed as if everyone was on the beach. Spain has one hour time difference to Portugal (it’s the same as in Germany) and we found out the sunset here is later than in Germany (here around 10.15 pm; the sunrise is also way later than in Germany - around 7 am) so it was still a late-afternoon feeling and we called Jaros Nonna, made dinner and went for a swim (in the dark). It was beautiful! The water was way warmer than the ocean and so calm. It seemed like a lake, but is something like a fjord.
Since it was a Saturday night there were some live music and parties going on there and we decided we’d go elsewhere for a good night sleep.Read more
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Alice in Wonderland
Jun 19–20 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
So we stayed, went grocery shopping and found my personal „Why-Café“ with strong Alice-in-Wonderland-vibes. Just in the mountains (visible from the beach obviously) is a Convent, by a stream. And in that backyard is a café with a lush green garden. As we arrived about 30 min before closing time we asked if we’d get some coffee + cake here and the answer by the waiter was „Here everything is possible“. I believed him. And we got lemonade and delicious cake, could hangout in the garden and let Jaro play in the soft stream. It felt so good that we decided to stay another night on the beach; we also found another spot that was just a tat more cozy.
The next morning we went for a small hike along that river from the café. There we found rock pools which Jaro was able to play in; he was so brave and happy with the water.
Later we had lunch back at the café (which unfortunately took ages due to popular demand by many "Camino de Santiago hikers") and then we went on to cross the boarder.
It feels good that we’ve taken our time to say good bye to Portugal.Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Tschau Portugal - or so we thought🇵🇹
Jun 18–19 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Our way led us to Viana do Castelo; a small town which was easily checked out on foot. We arrived in the afternoon and it seemed as the siesta was still full on; the city appeared empty. We found some late lunch in a cafe and had a break in a park. At around five to six in the afternoon it cooled down a bit and people came out to prepare some medieval event which would take place this weekend. The whole city was suddenly filled with huts offering food, jewellery, crafts,… we enjoyed walking around and seeing this hustle and bustle.
Just a short drive from here, near Affife we found a perfect little stop for the night. Behind the dunes, at the beach, some other campers. We thought „what a beautiful day to end our trip in Portugal“, watched the sunset and thought this was it.
But the next morning we somehow felt it might be good to stay here a bit longer. Why go if we like it so much?Read more
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Diapers & Detours
Porto
Jun 16–18 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
To visit Porto we followed our friends lead to stay at the Parque Biológico south of the river - so officially we stayed in Gaia. The parque itself is neither a botanical garden nor a zoo, but something in between. It’s also a rescue centre with regional flora and fauna; they offer some camp spots with amenities and a park entry is included. Camping there supports such a cool project and we stayed for two nights!
The day we arrived we went down (yes, down, about 100 m of altitude down) to the river Douro. We thought we’d be clever and check out a parking lot to leave the van for the (next) day and take our bikes to get into Porto. Unfortunately not even half way of the really good path along the riverfront there was a construction site and no way around it without going up and down the hill. So no further bike tour for this day and our plan for getting to Porto the next day has to be reworked.
Option number to was to take public transport. We checked everything and went to the bus station in time the next day. The bus didn’t come. After waiting for around twenty minutes we noticed the next one was scheduled another 20 minutes later. We decided we’d take our van and park downtown. It felt as if Porto didn’t want to make it easy for us to come.
But: We made it to a paid & secured car park we had chosen before through narrow streets and were greeted by Manuel, the car parks manager / security guard who led us to the place to leave our van and we went off to explore the city. Finally!
Wandering downhill again we explored a bit of Gaia downtown first and had breakfast (or lunch?).
Then we crossed on the lower part of the bridge Ponte Luis I and took the train up the hill. We wandered around Porto - from church to coffee shop to church - seeing as many azulejos as one can see.
At the Mercado do Bolhao Jaro had his first (sugar free) ice cream; the whole market is certainly worth as visit.
Towards the afternoon we went further west and ended up in an area we enjoyed very much - with nice shops, cafés and restaurants. We had great pizza for dinner at generosa. The stroll back to the car led us again through the city and across the bridge; this time on the upper part of it. Our timing could not have been better and we saw the sunset over Porto and the river from there.
We also passed by the most famous sunset spot of Porto (Jardim de Morro). It had a nice festival-like atmosphere. Feeling tempted to stay we went back to the car and made our way “home”.
The next day we checked out the Parque Biologico itself and showed Jaro all the birds we were able to see until he fell asleep. Then we went on…Read more
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Aveiro + Laguna
Jun 14–16 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Leaving our little paradise led us to Aveiro, which is also called “Venice of Portugal”.
