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Our Spanish Road Trip

October - November 2022
Follow along as we head down through France to Spain looking for hiking and biking trails to explore. There’s lots on the bucket list from castles to caves, will we find our ultimate adventure playground in Spain 🇪🇸 Read more
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  • Misadventures Of WandaOur Spanish Road Trip
    Day 11

    Miravet to Prat de Compte

    October 17, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Last night we slept like the dead after our previous 2 nights of not a lot of sleep. It was quiet, peaceful, no vanlifers turning up at all hours so we woke up at 6am refreshed and awake. Although Ellie was still feeling a little rough. Her fever has gone but now she has the symptoms of a cold.
    Our first port of call for the day was to get some shopping, so we doubled back on ourselves for 6 miles and went to a Mercadonna supermarket back in Molina d’Ebre. We stocked the cupboards for the next few days and then set off, heading back through Miravet, out the other side to a place we had just found on google maps called Prat de Compte. The drive was beautiful with lots of green Rocky Mountains and switchbacks and the roads were super quiet.
    We had found a little airè on park4night and arrived just before lunchtime and we were the only ones here, this would be night number 11 with no electric hook up and it would also be our 10th free night so we are super pleased with how our solar is working.
    We filled the water tanks, emptied the grey waste, had a cup of tea and then went for a walk around the town. We saw just 3 people in total and checking on google it has a population of 178. The streets were beautiful with ancient buildings and and brickwork everywhere. Tiny narrow streets crisscrossed each other and the whole place was a rabbit warren of little wooden doorways and shuttered windows with the church in the middle. This was the only building open and as we poked our heads around the door there was an elderly nun in a beige habit with a mobile phone in her hand and an open laptop in front of her and she beckoned us in to see the inside.
    It was a beautiful building with all the gaudily pomp of the European churches we had seen before. Gold leaf everywhere, pink walls and a highly decorated ceiling and statues of saints everywhere. We aren’t religious atall but we do love a nice church.
    The hot springs we are going to visit are just a few hundred meters down the road, but it is a steep climb and Ellie is still feeling wiped out so we returned to Wanda where Ellie could rest and I decided to go on a bike ride.
    The Viaverde greenways are a network of disused railway lines that have been recovered for use by walkers and bikers and they crisscross the whole of Spain covering thousands of miles and one of those lines is in Prat de Compte.
    I set off at 3pm and and headed down the hill towards the railway lines. I hit a new top speed of 82.9kph on my bike, that’s 51mph in old money but I knew I’d be a lot slower on the way back up. At the bottom of the hill I saw the Prat de Compte railway station looking pretty sorry for itself. That’s part of the attraction of these old railway lines. The rails have gone and have been replaced with tarmac but everything else of the railways is still there.
    I turned right onto the paved track and almost immediately had to put my front light on as I entered a tunnel that was pitch black and 900 meters long. I came out the other side into bright sunlight, albeit rather windy into a canyon like landscape with a beautiful gorge and river running underneath the raised trail I was now riding on, then I crossed a huge viaduct and entered another tunnel, this one was 700 meters long, and when I came out the other side I was entering the village of Bot.
    Here there was a small car park with 3 motorhomes parked up with there owners either walking or riding the greenway and there was also an airstream style railway carriage that had been turned into a restaurant and bar.
    I carried on, passing through several more tunnels, crossing over huge viaducts that were hundreds of feet above ground level and passing old abandoned buildings, coal houses and stations. All the while I had beautiful mountain views either side of me.
    At the 25 kilometre mark I came to a river and a waterfall just after the town of Arno. Here I turned back on myself and headed for Wanda.
    Back at Prat de Compte station I turned left back into the road and headed uphill. This was going to be the longest climb I had ever done in real life and it was steep.
    I knew how far I had cycled already so I knew when the Speedo readout said I was 46km I had atleast a 4km climb. I dropped down some gears, saving 3 in reserve incase I got really knackered, stood on the pedals and went for it. My plan was to look at the road in front of my front wheel rather than ahead so I couldn’t see how steep it was but 1km in I looked up and saw tarmac and switchbacks curving up and out of sight. I dropped down 1 gear but kept pushing. A year ago I knew I couldn’t have done this, I kept thinking about all the cycling I’ve been doing. All the AR climbs I’d done, all the fake mountains I have climbed. Has any of it worked? Is indoor cycling really as good at getting me fit and prepared?
    It turns out it is. I climbed 3.2km at a gradient of 7% rising to 14% for 90 meters and stayed a steady 17kph all the way up. I was super proud of myself.
    Back at Wanda I cleaned up and told Ellie about the ride and where we would drive tomorrow to join the greenway so she could come and she cooked us some burgers for dinner. The food was well needed.
    Sitting in Wanda, we can hear the church bells going off every 15 minutes. It’s not a normal bell sound, it far more musical and it proved that at 9pm by playing a tune for 2 minutes building up to the hour. We thought that was the final crescendo for the night but at 9:15 they continued and are still continuing every hour. I quite like it but it’s driving Ellie up the wall.
    Let’s see how we sleep and pass judgement in the morning.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaOur Spanish Road Trip
    Day 12

