ALL HOT & BOTHERED

We are glad to check out of our hotel, drop off the BMW, while away a few hours in Zaragoza before heading back to the workshop. We finally get out (with GR2) at 7pm as they are closing the gate for the night. Then we head south - planning a fast route through the rest of Spain, so that we can cross to Morocco ASAP! We finally stop at sunset – thoroughly enjoying sitting outside as the last pink vanishes from the sky.

Many more miles as we move south. Motorways & smaller roads with narrow winding gorges. There is a circle on my map at the tiny town of Canete – so we stop to wander town & stretch our legs. Naturally there is a castle & a few churches thrown in for good measure. All is decorated for a fiesta in a few days, but no time to tarry!  As the day warms up (40 deg) so does GR2. So much so that we make the decision to return to the workshop. We can’t expect them to fix it under warranty after wandering all around Morocco.  We end up camping on a lovely Embalse/lake formed by a dam. Finally, back on what I hope is a relatively flat motorway. Of course, it is no such thing… magic views & more mountains.    In the worst heat of the day we stop to explore Catalayud.    Finally, we get to the workshop, ready for the guys to arrive on Monday morning!

Mid-morning, we head off on a test drive to see if all is sorted. John starts getting hopeful…. Until GR2 gets hot. Oh well. Next check is the radiator. It is pulled out and sent away. We are towed outside for the night. Another hot night & day. We are finally towed back inside at 5pm & finished by 6pm. The blockage has been cleared. Fingers crossed & waving mechanics who say “Don’t come back.” and we are away yet again. Off down that motorway to Madrid, only stopping when it is nearly dark. All looking good.

On his regular morning check John discovers GR2 is still using water, and we make the decision to miss Morocco totally this trip & head back to our workshop. They have no more ideas so we decide to meander north towards Germany. Back to those maps, & we set Barcelona in to the GPS. As it gets late in the day I spy notes on my map about great free camping (from our trip years ago), so we head there for the nigh - a dammed river where fisherman are trying to catch sturgeon. A French guy shows John pictures of one over 2 metres that he caught earlier in the day.  Catch & release only – and if you could see the water you would know why! And definitely no swimming for us, but a nice spot for the night.

Muck around a bit in the morning. After all there is no hurry now! Head on to Lleida & squeeze in to a tiny spot right near the centre of town. In the past, we have bypassed this city as it really didn’t sound that exciting in the Lonely Planet, but it is a pleasant surprise. We do not have to walk all the way up to the castle –there is an escalator & a lift for most of the way! The Cathedral is amazing & totally unrestored. Cloister superb & tower exhausting (especially in this heat!) Finally, time to move on to Barcelona.  We end up heading to the beach town of Vilanova I la Geitra. I have spied a marina on the map, & we often find camping on these. But better still we find Platja del far de San Cristofol (a beach) with a huge carpark. Enough people have left so that we can fit in. How lovely to swim until sunset in the Mediterranean Sea!

Shall we move on to Barcelona or shall we stay at the beach. The beach wins easily (we have been to Barcelona before). So, the whole day is spent floating in the sea & lazing on the sand people watching. And that is a whole new entertainment in itself. Do you know how many Spanish women go topless (and I wish they wouldn’t!) John reckons about 8.5%. Later as we sit by GR2 our next entertainment is watching cars get stuck in the sand. They simply cannot resist it! We meet & chat to a few people as well. That is how we know that it is a fiesta tonight on the nearby beach. Music & fireworks. Great to sit at the beachside bar/restaurant with new friends watching some pretty impressive fireworks. We realise it will be a late night as our park is full to the max with people going to the fiesta. But that is not what keeps us awake. We wake in the wee hours to a boom box blasting in the car beside us. Their mates are parked in front of us & they are all partying very hard. Finally, all quiet by 3.30am Sometimes there is a downside to free camping.

Time for a swim before we head out. Don’t want to get jammed in as these exuberant Spanish arrive by carloads. So, we head north following the coastline, first past Barcelona, then on to the Costa Brava. We thought Sunday would be pretty easy traversing Barcelona, but roadworks have closed our motorway & all 3 lanes are diverted through the port – a very slow exercise. Then it is beach after beach. As car parking is at a premium every spot is full.  Finally, we wind around the jagged coastline of The Costa Brava – a truly magnificent drive with lots of Sunday drivers.  Fortunately, John does love a challenge. There are very few motorhomes along this stretch. Some gorgeous towns running down valleys in to the water, but not for us when all the side streets are choked with parked cars.

We start the process of hunting for a beach for the night. On the map L’Estartit looks hopeful – holy moly, not a carpark in sight. So, we find a back track to Plague de Peyrefite. It looks like the back of beyond on the map, but the dirt track is full of parked cars. We squeeze in, go for a cooling swim. Later, when the cars thin out we find a better spot. 

Today we are heading to Calaques as recommended by a lovely Spanish girl we met. She says it will be untouristy! But it is in the Lonely Planet so we will see. Head off early on the lovely drive up through the winding mountain road/track. There is already lots of traffic. When we arrive, we are sent away from the carpark (we are too heavy) and have to head to the hills. Phew, we find the spot – and it is not very big. Then set off to explore town, and gosh it is packed with tourists. But it is a gorgeous seaside village. When we leave our carpark is full & there are cars & even motorhomes still streaming in – good luck finding a carpark!

