DITL - Sounds of Granada, Spain - June 2012

A short movie featuring various street artists in Granada, Spain.  

-K

Sitges, Spain - May 6-8, 2012

More pictures!


Many people have warned us of Sitges' charms:  Coved beaches snuggled along the shore, a quaint little town with many narrow, pedestrian-only streets and the warmth of the Mediterranean.  But they didn't warn us of the crowds--and this is off season!


So just a few notes on Sitges:


1)  If you want to start a business, open up a high quality caravan park in Sitges--there is none to be found.  Two campgrounds, each with two stars and neither very attractive.  Although ours, El Garrofer, has 10 or so full hook-up sites making it livable as visiting the shower block was out of the question. 


2)  Sitges, even in the off season, is crowded on the weekends.  Plus, it doesn't take a lot of people to make the narrow streets feel tiny.  


3)  The town embraces everyone; if enjoying diversity is not on your agenda then you  might want to try another spot.  (We, of course, loved it.)


All in all it was a nice stop but I am anxious to get to the Pyrenees and into my hiking boots.  Not to mention all the campgrounds we have read about note, "exc. fishing."  We are headed up today!


-K

Granada, Spain – May 2-3, 2012

More pictures here!

In this life, you never know what the next day will bring.  So sometimes you do a lot of preparation only to find your plans get turned upside down by, say, a flat tire.

The night we were preparing to leave Las Lomas Campground in Guejar Sierra, a neighbor stopped by to tell us that Pepper had a flat and, if we needed it, he knew just who to call as he had a tire go flat upon pulling into the campground.  (Clearly there was something on the road.)  

Indeed, Pepper's right front tire was practically sitting on its rim.  As we attempted to fill it, we could hear—and then feel the air pressing out of a puncture along the sidewall.  Now, as my older brother can attest, Pepper does not carry a spare.  When you open the back hatch and lift up the carpet, you see a very promising, large, round, black-plastic, cover--clearly marked, “Bose”.  Music first, that’s our motto.

So . . . SP removed the tire, rolled it to the office and the wonderful staff at Las Lomas coordinated the replacement with the tire shop. 

A side note here:  When attempting to communicate in a foreign language, we are never sure if someone completely understands us.  However, we are always sure that we do not completely understand them.  Thus, when dealing with the purchase of an item, we have learned to lessen our expectations. 

The tire repair person said the tire could not be repaired but they could have a “summer” tire put on in one day or, if we waited two business days, we could have a “winter” tire.   For those of you who might have read the blog in the early days of Mrs. Dash, you may recall that we waited four weeks to get our Pirelli Scorpion Snow & Ice tires from Porsche in Orange County, California.  So when the repair shop said they could get us the “winter” tire in two business days, we lessened our expectations from Pirelli Scorpion to whatever might fit on Pepper.

This delay in our departure gave us just the excuse we needed to spend a few nights in a hotel enjoying a little Big City Life.  So we checked our budget:  €200/week for one night in a hotel but we hadn’t used the allotment in over four weeks, so we opted for €400/night for two nights, and checked into The [delightful] Hotel Carmen, in downtown Granada.  A very wise choice; you may not be able to tell by the pictures but the bathroom alone was easily twice as spacious as Salt.  I have to say it again:  Twice.  As.  Spacious.  The bathroom.  Plus the “junior suite” included a small terrace overlooking El Cortes Ingles, aka, Spain’s Nordstrom—with a splash of Neiman Marcus, aka Kit Heaven.

With a wardrobe in desperate need of refreshing, I practically ran across the street at the first opportunity. In less than an hour I had gathered an Escada Sport dress, sandals, a Southern Cotton sweater, and a long-sleeved T (cannot believe I left home without one.)  Tired out and with my new best friends safely tucked in tissue and nestled in a handle bag, I met SP on the street for a snack.  (I did have to remind him that his last words to me were, “Better not to ask if there is budget for this.”)

Granada is a wonderful city:  Large boulevards easily carry people directly through town but step off the main boulevards and you find yourself in a maze of pedestrian-only streets lined with musicians, cafes and shops.  It is delightful even on a very hot day (30/90); not only do the narrow alleys and tall buildings provide a lot of shade but many streets have sun shades stretched across the top.  If you need more of a break, there is always a fountain just around the corner at which you can pause for refreshment or reflection.

