This week has been super salty and Spanish – apparently just how we like it.
We started the week with three nights in Barcelona at a CityStop (huge carpark with dozens of motorhomes) which had toilets, showers, wifi and security 24/7. The cost was €30 per night BUT the location was excellent (20 min metro ride into the heart of the city) and we welcomed the facilities.
We felt a little more at home here seeing as our good friends Pip and Ben (plus entourage) were also in the neighbourhood. We ate copious amounts of tapas (mainly in La Barceloneta) and drank copious amounts of beer and sangria with good company. Perfection.
The city itself was mesmerising. Taking in all the different facets and the sheer size of La Sagrada Familia took some time out of our day before we ambled through the city to Las Ramblas and the La Boqueria food markets (drool). One gelato and juice stop later we were at the marina and welcomed the air-conditioning fully functioning in the mall.
As well as visiting a new city, we also had our first day apart since starting this trip (insert shocked emoji face here). The girls took a walk to Gaudi Park in the searing heat to find they weren’t allowing any more people through but we wandered around, after many treat stops, and took in the sweeping views of the city. Some shopping and more treat stops later (pastries, gelato, **fresh juice etc), we mastered public transport to meet the boys at the marina for dinner. Whilst the gals had been enjoying the city, the boys had been enjoying the State of Origin and lots of beer. Nice, typical boy stuff.
**As we were walking through the city we found a little cafe called Hammock Juice Station which is literally that – a shop serving fresh juice and delicious snacks that you eat/drink/drown in whilst sitting in a hammock. What more could a gal want.
From Barcelona we started our journey south. Selecting random spots on Google Maps we ended up with some winners and some losers. The first stop was Roda de Berà where we stayed at Camping Stel (more like a resort then a caravan park, really) for a whopping €54. There were all the facilities you could imagine (including ice) so it was a nice, albeit expensive, stop.
Considering we had blown the budget for accommodation well and truely, we aimed a little lower and ended up at Peñíscola (lol) at an **Aires for €6.30 that was literally 50m from the beach. There were toilets (no showers) which smelt like strawberries and were exceptionally clean for the site (big grass patch with parking spots divided up by rope).
Obviously a very popular spot considering the 5km beach was chock full of umbrellas and tanned bodies (surprisingly, I’m not talking about us but we’re working on it) overlooking the impressive castle atop the peninsula. The boardwalk was lined with cafes and restaurants and shops selling all the blow up beach toys you could imagine. It was a bustling, family friendly beach town that we could’ve happily stayed at for a long while.
**We found the ‘Aires’ by driving through the town, not via Google Maps or an app. Several other motorhomes were at the site when we arrived but when we asked if we could camp the night, we were turned away. What we found is, ‘camping’ and ‘parking’ will provide you with two totally separate outcomes. ‘Parking’ at any site is tolerated in Spain, if you do not put out awnings or tables and chairs or look in any way like you are camping. Lesson learned and for €6 we will roll with it.
From Peñíscola we hit La Marina (after another promising camping site fell through – Google sometimes provides misleading information). We parked Peggy and opened the back doors to absolute beach front access. Ten steps over the dunes and you were basically in the water.
Leading into the carpark, there were many signs prohibiting motorhomes and caravans, but luckily we are just a van (with some internal luxuries) and can sometimes get away with these slight misgivings. After consulting with another motorhome owner (who turned out to be a leathery British local), camping was not allowed and the police did patrol but we risked it for the biscuit and are glad we did (as did several others).
As the spot at La Marina wasn’t perfect and we knew the police would be back later, we decided to head a little further south and try our luck again and BOY OH BOY, did we hit the jackpot.
Hello La Azohia – a small, picturesque fishing village. A simple carpark rising up towards the mountains, with views right over the Bay of Mazzaron and the perfect Mediterranean turquoise waters – and did I mention its completely free and spacious and 100% legal? A brilliant way to end week six and start the next.
Until Week Seven. Adios Amigos x
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