It is a small town, lots of azulejos and cute shops. Together we walked through, did a bit of souvenirs hunting, had lunch and a nice break in a park.
After that we decided to check out another spot to spend the night, just a little closer to the town. And again we found a beautiful place! We could park sliding-door-to-sliding-door and set up our camp. The little rain didn’t bother and we had a delicious last dinner together in Portugal (with both babies asleep - yey!)
The next day was a bit grey and foggy at first. This always makes our day to start a bit slower. Coffee in bed, playtime, time for yoga / a workout plus a good breakfast and cleaning the vans was all we did until the afternoon.
Then we went separate paths again; Melina, Luc, cute little Lu and Nyx went further south and the three of us stayed.
We somehow didn’t feel like driving elsewhere and took our bikes out for a ride. We rode once around the laguna - roughly 20 km - and it made us feel good!
The whole area is beautiful, but also a bit weird; it seems like all the villages around are still on their off-season-mode and everything is still closed. I can imagine it’s quite crowded here during high season.
We enjoyed the sleepiness and stayed the night.Read more
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Best camp
Jun 11–14 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
In Óbidos we had a phone call with friends traveling within their parental leave. We knew we (finally!) were close enough to meet up and decided today is the day!
So the three of us as well we Melina, Luc, Lu and their dog Nyx all ended up at the Cervejaria Alma. A cafe and bar just behind the dunes that is so far only open on weekends and has a beautiful lush green garden where you’re invited to camp. A little paradise.
The following days were timeless. We went to the beach for some surfing, had lovely meals together and the babys had time to “play” (or interact?) with one another. We’d do it all over again.Read more
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Óbidos
June 11 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Walking around Óbidos reminded me of Carcassonne. It is smaller, but it certainly has a medieval-town-vibe with its narrow streets, small craft-shops and the city’s wall. We found a really beautiful bookshop (that also sells vegetables and food in one part of the room) and wandered around the streets.
It seemed as if this is a popular place to go for a school trip - and Jaro was fascinated by all the kids passing by (as were the kids).Read more
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Diapers & Detours
To surf or not to surf
Jun 10–11 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 17 °C
After a day of driving we stopped in Baleal, one of the beginner surf spots around Peniche. After having a look around we decided to call it a day and try surfing the next morning.
The neighbouring town (Ferrel) had a good spot for the night (and surprisingly good looking cafes); we stayed and drove over to the beach the next early morning.
Unfortunately the waves weren’t any good so we just had breakfast at the beach watching the surf schools going in anyway (it got really full in the water!).Read more
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Area Branca + Lourinhã + Peniche
June 10 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 18 °C
Now this is the area where Nick used to be with his grandparents, sister and cousin in his teenage-times.
A lot has changed from back then but a couple of things are still the same (like the house). We went to do some groceries in Lourinhã, then a (selfmade) coffee at Area Branca, stopping at his uncles house and last but not least driving once around the peninsula that Peniche is located on before having Indian for dinner in this small town.
I was surprised by the landscape: the whole island has lots of cliffs going into the ocean - like (I imagine) the famous pancake rocks in New Zealand.Read more
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Ericeira and Foz do Sizandro
June 9 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 19 °C
I really wanted to go to Ericeira, because I’ve been here eleven years ago, my first attempt to surf took place here* and I remember the place as a really cute small town.
Unfortunately all around here seems quite camper-unfriendly and most of the beach parking lots have height restrictions and there aren’t many other options to park (let alone public transport). The streets are super narrow and after trying some car parks and none were available we went further a bit past Ericeira to a Quicksilver Shop with cafe and skateboard area. We spent some time there enjoying the AC and shopping a bit.
Funnily enough the surf school I was at parked right in front of us - with my old surf teacher! (I didn’t go to tell him that, he must have taught so many more people within this time.)
So after our Quicksilver experience we just made our way to our overnight stop - which was better than expected! Behind some dunes just at the river and ocean. Nick had time to continue our surfboard set-up and Jaro and I played inside and outside (it was really windy again).
The next morning we went for a skinny dip into the ocean (we were the only ones there). This wasn’t too easy, the waves were quite big and I (Marnie) managed them all well, except one, that threw me back on the beach. Since it didn’t hurt it was super funny 😀

*two weeks with Nadine either surfing or working out - and I met Margherita and her sister Chiara here. Who would have known we’re still friends 💕Read more
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