Europe by Camper
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Andorra
The route into Andorra from France is lovely, the roads are good quality and the climbs start of easy at first and we can progress in third gear, then further up and we're back to second for the remainder. At 2000m ASL there is an option to continue climbing over the mountain or take a toll tunnel through the mountain, we take the tunnel option. The first thing we notice about Andorra are the prices, everything seems very cheap, Petrol in 1E20 so we fill the van and the jerry can up.
The route to Andorra through the Pyrenees
A typical streetscape view, very clean and rather new looking
As we have arrived in Andorra early in the day, we take a scenic detour over to Ordina which in another village. The road is incredible, just winding switch back after switch back. There is a height and weight limit on the road of 3.5t and 2.5m although there are no obstructions which require this limit, probably just want to keep the heavy traffic on the main road. At many locations the road is actually build out from the side of the mountain, that is to say that while on the road, there is nothing under the road other than fresh air. This is the first time we have seen this idea, it certainly takes efficient use of space to a whole new level.
Allot of climbing over a very short distance, think these roads would be “interesting” in winter
Ordina is very scenic and full of beautiful stone building. Alot of these look brand new and there seems to be nothing else here but dwellings so we carry on the Andorra Le Villa. Coming over the mountains from Ordina we are in the clouds a number of times. Andorra Le Villa is shoehorned into the valley bottom and very compact.
Getting into the clouds
In Andorra we visit the main Spa in town, this is an amazing futuristic looking building with many different elements to the spa area, but they don't allow in kids under 5 so that rules out our visit as our little one is 3. In the short time we were in the Spa, I've lost the sat nav, we cycled to the Spa and I think I put the sat nav on the wall next to the bikes, then I moved the bikes further down to chain them up, totally forgot about the sat nav and five minutes later and its gone, never to be seen again. We check to see if anyone has handed it in but no luck. After this disappointment, we visit a gargantuan supermarket where prices are again dirt cheap (25E for 1.75Ltrs of Jack Daniels).
Andorra seems to be either a ski resort or a shopping metropolis. The streets seem to be full of shops selling everything but especially electrical goods, which is handy as we need to buy a new sat nav. On one trip to the hyper market we buy so much that we then had to buy a shopping cart just to get all the stuff back to the camper. A 4.5Ltr bottle of Smirnoff vodka was 38E10 and a 3Ltr bottle of Jack Daniels was 41E85.
Ongoing construction and tunnelling
More elaborate bridge designs
After a few days of retail theory in Andorra, a fully stocked up on presents for all those left behind, we are ready to hit the road for the remaining European stage of the holiday. We travel from Andorra to Santander with an overnight stop in the middle.
The early morning view from our camper at the campsite, we are right on the edge of an elevated level overlooking the sports field
Leaving Andorra we enter Spain and have to go through a customs check. It makes scenes as Andorra is so cheap that everyone must go there to make their large purchases. The customs guys don't seem to interested in our van after they open the back and see Abby asleep. It would be a determined inspector who would take the time to start unpacking ALL our cupboards and what not. But we are off and into Spain, our last new country of the trip.
The route into Andorra from France is lovely, the roads are good quality and the climbs start of easy at first and we can progress in third gear, then further up and we're back to second for the remainder. At 2000m ASL there is an option to continue climbing over the mountain or take a toll tunnel through the mountain, we take the tunnel option. The first thing we notice about Andorra are the prices, everything seems very cheap, Petrol in 1E20 so we fill the van and the jerry can up.
The route to Andorra through the Pyrenees
A typical streetscape view, very clean and rather new looking
As we have arrived in Andorra early in the day, we take a scenic detour over to Ordina which in another village. The road is incredible, just winding switch back after switch back. There is a height and weight limit on the road of 3.5t and 2.5m although there are no obstructions which require this limit, probably just want to keep the heavy traffic on the main road. At many locations the road is actually build out from the side of the mountain, that is to say that while on the road, there is nothing under the road other than fresh air. This is the first time we have seen this idea, it certainly takes efficient use of space to a whole new level.
