Here at last
Well here I am folks, I am finally living in my little cortijo in southern Spain. Luckily the local town has a free internet cafe for everyone so I thought I would drop you all a quick line. Wow what a journey. I bought a caravan to tow across Spain so that I had something to live in while I am renovating my property. I should have realised it was maybe not the best plan when we got about three quarters of the way to Plymouth to catch the Santander ferry when the car overheated. This was to be a continuing theme, more in a moment.
We made it to the ferry which at first seemed great until I realised that a huge steak dinner followed by gallons of fizzy pop combined with hurricane force winds and fifty foot waves are not a good combination for a settled stomach. Still theres only so much a belly can hold before its empty again. We arrived in Santander and found that the AA route map we printed out was less than useful, as we went back and forth to Santander several times before shredding it and reffering to a good old map, much better.
Every time we hit a hill the temp was flying to dangerous levels so the jouney was done in short spurts and long rests. We hit one hill which seemed to never end and we proceeded to break down on the side of a sheer drop at the side of one of the busiest motorways in Spain. Surprisingly we made it to my first planned stop, a camp site near Burgos called Riaza.
The web site promised fantastic facilities and 365 days a year opening. Dont beleive it. The site was shut when we arrived. The bar was closed, the restaurant was closed and the shop was closed. We managed to find someone to let us in and get connected up but it was not what I expected. Washing and toilet facilities were the onlt good things on site. In the morning, still nothing was open and we were charged full price for camping which quite frankly was a bit of a rip off.
Consider Riaza not recommended.
The second night, when we really should have been arriving, we ended up in a car park of a large service station. It was red hot and no one slept as we were expecting to be moved on by the police at any moment.
On the third day we managed a good distance as the going was a lot flatter, that was until we reached the Lanjarron dam. The car finally gave up the ghost. Luckily we were within striking distance of our destination so I managed to ring a friend with a landrover and a tow bar to rescue us.
What a journey, probably one of the most stressfull things I have ever done but I wouldnt change a minute. And here i am in my dream home peeing in a porta potti and living on solar power and I am very very happy.-
More updates soon
Much love
Ian B