    La Fontacalda & Azud de Lledò

    October 18, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The church bells rang all night. Every 15 minutes but I slept through them. However Ellie did not and this morning she felt really rough, with a headache, sore throat and a cough.
    Wanda was down to just 1 bar on the battery monitor. Normally she is in 3 out of 4. So we spent an hour deciding whether to drive back on ourselves to the town of Bennisanet and get a hook up for €10 for 24 hours or drive to Bot, where there was a campsite by the viaverde greenway but it was €23 plus €4 for electric.
    The problem was, it was nearing 10am and the cloud across the mountains was really thick and black so there would be no power to the solar.
    We decided on going to La Fontacalda warm springs which is where I joined the viaverde greenway yesterday. It was only about 2 miles away but it was at the bottom of the mountain and we were already here. If it wasn’t sunny at the bottom we would call it a day and go to Bennisanet and hook up.
    At the bottom of the mountain in the former Prat de Compte station car park it was blazing hot sunshine and I parked Wanda in a sunny spot and the solar started working. We decided we would visit the warm springs and see what it was doing when we returned.
    This time we turned left on the viaverde greenway and straight through 2 tunnels, 1 at 300 meters and the next at 170 meters. As we emerged from the second tunnel there was a bridge to cross to continue, or a path that led underneath the bridge and to La Fontacalda. We took the path down, winding for a few hundred meters down the mountainside until we came to a bushy hedgerow of small trees and as we followed the trail along the side and through, we were at the most beautiful river gorge with a bridge and 2 sets of steps. The left hand side leading up the mountainside and the right hand side leading to a lower concrete platform with a small square pool of warm water and a path that led up to a church. The small square pool of warm water was the warm spring, and compared to the river it was warm. But definitely not hot spring warm so we didn’t venture in.
    We decided to climb the steps up the side of the mountain for as long as Ellie could handle it and we had the most spectacular views of the gorge and little waterfalls. It looked like something out of Jurassic Park.
    After a bit of climbing Ellie was having trouble catching her breath so we turned around and went to have a look at the church. It was an incredible building built in 1789 and although we couldn’t get inside today there is a square cut in the door so people can still view it. It smelt like all churches.
    We went back to Wanda and after another debate on what we should do I decided to take Ellie to the viaduct and waterfall I had seen yesterday as there was a big car park.
    We drove the 9 miles there in about 15 minutes on absolutely dead roads and on arriving we found the car park empty and parked Wanda in the sun. The solar was doing it’s job atlast and we were making decent power.
    After a late lunch we headed down to the waterfalls which was part of the same river we had just visited and it was a natural swimming area. I decided to go for a swim and even though I stood in the water past my waist for 10 minutes it didn’t warm up. I decided to just go for it in the end and just dived in completely submerging myself. It was icy cold but refreshing at the same time. I did find a warm spot that the sun was shiny on and I stayed in for about 10 minutes until the fish got a little to interested in me.
    We sat on the side for about 20 minutes and Ellie fed the fish some crusts off the bread and then we went back to Wanda so Ellie could have a nap while I fixed an inner tube.
    At 6pm we were just settling in for the night on our own in the car park and as the sun set, the mosquitoes came out. Even with the fly screens down the buggers got in and started eating us. We closed the windows and started splatting the ones that had got in and just as we thought we had got them all another one would appear. With the windows and hatches shut it got very stuffy, very quickly and we decided we probably wouldn’t sleep very well here so at 7pm we drove back to Prat de Compte where it was much cooler and also much windier on the mountainside. Ellie said she would sleep with earplugs in so she wouldn’t hear the church bells and that was a small sacrifice to make for getting a good nights sleep.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaOur Spanish Road Trip
    Day 13

