Home on Wheels – Motorhome Blog

As I write this blog article about our motorhome adventure the weather here in Spain is sunny but windy, and I’m told that the rain we have had overnight is the first since August.  Since my last blog we have flown back to the UK to see our new first grandchild. I stayed two days and Anne stayed 10 nights, so that Anne could offer her services as a post natal midwife. I could only stay 2 days because our motorhome insurer would not insure the vehicle if it was left unattended for more than 48 hours.
Parked up on our pitch at Marjal Costa Blanca
Because we knew that we would be flying home for the new baby, but we weren’t  sure when, we had chosen to stay a month at Marjal Costa Blanca  where we knew that there was good security. The campsite has a security barrier and regular security patrols and we also informed our campsite neighbours that we would be away for 2 days and they said that they would keep an eye on our motorhome for us. Marjal Costa Blanca is a big campsite with fantastic facilities such as a restaurant, cafe/bar area, entertainment, spa facilities with an indoor pool, two huge outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a supermarket and many other facilities that I have not discovered yet! The pitches are 90 sq. metres which is a decent size although they do have bigger pitches for bigger outfits. Since my last blog we have stayed at Bonterra Park in the lovely coastal resort of Benicassim. This relatively unheard of Spanish resort has one of the most charming promenades that I have ever seen and is famous for the The Ruta de Las Villas, a row of spectacular 19th century villas that were once occupied by the rich and famous of Valencia. The area is also good for cycling and we cycled along an old disused train line that has been turned into a very popular cycle way called The Via Verde  Green Route. We have also visited the beautiful city of Valencia, one of my favourite cities. The weather since we arrived in Spain has been mostly warm and sunny. Last week the temperature reached 27C but in the last few days it has cooled to around 17C during the day and chilly at night, but compared to 5C in the UK we can’t complain. We have been on the beach at several Spanish resorts and Anne has been swimming in the calm water of the Mediterranean Sea. It’s too cold for me to go swimming! It’s the 2nd of December so we missed the fireworks of Bonfire Night. It’s probably the only time in my life that I haven’t heard fireworks on Bonfire Night. I haven’t really missed the fireworks but I did miss the traditional Yorkshire pie and peas with mint sauce that we always had! So, after over 3 months living in our motorhome what is like living in a confined space? I think that we have adapted very quickly and easily. Our living room is the outside space around us and most days we are outside exploring or sitting in the sunshine. It’s amazing how many people are doing something similar to us by spending the winter in a warmer climate. There are people here who live on the same campsite for several months or in some cases live here all year. It’s easy to see the attraction. In England it’s usually cold, damp and grey, whereas here there is very little rain and the humidity is very low. There is huge diversity with many Dutch, German, French, Spanish and British people all getting along well. There some incredible motorhomes/RV’s, Caravan set up’s and we feel a little inadequate with our meagre set up of just a motorhome with no add on, no cooking tent, no outside lights and so on. The other day a delivery lorry turned up at our neighbours to offload a full sized fridge that they put in their awning and some people have a full sized washing machine in its own tent! It really can be a home from home. There is a lot more exploring to do in this area before we move on and we feel that we have barely touched the surface as far as seeing the best of what the Costa Blanca has to offer.
Benicassim promenade
Marjal Costa blanca
Marjal Costa Blanca
Marjal Costa Blanca security barrier
Marjal Costa Blanca
Marjal Costa Blanca
Large RV at Marjal Costa Blanca
Sunbathing by the pool at Marjal Costa Blanca
Meeting the local ladies in Benicassim
Cycle track along the cliffs at Benicassim