First stop was to get fuel...filled up with 63 liters (16.6 gallons) of diesel at €1.169 per liter (about $4.90 USD per gallon, or $1.68 CAD per liter). So we've spent €123 ($178 CAD, $133 USD) on fuel and we've done 1,116 kms (692miles) so far in three weeks. Not bad.
Then, it was off to the beach. We had been in touch with friends Glen and Steve and they had themselves parked up beside a tidal river in the town of Conil de la Frontera...steps from the Atlantic Ocean.
We are no longer at the Mediterranean Sea...once we headed west from Gibraltar, we were at the Atlantic.
Where we are now, at Conil de la Frontera.
It was only a short drive. We took the coastal route for a bit more scenery, even though it was slightly longer. Still, it was only about 25 kms (15 milles) so it didn't make much difference either way.
Our first view of the coast, and the Cape Trafalgar lighthouse.
Didn't take us long to find Glen and Steve at Conil de la Frontera. There was a row of motorhomes parked on one street beside a tidal river.
We get the impression that RV'ers have caused themselves some problems here because most of the parking areas near the water are designated "Cars and Motorcycles Only".
The laws here in Spain are such that motorhomers can park in any area that cars can park..including overnight. However, you can not give any impression that you are "camping". But here, they have had to become more strict and have implemented local bans on where RV's can and cannot park.
You almost have a hard time seeing the motorhomes because of the white buildings!
It's not a bad location...beside the water, and a short five minute walk to the beach and the town. However it's not great either...you're parked right beside a popular pathway and so people are constantly walking right by your rig. We kind of feel like we're intruding a little bit, and for us we're parked with far too many other RV's. We like our space a bit more than this.
View out our windows.
We took off for a walk. Only planning a short one, but of course we can never go for just a "short" walk. There's too much to see!
A pedestrian bridge over the tidal river.
Nice wide beach to walk on.
Beautiful day...temperature around 18C (65F).
Looking west.
See the parking area on the right?
That would have been a better spot. Again, motorhomes are not allowed in the actual parking lot, however we could have parked on the street and been fine. There was one rig parked on the street when we walked over. Nice residential area, and a lot quieter.
But, we were already parked up, so we stayed where we were. Played some more cards with Glen and Steve in the evening, and it was actually a very quiet night.
I think they're going to remain here for another night or two, and we're going to check out another spot about 10 kms west of here. Then we're going to visit the port town of Cadiz before heading inland up to Seville to meet up with them again for a couple of days. At least that's the rough plan. We could easily get sidetracked along the way!
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What a wonderful view the beach.
ReplyDeleteWe keep trying to imagine how busy this beach would be in the summer time!
DeleteA long walk on that beach!
ReplyDeleteIt would depend on the tide because at one end is a tidal river that we are parked beside and the only way to cross it is by the bridge in the picture and at the other end before the picture of me you have rocks so when we were there the tide was up and there wouldn't have been any way to walk any further but if the tide was down then it may have been possible to have walked further.
DeleteIf you get the chance I do recommend Cordoba a couple hours from Seville. You can't park in the old city but much better parking spaces outside the wall. We spent 3 days there and loved it.
ReplyDeleteYes, we are going to do Cordoba on the way back through towards the end of February.
DeleteAt first read it still seems backwards to say you went west to the Atlantic...
ReplyDeleteThe mind gets so used to the norm..
Looks like a great place to stay.
Garry
True, never thought about it like that.
DeleteWe think we found a better place about 10kms further on. It feels much more like a boondocking spot at this new location and we are still close to the ocean.
The nice thing about Europe is the distances from A to B is so much less than similar drives in the USA and Canada. Loving your trip so far, have you treated yourselves to some tapas yet? Absolute heaven to be able to pick some nice little dishes to feast on. My favorite was anything with prawns.
ReplyDeleteVery true and we are finding that. We have only driven 1100kms (684 miles) in just 3 weeks and yet we have seen so much.
DeleteNo we haven't tried tapas yet for a couple of reasons. One we are finding the prices on eating out quite high and the second reason is that we know we will probably be doing a little more eating out next month when my cousin and her husband are here so we are saving up for that. I am sure we will try some tapas before we leave.
Looks beautiful and warm enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThe weather has been wonderful. :-)
DeleteI would recommend you to visit the Sherry town of Jerez. Also we loved Sanlucar de Barameda.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the suggestions Nora. We actually want to go to Jerez because that is where the fortified wine comes from for Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry that is our favourite Sherry. Also just looking at the info and pictures of Sanlucar de Barameda and although it is a little off our path it does look like it would be a worthwhile detour.
DeleteYes I like Havery Bristol cream too. Not a drinker but I do like a little glass of port or Sherry at bedtime. There was a large Aire in Sanlucar but sadly it's closed. Parking on the street is still permitted.
DeleteJerez is also famous for flamenco!
DeleteWe are hoping to hit both places so we will look around to see if we can go somewhere to watch some flamenco dancing.
DeleteRuth, you look comfy in your sandals. Beautiful blue Atlantic water! How we wish it would be that blue on the east coast.
ReplyDeleteI am very comfy in my sandals, especially because these were the Merrells that I bought at the 2nd hand shop this past summer for a whole $3. :-)
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