    The Via Verdè la terra alta

    October 19, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Finally Ellie had a good nights sleep. But she is still feeling rough so today was going to be a taking it easy day.
    After waking up at 7am and having 2 coffees which is my normal ritual I just wanted to get off the mountainside in Prat de Compte and back to the car park in Lledò for when the sun came up to catch as much solar power as possible. So at 8:30, we left Prat de Compte and drove the 9 miles back to where we were yesterday evening.
    Unfortunately for us the weather wasn’t playing ball today and thick hazy cloud obscured the sun right up until 10am. At which point we gave up looking at the solar monitor and decided to go on a bike ride and whatever power was generated was what we would have. Except for moving area, which we didn’t want to do, there was nothing we could do about the sunshine.
    It was cool when we set off on the bikes but not cold, perfect cycling weather and within 15 minutes we both took some layers off and were back into shorts and t-shirts. Our first stop was going to be the convent at Hortè saint de Joan but as we left the viaverde greenway the road took a nasty climb and Ellie couldn’t manage it. We could see the convent on top of the hill at the centre of town but no matter how much Ellie cursed that climb she wasn’t going any further so we turned around and continued along the cycle way towards Bot.
    We passed through long dark railway tunnels, over viaducts and had mountain views all the way. There were hundreds of school kids from various schools in the area either out for a day trip or having a long PE lesson but they were all having a great time and it was great to see so many youngsters out on there bikes. I even got a high five from one as we passed them by.
    Everyone we met said hello, and passing farmers on tractors in there fields waved at us. This really is a great place to explore.
    We reached Bot just after midday and stopped at the cafe that was made from an old railway shed and done up like an airstream. We both had excellent coffees.
    Then we decided to climb the hill into town and explore a bit.
    We passed a couple of factories the first being an olive processing plant and we could see the olives going along the belts and then poured into huge vats. Next door was a grape processing plant where they made wine and off to the side was a little shop selling the wine that had been produced there. We headed down the main drag. I can’t call it a high street because there’s no shops but it is the main road that runs through the centre of all these little towns in this area and at the centre of all is the church, and the town hall. Outside of Bots town hall were 7 elderly gentlemen waiting for there turn to go inside and when we passed they all greeted us.
    We turned right from the town hall, doubling back on ourselves and heading through a rabbit warren of ancient streets and architecture before coming to the top of the hill we had just climbed and going back down to rejoin the cycleway. As pretty as Bot was we weren’t sold on moving in anytime soon. But we do love the freedom in this area.
    We headed back for Wanda, passing through the railway tunnels again and over the viaducts. Stopping at a couple of the old stations for Ellie to regain her strength and at 2:30pm with 36km under our belts we arrived back at Wanda.
    It had been quite a long day in the saddle, more so for Ellie who doesn’t like riding a bike on a good day let alone when she’s feeling rough, but she pushed through and without the bikes we wouldn’t have seen all that we had.
    The sun still hadn’t broken through the cloud and the solar had only made 80 watt hours. We were going to have to use the power sparingly.
    We knew we couldn’t sleep in Lledò because of the mosquitoes so we headed back for Prat de Compte for our third night. It is certainly a lot cooler on the mountainside so we sleep better.
    Getting back to the car park, we heated the water had showers and then relaxed for the evening. We had a visit from a vanlifer who decided to park right on top of us at 5:30pm but then they left so we were happy, only to be disappointed at 8pm when the same vanlifers rocked back up and started messing about in there van trying different ways to park it. At 8:30, we’re not sure whether the wind put them off or the church bells but they left. So we had yet another free night on our own.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaOur Spanish Road Trip
    Day 14