Lots more narrow winding roads, with even more traffic. And of course, the road keeps winding through villages with those narrow roads. Fortunately, we can stop at lookouts to take in the views – just magic! By now we have crossed in to France. At another lookout, we can see down to a beach with large carpark & yes, a row of motorhomes, so we decide to find our way down. Perfect – the carpark is full, so we find a spot up the hill, so that in the evening we can come down to the beach. To our surprise we are at a Marine Reserve with a special snorkelling area. Perfect. We pull out our gear & head on in with heaps of locals. We stay for 2 nights right on the beach at this gorgeous spot.  Oh, the joys of motorhoming……..

ALL HOT & BOTHERED - PHOTOS

The central plaza at Canete in fiesta mode

Just driving along

So many sunflowers

So many little towns

Camping at Embalse de Entrepenas

Passing by

The leaning tower of Catalayud

Plaza at Catalayud

Mudajar tower at Catalayud

Torro Plaza/Bull ring

Getting a Spanish no plate - plenty on the pole!!

Camping outside the workshop - right in the middle of the road

Camping on the waterfront near Montnegre

View from our campsite

Llerida Castillo

View from the tower

Plaza & elevator in Llerida

Platja del Farde San Cristobel (at dusk)

Camping - when all the cars have gone home

Following the coast at Barcelona

Gorgeous Costa Brava

From Playa de la Fonollera

In the morning before the crowds arrive

Heading over the mountains to Cadaques

Cadaques

El Port de la Sevia

Magic driving

In to France

Looking down on Plage de Peyrefite

Sunrise

Our great spot

EXPLORING ESPANA (WITHOUT GR2)

It is a bit of a shock to our systems to actually travel without our house on wheels! John has booked a small car from Zaragoza, so we collect it and head off. Almost randomly we head towards Soria. The idea is to do rough loop around Madrid ending back in Zaragoza in a few days to check on GR2. At least the tiny car gives us the freedom to drive right into the old centre of town, instead of parking & walking in.

Our best find of the day is the town of Taragoza. We explore the Old Jewish Quarters with some remaining hanging houses, stubble across the gorgeously decorated town hall, look at the old bull ring built with townhouses as the outer wall & visit the amazing old Cathedral. Once in Soria we head to the Info Centre where we get booked in to a cheapish hotel. All easy peasy. We are right in the old centre & can explore as much as we like on foot. Great dinner out –beginning after 9pm of course! Final explore in the morning before heading out, this time on to Burgos – a much bigger city.  Our first stop is at the town of El Burgo de Osama. There is a lovely long curvy pedestrian street filled with meandering locals. A huge plaza with a seriously lovely cathedral (they all lovely here!) & to our surprise a long wall outside of town that we would have missed if we hadn’t gone to find the old Roman bridge & hilltop castle ruins. Then head through a gorge via tiny back roads – lots of hikes here, but at 36deg way too hot to explore. But do get great views of the castle.

Finally arrive at Burgos, but find we cannot book a hotel at the Info Centre & have to trudge from hotel to hotel to find one. It is Friday night & the place is busy. In future, we will book ahead!  Finally, off to explore this gorgeous city. We end the day with beer, sangria & delicious tapas!  Oh & another stop to watch the Festival of Ethnic Dance. John is suitably bored.

Great buffet breakfast. Even copy the locals by making up ham & cheese bread rolls to take for lunch. Bonus! Then off to explore again. Phew – over an hour in the ginormous Cathedral, then head up to explore the Castillo de Bugos on the top of the hill with great views of the city. Time to move on. We are booked in to a hotel in Segovia tonight. But first a stop at Covarrubias to wander the streets of this tiny half-timbered town. Then the Monastery at San Domingo de Silos. It is getting late, so time to move on, but we can’t resist stopping when we see the ruined castle at Turegano & have to explore it. Finally, Segovia. Our hotel is just off the main plaza – awesome spot. Of course, there is no parking at any of these hotels & John has to find one on the street. Overnight it is free, but during the day in Segovia he has to feed the machine every hour – so a quick visit to the Cathedral, then the Alcazar – totally renovated of course, but still amazing, before we head out of town. One final stop –  the famous Aqueduct. Even though we have been here years ago I can’t resist getting more photos.

By now we have had an overload of Cathedrals & Castles – maybe a nice long drive would be a pleasant change. So, we find a scenic route through the Sierra de Guadarrama’s towards Avila, where we are booked in to a Palace for the night (John has done well!) Even time for a siesta before heading out to walk along the much-renovated city walls, followed by tapas at a popular bar. For every drink you order, you get a free tapa. The rolled stuffed pancakes are the best tonight.

 We are now heading to Cuenca via the old walled city of Toledo. Park right within the walled city (something impossible to do in GR2) We head off to explore this lovely old city &find somewhere for lunch. It is pretty hot, so we are more than happy to get back to the car to continue to Cuenca. Here our very cheap hotel has an awesome view of the old town. We head off to explore finally finding the houses hanging over the cliffs that we remember visiting years ago. Hurry back to our hotel as a storm blows in.

