We are barely out of the gate with our 2023 travels and already we have made big changes. When I outlined our plans in a previous post I mentioned that at this time of year, weather dictates our plans more than anything else. We were heading to the south of France in search of sunny days and warmer temps so that we could walk and ride our bikes. Well, guess what? We made it to the south of France and we have been freezing our butts off ever since. And the wind. OMG, don’t even talk to me about the wind.
We left the rain and cold behind in Sens only to arrive at our chosen place in the south of France to find freezing temperatures and wind at 25 mph sustained with gusts up to 40. In the 12 days we stayed in Sérignan we took one walk on the beach. I bundled up in all the warm clothes I own and still my face was so cold I felt like it would shatter. We got off the beach and walked through the streets of the town. I say “town” but it was really nothing more than holiday resorts, campgrounds and a few services like a bakery and laundromat, all of which looked like Life After People. The little campground where we were staying was the only place with signs of life for miles around and it was kind of dreary and worn down. We were in a summer holiday destination, in the winter.
We were not unhappy staying in the campground, but we were bored since there was nothing to do. We couldn’t move on because our leisure batteries had recently reached the end of their life and we found a guy nearby who ordered new ones for us. Also, he was to install a new inverter, stepping down from the 1500 watt we currently have to a 600 watt. We just don’t need the 1500, it eats up too much battery power. So we had to wait around for that order to come in and then have everything installed. Normally I would relish the down time and reorganize all my clothes and spices, clean out all the storage spaces and so on, but I had already done that in Sens. For once, my chore list was empty. (!!) So I had a two-day cook-a-thon and made more food than we could possibly eat. Now my freezer is jam-packed full.
Looking ahead, I didn’t see much improvement in the weather along our planned route, instead, I saw more cold temps, wind and in some places, ice and snow. What to do…what to do?? I finally mentioned to Steven that I wasn’t happy with the route we had planned and I felt like we should do something to get ourselves out of this cold and windy weather. “What do you have in mind?”, he asked. He knows, after all these years, that I don’t say something out loud unless I already have a plan. “Southern Spain” was my plan, the complete opposite direction from our original route and double the mileage. But the temps were good and the sun was shining, so we made the decision to head even further south.
Since we originally thought we were heading west to the north of Spain, we had shipped a few Amazon orders to our friend Nina, who lives a couple of hours from our location. We had planned to visit and would get our stuff then. Unfortunately, she lives in the foothills of the Pyrenees, so she was experiencing icy conditions. Plan B. Instead of going to her house, we buzzed over to a Super U grocery store near her where she met us with our goodies – a new cover for our bike rack, some LED light bulbs, that sort of stuff.
We chatted for a little while then moved on to a nearby aire. We had planned to buzz right back over to the coast, but we didn’t want to get caught up in city traffic in Toulouse on a Friday afternoon. It was sitting in that aire that we started really planning our trip through Spain, and boy, were we in for a rude awakening!
In winter, Spain is like Quartzsite, or Yuma, or any of those places where thousands of RVers converge for the winter months. Areas along the east coast of Spain are absolutely packed and we found that out as soon as we started looking for places to stay. Every campground we called was full and those that were not were charging extortionate prices. The comments on the app we use called Park4Night were ranting about the number of motorhomes jamming up the places were we interested in staying. It was really quite depressing and we wondered if we had made the right decision.
But, in for a penny, in for a pound. After hours of work and research, we found three places where we’ve made reservations as far along the coast as Alicante. After that, we will wing it, which is our preferred travel style. I am hoping that once we get past the east coast holiday towns that things will clear out a little, but who knows? It will be an adventure, no matter what.
On a different topic, I wanted to share with you something that our friend, Eric, brought to our attention a few weeks ago. He was looking at the aire in Sens on Google Earth and he told us he thought he could see Bijou. And sure enough, he was right! How cool is that? Thanks, Eric, for letting us know about this fabulous find! 🙂
Finally, Steven has been in the midst of painting a series of portraits. This is one of his favorites. If you would like to see more, you can keep up with what he’s doing by following his Visual Art page here.