We thoroughly enjoyed our two nights in town but that was plenty.  We tire of always having to dine out (the exception being the complimentary room service breakfast) and The Noses, often quite well behaved, are awkward to walk along busy streets.

So refreshed and re-dressed, we returned to find our new tire, mounted and balanced and leaning against the Pepper.  As yet unpaid for (you would never see that in California) and sporting the unbelievable embellishment of “Pirelli Scorpion Snow & Ice.”   

-K

Guejar Sierra, Spain – May 26 - June 2(?), 2012

More pictures here!


When you live in caravan parks, it is not every day that you get to walk through a rose garden to the shower block.  Mix that experience with bountiful hiking and a serene mountain village and you have the recipe for us getting back into the Aventura spirit; all happening while staying at Las Lomas Campground just outside of Guejar Sierra.  


We stumbled upon this area of Spain simply because it was on the route north from Portugal to the Pyrenees and we thought, since it included access to the Sierra Nevada National Park, there might be a little hiking.  Wow, not only does the National Park have its own interesting trails, but the area includes the GR-240, a walking itinerary that circumnavigates the entire park, as well as access to the GR-140, GR-142 and the incredible GR-7 a long distance footpath that begins in Greece.  It is also one of the few backpacking spots (called “wild” or “free” camping here) we have found in Europe.


In addition to the hiking, the town of Guejar Sierra is the type of village we have been searching for:  Built high on the mountains the roads are often too narrow for cars (particularly The Pepper) and paved with interesting stones.  The narrow streets lead to rows of houses proudly displaying pots of flowering plants from their window sills or to small cafes, bakeries and charcuteries (sorry I just don’t know an English word for “place that only sells cured meat”.)  To top it off the whole town seems to be sitting on a natural spring and you will find a number of fountains and water spouts escorting the water as it makes its way downward to the Rio Genil.


It was at this river that we ended one hike and began another.  Following directions in the National Park Sierra Nevada, The Alpujarra, Marquesado del Zenete guide (purchased at the well-appointed and informative El Dornajo Visitor’s Center) we started our first hike in town and headed out, or so we thought, to the mountains.  Unfortunately, we walked, along a road, for three miles before even reaching the river; the mountains remaining far in the distance.  Our dislike of hiking where cars are driving combined with it being our first time out since SP’s medical release, made it an easy decision to turn around after a quick picnic by the water.  


Demonstrating our ability to learn, the next time we set out for this same hike we drove Pepper to the end of the road (quite a bit of it on a one-lane but two-way track if you catch my drift), parked and commenced to hike immediately into the mountains, the first portion of the trail being along the GR-240.  The book rated this area as the “most stunning entrance” to the National Park (see what lucky travelers we are?) and it was indeed stunning.  After about three miles we traipsed around a corner and were presented with the second highest and still snow-capped mountain range in Europe.  The tallest peak, Alcazaba, stands at 3,369 meters (11,053’), surrounded by three lesser peaks, the view is simply gorgeous.  


The hike itself was long, hot and dry (even in May and at 1300 meters [4500’] it was easily over 25c [80°] at mid-day plus we were training ourselves with almost full packs); at five miles we stopped at a river crossing so Rosco could take a refreshing swim before heading back.  Thankfully the trail is very well maintained as your eyes are constantly tempted to leave watching where your foot might land to look up at the terraced hillsides and old stone houses scattered throughout the valley.  It was a great hike, rated “Easy” in the guide; I would rate it easy to moderate as there is quite a steep uphill section in the beginning.  But, as we learned in England, the Europeans have a much more challenging trail rating system.


Guejar Sierra is also a great stop for touring Alhambra (we drove up and hadn’t seen so many tourists since leaving Heathrow so promptly turned around—that kind of thing just isn’t our kind of thing) as well as Granada.  We drove through downtown Granada (with Pepper’s side warning beepers going off almost constantly) and, had we not had The Noses and had it been closer to 70 than 90, would have enjoyed walking around a bit.  As it was, there was no parking to be found so we abandoned our search for Vodafone and headed back to the hills.  Judging from the numerous light displays strung across the major streets, the city must really be something to see at night.


We were all set to leave for the Pyrenees (where we know there is great hiking and are looking forward to cooler temperatures) until a neighbor in the park pointed out Pepper's flat tire.  So . . . we wait to see how long it will take to get a Pirrelli Scorpion Snow & Ice tire fixed and or replaced in southern Spain.


