I woke in the middle of the night not because of noise from Ding Dong and Bang Bang it was because of the strong wind. I looked out of the window on numerous occasions to check that our tent wasn't sailing off in the black yonder. Sleep didn't come easy, I was tossing and turning with my brain thinking about love, life, politics and the strength of the pound against the euro. I must have dozed off eventually as the next time I woke it was morning. A cold wet morning greeted us for the first time since we left the white cliffs.
Morning TV and admin contacting the bank and holiday insurance kept us well occupied until the sun came out, which was a good job as we were going stir crazy stuck in the van. The admin went on for longer than we thought so we called it a day and went for a stroll down to the prom to stretch our legs.
It's been the coldest day we've experienced so far. I even had to put my gillet on to keep warm. Thankfully it's sun, sun, sun tomorrow. By the time we got back to the van we had decided to renew our travel insurance. It would be taking a chance to rely solely on our EHIC cards but there are just so many restrictions with insurance cover in the U.K. Anyway, we searched for a better deal all day and couldn't find one, so we stuck with the old one.
Next year we will plan our time abroad better and maximise the 183 dats we can be out of the country.
The evening followed its normal routine apart from a FaceTime chat with the boys in London and Lisa in Sheffield and then it was two more episodes of Suits. I don't know how many more episodes there are left to watch but we'll have to find another fix when it's over.
It was all quiet on the Russian front tonight and the wind was not blowing a hooley. Let's hope the happy campers get a good nights sleep.
15 November 2016
It was a quiet night apart from the dustbin wagon that usually arrives about 03:00 every morning waking me up. We have to put our rubbish and recycling out on the street. There are two large bins just across the road which are emptied nightly. Can you imagine the bin men in the UK coming nightly, to collect the rubbish.
The sun was just coming up as we woke from our slumber. The first job of the day as always was to put the kettle on. What creatures of habit. I needed a Simon and Garfunkel fix so their 50 greatest hits seemed to suffice, although I'm sure they played The Boxer at least twice. We were showered and ready to go by 10:00, not quite a world record but maybe an Olympic one. We pedalled away counting the bikes on the New Jersey Benicasim Turnpike.
We were looking for a caravan shop two roundabouts down and to the right over an hump back bridge. I now think the directions I got from John, one of the other campers where meant to be followed in a car. We could see the shop just across the road but the cycle track we were on was fenced off so that the road was inaccessible. We tried a few different ways but with no success.
What we did see was a road leading towards Magdalena Castle. I took it as an omen and away we went. We were briefly on one of the trails to Compostela de Santiago, how neat was that. We parked the bikes at the bottom of the climb up to the castle and took to walking. The views from the summit we great and we were at a point we had looked up at on numerous occasions saying we'll have to pay that place a visit. We spent a bit of time chilling and taking photos and it was all downhill on the way back.
Castellòn was our next stop. We parked the bikes at Lidl and the had a walk towards what we thought might be the centre. It's a big city so we could have been heading anywhere. We passed a roundabout with an electronic sign telling us the time and the switching to the temperature which was 24°C. I went into a barbers to get my haircut but if my interpretation of what the barber said was correct, he had dos customers lined up before he could cut mine. We walked on and about an hour later we did a big shop at Lidl. As big as two rucksacks and a large carrier bag would allow and then cycled the 13km back to the site for a very late lunch and a long siesta.
Our Dutch friends from further down the site woke us up wanting to play Pétanque so my siesta didn't last as long as I thought it would. Lex who still doesn't speak a word of the Queens, and I took another beating from the girls and then he invited us back to his van for a beer. We spent a pleasant evening with them before returning for our compulsory two episodes of Suits. Another day on planet earth had gone by in a flash. Sleepy campers.
16 November 2016
This is our fifteenth day in Benicasim which means we still have another sixteen days to go before we move further South. Up to now we are averaging £12.42 per day on camping fees and fuel combined and that figure will go down the longer we stay here as we have already paid in advance. Once we get on the move it will start rising again more so as we will do less wild camping in Spain.
Up and out a bit later today as we were off to Grau, about 8km down the coast. We passed an electronic sign saying the temperature was 22°C. Roasting hot in the sun but cooler in the shade, great for the middle of November. All the locals are well wrapped up and the Brits are kitted out with summer wear.
We had a pleasant walk round the harbour which was overflowing with fish. They must be used to being fed titbits as they follow you along waiting to be thrown a morsel. We had a look round one of the Chinese shops which tend to be like big supermarkets selling everything from Christmas decorations to the kitchen sink. We had a walk round town and bought bread and then into the Mercadona to buy some beer. A staple diet if ever there was one.
We cycled back to the van for some rest and relaxation in the sunshine and had a very late lunch or early dinner depending on which way you look at it. We retired to the van when it got too cold to sit out and the evenings entertainment was the movie True Grit which was a bit weird without The Duke and later we watched the compulsory episodes of Suits. Val had a look on the net and it seems there are six series with about sixteen episodes per series. We'll be old and grey by the time we get to the end of it. Buenos noches.
