Javea

We've now had nearly 2 weeks in the fantastic Javea. 10 days were spent with Alex and Owen . We went out every night to some great eating places. laughing and joking our way through the 10 days. Unfortunately as we approach the so called golden age we tend  to produce more repeat stories than Dads Army but still we laughed with the occasional heated debates surrounding such delicate and devisive

topics of great national importance....ie whether I should get a new I phone or how important Cilla Black was to popular culture! The holiday was also memorable for two things...first Owen lost his phone and that was met with scorn from Alex despite the fact that I recovered it. Secondly Alex left his phone in the flat as they departed and that was met with scorn from Owen and again I stepped into the breach to recover it. However every picture tells a story so here we go....

Alcossebre to Javea

We spent a total of 5 nights at the Camper Stop in Alcossebre which worked out at 11 euros a night. The weather was comfortably warm apart from a storm one evening when it rained from 8pm until about 4am. We got off lightly as many parts of Spain were devastated by floods. The 4 day festival in Alcossebre culminated in an 11pm firework display on the Sunday night and although we didn't really get too involved in the activities we occasionally peeped into the temporary bull ring that had been build on the large carpark. It was all fun and stupidity as grown men ran out from behind the protective metal bars to tease the bull into chasing them back to their protective areas. One evening the lit the horns on a wooden bull and chased the little kids around the ring with this 'bull' on wheels. The sea was a bit rough and there were times when the lifeguards were not allowing people into the water. We had some meals out and made sure we had our San Miguel Selecta. A really good 5 days . However on the Tuesday(17 Sept) we left for Javea and met up with Alex and Owen on the Thursday.

Camper stop Alcossebre

Beach Alcossebre

Start of the Autumn trip to Spain

Saturday 7th September we boarded the Train at 1:20 and everything was on time so after a quick trip to Lidl we made it to the free Aire at Montreuil sur Mer where we had to use the overspill car park. By 7pm even that was full.
After an uneventful night we slipped off to the free Aire at Bonneval, a good location on a canal that seemed to circle the town like a wide moat.  The toilet is on the Aire and its worth noting that this closes for the evening opening again at 8am. The Aire is also outside the gates of a large medieval working Asylum. That was originally a monastery dating back to the 10th century.

After leaving Bonneval we headed to another of our favourite Aires at Vertuil sur Charente, south of Poitiers. a great aire in a charming village, with toilets and 16amp electricity , all for 2 euros. We visited this some years back and have pictures elsewhere. By early evening the Aire was full.
We then went on a lengthy journey planning to stop in Northern Spain but unfortunately the weather was dismal so we headed for the Rioja region to the famous town of Haro.
On arriving at Haro the temperature was an unseasonal 13c and our plans for a nice evening meal in the sun with a few glasses of Muga were scuppered. People weren't playing out and most of the bars and restaurants failed to open. So after a walk around it was the campsite restaurant that enjoyed our pockets of euros. A basic meal at a budget price then off to bed. The following morning I walked Jonesy around the famous Bodegas, A trip inside one of them especially the Muga owned one would have been nice but we were being drawn to warmer places.

Haro

The 'trouble' with crossing central Spain on this route is that you have few choices of good sites or Aires to stop at so we chose yet again an old favourite....Camping Lake Caspe. Our third time here and every time we come here we like it more. Its full of older people , mainly Germans who stop for months spending their days on their boats fishing. The pitches are spacious and facilities excellent, the entrance and turning places are expansive and I managed to get my first dip of the holiday in the nice big pool.  The temps were into the mid 20's and we enjoyed some nice walks topped off with a pint in the bar (3 euros) and a 3 course meal with a bottle of wine that cost 24 euros for the two of us.  This overnight stop gave us a distance of 113 miles to our next stop Alcossebre. Yes we always stay here because we like it.

Again we used the Camper Stop right in the town and since our last stop a couple of years ago its been further developed.  There are more pitches, most are also take an awning and each pitch has its own tap and powerful light that you control. They've even added a swimming pool. Cost 12 euros a night with elecky. Staying longer is cheaper and if you stay for 30 nights the price drops to  9 euros.  We plan to stay for about 4-5 nights as there is a big festival on in the town.

Alcossebre Camper Stop