Benidorm to Barcelona

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Hi all,

The first thing you spot when you round the headland north of Alicante is the mass of skyscraper style hotels that make up the resort of Benidorm, it is like nothing else on the Costa Blanca. We booked into camping El Raco, which seemed to be the nicest of the many camp sites in the area and made some plans. That night the family would arrive around 9pm but first who did we meet up with again, yes Glen & Linda, they were wild camping just around the corner, so we met up and caught up on our travels of the past few weeks whilst walking along the very busy long promenade. They were heading north the next day and starting their main run home so we had a few drinks and a meal together that night and sampled our first taste of Benidorms night life in The Rock n Roll bar!

The reason we came to Benidorm is because the boys Grandad Terry and his partner Brenda holiday here at least twice a year so it seemed the perfect place to meet them, so along with them the boys were also meeting up with their 3 aunties, 1 uncle and 3 cousins. At 9pm we met up with them in their apartment block and spent the rest of the night having a few drinks and doing lots of catching up.

Over the long weekend we had a great time, sitting on the beach in the sun all day playing with the kids (the family couldn't believe how warm it was for February), we went out for tea, had a few drinks in the bars on the night, watched the entertainment, wandered around the shops and generally had a great time seeing each other and catching up after such a long time apart. We even managed 2 performances by Sticky Vicky who just happened to turn up in the pubs we were in! (if you don't know who she is google her!), but the weekend was all over way too soon.

By Monday morning all but Grandad Terry and Brenda had gone home, so as it was a veery miserable grey day we didn't really do much, it had been a late night on the Sunday and I'd had way too much cheap vodka so we took it easy....well I did!
We also chilled out on site on the Tuesday, the weather was much better so we managed to play some games of boules and the kids went swimming in the indoor pool.
Wednesday and our last full day in Benidorm, we had a game of mini golf, walked along the prom and popped into the local pub for lunch. That night we met up with Terry & Brenda and had a meal together before saying our goodbyes.
We'd enjoyed our week in Benidorm, especially meeting the family. There is plenty of tacky stuff here but you can find some nice places to visit, if you want all day breakfasts and Sunday lunches, Elvis impersonators or racist comedians, The Rose & Crown and The Queens Heads then you'd love it here, if you want authentic Spain then it's not really for you.

Leaving Benidorm and the Costa Blanca behind we drove up past Cabo de la Nao, on past Denia and into Oliva on the Costa del Azahar.
I'd not been felling too well for the past week or so (tooth ache/headache etc) and I was a bit down, so when we turned up at the new camp site and it was grey and cold and there was just one small pitch left that we had a major struggle to get into, I got a little bit short tempered and we all fell out. I've obviously told the kids off before on this trip, tidy up, don't do that, sort of stuff, but for the first time really in the whole trip the mood changed, I think we were all fed up of each other after 7 months in a van together for various reasons, so we sat down and had a good chat, cleared the air and looked forward to what's to come in the next 5 months, see it's not all plain sailing, well driving! (2 weeks on and were getting on fine).

There wasn't much to see or do in Oliva apart from walk along the beach and around the port area so that's what we did for the next 2 days, just taking it easy.

Our next stop was 6km south of Valencia on a site in El Saler in the Parc Natural d'Albufera. The site wasn't up to much but the bus to Valencia stopped right outside the gates, so straight to the bus stop and into town for the afternoon. We walked straight to the city centre and browsed around a few shops, then at 2pm when we came out of a shop we saw that a massive crowd had converged on the central plaza, then the loudest fireworks I'd ever heard started going off for at least 15 minutes, we were at least 300 metres away from it and they were deafening so god knows what it was like close up. Anyway it turns out that this day (Saturday 5th March) was the first day in a 2 week long Fiesta to celebrate the feast (Fallas) of San Jose. Fireworks are let off everyday at 2pm until giant satirical caricatures are burned at the climax of the fiesta on 19th March, people come from all over to see this spectacle but unfortunately we couldn't wait around until the 19th, the locals were well in the fiesta mood letting fireworks off in the streets all day long. We joined the celebrations and walked through the city with the crowds, many were drinking on the streets, in the bars and cafes and generally having a good time, we didn't see any hint of trouble. We ate churros (deep fried dough sticks) from the street vendors and watched the festivities until we jumped back on the bus to site. A short walk down to the local beach and town at El Saler finished off a long day.

