BACK TO SPAIN AND THE START OF WINTER CRUISING BY CAMPING CAR

BACK TO SPAIN AND THE START OF WINTER CRUISING BY CAMPING CAR

My home was in SE Spain in the province of Almeria from 1999 to 2010. The low humidity and many days of sun make this perhaps the best place in mainland Europe to live in the winter. I have observed that what was once desert has become greener as the climate changes. It is no longer home. in fact we don’t have a fixed base and are living a nomadic lifestyle. Followers of my blog will know that we were living on the boat and sailing in Greece through the summer. Winter is no time even in the Mediterranean to be cruising around in a small boat. Even live-aboards on much larger and more comfortable boats gravitate to marinas and make winter communities there.

I have owned a camping car / motor caravan / autocaravana since about 2003. Now it is our moveable winter base. I still keep it in Spain and always after a few months away we must put it back into working use again. The only major thing on arrival this year was to replace 6 rubber rings which hold up the exhaust system. In the past they lasted for years, but lately new ones perish in less than a year. Chinese I suppose?

We spent a few days in the area of Vera, Garrucha and Mojacar including meeting friends from Chile and from Portugal. The autumn weather was kind to us so we drove East for a campsite stop at El Portus, a naturist campsite. It was warm enough to be naked, lie on the beach and to take a short swim in the sea, probably the last for this year. 

The heated winter pool also attracted us for a swim.

Next we will head north. Mostly we “wild camp”, but also we take regular service stops at campsites. With mains electricity we can make green smoothies in the blender.