The coastal road along the Costa Brava was really fantastic. The weather was perfect with sunshine and blue skies, so we also had great views of the sea. Unfortunately, the hope of seeing dolphins was not fulfilled. But since we are at the beginning of our trip to Spain, there will definitely be an opportunity. The 2 nights in Salou were great too. Standing on the beach after a long time and listening to the sea was exactly what we were hoping for in Spain. Finja also thought the beach was great and ran and romped at first. Dogs are allowed on the beach in winter, but forbidden in summer. Same as fishing, but there were a lot of anglers out for the 2 evenings.
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Ebro Delta - hope for flamingo sighting
Around noon we headed towards Ebro Delta National Park. The weather was sunny again, but also very windy. We want to walk a bit in the national park and hope to see flamingos. On the way there there were an incredible number of rice fields, which surprised us a lot because we didn't realize that Spain grows so much rice.
There were also some in the delta and most of them were of course full of birds, there was food. Unfortunately, there was no stopping place to take pictures of it. Quite at the end of the river Ebro where it runs into the sea was a large car park and from there there were some circular walks. It wasn't that windy here anymore and the sun made it so warm that Basti walked in his t-shirt.
We then walked a circular route; first along the river towards the sea. There were a few boats on the river and some anglers were sitting on the bank. Along the way there were several stone sculptures with "holes" where you could see the delta.
At the beginning there was an observation tower from which one had a beautiful view of the delta. It was funny, however, that you looked directly below the tower at a bicycle roundabout that actually looks out of place.
The circular route was really nice, we were on the way for three quarters of an hour. We stopped at the bird watching sites and looked out for flamingos. Unfortunately we didn't have any luck with it, but we were able to see many other birds.
Unfortunately, we couldn't stay overnight in the parking lot, since it was in the national park. Unfortunately, the first place we chose for the night was nothing. It was totally overcrowded and there was no way to stand anywhere else. We also need fresh water and with the existing system there we didn't dare. So we looked for a new place and it wasn't that far away either.
In Spain there are a lot of free parking spaces that also offer the complete supply and disposal. Mostly they are in small towns inland and you can stay there for up to 72 hours. In l'Aldea we approached such a place. It also seemed relatively new and there was plenty of space. The supply and disposal station also looked good and so we filled up with fresh water first. The place was on the edge of the small town and you could also walk nicely with Finja. It's great that a community makes something like this freely available. We slept really well that night, but Finja woke us up early to run.
You can find more tips about the Ebro Delta here.
Torreblanca - super full pitch
Since we were up early and finished drinking coffee early, we left early. I wanted to do some laundry and on the way along the coast we found a laundromat that was right on the street and so we could park easily. The machines were all free, so I could wash and dry everything right away. At around 2 p.m. we were able to set off again. We wanted to shower again and so we chose a parking space not far away.
Foreign country, so most of the time you drive with GPS. That can get on your nerves sometimes, because Spain is a country with roundabouts. It's always said, so many kilometers straight ahead, then in the roundabout and take the exit. Unbelievable, so many in a row that at one point we had to laugh when the next one came along. And in places you have to pay attention to the zebra crossings that appear every few meters. So it can be really tiring.
When we arrived at the pitch we were really surprised. The place was jam-packed and we got the last emergency place that was available, right at the side entrance of the kitchen staff from the restaurant. But the shower was important to us and so we stayed. It's a good thing that we were there so early, because after us there were always people looking for a seat. Half of the campers were German and the rest from other countries, with the fewest being Spanish.
I actually wanted to clean the bus, but it started raining and then I can't open the door to sweep. Basti cleaned the kitchenette and then I wrote reports. We let the evening end comfortably, only ran the laps with Finja. The next morning Finja woke us up at 7 a.m. because she wanted to go to bed. At the same time we had a super violent thunderstorm over us, thunder and lightning with heavy rain. After an hour and a half the rain was over and another hour and a half later there was a clear blue sky. It's amazing how quickly something like this can be over.
We then made ourselves comfortable and took a shower. Shopping is due and so we drove on. On the way along the coast we see a lot of plantations; citrus and olive trees. For us it was really surprising how big the plantations are and the olive trees also bear fruit. The country itself is super dry and even rivers that are signposted carry little or no water. The weather is really nice right now, around 18 degrees warm and we hope it stays that way.
Orpesa – Overnight in apartment houses
We actually didn't go far. In Orpesa we found a big supermarket and Basti went shopping first. In the meantime I was looking for a parking space and found one in the village. It was a small parking lot at the end of a small street between apartment buildings on the beach. Without the Park4Night app, we would never have come to this place because the street looked so inconspicuous and the parking lot was not signposted. This is so small that only 3-4 cars have space.
The houses and hotels were pretty big and high, but again everything was too busy or only a little. Winter time, there are hardly any holiday guests. Since the weather was just so good, we went to the beach for a bit. You can tell here that in winter the time is used for other things, such as piling up sand on the beach and smoothing it out, tending parks, doing construction work, etc. Of course, this cannot be done in the season when holidaymakers all want to lie on the beach .
Camping is forbidden at such overnight sites, ie no chairs and tables, no awning and no grill etc. So we often leave the sliding door open so that it can be ventilated and we still have the feeling that we are halfway outside. And when I go out to smoke, I often sit on the front steps. So it's not surprising when people stop by and chat.
Same here. An 80-year-old German stopped because up until a year earlier she had been traveling a lot in her camper van. But now she has sold it and bought a small apartment right on this street to spend the winter here. She also told us that there are often mobile homes on this site. We talked for at least half an hour before she left. Another couple, also Germans and campers, came by and asked us if we weren't bothered about standing vacant. They couldn't do that and would always drive to a parking space.
In the evening we saw how empty the skyscrapers actually were. Altogether we only saw lights in 5 apartments and the houses were not small. We're realizing more and more that we don't want to be here in the summer. We have already experienced full pitches, what is it like when normal holidaymakers come along? A question we don't want to answer ourselves.
Since the next day was totally rainy, we decided without further ado to stay there for another day. We cleaned the bus and did a little work on the laptops. In between, simply drank coffee and chatted. Finja didn't find it that funny to run in the rain, but we also tried to use the breaks in the rain. Except for walkers, and not many of them, there was little going on in the 2 days at the place, so it was ideal for us. The place was really nice despite the residential area.
You can find more pictures in the Photo gallery Spain.
