I have heard of Coca-Cola, Diet cola, even cherry cola, but never Peniscola before I came to Spain.Now before you lot out there start thinking, I wonder how it got its name I will tell you. It’s a local evolution of the word peninsula. Often called Gibraltar of Valencia, or locally known as the city by the sea. 

The castle and old town built on a rocky headland about 67 metres high although I never measured this to confirm, but I will take there word for it. It’s only joined by a narrow strip of land which makes it easier to defend. It’s a fortified seaport with a lighthouse, built between 1294 and 1307. It’s them long tea breaks again. It was restored and new walls added in 1960, which is when they filmed the movie El CID  starring Sophia Loren and Charlton Heston. I can’t remember the film myself being such a young spring chicken but sure some of you out there can remember it. All the horses and men on the beach with the castle in the background etc. 

I am going to have to watch it now. I think the area has changed a bit since then, I can’t see Sophia and Charlton nipping off for tapas and a siesta between shots. 

To get too Peniscola we decided to walk. You can walk all along the seafront from the campsite we are on. So up bright and early, well ready to go by 9 30, we are in Spain after all. The idea was to walk there and on the way check out another campsite, walk around, have lunch somewhere and walk back if we felt up to it. We knew the bus run from Peniscola to Benicarlo and stopped near the supermarket in Benicarlo, still a twenty minute walk from there to the campsite. Off we went, it was a bit chilly first thing but we soon warmed up and the sun was out, the sea twinkling, no wind only from Nikki as she gasped for breath so I relized I was walking a bit too fast, so we slowed the pace down a bit. The walkway is lined with palm trees and a low wall and every now and then a board walk on to the beach with information boards. We stopped for a photo shoot every now and then. Reached the campsite we wanted to look at after about an hour and a half. It’s one we though we might return to next year as a stopover. But it was not to be, all the pitches that we would fit on were narrow and would be difficult to get on and the site was not that nice. So we continued on our way to the castle. 

All around the castle are beautiful little streets and alleyways with bars and restaurants, all which were closed being out of season, and little souvenir shops with the usual sort of stuff them sort of shops sell… souvenirs.They were open. I had gone onto google street veiw before we came here and found a restaurant that I thought, that’s where I want lunch, overlooking the sea etc. But it was one of them that was closed. We walked up steps, down steps, through little streets. It was very beautiful. We never actually went in the castle as Nikki’s little legs were by now very tired and I did not want to leave her sat outside while I went in for an hour or more. So that’s something I will do on my own another day. 

When we left the old town we wandered around part of the new town by the marina and had lunch. Then the big question to Nikki, bus or walk. Before I could finish the sentence the word bus and the look said. We are catching the bus. So we walked to the bus stop, not the nearest one but a couple along because we had time. Off the bus in Benicarlo outside the supermarket, a quick bit of shopping and another twenty minute walk from there to the campsite. Shower, chairs out, cold beer and wine and let the sun go down. We worked it out we walked between ten and eleven miles. 

You may or not know that we were in for some bad weather. Come to Spain they said the sun shines, the Mediterranean sea is calm. Yea right ! If you had been here the last week for your holiday you would have cried and been straight onto your holiday rep for a full refund. Where we are Benicarlo, we did very well on the scheme of things. We knew it was coming so went off shopping and got some supplies in for when we  new we would be in the camper for a day or two, eating and playing more scrabble, but even that was a challenge as the Internet was so hit and miss. Nikki resorted to reading her books, I just stared out the window shouting RUBBISH at the weather. Cabin fever had set in. I felt like the cheese had slid off my cracker. 

In a lull in the weather we ventured out for a short walk. WOW The road we normally walk down which runs along side the beach to go to the town had debri all over it, stone benches ripped from there fixings, and these benches proberly weigh a ton each, stones, sand all washed up from the pounding waves coming right up the beach and over the road. 

We get to the other end of the road and there are two ways we can go. There is a dry river bed, or should I say was a dry river bed, and the road crosses this. The road was completely flooded, the river bed was no longer dry and there was so much water it was running down the river bed across the road onto the beach and had carved a huge big opening through the sand and running on out to sea. And at the same time the sea which normally laps the shore line with hardly any tidal movement at all was pounding the beach and coming right up and over the sand/ pebble ridge. 

As I say we were very lucky in this area. There is some snow on the mountains about 25 miles away. But other areas south from here which is where come from have had it real bad. Benidorm the place we braved and went to and strolled along the front in bright sunshine and blue sky’s had terrible hail storms and torrentional rain. Altea jus above them the river has burst it’s banks and polluted the water courses and peaple have been told not to drink any water other than bottled. Denia has had the worst snow for years, and heavy rain has washed buildings away. It will certainly be a winter to remember for a lot of peaple. Even the locals were out in the snow and driving to see it up in the mountains because it does not happen that often. At the beach here where we are peaple we’re out taking photos etc, you would never think it’s the med. 