    Prat De Compte to Roquettes

    October 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    We woke up this morning to rain. It was the first time in 14 days of travelling Wanda had got wet and although it wasn’t heavy rain, it looked pretty bleak and black in the mountains.
    We had already decided we were going to move today and explore more further down. Ellie had found a house she liked in the arse end of nowhere in the the village of Els Reugars just out Roquettes so that’s where we were heading.
    We checked the map and it seemed as though Roquettes was a busy town with lots of shops, supermarkets and laundrettes so because it was raining we thought today would be a good day to do some laundry. The washing bag was only half full but that would give us the chance to wash all of the bedding aswell.
    We headed for a supermarket just off the main drag of Roquettes and as we entered the car park there was only 10 cars in it which is unheard of for any supermarkets we have visited so far. We had to wait 20 minutes for the largest washing machine of 18kg but once that was free, we chucked our dirty laundry in and then popped inside the store to get a few things we had run out of. Except for there own brand stuff it was crazy expensive, I wanted some Brie for cheese toasties and it was €1.50 for a triangle, roughly the same price as the UK. In Lidl I can buy a complete circle for the same price and in France I have a selection of circles to choose from.
    We just bought the essentials, then sat in the car park and had lunch and a cup of tea while the washing did it’s thing. 50 minutes later everything was clean and dry and we were heading for the house in Els Reugars.
    TomTom took us the scenic route down the gravel tracks for about 3 miles which we later found out wasn’t entirely necessary as there is an easier way in and out.
    We found the house we liked, nobody was around, so we got out and checked it out.
    From the outside it looks more beautiful than it does on the website and the owners have just painted the outside and built a new barbecue area. The house is set in it’s own 5 acres of olive trees and has a mountain backdrop. We both loved it.
    Ellie messaged the estate agents and they quickly got back to us firstly saying that we could view the house tomorrow. We had a chat about the pros and cons of owning a house in this area and this house does tick a lot of boxes. Neighbours, but they are not to close. Mountain views, rivers, a town nearby but not to near, trails to go walking and biking, a quiet area.
    Then the estate messaged back and said he’d spoken to the owners and they no longer want to sell they would rather rent it out. So that put that to rest…….. or so we thought.
    30 minutes later the estate agents messaged back and said the owner would sell and could we view it tomorrow at 4pm. So tomorrow we are viewing a property in Spain.
    In between the messaging I think we had convinced ourselves that buying somewhere out here as a holiday home isn’t right for us. Personally I would move out here and seek residency but Ellie doesn’t want to do that and I don’t think a holiday home is a practical use of our savings. So tomorrow we are going to go with an open mind and a list of questions and see what happens.
    After looking at the house we headed back to Roquettes to a free airè in the edge of the city, it has all services and we specifically came here to get electric and charge the battery as it was down to below 50% because of the lack of bright sunshine the last 3 days.
    We expected to pay for the electric hook and were wondering all the way here, would it be card, or cash or an app but when we got here the electric, like everything else here, is free. We can’t believe it, another free night and this time we’re boosting Wanda’s batteries and saving gas on the water heater and fridge.
    After plugging Wanda in we then headed into town down the Viaverde greenway which runs through here and then we picked up the canal path.
    Roquettes itself is a thriving town with lots of shops, banks, supermarkets, a cinema and a leisure centre with the river Ebre running right through it’s centre and 2 man made canals running off it. Although it does look a bit dirty from a distance. We then got some emergency cash out of a local bank, paying €6 for the privilege and headed back to Wanda to escape the drizzle that had just started again, although it is still a sweltering 28°c inside and out and feels stormy.
    We have all the windows and hatches open and the fans are running but we just seem to be moving warm air around, we’re hoping it will cool down later in the evening.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaOur Spanish Road Trip
    Day 15

