At Caravanning Oyambre, near Comillas (where the Gaudi house is), we wandered down to the local beach during the evening. Here there are many camper-vans and a surf scene. The site behind the beach isn't very highly recommended and we were happy in ours, a 15 minute walk away.
It was the night of the full moon and we made the most of it whilst down there.
Then, with the weather holding for a fine evening, we cooked outside for what will be the last time for a few months.
We chatted to Brits coming into Spain and staying here for their first night or two. It's surprising how many are coming, even late in the season. Those campsites still open, are closing this weekend or next. Then it will be aires all the way for these travellers until they get to the coast in either Portugal or the south of Spain.
It's been a great trip for us. We've only driven a few hundred miles here but seen some great countryside. We've spent the time in Castilla Leon and Austurias, with entry and exit in Cantabria. It's a spectacular area, very rugged and particularly rural, with a strong agricultural theme throughout. Cider, cheese, milk, beef and fish feature everywhere.
The lady cheesemaker we had visited in Asiegu is famous! She's featured in a TV programme (See BBC iPlayer) with Eva Longoria in, Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain. In episode 6 she's in Asturias where she learns all about the Cabrales cheese from 'our' lady. Again it's the humidity in the wet limestone storage caves, that stimulates the Penicillium moulds required for ripening.
Ferries are the same everywhere, except that the Santander-Plymouth one is especially big. It consumed a vast number of cars, camper vans, motorhomes and motor bikes. We had the dubious honour of being parked near the top of the ramp up, out of deck 2 (right in the bottom), which was eventually jammed with motorhomes and bikes, all strapped down for the long trip.
We had assumed that the crossing would be smooth as there was no wind, with a high pressure cell over the British Isles. We were wrong! A swell is a swell and presumably can travel across the Atlantic. This one was significant and the boat seemed to corkscrew down into the troughs, just as disturbingly as it had on the outward journey. We we happy to crash out in bed for a long part of the 22 hours. By morning it was smooth and breakfast was taken.
Rather disappointingly, no famous people were seen on the return trip. However at a random services on the M5, the farmer who lives nearest to our house, wandered past. He was as surprised to see us as we were him. The number of people we know, that we just miss must be huge.
At Plymouth, it was a long wait before we could drive up and out from our car deck, as the mezzanine above us wasn't raised until deck 3 had been cleared.
Some notes about the trip:
A significant number of campsites are already closed for the winter and others closing during October.
The ASCI card provides a discount during these high-low season transitions (and vv), with electric hookup thrown-in. Usually we paid €20-25, usually nearer €20. It's extremely good value when compared to the UK charges for even a field. Facilities almost always were good to excellent, with the facilities often cleaned several times per day.
Clearly it's not peak season and in the summer these sites would be full to bursting. You only need to look back at the Potes to see how crammed it can be.
One thing is that in the main everyone respects the 'total silence' instructions that are normally 00:00 to 08:00. Almost always there's a motorhome or caravan that has to leave site bang on 08:00 (and don't be surprised to see 'arrivers' at 09:30 either).
I did lose it on one site when from 06:15 there were weird fabric squashing noises. Only atm 07:00 when a motorbike started-up did I realise it was a solo biker leaving. It was pitch black, an hour before the end of curfew and a site without an entry barrier, gate or maybe even no chain. I was so mad I jumped out of bed and ran across and started shouting at the guy with a torch in my hand. He just feigned ignorance, never took his helmet off and eventually I gave up trying to explain how antisocial he was being.
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