Camping La Manga del Mar Menor
This was a very nice campsite but very large and one needed bicycles just to get around the site. The disabled facilities were the best I’ve seen. Everywhere had a ramp suitable for push or wheelchairs, and it would have been possible for a wheelchair user to get right on to the beach as the open air terrace of the restaurant and bar had a small concrete ramp which led directly to the beach which was of hard wet sand. The site also had the most comprehensive supermarket containing everything to gladden the hearts of the brits. (During the winter, the site has a ninety percent British occupancy.) One could buy anything from British sliced bread, through to newspapers, printed in Spain the same day, together with paper backs and magazines.
We had a few bike rides and dinner at the restaurant which consisted of a three course meal, one bottle of rose wine and bottles of beer and water for a cost of 47 euros. (The meal was a curry which was exactly like you would get at home. After some of the rather bland meals we had been used to, the curry was a welcome diversion.)
The site is bordered by a river on one side and a huge bay on the other lined with many hotels. The view was reminiscent of Benidorm where the number of hotels have completely hidden the sea shore.
We stayed for three nights, which enabled me to catch up with the washing, and then moved on to a campsite near Amposta.
Camping Eucaliptus
We had a very difficult time trying to find this site. Although the directions were accurate, we felt they could have been more informative. There is an instruction on reaching the village of St. Jaume to cross the canal, signposted Els Muntells, and then turn left at the T Junction. This led us to believe that the T junction would be somewhere close to the canal crossing, so after driving aimlessly through featureless countryside, we turned round and headed back to St. Jaume. We then followed every left turn we could until darkness fell, and finally, in desperation, retraced our original steps and just kept driving until, lo an behold, we found a T junction barely four hundred yards from where we originally turned round. After this debacle, we found the site easily and turned in for the night.
The following morning, we walked down to the beach where there was a sand yachting competition. Some of the younger participants were pulling their smaller craft using a kite, which resulted in one little boy being led along by the kite, and totally unable to pull it down, and in fact, he was lifted off his feet a few times.
We then went back to the campsite which had a pleasant terrace and restaurant and backed on to a small lake containing some of the wild birds native to the area. It is a famous wetland, whose main crop is rice, and it abounds in all types of bird life including flamingoes. It is situated in the Ebro delta, a river famous for the size of its catfish.
We had dinner in the restaurant which again consisted of three courses, plus wine, beer and water, and again came to 47 euros. The food in Spain is simple but good, and the salads are excellent.
We then left the next morning to travel to Andorra.
Camping Valira - Andorra la Vella
First impressions are that this is a very crowded site, but as Andorra is very small, perhaps one should be glad there is somewhere for a motor home to park.
We got up early because we wanted to visit Andorra's famous Caldea Spa in which the water is from natural thermal springs and is a steady 32 to 36 degrees, a bit like swimming in a warm bath. There are numerous jacuzzi, turkish and steam baths, and you can bathe in an icelandic type of bath, wtih hot and cold water. We didn't bother with the cold one. We stayed in the water for about two hours and then had lunch in the complex. This cost around 12 euros for a three course meal, but was slightlyh more than the 24 euros as we had drinks etc.
We then went shopping in the countless duty free shops near the spa. Here you can buy anything from a statnav to a personal grooming set at very cheap prices. We bought some cigarettes, (we don't smoke - thee are gifts), but only the allowed amount which was good, because the border guards search every car for smuggled goods. They pulled us over and looked inside the camper before waving us away. We must look very law abiding.