    Roquettes & Tortosa

    October 21, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We were up at 7:30am before sunrise. It was a quiet night although incredibly stuffy. Now we had electric I left the fan on all night.
    First thing I did when I got up was check Wanda’s charger. The battery bar was flicking between 3/4 and full so I was pleased with that. We would be leaving Wanda here most of the day and hopefully tonight so by the time we leave we should be good for quite a few days. More if it is really sunny.
    After breakfast at 9:30 we decided to walk down the viaverde greenway to Tortosa. In a straight line it was only about a mile away and it really gave us a chance to look around.
    The walk was beautiful, we saw a red squirrel and there was some housing for abandoned cats with food, water and CCTV to watch over them, just off the path. We crossed over the Ebre river via an old steel railway bridge and then we were in Tortossa.
    The city was nothing like we expected, it was relatively quiet and felt calm. Yes there was traffic and people but it didn’t seem to have the rush about it like London or Paris. We turned left off the bridge, crossed over the road where traffic actually stopped for us and headed for this huge building just off the rivers edge. The building had huge doors and tables and chairs outside and at first we thought it was a giant restaurant. Infact it turned out to be a giant food market where you could buy any sort of food imaginable. There was fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, hot food to eat in or take away, cold food to eat in or take away, tinned stuff, packet stuff, dried food, you name it they had it and was a real feast for the eyeballs.
    I had a spanish tortilla, tucked inside a fresh baked baguette and a lattè. The food was delicious and they really know how to make coffee here.
    We left the food market the opposite end we entered and came out into a bustling street of shops and cafes. We looked around a few of the original shops before walking up a hill and coming to an ancient Roman archway. It was amazing to see the carvings and sculptures on the walls, and now we had entered the old town.
    It was distinctly different with it’s old brickwork, and huge three and four story buildings with iron railed balconies and shuttered doors and windows. Also we were back to allyways with original wooden doors and arched doorways.
    We walked on and found a huge church but we couldn’t seem to find an entrance and from there we climbed some steps taking the tourist route upto the castle.
    The castle is now a privately owned hotel so we couldn’t get inside but we could get to the battlements ruins and they were massive. Standing on the top you could see how far the castle stretched and it must have been 3/4 mile in either direction with the castle in the middle. In it’s day it was the largest castle in the Iberian peninsula and it must have looked glorious and formidable to anyone viewing it from the outside.
    We left the battlements and headed back down into the city. We did look for the old Roman baths but Ellie started to feel unwell again and we headed out of the city back towards the river and rested in the park before walking back to Wanda down the cycleway.
    We had walked 5.5 miles in total, and it was a very sticky day so arriving back at Wanda we both took a nap for 30 minutes and recovered from the heat.
    At 3:30pm we left the Airè to go and view the house in Els Reugers. We were abit early so parked at the bottom of the mountains and that’s when I realised it was a cycling route and the length of the mountain climb and gradients were marked out from the bottom up.
    This would have been a great house to buy if we both wanted to move here. The inside of the house was just as beautiful and quaint as the outside and the estate agent explain all about how the house used to work, and it had a mezzanine floor in it so the farmers could sleep on that while the animals slept downstairs. It was fascinating but he already told us when he arrived it was no longer up for sale but we could rent it. We will keep an eye on Air B&B and see if it comes up.
    On leaving Els Reugars I realised my back wheel had yet another puncture, the fourth since we’ve been here so we went to decathlon to find some more but they just had crap ones there, I did find a cycle shop nearby so that’s what we’re doing in the morning.
    We eventually got back to Roquettes and the Airè after stopping at McDonald’s en route at 7:30pm. There was just one free space left. Partly because the idiots at the end had wound out there awning and were taking up 2 spaces.
    Then we put the TV on and chilled for the rest of the evening with both the fans roaring away and both roof vents open it is still 24°c outside and 26 inside.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaOur Spanish Road Trip
    Day 16

    Beciete and back again

    October 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    I woke up this morning feel as rough as. I didn’t feel great last night with a slight sore throat and headache but I was hoping I’d feel ok today. Ellie was still feeling knackered.
    We had decided to drive to the town of Beciete today and try and hike the gorges of El Parrizial. I found a park4night spot to head for and marked that off in TomTom but the actually gorges were down a small track and I wasn’t sure we would get Wanda down there.
    Leaving Roquettes and our electric hook up I drove 1 mile round the corner to a bike shop to get 2 new tyres as my back one is knackered.
    Then we got diesel before making the 40 mile trek to Beciete. To me it was a real struggle, I just wanted to sleep even though I had, had a good nights sleep and my back, neck and shoulders really hurt.
    We pulled into the Park4night spot in Beciete and we were all alone. There was an information board there with a QR code so we scanned that and it told us all about the area and the fact that we need to book tickets for the gorge walk, motorhomes are only allowed down to the gorge walk on weekdays and motorhomes need to be less than 210cm wide. Wanda is just over 250.
    After a 30 minute power nap I decided to call it a day and head back to Roquettes. I was worried about feeling worse tomorrow and not having enough sun to charge the batteries if we stayed in and watched tv so we headed back to Roquettes.
    The drive again was a real struggle and I was just counting the miles going down to get there.
    Once we got there we opened the windows and hatches and plugged in. Then we put the TV on and had a lazy day. Atleast here we have all resources to keep us going.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaOur Spanish Road Trip
    Day 17

    Covid

    October 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    I woke up this morning feeling worse than yesterday. My throat felt like I had been eating razor blades and I hardly slept. At one point in my delirious state last night I got up, went to the toilet and then threw a glass of juice of the cooker, covered it up with 2 teatowels and then got back in bed. And I just could get my feet warm.
    We realise now that we both probably have Covid 19 which is unbelievably unfortunate. Since day one of the covid outbreak we have been super careful and even here, although we don’t wear masks anymore we do disinfect our hands all the time.
    I’d been awake for about an hour before I fell asleep again while Ellie watched YouTube. Then when I woke up I unmade the bed and put the TV on. First we watched a really stupid film in Netflix, then something else on Disney all the time we were both drifting in and out of consciousness.
    We’ve had a day of complete rest hoping that will speed our recovery, Ellie has been in her pyjamas all day.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaOur Spanish Road Trip
    Day 18