Today is supposed to be back to normal, blue sky’s and sunshine is forcast for the next week so happy days. Tomorrow we are walking to Peniscola along the seafront if it’s passable. A four mile walk just to get there. 

The ST Anthony festival is celebrated in Spain on the 16/17 January. It’s an ancient festival of pagan origin. It’s about burning the devil and blessing pets, with horse processions. All over are bonfires with devils ready to be burnt. In Benicarlo the main fire is built in the square by the church. That’s the church in the last blog post. There’s not a lot of room to have a huge bonfire and a lot of people, but people of Spain don’t seem to worry about things like that. 

On Monday we decided to go for a walk along the sea front and then up to the church to see if anything was being prepared. It was windy but the sun was out so very pleasant strolling along in the sun with the sea glistening and the palm trees swaying in the wind. Do you get the picture. 

We got to the main square in the town with perfect timing. The bonfire had been built ready for the evening and they were starting to get the devil strung up above the bonfire. This was done by two guys up in the church tower and another two on the roof terrace of one of the houses. A lot of shouting and pulling of ropes and the devil was above the bonfire. They were also letting of rocket fireworks. I don’t think it was a Heath and safety issue to see which way the wind was going, just an excuse to let them off, as the Spanish do seem to like to let fireworks off. Oh look the suns out let’s let a firework off, my mums going shopping, great let’s let a firework off. Even one of the young girls got in on the act. The rocket is placed on a piece of wood which has a handle on it and is held at arms length and off it goes. None of that put the rocket in a bottle light it and run like hell. 

We left there and wandered up through the town laughing at the way they do things. Can you imagine what would happen in the UK if you said you were going to build a bonfire in the town square and get everyone to come along. We never went down the town for the main event, and the town is still there so everything must have gone to plan. They are also celebrating the Artichoke, this is another festival which goes on through January and you can see all over the town Artichokes being roasted etc. And I expect there will be a firework or two go off. 

Now let’s talk about the weather. I know you guys in the UK have had some bad weather, rain, snow and wind. Well don’t think we have sun all the way. We have had a cold wind now for a few days and rain is forecast tomorrow, and that’s the first rain for about six weeks. South from here yesterday they had snow at Denia and inland from there about 15 miles, which was according to reports the first snow for 35 years. All the locals are saying it’s the coldest, wettest winter for years. There hope that makes you feel better now. 

Now I know what your all thinking, they have been eating beans on toast again, wrong, too many curries, wrong, The wind I am referring to is coming from a north westerly direction in the sky. One good thing it is warmish wind. I hear the weather back in the UK is not to good. I am not smiling….honest. 

Our last few days at Villajoyosa were really nice spent with our friends from Somerset. We walked down to the sea front and had lunch. The morning we left we went round to say goodbye to peaple we had met while being on the site and others were coming up to us to say goodbye. Not sure if they were pleased to see us go or making sure we were going. We went and found Isea the cleaning lady and took her a bottle of bubbly and Nikki had wrote in a card some words thanking her for being so nice. All written in Spanish. She looked like she was going to cry. We will miss her. She was still waving as we pulled put the site and headed for the AP7 motorway towards Benicarlo.

Nice easy journey to Benicarlo along the motorway, some of it toll, some not, sun shining, beautiful scenery etc. The site we were aiming for is Alegria del mar just on the outside of Benicarlo. We booked it before leaving the uk and will be here for a month. Sat nav did us proud and we found the site with ease, a couple of small bendy roads on approach to site but all good. The site is owned by a Spanish/ English family and has been 1986. The owners daughter greeted us and was telling us how when they first came out and opened the site it was only open for 3 months in the summer because not many peaple travelled in the winter. We booked in and were shown to our pitch, a nice large pitch. And best of all we were given a ticket to get two free drinks at the bar. There a lot of English on the site and a lot I think come here for a long time because it’s easy and run by English peaple. We prefer the sites that have a good mixture of nationalitys. All pitched up sat in the sun having lunch, and in pulls a caravan and two motorhomes. The driver of the car and caravan jumps out and instantly starts shouting to his mates, I can’t get in that space I am going here(next to us) when I say shouting he was actually talking but was one of those guys that talks very very loud and wants everyone to hear him. The pitch he said he could not get on a five year old could have got on, so really he should not be driving. The neibours from hell. But there is a god. We heard them shout they were only here for one night, I am sure every around us cheered at that thought. It was true, yesterday they left heading for Benidorm, no surprise there. 

