Wake up Spain......Graaaaathiasss!

Day 208 - 223

From a wild camp spot in the middle of a French forest, we made our way out and headed towards the border of Spain. Entering Spain, the weather again seemed to change for the better and we were blessed with some very clear sunny skies.

The following photos show the two weeks we spent heading south along the Spanish Mediterranean coast, stopping for some Christmas celebrations with friends from home and then finally hitting the most southern point of Europe we've been so far.  

Besalu was our first stop at a Spanish town and what a beauty!

This is Claire posing with the 12th century Romanesque bridge over the Fulvia River. We entered Spain around about 1pm, so the place was deserted due to siesta. The old Spanish Siesta would bite us on the arse a couple of times after this.

Panoramic view of the town of Besalu over the Fulvia River.

Entering the town of Girona. We wild camped just outside the city walls on the Onyar River and it appeared to be a perfect spot until we were awoken at 7am the next morning by a man wanting to setup his 'mercato' or in English 'market' stall. Turns out we parked in the middle of Tuesday mornings market square! Our Spanish language lessons really stepped up after this incident.

Maxi all alone at the base of Montserrat Mountain. We gave him a rest from the steep climb and took the cable car up.

With the light quickly fading we clambered up the hill, with no real idea where we were heading but came across some pretty cool rock formations.

The Monserrat Mountain range just outside of Barcelona is pretty cool as the countryside around the area is relatively flat except for these amazing rock formations rising out of nowhere.

Looking out from Monserrat with the massive city of Barcelona and the coast only 40kms off in the distance.

The Monserrat Abbey, which houses the Virgin of Montserrat or also known as the Black Madonna. As with most virgins there was quite a large queue of Russians to see her so we gave it a miss.

Claire getting a little time on the swings in before the kids swamp the joint during siesta.

The quaint town of Valderrobres. The drive out to the town was remarkably scenic, driving through one of Spains great wine growing regions. We also saw some wild mountain goats just outside of town.

Big respect for the old mountain goat.

One of the very few night time city shots we've captured as it's either too cold to go out or we're too pissed. Usually the later.

The town of Morella a province of Castellon and not really a short drive inland from Valencia if you were thinking of doing it. Amazing town nonetheless with a great camper aire just outside of town, although a word of warning the toilet was blocked when we arrived and still is.

Looking back out over the valley that surrounds Morella.

A common sight in many small Spanish towns - The Bull Ring. Unfortunately many of the events are staged in the warmer months so we were unable to witness the spectacle.

The Castle Gate of Morella and entrance to the inner city.

Walking through the town of Xativa on Christmas Eve with our great friends from London Michael and Saeko. As Xativa is in the Valencia region, orange trees grow on the pavements and anyone can grab them. After eating one we quickly realised why there was still so many oranges on the trees - they were f*&king disgusting!

Christmas Day Spanish style. The morning was spent on the beach in Moraira with a volleyball contest. Featuring the ex-Victorian state champion Huberts, Michael......Michael, Huberts and Saeko 'The Net Warrior' Fukushima. 

Special call out to my team mate Claire, who took a few deeps shots for the team and had bruised forearms for the next 2 days. Respect.

Taking another dig from Huberts, Michael - a.k.a. - Iceman.

The first of many drinks on Christmas Day in the Moraira Camping Platz. 

First of the four courses on Christmas Day - Tapas with Cava (Spanish Sparkling). Another 7 bottles of wine, Potato & Leek Soup, Roast Lamb glazed with Orange and Spanish treats were to follow on top of those on the table. 

Taking a long walk along the coast just outside of Ventanicas-el Cantal. Michael & Saeko opted out of the photo with us in fear of being captured with what appears to be a dog turd of a rock in the background. Probably a smart move in hindsight.

Stopping at one of the fortresses along our walk on the coast. Where the rest of the castle is, I don't know?

Mick taking a suck from Claires nipple.....Camelbak nipple that is.

A classic wild camp spot just outside of Ventanicas-el Cantal. It was a fairly narrow and bumpy ride in but well worth the drive with a beach all to ourselves (minus the nudists) to hit some golf balls, read a book and for the adventurous (Saeko) take a swim in the cold, cold Med. 

Mick and I posing in front of the 'James Bond Baddy' mansion perched on top of the hill in the distance.

Yep, one of the classic Wild Camp spots of Our Euro Odyssey and so lucky to have spent it with great friends.

The camp fire roaring (a wild camping rarity) which was topped off with a surf and turf BBQ (razor clams, squid, steak and lamb shanks) and Micks famous salad.

Making an early start to get out off the single goat track we came in on and only millimetres from plunging to our deaths. Enough millimetres to take a photo nonetheless.

A rather black woman posing in front of the Granada Cathedral.

Another classic sight in Spain. A shitload of ham hanging from the roof in a Tapas bar - each worth about a €100 each. This one is in Granada.

We wandered around for a while in Granada trying to find a bar that was still serving hot tapas at 5pm. We finally found one that not only served hot ones but completely free with each beer & wine we ordered.

I think that's how it works anyway in Spain, but we pretended we stumbled across something special and drank up. 

Cheap drinks and even cheaper Tapas. I will say that the beer was the coldest I have ever tasted without actually freezing. A big thumbs up to you Spain.

Another very rare city shot by night in Granada. With gems like this we should really get out more.

Walking around the outside of the famous Alhambra in Granada, Spain. It turns out this is quite popular with tourists. So popular theres a queue about 70 metres long to get in - hence the reason for the stroll outside.

This is why the Brits come in hordes to the south of Spain. You may be wondering why the beach is empty, except for these friendly chaps? The football was showing in about a dozen bars on the beachfront, which were packed with British tourists eating Fish and Chips and drinking Carling.

Moving inland again we came across the town of Ronda - a classic Spanish town with a massive bridge.

Yep, not a bad bridge that one.

Outside the Ronda bull fighting ring. Just to the left of the photo was a traditionally dressed matador who took people for rides on his horse.

 In his down time he would assist the horse in his ablutions by nudging it on the arse and catching the dung in a plastic bag. Take note dog walkers!

A very exotic church and lady in Ronda. Finally wearing something else other than the Black Jacket and Green Pants. Actually the black jacket is still there but at least the pants have changed.

A doo Ron, Ronda......ya do Ron, Ron!

The best parts of Spain seem to be inland and only to be found if you stumble across them. This one was Grazalema and off a very narrow road in. We camped a little bit out of town, which was good as the locals seemed to enjoy letting off firecrackers in the middle of the night.

In fact we had one go off metres from the van the night before in Malaga - cheeky little Spaniards!

As we were heading to Morocco, we made our way to the most southern tip of Europe - Tarifa, where it appears the deserts from Africa (just across the water) are starting to cause a slight issue.

The main beach in Tarifa - a world class kite/wind surfing destination, as we soon found out by almost being taken out by a couple of kites strolling along the beach.

A little bit of street art in Tarifa - simple but effective.

Saying goodbye to Spain before we took the ferry over to another continent.