Wednesday 15 November - Comillas

Where's Bertie? He's in a beachside car park in the town of Comillas (exact location: 43.38971, -4.28938)
Weather: Gloriously sunny, with a chilly start, but reaching a high of 17 degrees by mid-afternoon.

Yesterday ended with clear skies and today dawned the same, which makes it no surprise that it got a bit parky overnight. The heating was called into use before we emerged from the duvet this morning. Of course, once the sun got high enough to hit us, Bertie warmed up quickly.

Yesterday we moved 5km along the coast, today it was 2km - so close that from where we are now sitting we can clearly see the church below which we were parked last night. We did add a little onto the drive by detouring via a supermarket on the opposite side of town.
Having not driven for weeks, I figured that on such an short and easy journey I could safely abandon my navigator role and take the wheel. That was slightly terrifying for Mick, firstly because of my driving (hey, it's been a while since I drove Bertie down small roads!), but secondly because the SatNav initially insisted that there was no possible route to our destination*, meaning he had to navigate. Mick doesn't like navigating; it's why he always bagsies the driver's chair.

The journey wasn't quite as easy as I had envisaged, but I managed to make it through the narrow cobbled streets and to squeeze Bertie into a space in the shop's tiny car park. If we hadn't needed so much then walking would definitely have been preferable.

I also managed to squeeze Bertie back out of the tiny car park and got him back through the narrow cobbled streets, and into the car park where we are now residing. They charge 55 cents per hour to park here between mid-June and mid-September (via a manned hut, not an automated machine). At this time of year it is free, which is unsurprisingly considering how few cars have joined us throughout the day.

Our first explorations, between elevenses and lunch, took us along the seafront by way of a recce as to whether the promenade was long enough for a run (answer: yes, as long as we don't mind running it twice in each direction).

The beach next to which we are parked. There's a man in the sea, wearing just trunks. It really wasn't that warm.

That outing took us around the harbour too, where we spent a while peering over the sea wall, watching the waves. We did that for a little too long, as without warning a rogue wave came along, splashed over the wall and onto my head. An impressive amount of the water found its way down the neck of my zipped-up jacket.

The harbour, where a couple of fishing boats we had seen last night and this morning had just come in.

This afternoon saw us wander up to the town, perfectly hitting the afternoon closed period, meaning that it was as quiet as 7 o'clock on a Sunday morning. Had we timed it better (i.e. before 2pm or after 4pm) we would have got a map from the Tourist Office and done the two 'town tour' routes properly. We could possibly have done them maplessly, as they seemed to be well signed, but we made do with just reading the information points we came across on our less-structured meanderings.

Looking back down on Bertie and the beach.

We were on our way back to Bertie when I remembered that the first house ever designed by Gaudi is located here. Doubling back, we found it, but were disappointed that you can't even get a glimpse of it without paying the €5 entrance fee.

Back at Bertie once more, I've managed to resist doing any laundry, on the basis of not having a full load, even though there's a laundrette within fifty paces of where we are sitting. That's more convenient than on most campsites!

^{(*that was after we had got around the issue of the SatNav cable, which has been unwell for a very long time, finally giving up the ghost completely)}

Tuesday 14 November - NW of Liandres

Where's Bertie? He's in a stunning spot at a picnic area on the coast to the NW of the village of Liandres (exact location: 43.39291, -4.26342)
Weather: Wall-to-wall sunshine. Cool start.

As Mick was still in bed at the point that I had my trainers laced up, we ran sequentially this morning. We then needed to stay put a few hours as our running gear had needed a wash and, with it just being a few items, it wasn't worth splashing out to use the laundry facilities (€8), so the washing was done by hand and Bertie's bathroom was turned into a drying room, taking advantage of the electricity by running the fan heater in there on low*.


I had to pause mid-run as I couldn't resist another snap of the Picos de Europa, this time under a blue sky

There's a building in Cóbreces that says 'Panaderia' (bakery) outside, so I ambled up there whilst the washing was drying. It's not your standard baker's shop, looking from outside to be just another large house. I entered through the front door, turned left into what you might expect to be the living room, where I found a bare, concrete room, with baskets and crates of every sort of bread placed around. There is no counter, but there was a man (presumably the baker) in a hole in the floor. He climbed out of his hole to serve me, but we both ended up disappointed as I was on a mission for croissant and today he had none (darn, should have bought yesterday when we peered through the window and saw massive ones in one of the baskets).

'Elevenses' was thus cancelled in favour of just 'coffee', then we made a move and made it all the way over to the service point before we got chatting to the British chap in the other Hymer. Amongst varied conversation, it turns out that we were both in Capbreton at the same time in October. Thinking about it, when we nearly moved spot on our second morning there, due to the 'Party Central' van of surfers in front of us, the only other spot that looked better was next to a British Hymer with a personalised plate. I'm now pretty sure that was Gordon. As it went, our Party Central neighbours left, so we stayed put and it took another four weeks to meet him.