17 November 2016
We were up with the alarm and had our skates on for an early getaway. We set off on the bikes heading for Oropesa del Mar along the Viaverde trail which runs along the wild and natural coast. It probably took us about an hour to get there and then Val suggested we follow a road which took us to the next town along the coast which was Marina Dor.
It was virtually empty and according to what we read most of the massive apartment block have never been lived in and lots of its shops have never opened due to financial crash. We cycled along the beautiful promenade which was probably payed for by EU money. We stopped on a bench to enjoy some crisps and tangerines and was sad to see a chap rooting in a bin and retrieving what was left of a part eaten piazza. You can see the effects that the recession has had on everyday Spaniards just in the clothes they wear.
We had a cycle round Opopesa and then back along the Viaverde and got back to our site bang on time for the Paella lunch. How lucky was that. We got chatting to a Brummie couple who had also booked the lunch and who like us had retired before pension age and had a little income from a rental property but were mainly living off savings. They were still maintaining a house in the UK but if it had been up to the husband they wouldn't have been.
Val did some sunbathing whilst I borrowed the site paper which is the Daily Express. The paper is more anti EU than I am and told me how well Britain is doing since the Brexit vote. It also anticipated the there will soon be a Lord Farrage, wouldn't that rock the House of Lords.
As the sun went down I zipped up the tent for the evening. We must buy a low wattage heater for the next time we come abroad. It would allow us to stay longer in the tent when the temperature drops. Val popped the cork on a bottle of Brut that cost us all of €1.89. Happy tipples.
The rest of our evening followed the usual pattern. Two episodes of Suits and then catch up with the blog. No alarm clock tonight as we plan to clean the roof of the van. Getting up there should be fun. Happy cleaning campers.
18 November 2016
We woke with a purpose which was to clean the roof of the van. After borrowing the ladders from the site and saying ten hail Mary's I assented and belly flopped onto the roof as I was afraid of falling and landing on my ass.
We started cleaning at about 10:00 and stopped for lunch at 3:00. There was a bit off time gassing with a brummie neighbour but only for about an hour. The van at the end looked the cleanest it's ever been since we bought it in 2010, especially the roof.
We had lunch outside in the sunshine and counted our lucky stars that we weren't in the UK enduring the snow and rain. After all you can't enjoy vino tinto in the rain as it dilutes it.
We did get out to do a bit of shopping and just got back before it went dark and then we slipped into our evening routine. We are now into series three of Suits and are starting to think it's never going to end. Two more episodes watched and it's time for some zzzz's. Oh no, there activity on the Russian front. It could be a long night.
19 November 2016
Either Ding Dong left early left early or they both fell asleep because we slept soundly. We both woke with aching muscles after our exertions cleaning the van.
We spent the morning cleaning the inside of the van and clearing out the under bed area. We are gradually making better use of all the available space. Magazines are getting read and going in the bin. Stuff we don't use or need is following so we are hopefully getting a little bit lighter as time goes by.
The main entertainment this afternoon was the Man United Versus Arsenal game. United bossed the game, had far more attempts at goal and had a stonewall penalty waved away. Disappointed.
With the twelve thirty kick off being one thirty over here it was a late lunch to say the least. A bit of a cloudy day, but still warm enough to eat outside which was nice. It might be the last time for a few days as rain is forecast for tomorrow and Tuesday. We'll have to wait and see. If the forecasters are as good as the BBC it might be bright sunshine.
In the evening our Dutch neighbours came round and spent a couple of hours with us. The paradox was it was both easy and hard, their an easy couple to get on with, Lex is a joker and Shiska is bubbly, but it's hard with the language barrier. The evening which was their last went well but we'll be sad to see then go.
We watched another episode of Suits and were starting to doze so we set the bed up and climbed in. By the time we had done that we had both come round a bit so I got stuck into the blog whilst Val checked her email. Another day gone by in a flash.
20 November 2016
We woke and showered early so the we could say farewell to Lex and Shiska. They drove their car and caravan over to reception but after the handshakes and the kisses were completed the car wouldn't start. Gerard from the Brummie couple who were also saying goodbye had a starting device with leads attached so they were soon on their way.
I spent the rest of the morning watching my usual Sunday morning TV programmes whilst Val spent some time on the net. About 1:30 we jumped on the bikes and rode into town for lunch in a restaurant. It was ok but not great. The previous dish of Patatas Bravas we had was far superior to what were served today. It was a Romanian restaurant with some nice Romanian beer and the food portions were enormous. I think we just picked the wrong dishes. It was an enjoyable lunch but it could have been better. The only people out and about on Sunday are the ones going out to eat. The place is deserted apart from them. It's like going back to a time in the UK when the pups closed at 2:00 and the sabbath was considered a day of rest.
By the time we got back to the van the sun was shining brightly so we had a couple of hours enjoying the warmest part of the day before it clouded over again and the temperature dropped. We retired to the van and darkness was on us in no time. The evenings entertainment was Strictly and another episode of our current Netflix favourite series. Happy campers.
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