Beach & baguettes - a drive through France & Spain

Getting on the ferry was a bit delayed for some reason. We were still on the quay at 22:45 departure time. It seems that those of us with dogs are boarded last. This turned out to be so we were right next to the dog cabins.  Buffy was terrified of the noise and slippery surface of the car deck. We got her to the cabin and piled in. We then decided to take them up to the dog exercise deck   for a pee. Again Buffy was not happy but we got there via the lift. Coming back to the cabin we found that the key card no longer worked. On getting a new one we were told the placing them next to your mobile wipes them! Anyway after some snacks and another trip to the poop deck we piled into the cabin and went to sleep.

We arrived at Ouistreham just around 0730 local.  We stopped just out the port to give the dogs a wee and then went to the local Carrefour to stock up.  There is room to pull up with caravan in the car park, luckily. It was cold with ice on the pavements. We had to wait to 0830 for the shop to open. After stocking up with provisions we set off on the first leg to Camping Futuristic, near the Futurscope outside Poitiers. We choose to use the toll autoroutes for ease which worked well with next to no traffic. 

Camping Futuristic, we arrived around 14:30 and pitched up. It's a nice little campsite but unfortunately the toilets had not seen a cleaner for some time. It was fine for a night stop.

Next morning after a quick dog walk we got on the road at 09:45.  Emptying the toilet I had to break the ice on the disposal point so it was still chilly. Long drive today down past Bordeaux to Saint Jean de Luz on the France/Spanish boarder just below Biarritz. 

The drive was long but easy with mostly no traffic. We were a bit worried it would be busy around Bordeaux but whilst traffic increased it was all easy. Suddenly the scenery  had changed with more pines and sandy soil. 

Camping Larrouleta, St Jean de Luz, we arrived mid afternoon. The pitch was a bit of a squeeze to get Bill Bailey into but we got there in the end. We stopped here for three nights. Weather was a little warmer but still coat weather and chilly at night but no frost. The site is very nice with its own lake.  This was the first site where we could order a daily baguette😁  We had a couple of trips to the beach and went to the vets to book the worming visit for late February on our way home. On the way back from the vets we accidentally went into Spain .  The campsite is very close to the Spanish border on the edge of the Pyrenees . All in all a great stop off. It was recommended to us by Bob, the site warden at Sizewell campsite, thanks Bob.





On 13 December we left Larrouleta for Zaragoza. The first part of the journey gave Big O a work out as we had to climb up into the Pyrenees. We planed to stop around 1030 to feed the dogs and have some breakfast. We found a rest area which was our first experience of the Spanish motorway picnic stop.  The signs I thought were a seat and a picnic table must actually show a man squatting judging by the amount of poo laying around.  It seems these places are often not great.  

Camping municipal Zaragoza.  This was the only site we hadn't booked. I did call them whilst we were at Salisbury and was assured no booking was required.  I wasn't expecting much but actually the site is quite nice but very much a city site.   It was raining heavily when we arrived as it was getting dark. One thing to note if staying here is that the toilet lights are on a timer so unless very quick you will be plunged into darkness. Also the bog roll dispensers are outside the toilet cubicles😅  

Dick, I learnt a valuable lesson here.  As you will see from the photo there are trees around the caravan.  Like a plonker, I put the satellite dish up, which smacked into a branch jamming it. After a few minutes of sheer panic and thoughts of driving through Spain with a bloody great satellite dish stuck up onto of the van, I managed to get it down again using the turn it on & off a few times method😓 

We only stayed a night and hit the road for the med and Bontarra resort, Benicassim. It was an easy drive but a bit boring at first as we crossed the Spanish interior.  When we stopped for breakfast we noticed the temperature had risen to 18 C.  Suddenly there were oranges on the trees as the blue med came into view. We arrived around 14:00 and pitched up.  We had made it to the med, it was December, the sky was blue and the temperature was over 20. One side of us was mountains and the other, a short walk through the town was the beach😎

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