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Published: September 24th 2013
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Saturday and Suzy moved out of what I call Spain into the Basque Country. The scenery changed very quickly from yellow scrub land with few trees to more Alpine looking views. Alpine chalets replaced the normal housing and if I hadn’t known where I was I would have sworn I was in either Switzerland or Austria in the Alps.
The journey was slow as there were roadworks along the way. Three lanes of the motorway petering out to two and then down to one causing gridlock. Suzy moved at less than 5 miles per hour. The roadsides were covered with heathers which in the intervening weeks since our holiday started have turned deeper purple and the leaves on the trees taken on a more Autumnal look. The greens replaced by vermillion.
Our planned stop for the night was Kampina Orio in the small fishing village of Orio. The Basque red, white and green flag flying and we saw signs stating Independence a show of defiance against the Spanish. The campsite was fairly empty with a few camping cars and statics already in place. The plots were fairly large and very sandy and it seemed that we were getting near
to the end of the season which was the end of the month. Hedges designated each plot. The site is an ACSI site and it costs £16 per night to park up a motorhome. Reception was friendly and very helpful and given the time of year we could park anywhere. Kathrein the satellite dish worked as the site had no trees to prevent her from finding the Astra 2. There was a small shop just outside the campsite but stocks were limited. This may be normal or just that it is end of season for them too. There was a noisy bar just outside.
Outside the campsite there was evidence that there had been money spent on the resort as there was a huge 3 * hotel which looked fairly empty and a large number of holiday flats or seaside homes. I checked the menu in the hotel as I thought we might eat out but it was in Basque and it was impossible to understand what was on offer. The beach was perfectly manicured without shells. We stopped at a local bar for a couple of glasses of wine overlooking the marina. In places it was clear to
see that there was a problem with the Spanish economy.
We met a welsh couple on the campsite. Both came from South Wales. She worked in the care sector and they were travelling slowly around the coast of Spain. Over the last 8 years they had started to travel the coast from northern France through Brittany down to the south of France and then along the northern Spanish coast. It seemed a more leisurely way of travelling unlike us who only have a limited time to travel.
We didn’t sleep well. The noise of the motorway rumbled all night as did the sounds from the local rail line. However I can recommend the campsite for a stop over. Our next stop will be back in France and the Dune du Pilat.
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