Meriden Birthday Weekend

It seems a little early but today I had to pay the outstanding balance on the Somers Wood campsite at Meriden.  I had already paid the £20 deposit and so there was the remaining £46 to pay.

That was done easily so we are committed to going!!! 

;)

Awaycation Summer 2024 - Spain

Another update!

I have been relying on the MyRouteApp website to plan where to go and this will tie in with the additional Navigation App when I pay for it.  For the simple A to B trips I can still use the Ohrex  as normal.

Of course I am hoping that the Navigation part of MyRouteapp will work okay and it is supposed to allow the downloading of maps so that it doesn't need to use the internet to work.  I have a 30gb allowance on my mobile phone but don't want to eat that up with the navigation.

At the end of the last update we were in Avila where we are staying for two days in the new aire near to the city walls. I opted for a EHU space and hopefully we can charge everything up.

From here we have a decision to make. We will have 12 nights left before we return to the UK via Eurotunnel Le Shuttle at Calais. So which way back? Do we go north of Madrid or south of Madrid? I still like the idea of heading up through Aragon and taking the Somport Tunnel, with maybe an overnight at the new aire at Canfranc Station. Either way around Madrid will bring us eastwards.

One of the recent vlogs we have watched shows a stop overnight an Consquerga where there is a castle and the Don Quixote windmills of La Mancha. I thought this looked more like a stop off rather than an overnight.  The nearby town of Alcazar de San Juan has a couple of aires that look pretty decent.  It does look a "dead" area for campsites though.

From there? East! I have booked three nights at Camping Valencia. It's owned by Sandaya and I was able to use the credit from last year gained by amassing loyalty points to get 3 for 2 nights. It works out at about €25 a night including the €5 a night for Reggie! I doubt he'll use many of the services or the pool!

From here I think it will be time to look at it nearer the time!

 

Short Run to Canterbury in Molly

We went to Canterbury for a short rip today to go to Marks & Spencer to look at trousers for me, for the upcoming birthday party for Claire's cousin.  It's not until June but we will be barely back from Spain and France and we go in in about three weeks.

One of the downsides of a Peugeot/Fiat based van is that there is a known problem with the passenger airbag ECU. This is caused when the engine battery gets too low andthe unit fails.  It seems on the face of it that maybe they need to change the ECU to have a fail voltage lower than 11 volts!  But I guess it's an earner with the unit being anything between £300 and £600 to relace, depending on where you get one. #

So I like to make sure that the engine battery is kept topped up.

We have a single solar panel on the roof and this charges the leisure battery and also, via a split charger some of the sun's rays trickle charge the engine battery.  So far so good.  Touch wood and other superstitions etc.

We decided to go to the Park and Ride in Canterbury and take Molly.  

The one at New Dover Road has a dedicated motorhome/campervan area and also an expansion area should it get too busy. It has services such as grey and black water dumps and fresh water.

We went into the city on the bus. It's £4 to park for a day.  The day is 0001 to 0000 or maybe 0000 to 2359... So anyone staying overnight pays £8. It's pretty cheap I think. The charge includes use of the bus into the city centre. 

When we had done the shopping we returned to Molly.  Nothing for me as it seems that M&S no longer cater for a the chunkier lad, but did sell pretty decent prawn mayo sandwiches.  

Before eating I got my black rubber gloves on and emptied the cassette into the grid. As we had no solids the plan was simply to pour but when I got to it.... Well.

The black and grey water wastes ae the same grid. It's large and it fitted with two rope handles. Using gloves it's no problem. But it seems a van before didn't bother judging by the paper and "solids" stuck on top of the grid.  There is a hose and a "not drinking water" tap nearby so wash the detritus away. The previous owner was too bloody lazy to use that judging by the evidence. I rinsed the the cassette and managed to clear most of the drain with the water turned full on. There are signs asking people to keep it clean!

It's a positive move by the city council to provide this service, it's a shame that some tossers abuse it.

Once done I degloved and washed my hands and then used a nice blob of hand sanitiser! Ans then ate my sandwich!

The drive home was a retrace of the way we got there via the M20 and Hawkinge to the A2. Not a long drive, maybe 40 miles but it should ensure that the battery has charged up a little.

Awaycation Summer 2024 - Spain

Since the last update I have given up pretty much on looking for raw food for Reggie, and have concentrated on a few more overnight stops and scenic drives around the Basque and Cantabrian mountains.

Distances on the map turn out to be far less when transferred into the satnav app and into the Ohrex satnav.

One thing I am going to look at is using my phone in conjunction with the Navigation app that comes as an extra to the MyRouteApp that I use, and have for years, on the TomTom for bike trips. The TomTom 410 was also used in the car before we got the Nissan with the built in navigation.

I have read that some people have used this app successfully on their Android tablets. 

I had already booked two nights at Plays de Regatón on the coast between Bilbao and Santander. This was basically to recover from 30 hours on the ferry from Portsmouth.

The plan is to try and locate a Tienda Animal store to see if they have any raw food. I have also found a motorhome parking area that should give us a chance to see the Guggenheim and the big flower dog statue (https://www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en/the-collection/works/puppy).