Up next: Sunny Spain!
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How fun to meet up with Nina, and to be making plans to walk with her in April! Love that Bijou is famous :-)) I feel your frustration with finding places over the summer. I’ve found way too many parks already full for all of June through Labor Day – or those ridiculous prices that I refuse to pay. I was hoping the number of RVers would be down this year with less COVID restrictions. Plan B sometimes provides the greatest adventures so I can’t wait to see where you end up!
Two things have really affected motorhome traffic over here, Covid and Brexit. At least, that’s what I am blaming it on. But really, Spain has always been a hot zone for those looking to escape the cold, just like Q! And inflation is everywhere, sadly. I hope you are finding places to stay where you want to go visit! Maybe you will get on Google Earth, too! 🙂
Well, at least you guys are smiling in your picture despite the wind and cold. I know you two will make the most of just about any situation though!
If you think about it, we are doing the same thing as you! Heading south looking for sun! 🙂 And that smile is frozen on my face, I am not really that happy. 🙂
I’m sure Spain will be a lot more comfortable weather & a lot more enjoyable- definitely worthy of a change in plan,lol.Perhaps serendipity in reverse,the larger inverter may be welcome down the road- in our rig we shut off the large unit when not needed ( we added a remote switch with indicator light)- we also had a small portable plug in inverter used for the laptop (mapping) when underway.Look forward to your Camino adventures- all the best.
I hope you are right about the inverter. We got two big new gel batteries! But really, all we use it for at night is lights, because we have two LED lamps we like to use. But we need the inverter to turn them on and it eats up way more battery power than the two lamps! We shall see!
Oh, come on now. Be honest. You changed your route because you want to meet up with us for beers. 🙂
Let me know when you’ll be here!
PS: That painting is freaken amazing!
It’s true! What are you doing March 13th? It’s my birthday and I’m going to celebrate in Lisbon!
We’ll be here! Just drop me an email and we can make plans! Yay!
Wuhoo! Birthday party!! Put us on your calendar, I’ll be in touch!
Hi again-re: inverter/ led lamps — I know European systems are different but the great thing about led is you can have very bright units all on 12 volt; not house voltage.
You’re right! European motorhomes are built to run on 12 volts, in fact, lots of folks don’t even have inverters. Most of our lighting is 12 volt, but these two household IKEA lamps need plugs and the only plugs we have run either on mains or inverter. We actually had two plugs installed at the front of the living space because all we had were at the back by the kitchen and bath. And both of these plugs in front, where we use the lamps, are wired to the inverter. I’m sure there is a way we could have done it better, but we didn’t know at the time. 🙂
We feel your pain about the weather. This has been the coldest and windiest winter we’ve ever experienced in Quartzsite in our 11 years of wintering there. Hopefully your new route pans out for you. Safe travels!
It seems to be cold everywhere! I can’t believe it has been so cold and windy in Quartzite, too! It must be dusty, which would drive me nuts. Eleven years! Time flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it? 🙂
Fun to see Nina and Bijous pic. Glad you finally found warmer digs!
Yeah, Nina was kind enough to venture out in the cold to bring us our goodies. So far, we are loving our place in Spain! Full, glorious sun adds a few degrees of warmth so we are able to be out walking and biking! Thank goodness, I have some training to do!
Linda, I have just finished catching up on all your travels back to 2013! Great reading. Several times I have tried to subscribe to your blog via email, and each time I have gotten a WordPress message saying I already have several pending email subscriptions. I don’t have any. I can send you a screenshot of the WordPress message if you like. It may be the reason that the number of email subscribers has stayed steady at 367 for so long. And perhaps you can add me to your email subscriber list?
Hi Margit! Wow, reading all the way back to 2013 is quite the commitment! A full decade! I don’t know why WordPress is not allowing you to follow via Email. I know that when you subscribe, you will receive and Email asking you to confirm that you want to receive notifications and you have to actively confirm that you do. I can input your email, but you will have to confirm it. As far as I can tell, there are no subscribers sitting in any queue waiting to be approved, so 367 is all we’re going to get, lol. Thanks for taking time to comment!