We survived a freezing night in the van (-2 degrees!) and awoke to a cold misty morning.  Explored the beautiful town of Salamanca on our bikes and enjoyed some of the old tapas bars.  Tomorrow we head on towards Seville, where warmer weather awaits!

Due to some unexplained technical issue, the boat sailed not to Santander but to Bilbao.  After a calm crossing we docked and headed on past Santander to the magnificent medieval village of Santillana del Mar.  We had the campsite to ourselves as it was closed, but the agreeable man in the bar next door gave us access to it and the shower block.  We woke to a beautiful morning and steaming hot showers.  We explored the amazingly well preserved village – bright cobbled streets and tanned stone buildings dating back to the 1500s.

View over Santillana del Mar

On to the University town of Salamanca, one of the oldest Universities in Europe, founded in 1218 and on a par with Oxford and Bologna.  The wonderful afternoon sunshine complimented the golden sandstone buildings and the highlight was the Plaza Mayor (the grand square which is considered Spain’s most beautiful central plaza) and which was floodlit at night.

Leigh in the Plaza Mayor

We were lucky enough to be here to celebrate the Dia de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings’ Day), which in Spain is celebrated the night of the 5th of January and is more important than Christmas.  The whole town was out to watch the parade of floats and catch handfuls of sweets that were being flung far and wide.

The Dia de los Reyes Magos parade

After a send off breakfast with friends at home (thanks to Mum and Dad and to Stevie, Annie, Gaudy, Hugh, Paul, Piers and Jo & Jasper for coming over – it wouldn’t have been the same without you all there to see us off), we drove past Angel to Portsmouth.  We knew we were going the right way to the ferry when the only other traffic on the road was motorhomes of various descriptions.

Fearing the worst based on the awfulness that was the P&O ferry crossing to Bilbao a few years ago, we were pleasantly surprised by Brittany Ferries’ Cap Finistere, putting the P&O fleet to shame.  Our last night of luxury was spent in a premium cabin, huge with a double bed – thanks Lisky! – and a calm crossing.

We spent the evening enjoying the entertainment the ship had to offer; Granny Lisk, the bingo champion of Vanderbijlpark, would have been proud of her grandson, the ship’s cash bingo champion – it must have been the Christmas drinking bingo that made all the difference!

It’s now overnight in Santander before heading south towards Salamanca, then Seville and then on to the port to catch the next ferry to Morocco.

with Hugh, Paul, Steve, Gaudy, Annie … and of course Cali the van