After Regatón? I have mapped out an eastern loop that will bring us to Ramales and so I booked a site overnight there. 

The following day we have a second mountain loop, central mountains, ending on the coast again at Camping Oyambre. Two nights here with EHU. A chance to charge up everything and try out the beach ⛱️. It's allegedly dog friendly.

The next day another loop, this time a longer one around the western Picos d'Europa and then via Potes ending at a small site near Cervera la Pisuerga. One night.

We stayed at the Parador there in August 2014 when we were on the Triumph Explorer and on our way back to Santander and the ferry.

From there to Avíla.  We have been before and it's a place I'd like to see again. There's a relatively new "area autocaravanas" opened near the northern walls. I have booked two nights there. It's €18 per night inc EHU.

That's as far as I have got. I was thinking about simply going and looking for a stop "on the hoof". There are plenty of free aires but the reviews are mixed. Plus I don't mind the idea of an "aire" but some of them seem to be either car parks or from vlogs I have watched just dustbowl dumps with no services.

I am hoping that as we work our way around the loops that there will be places to stop and take in the views and simply enjoy what we are doing and seeing.

Tesco Mobile 📱

Seems we chose right again. Shame it can't work in the US like Three UK  used to do before they started gouging people...

Awaycation Summer 2024 - Spain

Recently I have devoted far too much time looking for stockists for raw dog food in Spain. Reggie has been on the raw diet for a number of years as he was always having stomach problems with tinned/processed food.

I posted on a few FB forums to see if anyone else had solved this problem.  It appears we aren't alone and there were many comments asking for the information.

One guy came on, who apparently lives in Spain, to say its available "everywhere".  But didn't elebaorate!

Another couple said that they had never found any and resorted to using mince from normal supermarkets mixed with some vegetables. That's what we have done but having specific dog food with the added veg and minerals would be nice.

So that's when I embarked on my search of the internet. I found a few "chains" that are something like "Pets At Home" in the UK. A quick email to a few in the Bilbao area resulted in a few replies - all negative. No raw meat for dogs.

The one I haven't had an answer from is Tiende Animal.  They have several branches in the Bilbao area and across the northern coast.  It looks from the website that they might stock raw... I guess we have to wait and see!

Car Insurance due April 16th - Tesco!

The car insurance, Claire's car I might add, is due on the 16th April.  The renewal came through and has gone up around 211%! £511 from £242!

No accidents.

No convictions.

No claims.

I assume it's because we are a year older and despite none of the above, the perceived risk has over doubled!

So I hit the comparison sites.  The best quote we could get was for a company we have never heard of called Yoga at £343.  Still a huge rise on last year.

So the next thing was to try the larger supermarkets. They all have their own "bank" that's managed by one of the big boys (or girls!) in the UK banking sector.

Tesco, whom we already have a MasterCard, also came up at £343, just a few pence more than unknown Yoga!  So we went for that. At least we know they are unlikely to go bust or simply disappear.

It's still a huge increase over last year but it looks to best option.

X?

What a cesspool of intolerance Twitter has become since #ElonMusk got control...

New Passport

Such has been the press and media going on about the refusal by EU countries to accept UK passports that were issued pre-Brexit that we decided to renew early.  

Effectively I will lose about 8 months off my old one and Claire a little longer.

Photos were taken on Tuesday morning at a local camera and electronics shop, Device in Hythe,  and the forms done online. I rushed to the Post Office to send the old ones back with next day delivery. All done in about 90 minutes of hectic activity.

What was the rush? For both of us it was to get it turned around before we go to Spain in May. 

Both the old ones were sent back in the same envelope with both application codes. 

Mine has been turned around in four days and I have it. 

It does mean that after many years we have gone back to a blue UK and Northern Ireland passport instead of the maroon EU version.

As a non Brexit supporter this hardly matters what colour the cover is.

Claire's a little miffed as hers seems to be going a bit slower. Today, 5th April, she has only had the message and email to say her's has been approved. Hopefully she'll get hers on Monday or Tuesday...

Awaycation Summer 2024 - Spain - Basque Loop 1

Over the last week or so I have been looking through the atlas to check out the roads marked with the green "scenic" lines and the places along it (POI)  to stop and be amazed by the views and the sights/sites.

I made a list of a loop through the eastern mountains to the south and south east of the first overnight stop in Laredo. Without stops it worked out (on Google maps) at just under 3 hours.  Today I have been on the laptop and checking some of the roads and POI.  

The first two, Pozalagua Cuevas and the nearby Dolomites Museum are closed except for weekends. This is fortunate for us as we leave Laredo on Saturday morning....  The loop will bring us back towards the coast again. I have also looked at some miradors (viewpoints) and waterfalls/cascades.

Altogether there are 10 waypoints in the MyRouteApp route. I have planned it here as the latest upgrade allows routes to be created for motorhomes.

It would mean using the phone instead of Ohrex. The additional cost can be paid monthly. I am tempted for £3.95 and use it only in May whilst we are away.  

With stops it becomes more like 5 and a half hours.  So not to rush I looked for a campsite and found Camping Ramales  that is nicely at the end of the loop.  It's on ACSI and is €21 per night with electricity charged on top. I booked one night only here.

So that's three days in Spain that are accounted for!