Sunday and back on the bus to the city centre, this time we got off at the Ciutat de les arts I les ciencies (arts & science park). This was a run down area until Valencia was awarded the America's cup (sailing) in 2007 and the transformation began, the city was cleaned up (still dog crap everywhere though) and this park was built along with a new port and a formula 1 circuit that winds it's way around the nearby streets. The architecture is really stunning and different, they have also turned a dried up river bed into a continuous park area that sweeps it's way through the whole city centre which really makes Valencia a nice place to visit. We walked for hours through the park areas then down to the port and swanky beach and prom area and as it was a Sunday afternoon and a very hot day the area was packed with locals. Back on site that evening it was feet up and an early night!.

Monday and we were off early, we'd planned to go to the local go-karting circuit but on arriving it was Cerrado Lunes (closed Monday) so it was straight off to the next site instead. The route north took us back through the wide streets of Valencia city, en route we passed by stylish new beach resorts and an impressive Roman fort at Sagunt before arriving at Moncofa. Once set up we cycled along the empty promenade into town. Moncofa is a quiet place, quite clean with many smart apartment buildings but all seemed very empty, it didn't offer much but for a couple of days it gave me a chance to do some clothes washing, catch up on emails etc and just take it easy. Each day we cycled along the quiet prom down to the central area for an ice cream and a sit by the sea, we watched the locals as they tidied the prom and main street ready for the new season.

Thursday 9th March. We were now in an area called Castellon and by reading all the info I got from the tourist information office in Moncofa it seems it is fast becoming a busy tourist area. The main reason it's been neglected in the past is a lack of airport but now the new airport at Castellon de la Plana is open I suspect the Costa Azahar will become popular. The only thing I'd heard of in this area before was the music festival held every August at Benicassim.
Driving up the coast road we passed the capital of the area, the new airport and Benicassim before we drove into our next camp site at Peniscola. Peniscola is a lovely place, 2 sandy coves separated by a sand spit of land that houses a 13th century castle and fort that was once home to the Order of the Knights Templar. It also has a nice camp site so we spent a long weekend here. We played football on the soft sandy beach most days (I'm so unfit!), we walked along the seafront prom to the castle in the evenings and we took in some local seafood cuisine at the beach front restaurants. (Unfortunately Saturday was a complete wash out, 18 hrs of rain).
On the Sunday evening we had heard that the neighbouring town of Benicarlo had a parade where the locals dressed up in traditional dress and walked through the town upto a church, so we cycled the 5 km and watched more fiesta fireworks going off and the parade going by up into the town. These types parades are going on all over Spain at this time of year.

This whole area deserves a longer visit with some great beaches at Torre San Vincent, Oropesa Del Mar and Vinaros, plus the area has an interior which is the second most mountainous region in Spain. With it's walled town of Morella and the gorges at Montanejos it has a wide variety on offer, unfortunately for us we don't always have time to visit them and it's not always easy to get to these places in large motor-home so maybe next time!

You may have noticed that a lot of towns on the east coast of Spain begin with either Al (the) Almeria, Alicante etc and Beni (Son of) Benidorm, Benicassim, etc, these are all names remaining from the Moors occupancy of the 12th & 13th centuries before the Christians reconquered the Iberian peninsula.

Monday 12th March. A miserable grey day and probably the dullest journey we've done so far, the only area of note was the Delta del Ebro which is a huge area of marshland but we couldn't see much as it was slinging it down, the rest of the route was very industrial.
We drove into Salou and to the intended camp site but it wasn't open! so we found somewhere to park up and go for something to eat before moving on. Parking up I noticed that the apartment block opposite was called Arquus, believe it or not it was where we'd stayed when on a lads holiday back in 1987. The area had changed so much that I hardly recognised the place, although The Cage nightclub was still going strong and a couple of the pubs looked familiar, remember Snoopy's bar boys? …...yer happy days.

We decided to leave Salou altogether and look for another site so we drove up to Vilanova i La Geltru which is about 30km south of Barcelona. On arrival at Camping Vilanova the reception gave you all the info you needed on the area so on reading up on what's on offer in Barcelona we made plans for the week ahead, we then went straight for a swim in the indoor pool. This very large site was probably the neatest and best laid out we'd seen, plus it had some of the best facilities on the trip so far. Over the coming week we had the use of the indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and gym so used them each day we stayed on site. All of the other days we travelled into Barcelona, see what we did in Barcelona in next weeks blog.

Bye for now and take care all.

Neil Dan & Harry

x

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Photos

Valencia
Science park

Valencia
Concert Hall

Valencia
The new parklands with the impressive science and arts park behind.

Moncofa
Harry on the rocks

Peniscola
The beach and castle by day

Peniscola
By night

Benicarlo
Fallas de Benicarlo parade in traditional Castellon dress

Benicarlo
Huge displays were placed around the town representing themes from the past

Valencia
A church in the centre of town

Valencia
More science park

Valencia
Street festivities

Benicarlo
More parade