Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse, France

Another hot uncomfortable night, but Angela obviously slept as she didn't hear John telling her somehow he could watch the England v Mexico football match on his phone. This morning he was tired! Wonder why? He's not even a big football fan. After a chat with the young German couple next to us who owned a VW T25, we set off back to France.

There are ten wildfires in France at the moment and the largest was in the area we were headed. We filled Marge up with fuel at the border, where Angela was shocked to see the lorry driver paying in front of her had purchased just over £1300 worth of diesel!

At the fuel station Angela's mobile phone set off an alarm warning her of a wildfire nearby, then John's did the same. It was obvious we would need to change our route.

Finding ourselves on the Corbieres wine route which winds its way through the foothills of the Pyrenees, which we realized we'd driven in Marge II we found ourselves heading to an aire at the foot of the Medieval chateau Peyrepertuse. The road up was a little challenging for Angela, especially when we met a rather arrogant young man in his very fancy sports car who thought Marge should drive right along the edge of the road which had a rather severe drop, just so he didn't have to back up. Testing Angela's nerves a little too much, because as you know she suffers from acrophobia, she was on the verge of telling him in no uncertain terms to back up. Obviously John had to in the end, with Angela in full panic mode! Further along at the viewpoint her shorts were soaked, from sweat. It's been 36c here today. We know back at home temperatures are set to rise again.

The aire we are staying at tonight has had a makeover since we were here last. There is just us here, and we can't understand why. The views are fantastic, as the sun dips, it lights the tops of the mountains with a golden glow.

What a beautiful location just to sit, look, enjoy and listen to the Gypsy Kings with the rather noisy cicadas in the trees all around providing percussion. Could someone tell them they're a little out of time!

Agro Camper Mediterrani, Vilassar de Mar, Spain

Staying at Aldo's farm last night felt very freeing. We waited seven weeks to find a place so peaceful and tranquil away from the stress that other travelers cause. It was just us and nature.

Wonderful. And at last Angela had a good night's sleep. No ear plugs required. There's a saying, 'if a place calls you to stay, then go to it'. After seeing Aldo's farm on the park4night app, Angela knew it was definitely a place for us. Today we wanted to eat up some miles. We find that the roads are normally quieter on a Sunday, not so today. This weekend is the beginning of the school holidays in Europe and, didn't we know it.

 

It was also the weekend the Tour de France cycle race began. We were heading to Barcelona, and so was the tour. It seems we will be following it now for a couple of days. Late afternoon after negotiating the ring road around Barcelona we arrived in a suburb. It didn't look the sort of area we would want to stay overnight in. But then, as the road turned to the right we found ourselves in the countryside at an equestrian centre. Perfect. This was our destination. A short train journey from Barcelona, although we won't be visiting there this time, and a short walk to the beach.

When looking for overnight stops we've taken to seeking out more rural stops. So far it's paid off. We seem to have been driving for days. This time last week we were spending our last night in Morocco at a beach side location. Tonight will be our last night in Spain, once again near a beach, so we were glad of the chance to take a walk out after being cooped up in Marge most of the day. Angela is really looking forward to returning to France. We are planning to stay away from busy tourist spots and find some quiet out of the way overnight stays as we do when cycling in France.

Aldo's Farm, Gilet, Valencia, Spain

We waited until nine last night to walk out. It was still warm, but with the sun almost down it felt more comfortable.

Normally, when we leave Marge, Angela takes her rucksack with her as it contains all our documents we'd rather not lose. On this occasion she didn't. In the rucksack was her mobile phone which she'd used to photograph the poster on the notice board at the camper park showing the number for the security gate. It slipped her mind she'd taken a note of the number, and she also didn't realize the gate would be closed when we returned. Of course it was! Angela guessed at the number, and of course it was wrong! Turned out she was close, but not close enough. So we had to phone the site owner who very kindly opened the gate remotely. No harm done, worst case, we would have had to shout through the gate and ask one of our fellow campers for assistance. We are now not too far from the French border, where we see in the news today there is a large wildfire burning. We reckon two more nights in Spain and then we'll cross the border. Today's drive seemed easy compared to those of the last few days.

Stopping at a service area for coffee Marge drew make attention, which of course she loves, we also saw a first, a wood fired paella being cooked Tonight we found a really nice stopover on the park4night app at Gilet, staying in an avocado farm. It costs ten euros to go towards the upkeep and improvement of the farm.

The last 800 metres of access road up to the farm is unmade and rough in places, which obviously was no problem for Marge. Looking at the photos, we could see larger motorhomes had managed to negotiate the terrain as well. The landscape, buildings and views made us think of Morocco. After receiving a warm welcome from the owner, we were issued with a hammock and told to park anywhere.

We were the only guests. What a stunningly beautiful place, and we had it all to ourselves. How lucky were we? One of the couples with us last night seemed astonished we'd spent nearly seven weeks away in Marge. We don't really notice how compromised the space is inside her when the weather's fine, as we spend most of our time outside. John likened Marge's compact size, as to 'living in the cupboard under the stairs'. Well this evening we are more than pleased to be living in Marge. Our overnight spot is spectacular, unlike the one down in nearby Valencia where you are one amongst possibly seventy eight other vans. It might suit some people, but where we are right now is perfect for us and Marge!

Camper Park Rey Lobo, Murcia, Spain

Angela was up early to beat the heat, annoyingly for the swallows sleeping on the rafters in the showers block, who flew and flapped around her. 

After yesterday's long drive, we decided a couple of hours of travelling would be long enough today. Wanting to keep away from the coast now it is holiday season, we drove to Murcia where a new camper park has been opened at an old farm. First impressions, where have we come to? 

But after a quick look around at the excellent facilities it was obvious at just thirteen euros a night that it was great value. We secured a spot in the breeze for Marge, with views towards the castle and the Christ of Monteagudo Statue which will both be lit up tonight. As the afternoon slipped by, other vans arrived. An English couple, plum in the mouth types, bowled in. 'We made a reservation yesterday'. O.K. Well we just turned up and presumably someone will arrive to collect the money at some point. Park where you like, just not in our breeze please. 'Where's the pool? That'll be the large receptacle adjacent to the washing up area. We think they were expecting something a little more 'olympic size'. Obviously it didn't meet their expectations, as they didn't even dip a toe in, but just slinked off for a shower. Angela felt like saying, we are all as one here. Living in vehicles, looking for cheap overnight stops. This particular park up is exceptional, swimming pools included at the price we're paying, unusual. Apparently not though to Mr & Mrs, we've made a reservation, you know!

Spotted in the Lidl carpark, underneath a Citroën 2CV of course!