After exploring our base of El Puerto de Santa Maria one day, the next day we took the small ferry boat across the bay into the relatively small city of Cadiz. A beautiful calm crossing there and back. It was so clear, we could make out the naval ships in the Spanish/American base of Rota, a little further up the coast.
The day started with breakfast of coffee and massive croissants in Plaza de Espana, the main square. Afterwards we meandered through its narrow streets to the cathedral, buzzing in preparation of the forthcoming Easter celebrations.
Massive croissants!
We then headed around the city edges to one of its old forts, for a drinks break. Lunch was tapas in the market before chilling in some cool gardens before getting back on the late afternoon ferry.
Wandering the cityCooling beersA bar in the old fort buildingCats and birds living harmoniously!Tapas lunchThe cathedralThe post office buildingScenes inside tye marketColourful fruits and veg
We managed to look inside one or two churches that are preparing for Easter.
Mad dogs and Englishmen went out in the midday sun to look at two important churches in Old Goa (town) before heading to an island for a ride out with Jake the Snake to search for real life crocodiles.
It was a long busy day, not the sort we are used to where we have chores to do or shopping or maintenance but we packed in such a lot that it truly tired us out!!!
We started with breakfast on the beach, poached eggs, French toast, fresh fruit juice and a Full English for some (greedy Graham no less), washed down by fresh coffee and a dash of a dancing dolphin. The dolphin was considerately right in front of us so we didnt have to move too much from our table!
Our breakfast View.Fishermen heading in with their catch.
We then had a frantic drive around town negotiating the scooters, cars, busses and cows before heading inland, stopping occasionally to top up our religion intake, before making our way onto an island to meet up with Jake the Snake.
Our Lady of Pilar Church was being renovated when we visited….Still beautiful.
We then visited Old Goa, to stop at the Bom Jesus Basilica a Baroque Catholic church completed in 1605.
Across the road was a 17th century large Catholic cathedral built by Portuguese colonialists and still in use for worship today. It claims to be the largest Catholic church in Asia.
We then drove a little further onto St Estevan’s Isle to meet up with Jake! Slathered on mozzie spray before departing!!
Jake was extremely knowledgeable and friendly and led us upriver for at least an hour, diesel engines puffing away, pointing out dangerous wildlife – by that I mean real wild crocodiles – and beautiful birds before leading us back downriver to the safety of the island and our car.
The following photos are just a selection of the 100s taken of Brahminy Kites (brown with white heads), brown kites, eagles, sleeping fruit bats, peacocks and peahens, egrets, sandpipers, cormonants, brown common kingfishers, tiny blue kingfishers, and the 6 or 7 crocodiles that we saw, they ranged from 3m to 7m in length, some resting on the bank, some in the water.
Our “stressful day with dangerous animals” meant we really needed a drink to calm our nerves, so to the beach we headed, for another fabulous sundowner, of course 😁
Having returned from our trip to the USA in October and November and letting it sink in as to all the hugely fun adventure we had, we settled in Vilanova I La Geltru just outside Barcelona for a week, not wanting to travel too far just yet!! This was easier said than done!
The Rolls Royce engine on the Dreamliner and below, coming into land at Barcelona
Samson coming out of the storage yard.
Our storage facility had a Dometic engineer on site, one who was prepared to take a look at an issue we had with the electric on board heater not firing up, a fault we had found just before we left for the USA so after we had landed in Barcelona at midday, driven to the storage facility and hooked up the trailer, it was about 4pm. We left the storage place to travel only 15 miles to the local campsite and we expected to arrive half an hour later and get ourselves hooked up and straight before the sun set but we got caught up in the French/Catalan/Spanish demonstrations. The campsite was just a few miles from the French/Spanish border and the main AP7 motorway had been closed by Police that day due to demonstrations on the roads, all traffic had been diverted to parallel roads and told to park up as the Catalans were hoping to keep the road closed for 3 days!! I have never seen so many stagnant lorries, cars and motorhomes, in car parks, garages, service areas and on the edge of roads, all the drivers looked really ‘peed off’, just sitting doing nothing. We eventually got to the campsite at 7.45pm, the receptionist had kindly stayed open for us.
Lorries for as far as the eye can see……
We headed out of the site the next morning, back to see the electrical engineer, thinking how clear the roads were heading away from the border, until 2 miles down the road we hit brake lights! This time a coach, full of older aged French passengers, decided to pull across our side of the road, blocking our exit, with the attitude of “well, if we can’t move, neither will you” until the Police arrived! The Civil Police arrive, the coach driver soon moved and we were on our way. A few hours later, electrical fault identified, we headed south, still shocked at how many lorries were still parked up, probably back as far as 30 miles from the border!
We arrived at a site familiar to us, Vilanova I La Geltru, and signed in for a week; caught up and tried to regulate our sleep as well as eating at the correct times, my stomach was often wide awake at midnight, 6pm USA time!!! We did 4 suitcases full of laundry and found homes for all the extra bottles of alcohol we have imported from the USA!!
Vilanova was a little cooler than we had anticipated, we had to retrieve our jumpers and coats!!! However, the sun was out and the sky was blue, the sea was still rolling and the drinks were still cheap!! And…..one evening I scored 6 in a row when feeding the wild cats!!!
6 in a row at dinner time
One of the site’s pools.
Vilanova beach at sunset
Leaving G22 pitch at Vilanova.
After a
week we moved 200 miles south to Alcossebre, on the Costa Dourada. The change in weather and temperature was
immediate, an increase of 5C, which resulted in David getting his shorts
on!! We stopped at Camping Playa
Tropicana, where all the drinks are free!!!
Fun and Sunshine, there’s enough for everyone!!!
The coastline here is a mix of sand and pebbles, very clean and perfect for snorkeling in the summer, maybe not in November 🙂
We took a drive out one day to Alcala de Xivert, a small inland town with a fantastic 17th Century Moorish church, closed the day we decided to visit as the forthcoming weekend was a religious festival. However, the church tower was open, and we ventured up all 213 steps to the top, for amazing views of the plains.
The views were worth the climb. At 120 steps there was a platform with 7 bells, used for celebrations and holidays, and another tiny staircase upwards. We reached the very top, with several more bells, just as it chimed 12 midday, boy did that hurt the old eardrums being right under them!
Tower steps
View from half way up
We also spotted just across the valley, a hill top castle, Castel de Xivert, so off we went, 5kms drive over dust and dirt and another 1.5kms on the knees and calf muscles! Again the walk was worth the views from the castle. It was part of the Knight’s Templar empire, built during the 11th and 12th Century, but possibly with parts dating later than that, as suggested by an Arabic template on the main outer wall. The castle walls and towers remain, as does several of the small village houses below, but the quietness, and the views were something special.
View of the valley below
Upper area and twin towers
What health & safety???
Part of the lower walls to the village
Orange groves below the Castle
In full bloom still.
As we left the castle and headed back to Alcossebre, we drove through the orange grove valleys, the trees still loaded with partly ripened oranges. The smell was so fresh and fruity.
After several days here, we have decided to move on south, towards an old favourite, Bonterra Park in Benicassim.
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