Today we need to get back to GR2 to check progress & return our car. John will be glad to see the back of it – he claims it is the worst rental car (a Nissan Micra built in India) he has ever had. Not counting the one in Cuba – which was in a class all of its own.  So, we set the GPS and drive – a truly magic drive through rocky gorges before getting onto motorway. Phew get back to the workshop just before siesta (and they really do close down everything & lock all the doors). Good & bad news. They know what the problem is, but need to order more parts from Italy, so we can’t have GR2 back yet!

Back to Zaragoza to drop off the car and regroup. Can’t decide what to do next, so we book a hotel right in the old town in Zaragoza & taxi in. This city is surprisingly fun to explore so we stay 2 nights & slow down a bit. We throw around ideas – train to Barcelona, but hotels are in high demand so expensive, & it will be crowded. Fly to Mallorca & sit on the beach – again heavily booked & we think we will be bored after a day or two. Finally, John books a car (a better one this time – and they upgrade us to a new BMW 318d Bonus!) & hotels for the next few nights.

We head off through the Pyrenees – another winding back route all the way to Andorra, where we are booked. We remember lots of shops, but they have multiplied since 2006. In the morning shoppers are flocking in. A wander around before finding more back routes to explore – this time heading to Carcassonne in France. It has been on my wish list for a while as the pictures look amazing. We have 2 nights in a hotel with a mini kitchen & there is a swimming pool. We can buy some groceries & eat in our room…. So enjoyable.

It takes most of the day to explore La Citi (the walled city of Carcassonne) & naturally the place is packed. After all we have come on a Sunday in school holidays. The whole place is renovated/restored/improved, but a great visit. Now we need to start looping back towards Zaragoza (fingers crossed – we really want GR2 back soon. We miss our bed & home cooked meals, not to mention our freedom.)

Our next night is booked in a Chateau in the mountains so we meander along back roads, finally heading over some very tiny narrow roads to our hotel which a bit disappointing. Our expectations are high for a Chateau! The weather has been on/off showers today – so sorry no decent photos. John wakes feeling a bit under the weather (and don’t even suggest I drive!! That would be total madness) so we decide to drive the short distance to Huesca & stay here. It is not too far from the workshop and it ends up a great decision as this place is a good size so has lots of places to explore, very few tourists & a swimming pool. We head out to explore town & the surrounds while impatiently waiting for GR2. The lull also gives John time to recover from his bug.

One fun trip is out to the Castillo de Loarre. A truly amazing castle set atop a jagged outcrop. Finally, on Thursday we drive to the workshop…. If it isn’t ready tomorrow we are looking at going to Barcelona, but thank goodness we should have GR2 back tomorrow night. Then we will be able to high tail down to Morocco……

EXPLORING ESPANA - PHOTOS

In our little rental car we can go anywhere.... well almost

The gorgeous countryside - sunny every day here in Spain

Tarazona

The hanging houses in the Jewish Quarter - some being restored

Main drag of Tarazona

It's Cathedral of course

Always plenty of nesting storks

Monasterio de San Juan de Duero outside of Sori

El Burgo de Osama - the main pedestrian drag

and main plaza

The ruins outside town

finally the city walls

Yet another castle just in passing - near Ucero

Arriving at the very impressive gates of Burgos

The incredible cathedral at Burgos

They just let off fireworks after the wedding

Main Plaza at Burgos

Doing the tour of the Cathedral - lots of commentary

The cloisters

Heading back out of town we see these houses or are they wine caves

Exploring Covarrubias 

At the monastery at San Domingo de Silo

Follow a great rocky gorge

Then happen upon another castle & have to stop

Here it is around the other side - Turegano Castle

Heading in to Segovia

The gorgeous cathedral just around the corner from our hotel

The Alcazar - fully restored/renovated

Inside the Alcazar

Segovia's famous Acueducto

Inside Avila's walls

We walked the top - and then viewed them from outside - totally renovated

The streets of Toledo

Toledo's historic heart

The view from our window in Cuenca

Cuenca's clifftops (storm brewing)

Main plaza -Cuenca

Yet another castle on our way back to Zaragoza - Castle Molina de Aragon

Zaragoza

Sunset over the river

Visiting the Aljaferia

The heavily restored Ajaferia

Main shopping drag in Zaragoza

Finally a photo inside the Basilica - services seemed to run every day and all day

The symbol of Espana - no bull

Heading towards the Pyrennes again (another road this time)

Some pretty rocky roads

and gorgeous villages

Coming down from the mountains to head in to Andorra

View from our hotel - this place is shop till you drop

Stop for the markets in Formigeres (France)

All lush & green

Following yet another gorge - much easier in a BMW

Exploring Carcassonne (again another renovation job)

At night - all lit up

Driving right in to the grotto!!

So many castles to explore (no reno job here)

But a full reno job done here!

Back through the Pyrennes again

View from Castello Loarre

Castello Loarre

Exploring Huesca

Huesca getting ready for the fiesta

Castles pop up everywhere