16 September 2022 - Domestic Bliss

Miles driven today = 70

Total Miles to date = 1,017

So the one big question we had to ponder when sorting out today's agenda - To Bilbao or not to Bilbao?  The only thing that really grabbed my attention in the city is its Guggenheim Museum.  Lisa did her degree in Art History and also taught the subject but she has been to the Guggenheim before and so left the decision entirely in my court.  There is a motorhome aire in the city with good bus connections but reports I have been reading indicate you have to book several days in advance to reserve a space.  Alternatively we could just park up somewhere nearby but I have also read recent reports of motorhomes being broken into when people have done this.  So the decision ultimately was quite an easy one.  We move on.

We've been on the road for best part of 2 weeks now and frankly everything was getting in a bit of a mess.  Bed linen and towels needed laundering and the van needed a good hoovering out so we decided to put a few miles under our wheels before stopping somewhere we could put our pinnys on and get on with the domestic chores.

We left Leikeito via the tortuously winding road to Gernika.  Lisa is never particularly comfortable when there are hairpin bends to negotiate, constantly encouraging me to slow down and I could sense the tension ease as the roads widened and straightened.

We by-passed Gernika, which notoriously was the scene of horrific carnage in 1937 when German aircraft, lent to Franco by Hitler, carpet bombed the town, destroying three quarters of the buildings and killing 250 people within the space of 3 hours.  The event is immortalised in Pablo Picasso's painting of the same name.

At Amorebieta Etxano we joined a succession of ever-widening motorways which whisked us around and over Bilbao and shot us out the other side on the A8 along the coast and into Cantabria province.  

We made a shopping and fuel stop at a huge Eroski Hypermarket at Castro Urdiales.  I was like a kid in a sweetshop.  Imagine having this for a fish counter at your local Sainsburys

Cheese anyone?

And maybe one of umpteen different varieties of ham to go with it?

You can even take a whole leg home to slice at your pleasure.

A short distance further on we are fairly certain we spotted an eagle as  the A8 swept us down into Laredo.  It's basically a resort of low-rise apartments stretching along a 4km beach.  But where we are, at Camping Playa del Regaton, is tucked away quietly, well back from the bustle of the resort itself.  All the pitches are shaded with power and water supplied for €18 a night on the ACSI card.

We got on with our chores and while we were waiting for the tumble drier to do its magic we went for a stroll on the beach which is right next to the campsite.

We passed a riding school on the way in and the horses obviously enjoy their exercise on the sands.

There is a Eucalyptus plantation with some wonderfully painted bark on the trees.

With bedding changed, clean clothes stowed and the inside of the van sparkling clean we settled down to read the socials and found that a dear friend has passed away quite suddenly.  So we are raising a glass of San Miguel to dear old William.  May your star shine brightly old friend.  We clocked up 1,000 miles today and suddenly we feel a long way from home.

17 September 2022 - Cantabrian Adventures