    One more day in Roquettes

    October 24, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Today we both woke up feeling pretty rough still. Ellie coughed through most of the night in her sleep and I had a proper sweat on and still have a sore throat.
    We had resided to the fact that we weren’t going to do anything today except relax and recuperate and we felt better later then we would do something.
    By mid morning we were both bored and needed some shopping so we drove to Tortosa which was our closest Lidl and re supplied the cupboards. We should be good now for the next 3-4 days.
    Back at the air I managed to drive Wanda nose in to one of the end bays and when we open the habitation door there is a wall so now it’s like we have our own private courtyard.
    I got both our camping chairs out and we sat outside in the sun with cold drinks. Being on the fresh air made us feel a lot better.
    After about an hour I decided I was feeling a lot better so decided to change my bike tyres for the new ones I had bought a couple of days ago. This should have been a 20 minute job but as with all quick jobs, it turned into a nightmare and as I changed the front wheel I split my last inner tube.
    I replaced with one that I had already repaired but that was all I had so I decided to ride around the corner, back to the bike shop where I got the tyres and get some inner tubes.
    Being on the bike felt good. I was worried that Covid might have gotten on my chest but I felt fine. Except for my sore throat.
    After collecting the inner tubes, I returned to camp and decided that tomorrow we would hit the road again.
    We had,had enough rest and sometimes doing nothing makes you do more nothing, so tomorrow we are definitely leaving here.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaOur Spanish Road Trip
    Day 19

    Roquettes, Ebredelta & El Perello

    October 25, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    This morning we woke up bright and early. Today was going to be moving day and by 8:30am the bed was away and Wanda was beginning to look like she was going somewhere.
    Tidying up I took the chance to disinfect all hard surfaces, the worktops, cupboards, all latches, the mirrors and even the habitation door handles. We are definitely done with feeling like crap from Covid.
    Just after 9am we were ready for lift off and Ellie watched me back up to the water and waste area so I didn’t drive over the crazy cat lady’s cats, once we had refilled with fresh and emptied the grey we were away. Glad to see the back of Roquettes unfortunately, but knowing that it is a nearby safe haven for utilities if we keep getting this hazy sunshine.
    We had set our goals low and decided not to push ourselves to hard on the first day of being back in the road and headed for another Park4night spot deep in the Ebredelta about 20 miles away.
    Driving there was a complete contrast to anything we have driven in through any of our other countries. Rice fields lay either side of us and huge tractors with caterpillar wheels on the back and huge studs in the front were working them, spraying up muddied water as they ploughed through. All manors of water birds were just sitting out in the open, egret’s, Herons, Ibises, Cormorants, kingfishers and various buntings aswell as hawks gliding above the rice paddies. It was a spectacular sight and looked like something from Asia rather than Catalonian Spain.
    TomTom took us down various single track roads with nothing but water and rice grass either side of us and it was a little scary as there would have been no chance of turning around had it been a wrong road, but once again TomTom Camper done us proud and got us to the spot without incident.
    It was a beautiful little park up spot right on the edge of the bay down a gravel track where the Ebre river meets the sea and it was unbelievably quiet.
    We sat there for about an hour, had lunch of the magic Wanda toasties, watched the fish jumping out of the sea. Watched some huge crabs right on the edge of the bay underneath our window’s scuttling across the rocky sea shore and watched the kingfishers coming and going. Then I opened a window and we watched the Mosquitoes flock straight to the fly screen. It was like a challenge had been offered to them. I quickly decided to close the window again but to do that I had to release the fly screen and within seconds a handful of mosquitoes were in. First challenge dealt with all they had to do now was bite one of us.
    Slapping the walls and ceilings and clapping our hands together we must have looked like a right pair of retards if anyone saw us but we did get them all. Then we sprayed ourselves up with jungle spray.
    We took the bikes off the back, locked Wanda up and then decided to head further down the gravel track we had come in on to see if we could reach the next town.
    It was a lovely leisurely ride and within 30 minutes we had reached the beach town of Ampalla. It looked like a nice town, probably because it was so quiet. We both thought it must be heaving in the summer with it’s huge high rise hotels. It looked like mini Benidorm from where we had parked Wanda and luckily the bike path ran out at the Marina which is the posh end with all the expensive fish restaurants so we definitely only saw the best bit but we were glad we ventured in nonetheless.
    We got back to Wanda about 3:30pm. Inside she was stuffy with no air and despite opening 1 roof hatch with the best fly screen it was still to hot and we decided we weren’t going to be able to sleep here after all. Especially once we started cooking dinner.
    El Perello was next on our list to go to and this has been my major destination. I’ve researched this place, the town planners are all hikers and bikers and they’ve developed 500 miles of trails for people to explore complete with a website, facts about the trails and GPX coordinates to download to your mobile device. The only problem I did find was a lack of car parks as every single trail except for 2 all start from the town centre.
    We managed to find 1 motorhome park up down by the beach with mixed reviews. It’s 5km from the main town but we figured we go there and then check the town parking situation tomorrow, so we took the 30 minute, 12 mile drive to the beach at El Perello.
    The park4night app stated that this place can hold up to 60 motorhomes. Do not stay for longer than 24 hours, don’t have chairs and tables outside of your motorhome, and keep the area clean.
    Obviously no one is enforcing the ground rules as when we pulled up there must be atleast 20 other motorhomers already here and although the grounds are tidy these guys look like they are staying for a while. Every single one has tables and chairs out of the motorhome, some even have surf boards and motorbikes on the ground next to there vehicles. Some vehicles even have trailers with cars on that are bigger than Wanda. We feel very unequipped.
    We found a fairly level spot next to an elderly Dutch couple and there’s no one on the spot in front of us so we thought we would have a nice quiet night. It’s now 5pm and except for the cluttering of dishes and cooking utensils the place is remarkably quiet.
    After dinner, just as it got dark at 8pm I closed all the blinds and we settled in for the night. That’s when the fun started.
    As we watched Netflix the music on the TV didn’t really correspond to what was happening so I paused the TV and we realised it was coming from outside. Yes, the Vampires had woken up and they were playing the Bongo drums right outside our front window. Not only that they had also set up 2 tables and 8 chairs and one of the freaks also had a guitar.
    There’s only one thing worse than bongos and that’s chanting and that’s what started next only in Swedish. One of them was tapping away on the drums, then he would say a word and all the others would repeat it. This went on for about 20 minutes and then when that ritual had finished mr guitar started.
    It is remarkable how selfish other people can be when there were, by now another 30 motorhomes here and by 10pm we’re all looking to turn in for the night and these arseholes are out there drinking, laughing and playing instruments and to top it off now they have a barking dog.
    Finally at 11:30pm they shut up, I really hope they are not here tomorrow.    Read more