When we finally bade Gordon (and Cóbreces) farewell, it was to come all of 5km up the road. Within ten minutes we were pulling into this picnic area with a 'wow!' upon seeing this view out of Bertie's windscreen:


Pausing only for lunch, off we set for a bit of a wander, walking eastwards to the extent that we almost reached the village we walked through three days ago on an outing from Cóbreces.

Bertie is the white cube in the middle of this snap

Just before sunset, our little picnic area suddenly became busy with dog walkers and people just coming to sit a while overlooking the sea...

Good bench!
...but once the sun dipped behind the hills and the temperature started to collapse, they drifted off, leaving just us.

As I'm typing this last paragraph, Mick is just closing the blinds for the night, but for the last half an hour or so we have been treated to a view of the jagged line of mountains being silhouetted by an increasingly orange sky. My phone camera cannot possibly do it justice, but here's a poor impression:


^{(*I acknowledge that this probably cost the campsite more in electricity usage than the tumble dryer would have used, but we had paid for unlimited electricity, and I couldn't justify 'stealing' a use of the dryer on the basis that, to my mind, it would have been most cost effective for someone else.)}

Monday 13 November - Cóbreces

Where's Bertie? He's still at the commercial Aire at Cóbreces.
Weather: Dry morning. Showery from 3pm. Sunny intervals. Feeling much cooler, although mainly windchill (actual temperature 12 degrees).

The decision about whether to stay or go today was to be based entirely on the choices on the Menu del Dia at the local restaurant, which we had on good authority would drop down to €9 today, having been €15 over the weekend. Thus, whilst I did some admin, Mick wandered up the road and took a photo of the menu board. We then set about translating it, which resulted in our decision to stay put another night.


More generous starters, but Mick only got a half-bottle of wine today. Still excellent value with three courses including bread and drinks coming in at €9.20 each

Before all of that there had been a run, which was surprisingly enjoyable considering the rolling nature of the local terrain. Oh, and another stroll down to the beach, just because it felt a bit lazy to do nothing but sit around and wait for lunch.

I also got myself out for a leg-stretch this afternoon, on a hunt for a post box, which took me far and wide, up hill and down dale, before I finally found one at the local shop, which is only about a two minute walk away.

Sunday 12 November - Cóbreces

Where's Bertie? He's still at the commercial Aire at Cóbreces.
Weather: Dry until late afternoon, mid-teens, increasingly breezy.

Really quick post: After spending a chunk of the afternoon doing a bit of research on the next few places we may go (taking advantage of having wifi and mains electricity here), I got absorbed in finishing the book I've been reading (Stephen King's 11.22.63, if you're interested). I've just put it down and find that bedtime is upon us.

The main activity of the day, besides being glued to t'internet and absorbed by Stephen King, was to walk out along the coast to a local viewpoint for elevenses, then walk a bit more to the next headland, before circling back slightly further inland for a closer look at the church and monastery that are the key features in the view from Bertie's windscreen. The outing served as further confirmation that I really like the north coast of Spain (at least what we've seen of it so far) - attractive coast, snowy mountains, green rolling countryside: there's a lot to like.

Here are a few snaps:

Mick declined my request to move forwards a bit for this snap

We paused at a bench on the top right of this snap, looking down at this old mill in the cove

The church, which looks so imposing from Bertie's windscreen looks rather shabby close up

The monastery has been better maintained

Meanwhile, back at the Aire, two of last night's four vans left, including the one parked right next to us. That left just us and another British Hymer. There have been three new arrivals this afternoon, only one of whom felt the need to snuggle up to a British Hymer, and I'm pleased to say that on this occason it wasn't ours.

Saturday 11 November - Cóbreces

Where's Bertie? He's at a commercial Aire at Cóbreces. It costs €9 to stay here (including waste, water and hot shower) and we've splashed out an extra €3 per night on electricity too. (Exact location: 43.38896, -4.21078)
Weather: Surprisingly dry, even if overcast. 15 degrees.

It was as we stepped out of Bertie to go for a run this morning that I spotted the sign in the car park which prohibited motorhomes from parking there. I would feel guilty about accidentally flouting it, if it wasn't for the fact that it was located at the opposite corner of the car park to the entrance. Anyone parking in the first half of the car park and not heading out on foot in that direction would have no cause to see it.

We left Bertie where he was and went for our run regardless, which involved dropping down, down, down to the seafront, running around the town, then having to reascend. I did an extra out-and-back along the beachside promenade and walked up the hill. Mick ran.

Somehow it was approaching 11 o'clock by the time we left our illicit parking spot. By the time we had detoured into Suances proper, found somewhere to park and done a bit of shopping it was marching on for noon. It's still a mystery to me as to where the days go.

Today's destination was only twenty minutes along the road. It's a new Aire, opened in June this year, that has already attracted an incredible number of positive comments on Park4Night. It is, in effect, a mini-campsite, having a toilet, a shower, hot water, wifi, electric hook-up and laundry facilities (the latter two at additional cost). The shower is 'interesting' mind - it's located in the laundry room and has two curtains, in the manner of a changing room, but no door. It puts me in mind of the Gîte we stayed in whilst walking the GR10 last year that had the same arrangement and where a chap was as horrified as I was when he whipped back the curtain of my cubicle just as I was standing there starkers (the clue is always that if the curtain is closed, then it is in use).

