Last Post and Trumpet Call.

Sunday 6th January 2019 - Santander Ferry.

As I post this blog we will be on the ferry homeward bound, it will be my last of the trip.

On Friday night I was blighted by 'man flu' and have been using paper tissues like they are going out of fashion.  I had very little sleep at all on Friday and continued to look for sympathy from Janice through Saturday.  Feeling a bit better today but my nose still hasn't forgiven the punishment I have been giving it.

On Saturday we did manage a late morning walk into Santander city centre.  As I said, it was ravaged by a major fire in 1941 and much of it, including the Cathedral was rebuilt.  The City has lots of 5-6 storey blocks of apartments.  I can only presume that many people live in apartments rather than houses.

We enjoyed the walk and saw what we wanted to see...including the traditional cake ring that is called a Roscon de Reyes (Ring of the Kings) and eaten on January 6th to celebrate the Three Wise Men coming to see Baby Jesus.  Apparently a figurine of the Baby Jesus is hidden in the cake.

The cakes are the ones with the colourful candied fruit pieces.  They have various sizes from large to very large.  Some people were queuing at bakeries to pick up their cake.

The new Cathedral was built behind the Christmas tree and therefore easily missed.  We are pleased to report that it seems to be the only Cathedral we visited that didn't charge to enter....which is good because it wasn't as amazing as the others but pleasant enough.

The seafront with a futuristic art museum on the right.....rather too contemporary for us!

We went back to the van and because we were forbidden from staying more than 2 nights at our current location we decided to move out of town to another aire near Cabarceno where there is an open air zoo.  It's a bit like Dalton Wildlfe Park but on a much bigger scale and it is in glorious countryside at the foothills of the Picos Mountains.

On the way (between sneezes) I called in at a filling station to get cheaper Spanish fuel before returning home.  I couldn't resist an item in the shop......

Only a euro!  I wonder if I get a baby Jesus figurine too?  I know it's a cheapie and it won't be as nice as the others in the earlier photo but I will try it later...there is more than enough for both of us.

Our last Spanish night was a lovely location.  We didn't go into the zoo (wildlife park) as it costs 30 euro each and we would need all day to get the best from it.  It has over 20km of roads and has very large enclosures for elephants, zebra, camels, wildcats and many other animals.  It has a system of chairlifts for people to get around the zoo!

We just parked on the car park and enjoyed the bird life on the lake opposite.  There was a massive flock of white egrets (I don't know the collective noun for them).

All the white dots are egrets.

We could watch the elephants go down to the waterhole this morning.  There were 10 elephants in total, they wouldn't all get in the right place for my photograph.  They were certainly our last trumpet of the trip!!

Our last full day had been nice and sunny and pleasantly warm.  A nice way to finish off our trip.  The journey to the ferry was quite short and we didn't have any problems.  We even managed a lunch in Santander before boarding.

So this is the end.....

The trip has been everything we had wanted it to be.  We were a bit worried that we would be caught up in a sea of motorhomes marauding the southern coastline of Spain but it never felt like that.  Maybe we chose quieter places to stay, occasionally seeing larger groups of vans on some sites, we avoided them easily.  We achieved a good balance of meeting up with people and going it alone, we covered all the places we wanted to see and more and we also had a balance between seaside resorts and inland cities that were more cultural.  We have had virtually three months away...the longest we have done and we haven't fallen out or got fed up of our dark night routines of podcasts and crosswords.

HIGHLIGHTS...(no particular order)

Valencia - best paella....and meeting up with Andy and Heather who we still keep in contact with.  It is a great city with something for everyone.  A real competitor with Barcelona for city breaks.

Benidorm - a real eye opener to see how it is a Little Britain.  The performance at the Benidorm Palace will be hard to beat for true professional cabaret entertainment.

Visiting Daisy and Helen at their home near Marrazon.  Thanks for their amazing hospitality and for being such fun.  Again another Little Britain area but the community were so 'can do' in their attitude.  It reflected much of the best parts of the British character, many aspects of which seem to have been lost at home!  We particularly enjoyed the Remembrance Service for the 100th Anniversary of the end of the First World War.  Coincidentally.....we enjoyed the 'LAST POST' that this final blog is named after.

Gibraltar - we are giving a very British theme in these highlights.  However, it was another unique and historically very interesting place.  I was gobsmacked by the beauty of the views across to North Africa and we really enjoyed walking across the airport runway and the Sunday carvery!

Cabo de Trafalgar - not just for its historical significance but it was the most beautiful beach we saw all trip, proper rugged and wild.

The Sherry Triangle - Cadiz, Jerez and Sanlucar.  I am an unashamed sherry fan but I have now become a sherry nut!  All those cities were beautiful and distinctive....probably the places where the Spanish people go on holiday rather than the Brits abroad.

Culture - Granada tops the list followed by Córdoba, Merida and Seville (didn't get enough time to do it justice).  The Alhambra was a real highlight and a place I have wanted to visit for such a long time.  It didn't disappoint.

Little Gems - Our wildcamps at the Goldmines near Cabo de Gata were really memorable as was the lakeside near Caceres (just a few nights ago)....real peace and quiet in beautiful settings.  Grazalema was a most beautiful 'Pueblo Blanco' and well worth a stop.  Ronda probably doesn't count as a little gem but the views of the cliffs and bridge were amazing.

Big Gem - Malaga was our best city.  A bit more compact than Valencia but it has it (History, Art, Old town and Modern town and great harbour and beaches all in easy reach on foot.

Xmas and New a Year - at Torre del Mar.  We were really pleased with the site we had chosen for an extended stay.  It was quiet and the facilities were good.  The town was easily cycleable or walkable along the beach (with plenty of natural views)! Most of all....we enjoyed being joined by David and Wendy for Xmas.  We had a great time and it made Xmas special (I'm not just saying that because David made us a Christmas Cake!).  

 

I will miss the fantastic oranges we have been having, they don't taste as sweet back home.  We will miss the glorious sunshine and warmth (all our photos have had wonderful blue skies) and lastly, we will miss the PROMENADES!!!!

Thanks for reading the blog.  We have enjoyed writing them.  Remember, this blog is not for your pleasure....it's for our memories!   A great big thanks to Janice for being a wonderful companion.....and doing the proof reading.