Hey Chris, do you want to come and drive us into Granada to get the tire fixed?


-K

DITL & Scenic Drive - Hondarribia, Spain & Fundao, Portugal, April 2012

Better late than never, I guess!  A combination scenic drive and day in the life video from three weeks ago.  (It is difficult to find a good WIFI connection from which to upload these gems.)

-K

Tordesillas, Spain to Fundao, Portugal – Apr. 22-24, 2012

As Spain, this time around, was only a pass-through country on our way to Portgual, we didn’t spend a lot of time selecting our stops.  The night in Hondarribia was a treat and the area around San Sebastian, including the first hour heading southwest toward Valladolid, remains some of my favorite geography; lush rolling hills with towns snuggled into the valleys and an occasional glimpse through to the ocean (coming soon to a combination DITL and Scenic Drive video.)  But after climbing up to the plateau just before Burgos the geography becomes quite dull so it was with a great relief of boredom that we pulled off to our campsite in Tordesillas.

We booked two nights because we needed to do some laundry and experience has taught us that this chore quite often requires the flexibility of a full 24 hours.  The campsites that have laundry facilities often have only one washer and one dryer so you can never be sure when your time will come.  (Incidentally, since leaving England doing laundry has become a much larger expense; usually at €4 per wash and €4 for dry.)  The campground was serviceable but, alas, we were not the coolest outfit in town:  Around dusk three Land Cruisers rolled in, complete with steel roof racks and air intake snorkles, setting up tents just 100 meters away.

The following morning we walked into town only to find that it was a holiday and most shops were closed.  So with a freezing wind (and me with no hat and a head cold!) we headed back to camp.  Enter Rookie Mistake #10,000:  I put in two loads of wash even though there was only one dryer.  But it really didn’t matter as when it came time to dry, the dryer didn’t function anyway.  So SP gathered the wet clothes (does anyone need a reminder of how I feel about wet clothes?  If so, see a posting from Mammoth Mountain, California) and drove them to where Google Maps had indicated a Lavanderia.  Never found one.  But ever the resourceful partner, he bought some clothes pins and upon his return we stood in the freezing wind (and partial sun) hanging our clothes on the line.  (This is when you are glad you threw away that old stained t-shirt.)  I must admit that during this exercise I had a couple of flashbacks to my old laundry room at 1109 . . .

By 7:00 p.m. the clothes were mostly dry so we gathered them up, leaving a few items to hang in Salt’s shower until the morning.  All in all, it wasn’t a bad experience (except for the wasted money):  The clothes, if a little stiff, came out smelling fresh like only air-dried clothing can. 

And people ask us, “What do you do with all your time?”

The next day we left for Portugal, crossing the border just after noon.  No passport review, no questions about The Noses, nothing.  However, as we started down the highway we noticed a sign that displayed something to the tune of "electronic toll only" and SP, having read up on the country, knew we needed to stop and buy a temporary pass.  So we turned back to the tourist office and found the machine, purchasing a three day pass for €20.  The machine requires that you enter your license plate number and the country of origin however, it did not have an option for the USA, so we opted for UK thinking this was the next most logical solution--and, if they sent someone after us, they might send someone who spoke English.  Pass in hand, we returned to the motorway.

The geography changed back to the lush rolling hills last seen outside of San Sebastian but Portugal ups the ante with all-white towns topped with all-red roofs to make it even more picturesque.  The sun was out as we pulled into our first Portugese campground, Camping Quinta do Convento, and headed into the town of Fundao. 

Luck was with us as we were able to find AO Sept (our contact care solution) at the Pharamacia and buy two SIM cards from Vodafone, all in less than two hours!  Back at camp, we celebrated the sunshine and the fresh country with our first bottle from our “expensive” collection (€50-€100/bottle) purchased in St. Emilion – Chateau Canon’s Premier Grand Cru 2007.   Aventura rating:  Delicious.

-K

St. Emilion, France, & Hondarribia, Spain – Apr. 20-21, 2012

More pictures!

