Blogs from Oliva, Valencian Community, Spain, Europe

WEEK 5 Spent our last day on the Ebre Delta cycling and getting lost! The distance between places on the map is very deceiving and there are very few landmarks to get your bearings. It's definitely an area we would visit again and the campsite is excellent - the best toilet block so far! On the way to our next destination we managed to fit in 18 holes of golf at Panoramica golf resort. It was a massive new development near Vinaros which was a bit like a ghost town. There was very little sign of human life in the apartment blocks which surrounded the course. We only used the par 3 course but even that had a clubhouse which looked like an airport lounge! We moved along the coast to Peniscola which is supposed to ... read more

BLOG 7 Monday 28 May – Still at the campsite at Bolnueva. A morning of domesticity – loads of washing, cleaning, shopping etc. The facilities here are fantastic, the best we’ve ever come across....the shower/loo/washing up/laundry block is a work of art....all beautifully planted with ferns, bougainvillea, oleander, geraniums etc and the central area downstairs has a pool with fountains – shades of the Alhambra! And all this with lovely views of the mountains. With its position ON the beach one side and village the other and an amazing array of other facilities (including a dog shower, should you need one), it’s a bargain for us with our ACSI card at only 16 Euros a night inc electricity. With our bikes just there, it’s a doddle to cycle to the facilities block, reception or pool – ... read more

Gabor woke feeling a little better. The pain was localised to his lower back and he could at least walk. Leaving the villa wasn’t really an option, so we settled in again, reading and catching up on emails. Sarah went of to have a shower in the late morning and came back to find Gabor in serious pain on the couch with Kaspar sitting on the floor showing his sympathy by having a wail himself. Heather from downstairs had offered to take Gabor to the medical centre if things hadn’t gotten any better so off they went. Two hours later after x-rays and physio we have a diagnosis - a compressed disc. So the treatment is just what we had been doing really, pain relief, hot compresses and rest. Since Gabor was incapacitated Sarah subjected him ... read more

Top tip for people travelling from the north west of Madrid to Valencia at 8am on Monday morning - considering waiting a while, or add another hour to your scheduled travel time. We had no problems navigating our way out of Madrid, it was just that we chose to do so through the or so 5.7 million Madrilenos going to work, school, university, the airport etc. The drive itself towards Oliva, south of Valencia, was quite pleasant through yet more of the massive sprawling Spanish countryside. It was again surprisingly verdant, but it was easy to picture the same territory as an arid brown dessert in the height of summer. The countryside was smattered with large bull silhouettes and roadside signs warning of bulls on the road but we’ve yet to see any live ones. I’m ... read more