Spain 43 - Benny This and Benny that / 3 places left and the domino effect / the police and the Orangerie

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" I believe it is impossible to be sure of anything" - Han Pei



In our search for some cooler weather we are heading for the coast. Perhaps there will be some life there and we will see the sea for the first time this trip. Most holidays take the form of a few castles, the odd church, a monastery here or there and a bit of coastline with a train trip to the city thrown in. This one has not been normal. Perhaps we will have to wait until 2019 to get some normality back into our holidaying. We have set Silly Sat Nag to take us to Benicassim or Benny this or Benny that as I have always called them. Not on our radar we have in the past tried to avoid them like the plague . Our thoughts have generally been around wondering what people found to like about Britain on the Med with its fish and chip suppers, tea like mother makes, afternoon tea and scones. Then there are the winter wanderers who head off for three months in the sun. We wondered what it would be like to overwinter on a site such as Bonterra Park. Would we enjoy spending three months in the sun? Walking to the cafes and restaurants along the seafront. Enjoying the mild winter temperatures where aches and pains would be forgotten for a while. We had read blogs about the communities that grow amongst long termers, the awnings put out to sit in and enjoy breakfast in the sun. The Christmas Day dinners of turkey with all the trimmings spent on spanish soil and New Year events taking over. Would it suit us? Well we were about to find out. Looking at our quote of the day I guess we are uncertain about it - not quite sure if it was for us. Were we too much like loners for this sort of holiday? Our quote for the day would be tested today as we were not sure of anything .

As we drove we discussed the idea. Would it be to our taste? Would we enjoy being with the same people for three months? Christmas will be different for us this year so maybe being away would be a good idea. We have been on all singing , all dancing sites before and hated them. Our idea of heaven is peace , quiet , solitude being on our own bit of sand . Although I like the idea of a pool to swim in I hate sharing it with others. I love a gym but paying 2 euros a day when I can get a months worth of gym and swimming at home for £19 puts it all in perspective.

So OK we are driving into Benicassim. First thoughts , it was busy and bustling and full of life . Much more life than we have seen for weeks. A busy beach with bronzed young things surfing and swimming. Older bodies in bikinis and bathing costumes . What we had forgotten about was that it was Friday and that was going to have a big impact on our plans. When on the road we forgot easily what day it is . Today could have been a Monday for all we knew.

We loved the shops. A chance to browse, sit in a different cafe every day, a lovely clean beach. Benny had quite a bit going for it. The campsite too was right on the doorstep of the shops and that was a real bonus. Glenn parked up and we were ushered through the barrier. I walked into reception. Very slick affair with information plastered everywhere. A machine on the wall was being feed by a customer . It turned out it was the token machine for the washing machine. The guy in front was complaining about the cost of the internet . He felt it should be free and I have to say I agreed with him . We have struggled in Spain getting free internet. It has been virtually non existent and I have drawn the line at paying for the pleasure. Blogs are miles behind and we do find it hard to find parking and plan the holiday without it. So being without it has been a double edged sword.

As I reached the desk I was greeted with "Have you booked ?" No smile, no welcome - well "No I have not" "Do you have spaces ?" " "How long" she barked . "One night .........perhaps two" I retorted wondering if I even wanted to stop one night . I was not warming to the place at all. She looked at me over the counter and gave me a map. She pencilled in three plots , the first number 11 right at the top of the site , I didnt take much notice of the other two. Never a good sign I thought. " Go and look at them, see what you think, if you like them come back and tell me which you have chosen".

As we drove up between the lines of van packed like sardines we though that we didnt like any of them. No room to swing a mouse let along a cat. If there was a fire then they would all go over like dominoes. It was a health and safety nightmare. The caravans and motorhomes were cheek by jowl with each other. You could put a piece of paper between any of them. No room to sit outside , hard to even put your awning out. Is this what motorhoming over winter feels and looks like? We were going off it by the minute. With a quick rethink we didnt even look at the other plots and set off for Peniscola . Surely we would get parked up at Camping Eden.

It was a short drive and Peniscola beach was as packed as Benicassim. The streets were heaving with tourists and packed with cars parked up. We parked up outside Camping Eden. One man in front of me and then I would be at the counter and onto the campsite . Relief set in. But only for a moment as when I got to the counter I was told " Full" Back to Plan C - head out from the sea inland to the hills . Surely folks would stay away from the hills. We drove to the end of the road and wow parked up on free parking were about 12 motorhomes. A lovely spot, on the grass within walking distance of a town to spend our money in. Kettle on and we settled down for that well earned cuppa. Having hunkered down we began to relax when around the corner appeared the police car. The two officers one female and one male set off knocking on each motorhome door. When they got no reply they left a note on the screen. When they got to us we were given the leaflet which told us in four languages we could not park anywhere in Peniscola . Sad really as the spot was perfect and out of the way. We could have all spent money in the town. Short sighted if nothing else. Peniscola does not welcome us as the french would .

Nothing left to do but look at the ACSI book , pick another site La Orangerie in the hills. Run by a french family it was perfect . An ideal swimming pool , huge plots with plenty of room to chill out, a restaurant and bar which only served pizza and hamburgers and clean and tidy showers. To top it all they sold french baguettes and croissants. There was even enough room for one of those massive horse box size motorhomes with sliders extending the size by 50% . Plus their smart car which was driven out of the garage in their van onto the plot .

So what are our thoughts about overwintering ? It is still there as a thought but we wont be spending it on Bonterra Park. It is not our style . La Orangerie was more us It also gave us time to rethink our plans. We prefer to be alone - we are the Greta Garbo of the motorhome world .

Poblet Monastery and Monserraz were our next stops but for some strange reason I made the decision to abort that idea . How about ticking another country off our list? Andorra - its only round the corner . It seemed like an excellent idea , another country, another magnet and something different .

No photographs of Benny as we drove in and drove out . So all that are left are ones from other days out this holiday .

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Comments

[jackieandchris2011]

Hiya
Im not so sure that you would like the long termers campsites. There are the Brit camps and also German camps and Im sure there must be other ones as well!! We have a perfect life travelling backwards and forwards to Spain - never getting too involved with anyone or anything as we are not anywhere long enough!! Cruises are quite good - free swimming and gym when you like - read books on deck, see different places..........

[JenGog]

Hello
Hello you two out there enjoying yourselves. Definately made the decision that Britain on the Med isnt for us. maybe Greece overwintering or Sicily might be an option. We are a bit like you. We just spend time in our own company. Dont think we could sit long enough on a cruise to be honest. The captains dinners and the dressing up do nothing for us. Still it is just a thought at the moment as I work at the jobcentre locally two days a week. (Go on you can pity me - its not the nicest of workplaces :)) so we wont be going away just yet . I should have retired years ago but feel that working stops me feeling older and keeps me occupied between travelling. Lots of thoughts going through our minds. Still first job get the habitation check and the service done and get the brakes sorted on Gabby . Those mountain passes have killed the handbrake . Once done hopefully in the next few weeks Glenns mums house will have sold. If not I shall kill the buyers who are messing us about. We can start to make decisions.

[Dancing Dave]

Sardines
We have hired the odd motorhome for jaunts in Oz and NZ. We also react negatively to the sardine parking concept but we are usually able to avoid motorhome park mentality as we are not fixated with power if it means we get a pristine spot and space. Fortunately there are many spots in the massive expanse that is Oz that a long extension lead is a godsend. I enjoy reading of your experiences and encourage you to keep following that road.