I was apprehensive our first day driving with Pepper’s new transmission.  Call it gun-shy I guess, but every little bump in the road made my heart skip a beat and my stomach lurch.  But hit the road we did!  We got a late start out of Tours, France and began heading south toward San Sebastian, Spain around noon.  Knowing we were not likely going all the way to Spain in one day, we opted to stop in one of our 2009 Reconnaissance Mission’s Must Return areas, the Bordeaux wine region.

Now, some of you might not know about our Reconnaissance Mission:  In the Fall of 2009 we flew over (without the dogs and caravan) to Barcelona, rented a car and drove up into France, measuring roads and visiting campgrounds along the way.  Ha!  We thought this would prepare us for the big adventure.  I might have to start an entirely new blog just for the Things We Thought We Knew or better yet, Things We Didn’t Think to Ask.

Anyway, back to our drive:  During my driving shift, SP hunted us up a Municipal Camping site along the river Dordogne, Camping la Plage, so we set Snoopy to its coordinates.  First, a few words about our new GPS device, whose real name is The Snooper:  It has the ability to store the width and length of your rig and [is supposed to] direct you on roads suitable to your size.  Apparently we define suitable a little more generously than Snoopy as he often directs us onto very small, winding roads with barely enough room to squeeze one car let alone two.  (At times like these, we refer to him as Snoop Dog.) 

But follow him we did and around 4:00 we left the motorway and headed into the rolling, grapevine covered hills.  Snoopy led us into the charming town of Saint Seurin de Prats and then along the Dordogne River to the completely empty, and disappointingly closed, campground.  (Snoopy also has the ability to provide information on campgrounds nearby, including opening dates, but you have to actually read the information he provides.  Ahem, I was the driver not the navigator, that’s all I’m saying.)

We let the dogs run around the fields for a while then jumped back in and followed Snoopy back across the Dordogne (twice) up and down rolling hills, on tiny roads, in the rain.  The few times I managed to peel my eyes from the road (and I was just the navigator by now!) the scenery took my breath away.  Even in the pounding rain, the loveliness of the Dordogne River Valley doesn't miss an opportunity to enthral.   


After another hour on the winding roads and unable to locate campground #2, we decided to head to St. Emilion, a stone city situated on top of a hill.  Having been here during The Reconnassaince, we knew there was a bus parking area and if we had to we could stop for the night there.  However, Snoopy located an open campground (Domain de la Barbanne) about 3 kilometers from the town so we pulled in--a good two hours after leaving the motorway.  For those of you who know this area, I am sure you are laughing right now!  (St. Emilion is usually attained via a quick, non-pulse rising, 15 minute drive off a major motorway.) Aventura baby.

We thought we might spend two nights in St. Emilion after such a late, exhausting arrival but found ourselves the following morning standing in the rain, stocked with wine, cheese and fresh pictures of the town all before noon.  Time to continue our mission south and find some sunshine.

Again, I was still a little nervous riding as a passenger on Day 2 but remembering that I had felt better when driving on Day 1, we swapped and I was able to relax.  That is until SP spoke the words every trepedatious traveler wants to hear, “How adventurous do you feel?”

Seems that SP and Snoopy had conspired to locate us a spot via “Camper Stop”, a program on the device that lists areas (often parking lots) where you can camp for little or nothing overnight.  These stops usually don’t have water, bathrooms or electricity so you have to be completely self-contained.  But that’s why we bought Salt and added solar panels; the ability to stop and be completely self-sufficient at least for a few days.

So Snoopy directed us to a beach-front location in Hondarribia, just north of San Sebastian, Spain.  Driving in, we noticed ten or so RVs all parked at the rear of the lot and all close together.  Not enjoying crowds, we opted to be on the far side of the lot, parking so our door opened a few feet from the beach.  We were in heaven!  However it was only 3:30--a little early to stop driving for the day; we dragged our feet around until it was 4:00 then we ruled Carpe Pitchem and parked for the night. 


The sun came out which was nice not only for us and The Noses (as they raced around on the sand), but also for the many by-standers staring at Salt.  She is quite a hit over here—indeed, we haven’t seen another Airstream since leaving Gold RV in the UK.

This parking lot happened to have a faucet so we loaded another five gallons into our fresh tank and settled in for the night.  SP made Morrocan Poached Eggs for dinner—I just love it when he cooks, we always get something unusual and delicious. 

If the weather had been better we surely would have stayed another day, however the next morning dawned with clouds and more rain so we set off again.   Ever moving southward . . .

-K