Day 4 Beziers to Vilanova Spain (300’ish miles)

Today was all about getting to Spain which involved spending most of the day on the A9.  Before we left the overnight stop, we had a wander around to make sure that our first impressions were fair.   It took all of 18 seconds to determine that, in fact, the place was minging.  It looked like a summer caravan park kept open for stragglers like us and as we were the only ones on-site, we got a clear sense of being in the way and not wanted.   Once again, there was no water facility nor drain down facility.  The hose pipe assembly I had packed wasn't long enough to reach the tap so we had another morning of pouring freezing water over our hands and feet.   I REALLY wished I had bought that portable container and depth charge pump now.  Before leaving, we had to pay for the 'services' provided.   Given the lack of water, drain down and hot showers, plus the entire lack of any form of entertainment like a bar, we were hugely surprised when asked to cough up a whopping 30 Euros.   What?  How much?  Still, you can't put a price on peace of mind.

 

We trudged along and up and down a series of hills for a couple of hours until we reached the border.  The roads were far busier than the last few days and the winds were very high.  We stopped off at Catalan and drained down.  Whilst there, I remembered being told how good a stop this place was but how unsafe it would be for an overnight stop.   I later found out exactly how unsafe it was when I met a couple who had stopped over there the night before and found themselves on the wrong end of a gassing and forced robbery.   Everything they had was stolen and they didn't hear a thing.  Even their jewellery was removed from them.  Fortunately, they were unharmed, but their Christmas is now well and truly crackered.   That 30 Euros suddenly felt cheap and thank God I took the advice I received from the website about stopping at these places.

 

Crossing the border was underwhelming but nevertheless an event to remember because it at least meant we were now in Spain.   Shortly after this, we topped over a thousand miles in total on the road since we left home and at that precise moment that is when we also met our first traffic jam. I couldn't help but observe how well behaved the traffic throughout France had been whereas in Spain, it is very much like the 3 Musketeers; all for one and one for all.  A bit worrying really given the dimensions and lack of flexibility in the white whale.

 

I had planned to tour Barcelona, but chose to abandon that idea when we got stuck amongst 10,000 Dartagnions without a sword with which to defend ourselves.   The most troubling bit of driving so far for sure.  Maybe if I hadn't had four children in the van with me, I might have persevered.   As it was, I continued onto Vilanova towards a campsite I had pre-programmed into the Tom Tom using the long/latitude from their website.  I hadn't done this before, so was looking forward to seeing how it performed.   With 10 kilometres to go, I saw a huge sign telling us our site was next left and then 1km on the right.  When we reached the gates, the Tom Tom suddenly displayed the 'finish line' but with the planned route coming in from a different direction.   If we had stuck with the Tom Tom, we would have still made it, but we would have had to travel 10km further.  One of the drawbacks of only having the major roads installed I guess.

 

Both Mrs. F and I are surprised at how well the children are behaving, not because they are naughty per se, but because whilst this van is well equipped and superbly designed, it is nevertheless still a very small place for two adults and four children to occupy 22 hours a day.   I thought it would be difficult for all of us to go to bed and get up at the same time, but somehow it has worked remarkably well.  In fact, odd as it may sound, it doesn't feel like I have spent much time with the children at all.   I seem to have always been up front and they seem always to be down the back.  Today they didn't want the bed put away at the back today so spent most of the time laying down and chilling out.

 

The site at Villanova is massive.  It has the biggest swimming pool I have ever seen, a huge supermarket, lovely restaurant and fantastic saunas and spa.   And it was cheaper than the last site we were on.  For all the wrong reasons though, it still reminds us a bit of Els Belles from the Carry on Abroad film.   It even had a hairy bloke playing a harpsichord in the bar which I assume is a bit, er authentic, isn't it?

 

Having spent 7 hours driving (on and off), the kids were excited at about 9pm when some decent music arrived on their radio.   The volume was cranked up a bit but to our embarrassment, within 2 minutes there was knock at the door.  "Can you turn it down" was the clear message from the very droll woman standing there in her dressing gown.  I could see where she was coming from, it was bloody ten to nine after all.

 

Anyway, that hasn't stopped us thinking that we want to stay here another night.  This van is just so good for us and the place is so full of things to do that we would probably be daft to rush to the olds.   Having missed Barcelona, we might as well stop off here and at least have a couple of hours on the beach n'est pas?

 

We are really enjoying our Christmas trip, but if there is one thing missing so far, it's, well, Christmas.  It just doesn't feel Christmasey enough really.  We put the relevant CD on today, but it still didn't do it for me.  Maybe it's because the sun keeps shining…