6 March 2024 Santander

Arrived at the port for a 2 hour wait vehicle searched unusual?

Boarded good cabin straight for the commodore lounge for evening meal.

On loading 3 buses for National Express boarded on trailers.

4 March 2024 Haro

Good journey up on the peage not to busy but plenty of snow on the hills. On arrival took a look at our premium pitch Ugh so picked a normal ??? pitch near shower block. A short walk into town.

5 March 2024 Haro

Below lovely Murals

Cold start to the day when it warmed up we have a good walk around in the town coffee in the sun. Lots of graffiti.

5 March 2024 Haro

Walked into town a small shop coffee then left for Santander.

The above pitch was not suitable for us so we moved expensive site this!

3 March 2024 Zaragoza

Had a walkabouts checking the local area, next morning a small shop the left for Haro.

Good cycle into Valencia this morning.

Massive beach to walk on after tea got to be careful (nudist beach)

The picture below is our campsite at El Saler

Some of the caravans on the site look straight out of a museum

Graffiti from our cycles while here

1 March 2024 Valencia

Moving today to Valencia paid the campsite £750 about the same price as a week in York campsite (Ha Ha). Walked into Calpe for coffee before leaving at 1100 good drive up but the last bit to the campsite tricky.

Caught the bus into Valencia UGH! very very busy had to stand. Town very busy due to the Fallas fire work display on at 1400 glad we were 500 yards away the bangs were extremely loud at that distance, a brief walkabout but to busy bus back for a shower and tea an evening walk down to the beach.

This tree is BIG

28 – 29 February 2024 Calpe

Just having our last walkabouts and cycles.

We spotted the well maintained cycle as it arrived next to us outside a shop I guess its an anti theft deterrent having a bike like this.

Below is some beach information for you all hopping to have some fun on the beach !!!

Whether you live here in Spain full-time or are on your holidays, there is a very good chance that you will want to visit many of the beautiful beaches that we have on offer.

The wonderful year-round weather here means that beach usage is not restricted only to the summer months; many of us get to use the beach out of season also.

But did you know that there are many things that you cannot do on the beach by law and if you are caught, you could face a hefty fine of up to €3,000?

Washing with soap and shampoo at beach showers is illegal at all Spanish beaches. In certain regions such as Malaga, Benidorm and Valencia this also applies to washing with soap in the sea. The fine for this would be somewhere in the region of €750.

For those who like to drink to excess and then sleep it off on the beach, think again. In many regions, spending the night sleeping on the beach or camping on the beach is completely forbidden and in areas such as Valencia could result in a fine of up to €1,500.

Nudism is a popular pastime for many, but do this on the majority of non-nudist beaches and you may end up with a fine of up to €750.

If you head East to Chipiona, Cadiz and decide to spend some time on the beach you will want to pay extra attention as several things could end in a fine of up to €300. These include throwing cigarette butts, leaving sunflower and other nut shells and litter on the beach and also the use of loud sound equipment and musical instruments. More serious offences can result in fines of up to €900.

On certain beaches playing with a bat and ball and other sporting equipment is only permissible in designated areas. While in Malaga it is only acceptable if done at a distance of six metres or more from other beach-goers. Don’t forget your tape measure!

Barbecuing on the beach is another grey area. In most cases, police authorisation must be sought before lighting up. In some areas such as Salobrena, fines of up to €3,000 can be imposed for those who do not follow the rules. Ouch!

For those who smoke or wish to have an alcoholic beverage on the beach, you should also take note. Some local councils only allow smoking, vaping and the consumption of alcohol in certain designated areas.

Cigarette smoke and butts can be a real menace for non-smokers and children building sandcastles. Cigarette butts contain thousands of toxic substances and contain plastics making them harmful to our environment and marine life.

Several regions in the country have already adopted the measures creating smoke-free beaches and zones including Galicia, Murcia, Catalonia, Andalusia, Asturias, the Canary Islands and the Balearics with other regions of the country soon to follow suit.

And as for sex on the beach (not the cocktail), this is also illegal!

In Benidorm and no doubt other regions, there are time restrictions, which means you are not allowed to swim in the sea or use the beach between 11 pm and 7 am. This is generally imposed for safety reasons and to allow for the cleanup of the beach.

The city council of Vigo, in Galicia also warned holidaymakers (and locals) that urinating in the sea will also now be considered an infringement of hygiene and sanitary regulations. Anyone caught doing it can now be fined up to €750.

Many of us like to take our dogs for some exercise on the beach and although this is fine in several areas, there are still a large number of beaches where this is not permitted. Some beaches allow domestic animals on the beach only at certain times for example before 8 am and after 9 pm. Note that guide dogs are permitted on all Spanish beaches.

 

26 – 27 February 2024 Calpe

Had a lovely couple of days coffee walkabouts spotted some lovely pigeons sunbathing and yet again a lovely sunset.

22-25 February 2024 Calpe

After having the car for seven days and having a busy time driving and sight seeing we have eased up a bit and relaxed.

Still searching around for pictures as you can see below the main tourist restaurants are not yet busy.

We noticed round the Ifach that they now have an SOS post.

This evening after a cloudy day the sunset was FAB.

19 February 2024 Calpe

Drive out this morning to Benissa to have a good walkabout, a lovely small town that we have never had the chance to visit before but good in our hire car.

A good coffee then to the church FAB as you can see

20 February 2024 Calpe

Drive down to see family down below Alicanti stopping on the way at Santa Pola for a lovely coffee. We then had a meal at a Spanish bar. A good drive back up to Calpe using The AP7 Toll that made it easy as less traffic.

21 February 2024 Calpe

Out in the car today for the last day of the hire driving up the Jalo valley over the mountains and back via Altea.

We stopped for a coffee and cake at a cycling café ! don’t know why after all the cycling problems we have had but it was not too busy.

The cake looked FAB so we had coffee and four carrot cakes.

We should have realised that there may be a problem after recognising the owner as a person off Life in The sun television program and he offered his autograph to us for 5 euros each?

Had a look around and spotted he ground his own coffee, we then got the bill for 4 coffees and 4 cakes at 32 euros after our heart attacks we the drove off up the mountains to visit wonderful views and sight as you can see from the below pictures (click images for BIG)

Spotted the below art work in a garden high in the mountains

17 February 2024 Calpe

A few pictures from Montgo Art.

This building does not seem to have a room on the top floor ?

17 February 2024 Calpe

Up to Benissa to Moraira to try to avoid the cycles but to no avail they are so bad here prompting lots of road rage (not from me I is cool).

Spotted some lovely art work as you can see

I even got a shot of the back side WOW

17 February 2024 Calpe

El Castell de Guadalest  today a wonderful drive on the mountain road.