The site is one mile from the town of Benicarlo. Peniscola is four miles south, that’s where they filmed El Sid we will be going there, you can walk along the sea front all the way there. Think Nikki wants to bus it back. Four miles to the north is Vinaros. We walked into Benicarlo yesterday to have a stroll around. The town has some interesting buildings dotted in amongst the newer ones which we wanted to see. We never saw them all but will see the others another day. The main I wanted to get photos off is the church of St Bartholomen or St Bartolommeo in Spanish. Construction started on may 25th 1724 and ended on 19th October 1943. Nineteen years to build it. I know the Spanish have long lunch breaks and siestas but come on guys, pull your finger out, peaple are cueing to go to church. It is a beautiful building though. 

We knew we were in for some windy weather and it has arrived and is staying for a couple of days but it’s still sunny and not really cold. And yes we went down the bar for our free drinks yesterday afternoon, plus a couple more to balance the diet up. 

Only one week left…….at this campsite, you didn’t think it was time for us to start heading home now did you. Oh no we are having way to much fun in the sun. Since New Years Eve our ears have recovered and stopped ringing, our diet has returned to less luxury food, but we are still trying to manage the wine and beer. When we go shopping we sometimes see things that we don’t know what they are and we look at each other and say what the hell, let’s give it a go. Often it’s fine. The same applies for Nikki’s wine, she bought one the other day €0.99 not even a Euro thinking if it’s horrible it will do for cooking. It was loverly and now every time we go past the shop we have to get some more. That’s 85 pence for a bottle of nice wine. 

Our friends from Somerset arrived a couple of days ago and were staying at a site a couple of miles away but after seeing our site they moved round to here. That is after a big argument with the site reception where they were, but that’s another story. It’s great to have them here. 

Yesterday me and Nikki went for a stroll round the old town of Villajoyosa, full of little ol cottages all brightly painted, washing hanging out, some look like there perched on the cliff top. Absolutely fantastic and so photogenic. Below are some of my faverite pics I took. If you are an artist this would be such a nice place to come to. Enjoy. 

Happy new year to you all.

We were invited to Isie’s house for new year. Isie is the cleaner on the campsite and we have made a great friendship with her. She would be picking us up at 8pm and we would join her and her family at their house. She has a husband and two daughters, one 17 years old and the other 9 years old. For two days Isie didn’t come to work which was unusual and then on Friday she arrived at work, she had a bad ear infection and was on antibiotics for it. We tried to tell her not to worry about new year if she is feeling rough, but she was having none of it. The plan changed and now we were going to her friends house to celebrate new year. 

We were a little apprehensive about the evening, as everyone would be talking Spanish and didn’t want to be sat in the corner like Billy no mates. She arrived at 8pm and off we went to her friends house which is on the outskirts of Benidorm. We were greeted like royalty by Manual whose house it was,  come in, come in, he spoke very good English, a relief I can tell you. This is my house, make yourself at home take what you like but not my wife or my donkey he said while laughing loudly. We were introduced to his wife their two boys. 

The Spanish like family life and all eat together in big groups and are very loud, lots of music etc. So the house was no different music blaring, a TV the size of our camper on the wall and the boys playing some war game in it. We were offered drinks and Manual was really chatty telling us about his life, job etc and translating things to the others. We were really made to feel at home. 

The table was laid out with food, king prawns, muscles, cheese, crisps etc and we sat down to eat, all very nice, and noisy.That was the starter Manual said, now we dance and then we have big meal. And boy did they dance. Manual and his wife and Isie and her eldest daughter and husband,  can move. Isie is from Colombia so I think that it is natural for them to move like they do. We had a little dance but soon tired. 

The next course of food came out, a huge roast of pork and rice, and different sauces. All washed down with beer and wine. We declined the shots of rum. More dancing followed, not by us. Just to watch them was  making me tired. And then the TV was on all ready for midnight, an hour before you guys in the UK. In Spain it is tradition to eat twelve grapes at midnight and make a wish. One grape for each bell chime. I asked Manual if a glass of wine was the same as twelve grapes. My friend he said, you can have both. The pictures below show both families 

We were returned back to the campsite at about 1.30 am very tired but what a fantastic experience and a new year we will not forget. As we left Manual shouted see you again next year, and you just knew he meant it with all his heart. We left having drunk his beer and wine, ate his food, danced in his house, laughed and joked and took with us some great memories, but we left his wife and donkey. Funny thing was we never did See the  donkey, must have been in the shed in the garden. Today is rest day.