Geo: 39.4891, -6.41294Yesterday (Thursday) afternoon we drove a few miles in the direction of Portugal, turned off for the town of Malpartida and a small national park by the name of Los Barruecos which we explored by car and the occasional short foray on foot. Here, we found two distinctive features of interest - landscape and wildlife.The park is littered with huge weather-worn boulders - some lying alone and others in piles with the odd one perched precariously. The sight is quite eerie and so unlike anything we had seen in Spain so far. If anything, it reminded me of the Roaches, just north of Leek in the Staffordshire Moorlands, which I had first encountered on a geography field trip from school.The park has a number of lakes which are home to numerous species of bird ... read more

Geo: 40.042, -3.59986On Sunday, by 8pm you would not have believed we were on the same campsite. One by one pitches emptied and a quiet hush descended on the place, so a good night's sleep was at last a promising possibility. Unfortunately, the barking dog behind us is still here and judging by the way the pitch is set up they are here for the long-haul.We set the alarm for Monday morning so as to get an early start to visit Toledo (25 miles away) which had been highly recommended by a number of people and before 9am we were on the road driving across the dry, arid landscape. Parking in the city is tricky, but one suggestion was to seek out the underground car parks which have escalators nearby cut into the rock face to ... read more

Geo: 40.042, -3.59983Our four nights at Marjal Guardamar came to an end and David thankfully was showing signs of being on the mend. The site facilities and pitch were fine, but we did not find the surrounding area inspiring or interesting - we were a bit despondent to say the least. So, after emailing ahead yesterday, we are now in Aranjuez, some 30-40 miles south of Madrid. This has meant a change to the intended itinerary, which was not set in stone anyway, so we shall not now be visiting Andalusia, Costa de la Luz or the Algarve this year.By recent standards, at 250 miles, it was quite a long transfer, but the road network was superb and extremely quiet - so quiet that I took a spell behind the wheel for 90 minutes or so. ... read more

Geo: 38.7827, 0.173545This morning we explored Javea in the opposite direction, that is, down towards the coastal promenade then round to the working port (both leisure and commercial fishing vessels). We went on foot as opposed to taking the car and parking up which is an added bonus when on a site as it tends to be less stressful, cheaper and healthier since we are getting exercise.We indulged in a spot of cafe culture by stopping off for a coffee overlooking the sea before walking around the port then along the harbour wall and back. Before setting off back to the site we stopped off at Polly's Bookstore where approximately 10,000 second-hand paperback books are on sale, primarily for the ex-pat community, but also for tourists passing through like ourselves. Since David had long since read ... read more

Geo: 40.2697, 0.307674We thought this morning that after a lazy few days we ought to explore the surrounding area, so we decided on Peniscola, some 20 miles up the coast which had been recommended by our Dutch neighbours. Perhaps the name, related to a male body part, was an omen - read on!We decided not to take the motorway on which we arrived last Wednesday, but to take the alternative N340. It was a good, fast road, much used by commercial as well as other traffic, but through up a few unexpected surprises. First of all we spotted a guy having a pee in the field alongside the road but he was far from discreet, with everything on show to all who passed by. We had encountered the French at the side of the road relieving ... read more