I will take a snap of our view, of an enormous church and a sizable monastery, tomorrow, when we intend to walk in that direction. Today we wandered off in the opposite direction, to the beach which the campsite describes as being 'a stone's throw away'. Personally, I don't know anyone who can throw a stone 1km...


There's little in this snap to say it was taken in northern Spain, not Cornwall

That's one way to keep your lawn down

We are getting nearer to the Picos de Europa mountains. The question is whether the weather will be amenable for a visit when we do get there

I've been and checked this evening, and we don't have a big sign on the side of Bertie that reads "Why don't you park right next to us?". Even so, with three slots taken in a 25-space Aire, the next (and only other) van to arrive decided that the spot right outside of our door was the one they wanted. Why, oh why? With a ramp under a front wheel and electric plugged in, moving felt like too much effort, so we'll just hope neither of the occupants has a nasty night-time cough!

Friday 10 November - Suances(ish?)

Where's Bertie? He's in a car park on the coast to the north of Suances. (Exact location: 43.44165, -4.04576)
Weather: Against a forecast of rain all day, it stayed dry from about 9am until a single shower at dusk.

The plan had been a short-hop westwards along the coast today to a commercial Aire, but upon waking the whim hit me to go slightly out of our way, to see the coast just to the NE of Santillana del Mar. With rain forecast all day, and with it predicted to be at its lightest late this morning, we made the journey relatively early, so that we could pick the best looking weather window for a stroll.

Arriving here (I'm not entirely sure where 'here' is in terms of place name; I've said Suances as that's the nearest name I can see on the map) we found a car park empty save for a works vehicle. Four men from that vehicle spent about six hours cutting some grass using two strimmers and collecting the clippings using pitch-forks and wheel barrows. We see this sort of thing every day, and it clearly keeps people employed. In the UK the same job would have been completed in ten minutes by a man with a sit-on mower.

Whilst they went about creating lots of noise, we settled Bertie in to a spot with a nice sea view, we set out on foot, heading straight past the nearest beach, and to the one bordering the town.

Mick imitates art

Following the promenade all the way around to the harbour, we expected to find some bars open, but everywhere was strangely quiet. We are accustomed to beach resorts being ghost-townish when we visit, but usually there are at least a smattering of bars and restaurants open, and there were certainly a few people out and about on the beach.


We did eventually find somewhere to have a coffee. That was followed by finding the mini-supermarket to be well and truly closed up for the winter, but we felt sure there must be a bread seller somewere, and sure enough a small alimentation was found just around the corner.

Strolling back to Bertie, we couldn't believe that it was still dry, so pausing only as long as it took to open a door, throw the bread inside and lock up again, we headed off to take a closer look at the headland.

This photo makes it look like we were enjoying sunny weather...

...but contrast that with the next snap, taken five seconds later, from almost the same spot, looking the other way:

It's incredible that all of the showers we saw out to sea skirted us, leaving us with a dry day, save for one shower at dusk.

With dry weather and a nice view, our original intention to move on after lunch was modified to make this our night-stop, with plans afoot for a jogette along the beachside promenade in the morning.

Thursday 9 November - Santillana del Mar

Where's Bertie? He's still in the car park at Santillana del Mar and tonight he has neighbours on both sides.
Weather: Rainy until about 10am, then dry until 7pm.

At two minutes past midnight last night, I was awoken by Mick exclaiming "What was that?". Upon hearing the question, I realised that I had been vaguely aware of something, but Mick had been even more aware. He leapt out of bed and out of the door, whilst I gave a commentary that whatever it was was still on the roof and sounded large.

We have no idea whether it was a very large bird (but at gone midnight?), or whether a cat had scaled the tree in front of us and taken a leap from there onto Bertie's roof, but by the time Mick went out the second time (upon my confirmation that it was still there) it had gone and he didn't get to see what it was.

Add in a handful of very heavy showers drumming just above our heads, and someone who decided to drive up and use the local recycling bins at just gone 3am, it wasn't the best night's sleep ever.

Finally woken by school buses and school kids (we are next to a primary school here), we slowly pulled ourselves together and, at around 10.30, took ourselves out for the first of two walks today.

This morning's outing was not interesting. This afternoon's was better, featuring a hill fort with the remains of a castle on top. (If you should want to know more, then click here and you'll be transported to t'other blog.)

This afternoon's little pimple of a hill, as seen from this morning's route

We finished up the day with another stroll through the town, which was better in today's dry weather than it was in yesterday's dreariness.

The same view as I included yesterday (I think!), but looking much brighter


(By way of a final 'incidentally', I forgot to mention yesterday that, 24 days after entering Spain, we finally had to turn a page of the road atlas. That is how slow our progress westwards has been. This is, for the avoidance of doubt, a good thing, as it was our objective on this trip to stay longer in each place.)