Monday 7 Jan – San Sebastian to Valderrebres

San Sebastian to Valderrebres - 250 miles

Felt a bit warmer when Terry took Jamie out first thing, hopefully it continues! Normal start and once the servicing was done we headed out of town. The weather forecast is to remain dry for at least the next week with warmest temperatures, around 16 deg, on the Mediterranean coast so we decided to head south east towards Peniscola.

Apart from a missed turn taking us onto a toll road for a short distance, then having to fight with the ticket machine, we stayed on good “A” and “N” roads all the way. Initially we had to climb onto the Spanish plateau, going from sea-level to 2000 ft in around 5 km, which gave the motor a good workout but then it became undulating with miles and miles of nothing between few and far villages and towns. But at least the sky cleared and most of the day was in brilliant sunshine.

Pamplona, then Tudela, where we paused for lunch, then onto Zaragoza, noticing that the roads were very quiet and the towns deserted. Then we remembered it was fiesta, the Three Kings holiday which is equivalent to our Twelfth Night. At least the fuel stations were open as we needed a refill and we loaded a tankful of premium diesel, mainly because it was the same price as the cooking stuff and would give the engine a treat!

At our lunch stop we selected a nice looking aire to aim for and, successfully this time, programmed it into TomTom. It was going to be quite a stretch but the roads were quiet, it was a lovely day and we could keep a good average speed going. During the afternoon we got into the Rioja area and noticed large areas of vines, as well as quite a lot of other cultivation. Each town seemed to have a monastery, fortified church or fortress on a hilltop, some in fine fettle but others just ruins.

We turned off the main road onto a scenic (read hilly and twisty!) route for the last 20 km or so to the old town of Valderrobrez, complete with hilltop castle, and found the aire which, apart from a couple of cars, was empty. Still the water was turned on, it had nice views of the town and castle so we parked up and got the kettle on!

The map above shows we are less than two hours from the coast so the evening included a check of the various campsites around Peniscola, where we've stayed before. After 6/7 days on the road we're ready for a break so tomorrow will be a shopping trip before we select a campsite.

Hopefully, tonight is our last “cold” night – some of the puddles are still frozen over..........

WE STAYED AT free municipal aire, a riverside parking area with WC/waste water disposal and a functioning fresh water tap. Plenty of room and a few minutes walk into the old town over an ancient stone bridge and through an arched gateway in the town walls. Eroski supermarket adjacent to the site entrance.