Week 9 - campervan adventires

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Day 56 16^th October - Miami Platja : Camping Playa and Fiesta – Stiges

As there was no check out time at the campsite we just spent the day chilling. Steve got up and went for a run and swim, and then later spent some more time on the beach and swimming. While I had a lay in and then spent some time on the internet. I should of not left him on his own, as he injured himself in the water as the silly boy thought he could swim over rock, he cut his finger and toe, and was bleeding in the water. He told me he was bleeding so much he was scared a shark was going to get him. I reassured him that the water around this area was too cold for sharks but he did not go back in. We got organised and hit the road, by this time it was late afternoon so the plan was to drive a few hours and then try and find a place to sleep. So this is what we did, once again finding a nice place to sleep was not that easy and we have parked up in a layby on the coastal road, the view is lovely, we can see the lights of Barcelona over the ocean but for a coastal road it is very busy. Barcelona is our next destination and final destination in Spain, I am feeling a little sad about this, as this means our summer is almost over and even though times in Spain have been difficult it’s a lovely country. I know we have been very lucky ‘living the dream’ and should not complain but it is still sad that part of our journey is over.

Day 57 17^th October Stiges - Ripoll via Barcelona and Vic

This morning I woke feeling excited as we were going to Barcelona, a city that I had visited when I had first travelled Europe in 2006 and loved but had not made it back too. As I had lots of things I wanted to do and see in Barcelona we set off early, this was not a great idea as we hit morning rush hour traffic. The city was not very well signed posted which meant we took the tunnel that went under the city missing it all together, we then had to come back on ourselves in the busy traffic, I will just say that Steve was not impressed and it got worse by following the signs to the port (as we have found in the past that this is a good place to park) and ending up driving around in circles. After about an hour of looking for a place we found a spot in a residential area. It looked safe, but seemed ages away from the city, so we got our trusty bikes out and went to explore the beautiful city, it was not very bike friendly and at times we were riding on the busy city roads, which I found s**t scary. Today the weather was not the best, it was warm but the sun was not out. While out exploring the main sites we visited the La Sagrada Familia, the La Rambla, the Mercat de La Boqueria (food market), the Port Vell and Parc Guell. These were all sights that I had visited in the past and enjoyed visiting again, but I think as I had already seen the sights it was not the same seeing them again but I was happy that I got to explore a city I love with my husband. Once we had finished our exploring and found Stan (who was easy to find and not parked too far away from the sites as originally thought) we hit the road. We had dinner already planned and in the fridge but after an hour or so of driving my sweet husband suggested we pull into a town and have tapas for dinner, as this was our last night in Spain and we had not had tapas yet. So we stopped at a town called Vic and found a nice little restaurant on the square that served tapas. When we arrived there was a large group of ladies in the restaurant but they soon left, which meant we were the only people in the restaurant, the waiter only spoke limited English but was very sweet and gave as fantastic service, the food was good also, but I think the service really made the experience. We are now parked up in a layby for the night both feeling very full and excited about heading to a new country Andorra tomorrow. I also have to be honest and say I am still feeling a little sad –about saying goodbye to Spain and the sun.

Day 58 18^th October Ripoll (Spain) – Vallnord Arcallis Ski Resort (Andorra)

As sad as I was about leaving the sun behind I am glad we have, as Andorra is so picturesque. On arriving at the border I got really excited as there was boarder control, the car in front which was French was stopped and made to show ID, however we got waved through, I shouldn’t be disappointed about this I should be pleased that Steves beard doesn’t make us look dodgy to the authorities. Once into the country we stopped and had a look around the capital ‘city’ however it was lunch time so nothing was open. Even though nothing was open, Steve saw lots of Ski shops and got it in to his head that he should be his Dads personal shopper and buy him some skis. After aimlessly walking around we decided we would go looking for one of the ski resorts, which we had planned to stay at, with our map showing only one main road we didn’t think this could be too hard, well it was, we nearly drove straight out of the country due to it being so small. Before we tried to work out what we did wrong and do the smart thing and go to tourist information, we stopped for lunch. It was my turn to be effected by altitude this time, and I got sprayed with the mayo, (just like Steve did in Sierra Nevada) I guess this is called karma for me laughing so much at him. After lunch we found one of the many tourist information centres in the country and got a map, with this map we were able to find our way to Vallnord Arcallis Ski Resort, it was still too early for snow, but it was extremely cold and windy. Due to the weather and feeling a little tired I choose to stay with Stan and have a little nap while Steve went for a run and did a recce of the area. He came back super excited about the area and had planned a walk for tomorrow. He says it will be an ‘easy’ walk but I know what his easy is like, guess I should get a good night sleep tonight.