  • Misadventures Of WandaOur Spanish Road Trip
    Day 20

    El Perello to Castillo

    October 26, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    I didn’t sleep well at all last night. I went to sleep annoyed at the noisy morons who played there bongos and let there dogs bark until 11:30pm and once I was in bed I realised Wanda wasn’t level and I was sliding head first into the wall so I slept up the other end so I I slid down the bed instead which meant Ellie an I essentially topped and tailed.
    At 6am I gave up trying to sleep and admittedly I did consider putting food on the roofs and around the motorhomes that were noisy last night so the birds could have a feast and wake them up crapping all over there vans, but it’s my birthday and I didn’t really want any aggro, so I made coffee instead.
    At 8am we decided to get out of bed and get dressed, we had plans today and by 9am, after rush hour we were ready to leave and the noisy arseholes were still in bed. It took all my strength not to toot the horn on the way out. Beach park ups just attract a certain sort of traveller. Even if they’ve been parked in the woods for days once they all get to the beach it’s like they’re really on holiday and all sense, respect and morals go out of the window. Every beach park up we’ve been to is like this.
    Our first destination and main highlight of the day was to pass through El Perello to the other side and find a hike I had marked off where the was some prehistoric cave art and some caves. The description said there was a car park and the hike was easy.
    I’d marked the car park on TomTom and getting there was a real challenge. Once we passed around the town we hit gravel roads which I was kind of expecting, but what I wasn’t expecting was the roughness and the gradients. At no point in the description did it say the car park was 4x4 access only. 1/2 mile from the car park I found a flat patch of land off the gravel track where they had been cutting trees down. I managed to reverse park Wanda neatly on some flat bits just missing the tree stumps either side and then we walked the rest of the way to the car park.
    To be honest, Wanda had already done over 2 miles of gravel without struggling but I just didn’t want to risk breaking her or smashing her up for no reason or there not actually being a car park at the end of the track, because that would have been a nightmare to reverse out.
    We walked the rest of the way in and were glad we’d left Wanda as they were brush cutting the verges and there were huge spiny branches all over the track. Definitely puncture material.
    We started the hike and straight away started climbing and within 20 minutes we had climbed 450 meters and were sweating buckets. It wasn’t particularly sunny but it was very hot, very close, and absolutely no air. Ellie was finding it worse as Covid has definitely got on her chest.
    At this point we found the cave and cave art, it was amazing to think how many thousands of years old it was and how well preserved it is, but at some point in the past that whole wall must have been covered with the same picture art and the weather has taken it all.
    We pushed on, climbing to 750 meters before finally starting the decent on really rough rocky terrain. It was completely wild. No steps, no ropes, we were left to fend for ourselves. You would never have a path like this in England.
    At the bottom there was another cave but this one had no art although we could get into it as it was much bigger and there was an information post. All of the caves in this area were used as dwellings during the prehistoric ages.
    We headed back towards the car park and with the walk done we came to the conclusion that it wasn’t actually an easy family hike atall. I certainly wouldn’t take young children as that’s an accident waiting to happen.
    We made it back to Wanda still sweating, freshened up with some cold drinks and then headed for the main town of El Perello.
    All of the trails in the area covering over 500 miles of hiking and biking started from the municipal swimming pool in the town centre. I knew we couldn’t sleep here but I had found a free airè a couple of miles away and if parking was easy I’d be happy to drive in and we could hike and bike from there.
    Finding the municipal swimming pool and parking area was a nightmare, and TomTom was trying to take us down all sorts of streets. Eventually I found where we had to go.and fortunately there was already another motorhome parked there otherwise I’d have driven straight past. I reversed in and parked up. Then we went for a walk through town.
