Police in the middle of the night

Another gorgeous day in Spain. We left Max in his spot by the dirt road, and set off on a morning hike. We didn't really have any plans, but there are so many different trails that we figured we would just choose something and make up our route as we went along.

Didn't really plan on doing 13 kms (8 miles), but that's the way it worked out!

We set off at about 10:45am, planning to be back by lunch. I kind of figured we were only going for 6 or 7 kms.

Aunqueospese Castle in the distance.

We had seen the castle in the distance and knew that it was actually a very long walk, so we weren't headed to the castle. But it was in our view the whole time.

Ruth figured this donkey wanted to be petted.

But it was a long reach!

Soon there were two of them.

We would see the donkeys again on the way back.

Heading uphill.

Looking back at the town of Riofrio.

Zoomed in on Aunqueospese Castle.

The exterior of the castle is in really good condition, but apparently the interior is in ruins and there's really not much to see.

Me, and the castle!

This gives a better idea of actually how far away it is!

We continued up the road to the right.

Looking back at Riofrio.

It was around this point where I looked at the map and realized we were supposed to take a turn off lower down. At this point, we were definitely in for a late lunch. But, we decided we were almost near the top so might as well carry on!

I came across this stone that looked like it had two small crosses carved into it.

Ruth, enjoying the view.

We got up to the top of the ridge, but there was no view off the other side. There was simply an altiplano that went on for miles.

We headed back down.

There had been a forest fire at some point not that long ago, but things are starting to grow back.

Scenery along the way.

This time, we found a better spot to pet the donkeys.

They were so friendly.

There's a third one.

There were actually five in total.

It was almost 2:00pm by the time we got back to Max!

We relaxed for the afternoon.

Several people use the road we were parked beside as a walking route, and we had spoken to a couple of the locals and asked it they thought it would be okay to park here. They had said yes, it's a very quiet spot.

Well one couple came by later and they were not as friendly. The guy asked if we spoke English, and said "You can't park here overnight!"

I asked why not, and mentioned there were no signs. He said "It doesn't matter, it's the law... you can't park this type of vehicle here overnight".

But I know what the law is here in Spain, and in fact I have a copy of it on my laptop. I said that he obviously didn't know what the law said, and he got mad and stormed away saying "You'll find out what the law is!".

Hmph.

So, to explain, "wild camping" is against the law here in Spain. But they are very clear that you can pull off to the side of any road and park. They have clarified in the law that there is a difference between camping and simply parking, and that the law has to treat a motorhome the same as a car. It cannot discriminate.

So, provided you are simply parked... without awnings or chairs out, then you are not camping.

Normally, if we encounter something like this where it might be a problem, we would simply move on to avoid any issues. But I had already had two beers, and Spain has very low tolerance for drinking and driving. The fine for illegal parking has got to be lower than the fine for drinking and driving!

So we went to bed later that evening knowing that we may not have heard the end of it.

It was around midnight when Ruth said "I think there's a car outside", and sure enough a minute later there was a "knock, knock, knock" on the door.

We've had this happen probably four or five times over the last sixteen years of free camping, and every time the police have been really nice.

This time was no different. 

I explained that my Spanish was not the best, but they smiled and said it was okay. It was a pretty easy conversation. Two guys, and they simply asked if we planned on camping here. I said no, we were only parked and that we would be leaving in the morning. 

"Okay, that's fine" he said.

"So everything is good? I asked.

"Yes, everything is good. Have a good night".

And that was that. It seemed the police were fully aware of what the law said. Hopefully they explained the law to Mr. Busybody.

And, we moved on this morning to the small city of Avila.

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HEPA Air Purifiers. Good deal.

And in Canada...

Rechargeable Flashlights and Bike Lights.