Over the hills and (not far) away

We set off for the trip to get us to Spain on what has become a well travelled path: to Toulouse, then via Foix to the route up the Puymorens pass over the Pyrenees just south of Andorra, down the other side to Seu d’Urgell where we then head south west to reach the coast at Amposta.

We made it to a familiar camperstop at Les Cabannes (just €4 for 24 hours parking) in the foothills of the French Pyrenees by early evening, with the sky and surrounding mountain tops towering ominous and grey above – as usual!

Morning came though, and with it the bluest of Pyrenean skies we have seen in a while. This made the journey up and over the pass an absolute joy, with snow capped mountains all around.

I love this part of the trip. Much as I adore France, for me there’s a real sense of arrival, almost like coming home, as we enter Spain via Puigcerda. Usually it’s a straightforward drive through Bourg Madame on the French side into Spain with not much of a discernible border other than a change from French to Catalá – this time, and a reflection of recent troubles across Europe, the border was heavily guarded by machine-gun toting Policia Nacional, all, of course, sporting reflective aviator-style sun glasses as well!

Stocking up with fresh fruit and veg at (very much cheaper) Spanish prices in the Catalá signed Carrefour supermarket just on the outskirts of town is a delight. Not just to reflect on a famous French brand being given a fiercely autonomous Spanish regional twist, but particularly as much of what was double the cost in France was imported from Spain anyway!

Usually we break the trip at a free camperstop at Asco (famous for its riverside nuclear power station) but we made such good time that we decided to head on to the coast for a free overnighter by the sea at one of our favourite places on this bit of the coast; Alcossebre.

The journey from the French border brought with it the usual contrasts: gone were the French blokes peeing at the roadside with Gallic nonchalance, instead, a series of empty plastic chairs and parasols, sometimes with their ‘chupa chupa’ owners waiting for passing trade; gone were the neat and tidy manicured towns and villages with hardly a person in sight during the middle of the day, and instead there were places that were a little less neat, but vibrant with people out on the streets or, more usually, lounging outside cafes and bars in the sunshine. Diesel is also cheaper over the border at less than €1 a litre J. It used to be the case that the roads were a point of contrast too, but this bit of the journey has benefitted from EU investment and the trip along the beautiful river Ebro to the delta at the coast is on mainly fast, new and for much of the time, pretty empty dual carriageway roads. It certainly beats the coastal route along the Med we used to take with a choice of the slow (and dangerous) N roads, or the fast (and expensive) autopistas.

We reached the coast at eight o’clock and settled in for what we hoped would be the beginning of the customary sun-soaked idyll of Alcossebre: only to be woken by heavy rain in the night and a forecast of thunderstorms L. Morning brought sunny skies to our free overnighter however, and we headed off to find a pitch at one of the best equipped campsites we have ever stayed on – Playa Tropicana.

It’s quite funny really, as we used to free camp near here regularly years ago and poured scorn on the neat and tidy rows of northern Europeans soaking up the sun by the pool at the camp site. Now, we’ve joined them and just love the luxy treat this is before we head off on the next part of the journey: south towards Andalucia and Portugal.

We still do free camp here for the odd (usually first) night, as it’s a beautiful bit of coastline, which is great for walking and cycling.

 

 

This bit of the Spanish coast is not at all over developed – indeed it’s clear to see where there are bits of infrastructure that have been put in and then not followed up further south at Torrenostra, where plots lie empty and the link road to the new airport for Castelló remains eerily empty much of the time. The airport is yet to be used but was recently bought by the Chinese as a freight hub. Perhaps next time we pass this way it may have changed dramatically….

After five nights and days with wall-to-wall sunshine, we’ll eventually make a break for the hills on Thursday to start the first of our hopefully many forays into new and uncharted explorations – into the Sierra d’Espadá, west of Castelló.

S.