    El Perello is a tiny town but it seems to have all manor of shops and cafés and everything was open. There is even a town hall, municipal sports area complete with a full size football pitch and a police station but compared to other towns it is tiny. It seemed strange that this place had everything to offer but no Airè for us, but other much smaller villages and even bigger towns with no shops at all do offer an Airè for motorhomers. Especially as El Perello’s whole website and tourism is about hiking and biking but there’s nowhere in town to stay, or park if you have bikes.
    We went to a little Café for lunch as it was my birthday we thought we’d treat ourselves. We ordered coffees first and as soon as they came so did the olive flies. Hundreds and hundreds buzzing around us, landing on our hands, cups, eyes, ears and any other naked bit of skin. Olive flies look like a regular house flies just a fraction smaller and 10 times more annoying. That probably should have been our que to drink coffee and just leave but stupidly we ordered food as we were hungry and as soon as that came out more flies came. The food was delicious, but we woofed it down so fast because of the flies we didn’t really enjoy it. It was eat, pay the bill and leave.
    Heading back to Wanda we stopped at the municipal swimming pool to see where the trails started. Every single hike and bike trail started here and I had intended to do a few but the reality of it soon dawned on me that it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
    Sure you could go in trails, but you would have to cycle on the roads through town first. I had hoped there was a track leading out of town with various branches off to different trails and as for the hiking trails they were exactly the same. Once we’d walked through town once we weren’t going to do it every time to get to another trail. I was gutted, I’d had reall high hopes of loving this place and as much as I do love it, there’s nowhere for us to park or stay.
    We headed off to the town of L’amelia Del Mar where I had found a free place to stay in a car park that was away from the morons who like to stay at the beach. Once we pulled up we realised we had the A7 motorway in front of us and 2 railway lines directly behind us and one was for freight.
    It was now only 1:30pm so I said we should find somewhere else but Ellie was happy just not to have bongos or barking dogs for the night when on park4night this place in the middle of nowhere just popped up.
    It was just 30 minutes away. We’ll away from the beach on a mountainside and all the reviews were 5 star. I told Ellie this is the place and admittedly she was worried because she wanted to head back to the the Delta to see Flamingos but I was sure this would be better, and 30 minutes later we had arrived.
    The abandoned village of Castillo is definitely one of our more random finds and is unique in the fact that it is being restored. The town dates back originally to the 12th-13th century and was originally a tiny walled town with one huge pillar at it’s centre. Giving it the appearance of a castle and because of the 1 metre thick walls it would keep the townsfolk safe from invaders. Hence the name Castillo.
    All of the ground work of the original foundations are still here, a lot of the original walls are still here and from the air you can see the original shape of the town. It has been carefully and masterfully reconstructed using original materials since 2008 and just a few of the houses have been finished and people have moved in, but the rest of the town is still in a state of decay or restoration giving it a very ghostly feel and to top it off we saw nobody. It was certainly creepy and couldn’t work out whether we are allowed to be here, should be here, is it a tourist attraction or an archeological site?
    We spent about 90 minutes wandering around taking pictures and saw no one. Then we headed back to Wanda for the rest of the afternoon had some dinner and chilled out watching TV.
    As the sun set a different feeling came over the village. No lights came on atall and there is no moon. It is unbelievably still. The whole place is pitch black. There isn’t a sound except for lots of owls.
    This is one of the creepiest places we’ve stayed.    Read more

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