Day 59 19^th October – Andorra (Vallnord Arcallis Ski Resort)

This morning we woke to cold and windy weather, the type of day when you just want to stay in bed, so this is what we did for most of the morning, just read in bed. I could of spent the whole day in bed, but Steve loves the mountains and walking and it was not fair to keep him cooped up in Stan any longer so just before lunch with a nice picnic we set off on an ‘easy’ walk due to the wind Steve said we would not climb any peeks. The walk did start off nice and easy, along a nice ridge and then down to some lakes, which we stopped and had lunch at on the edge of the lakes, however it did not stay like that for whatever reason, we missed the path or we went the wrong way we ended up traversing across a cliff edge which was wet, rocky and slippy. Steve thought I was going to hate it, and was waiting for me to have a wobbly, but this did not happen because I enjoyed the adventure even though it was cold and difficult. This evening Steve has made a delicious lasagne for dinner and after dinner I think we will have an uno challenge, Steve is still the master.

Day 60 20^th October – Andorra (Grandualira Ski Resort)

Another cold and windy morning, but to make it worse today is also wet. Last night there was a storm, the rain was very heavy and the thunder was super loud waking us at one point. Steve did not believe that it was thunder he told me that they were exploding rock to make ski slopes, this got me scared as I was worried that we were going to get blown up. Due to the storm I slept very badly and had a lazy morning in bed (again – this time with an excuse). Steve was very good and went for a bike ride, he went up the mountains and rode down one of the ski runs. This is a little two extreme for me. On his return we went into the town where his personal shopper instinct really kicked in, we went into every open ski shop (lucky it was Sunday so not all of them were open) and he looked at skis, he has found a pair he wants me to buy, I’m thinking about it. On our first day in Andorra we noticed that the car parks have areas for campervans to get water and also charge batteries, so we did this, they also have free wifi at every tourist office, so we have used that also. Not just a pretty country but also a smart country. After our admin tasks were done we were going to treat ourselves and go to Caldea – said to be Europe’s largest mountain spa centre, housed in a distinctive building (made of metal with a large spire). We arrived with our swimmers all ready to go to find out that it is €36 per person for a 3 hour visit. As we are budget travellers we chose to leave hoping no one had seen us. With the spa not working out for us we headed up to another ski resort. Again me feeling lazy, and being scared of the cold and wind I stayed with Stan and Steve went out running. He came back super excited again, due to the scenery he saw on the run. For dinner tonight its leftovers yummy and tomorrow I am going to get up early and go for a walk with Steve.

Day 61 21^st October Andorra – Vall d’Incles

This morning we woke up to very low cloud covering the mountains and cows walking around the van, Steve decided to abort the walk idea, and instead we went looking at more skis. We ended up buying the pair he thought would be good for me, and looking at many other pairs that he thinks his Dad wants, in Steves head I think this means his Dad will pay for them and he will use them. After much looking we went for a drive and found a lovely parking spot at the bottom of some mountains. Once again I was too lazy to go walking so Steve went on his own, while he was away I started to feel very guilty, and when he came back he was telling me how amazing it was, he had found a big lake and a refuge hut, I was disappointed in myself for missing out again. After a nice hot drink to warm Steve up we went out for a run, even though it was freezing cold I really enjoyed it. After the run we had a nice dinner, still eating left over lasagne and now we are snuggled up in bed for an early night. As sadly we will be leaving Andorra tomorrow.

Day 62 22^nd October Andorra – Montepellier (France)

This morning we got up and hit the road with the plan to go and buy Steves Dad some skis which we had seen yesterday and then drive into France. This went to plan, but what we also did before leaving Andorra was went shopping in Pas de la Casa (the place on the boarder of Andorra and France) we spent hours looking at ski clothes and sports clothes that all where cheap (due to being tax free and on sale) but did not by anything. It was early afternoon by the time we finally made it into France and we spent the afternoon driving, trying to avoid the toll roads, however late afternoon as it was getting dark we made a wrong turn and ended up on a motorway, so tonight we are staying in a motorway service between Montepellier and Arles something we don’t normally do. I have cooked us a nice dinner of steak and veg as after 4 nights of lasagne we had run out. We are both tired and grumpy after a long driving day and looking forward to an early night.



*** there has been a delay with uploading this due to laziness

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Photos

Campsite view @ Miami Platja (2)
Rude person came and blocked our view.