29th April

Camped for the night in a one horse town called Santa Elena on the edge of the Despenaperros National Park.  Our quest for the evening was to find a bar with a TV to watch a semi final of the Champions League. We found a hospitable place with friendly locals; what ensued was a demolition fantastico result: Spain ecstatico, Germany not so happy.

Morning con-trails

Sunset view from our local bar

30th April

We have finally arrived in our ideal climate, (de rigueur being shorts, sandals and tee shirt) time to relax and take the foot off the gas. We ventured into the National Park where roadside wild flora is in full display mode.

Busy bees at work

Monday 28th April

Toledo is a city full of churches, mosques and synagogues where all faiths were once tolerated, but then in 1478 along came the monarchs Fernando and Isabel, establishing the city as the centre of the Catholic Church in Spain.  They subsequently decreed their ethnic cleansing program aka ‘The Spanish Inquisition’, where the choices for other faiths were; become a catholic or get out of town (Spain), the latter option being the best call, the life chances of those choosing option one were doomed to torture and slow death.

So if church bling is your thing then look no further, todays Toledo is one big catholic treasure chest that includes paintings by El Greco, Zurbaran, Caravaggio, Titian and Raphael just to name a few.

Approaching Toledo

Bridge into the city

Toledo Cathedral

Japanese pilgrims chilling

Moving on south into the heart of La Mancha we traversed the vast plains with big sky vistas; our trail crisscrossed the path of Cervantes' fictional knight Don Quixote where hill tops are studded with the pepper pot windmills that so haunted him.

Our final destination for the night was an oasis campsite in the National Park de las Lagunas de Ruidera, where a most unusual series of turquoise coloured lakes (lagoons) are joined together by cascading waterfalls secreted away in an otherwise featureless landscape.

Saturday 26th April

Although the weather was set fair the Bay of Biscay was in a bad mood and the motion of the Atlantic Ocean swell made for an uncomfortable night, one unfortunate passenger broke his arm and was helicoptered off the ship, we slept through the drama. The knock on effect was a late arrival in Santander then another hour went by before they managed to get the stuck bow doors and ramps to work.

We made tracks South into the night through the Picos Mountains to Valladolid overnighting in a camperstop (carpark) in town.

The popular Valladolid car park camper stop

Snow capped Sierra De Guardarrama

Sunday 27th April

Due to the overnight temps of 2 degrees with an icy wind blowing off the mountains we were inspired to press on further south to Segovia.

Approaching Segovia

Strictly contestants

Sunday dance off

The Alcazar

The Romans waz here

It is alleged that Alcazar was the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland California...ho hum.

Next stop Toledo where we will be based for a couple of days.

Friday 25th April

Cast off from Portsmouth on the good ship ‘Cap Finistere’ and set sail on a rainy grey Friday evening bound for Santander in Northern Spain in search of blue skies with a promise of sunshine and warmer climes. Time to while away the hours in the well appointed (off the) ‘Planet Bar’ with Stella on tap.

Meanwhile the captain takes us on a shortcut passage through the treacherous waters of Cap Finistere and the tip of the Raz between Ouessant and Le Conquet. He is one of the few captains to have a certificate and a ship with specifications to pilot this route requiring special permission from the Maritime Prefect of the Atlantic.

The wild north west tip of France

Wi-fi via ship satellite is too painful to deal with so we will not be blogging until we have a decent connection.