Allot of climbing over a very short distance, think these roads would be “interesting” in winter
Ordina is very scenic and full of beautiful stone building. Alot of these look brand new and there seems to be nothing else here but dwellings so we carry on the Andorra Le Villa. Coming over the mountains from Ordina we are in the clouds a number of times. Andorra Le Villa is shoehorned into the valley bottom and very compact.
Getting into the clouds
In Andorra we visit the main Spa in town, this is an amazing futuristic looking building with many different elements to the spa area, but they don't allow in kids under 5 so that rules out our visit as our little one is 3. In the short time we were in the Spa, I've lost the sat nav, we cycled to the Spa and I think I put the sat nav on the wall next to the bikes, then I moved the bikes further down to chain them up, totally forgot about the sat nav and five minutes later and its gone, never to be seen again. We check to see if anyone has handed it in but no luck. After this disappointment, we visit a gargantuan supermarket where prices are again dirt cheap (25E for 1.75Ltrs of Jack Daniels).
Andorra seems to be either a ski resort or a shopping metropolis. The streets seem to be full of shops selling everything but especially electrical goods, which is handy as we need to buy a new sat nav. On one trip to the hyper market we buy so much that we then had to buy a shopping cart just to get all the stuff back to the camper. A 4.5Ltr bottle of Smirnoff vodka was 38E10 and a 3Ltr bottle of Jack Daniels was 41E85.
Ongoing construction and tunnelling
More elaborate bridge designs
After a few days of retail theory in Andorra, a fully stocked up on presents for all those left behind, we are ready to hit the road for the remaining European stage of the holiday. We travel from Andorra to Santander with an overnight stop in the middle.
The early morning view from our camper at the campsite, we are right on the edge of an elevated level overlooking the sports field
Leaving Andorra we enter Spain and have to go through a customs check. It makes scenes as Andorra is so cheap that everyone must go there to make their large purchases. The customs guys don't seem to interested in our van after they open the back and see Abby asleep. It would be a determined inspector who would take the time to start unpacking ALL our cupboards and what not. But we are off and into Spain, our last new country of the trip.
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Spain
Our drive through Spain is pretty straight forward, we stick to the toll roads and the locals stick to the free roads which means the toll roads are largely empty. What we do notice is allot of police cars at the side of the road pulling in cars for inspection. I don't know what they are looking for but we never get stopped.
On route we also pass under the Greenwich Meridian
On the approach
Arch marks the division between East and West
And the Sat Nav, just to prove its in the right place
The scenery is very parched dry and very flat. We have one stop for lunch and another for fuel, other than that is a long hot drive through the country. The only change to the dry landscape seems to come with wineries which are green irrigated oasis's in a sea of arid surroundings. We get lucky with a campsite at Navarrete, lucky because there are very few options on the route and this one actually seems quite nice. There are a number of British vans here, I wonder how many are also on their way to tomorrows ferry.
The difference irrigation can make
The next day, its the beginning of the end, our last day in mainland Europe and the last driving on the left. Today we travel to Santander. Its only a three hour drive, the first half is on easy empty toll roads, the second half is along the coast and through Bilbao which is either up or downhill. This part of spain is much more picturesque with rolling mountains and lush green vegetation. There is more of an Alpine quality here rather than the parched, dry and barred landscape we spent 8 hours driving through yesterday.
Bull
Anyone need some bricks?
We arrive at the Santander port without to much trouble, we fill up with our last cheap euro full and get a ticket for the ferry at the access gate, its 645E for the van, trailer and four berth outer cabin to Plymouth. Its about 3pm and we line up for the ferry, there are already lots of vehicles here. We have a few hours to kill so we walk around Santander, visit some shops and get some cash from Santander bank cash machine in Santander. We go back to the van for dinner.
Walk around Santander
The ship arrives about 7ish but takes an age to unload. It start boarding around 8.30 and we dont move in the que till 9.30. But we all get in and make our way up to the cabin. This is the nicest cabin yet, it has couches down both sides which fold into beds, then two panels in the roof from which two further beds decent. We reckon this ship must be pretty new. After watching the lights of the harbour disappearing, we settle down for a good nights sleep while we continue to move.
Our vessel arrives and is reassuringly large
Parked up waiting for the ferry
We say good bye to mainland Europe
The next morning and we can feel the motion of the ocean in you belly, it doesn't feel good, we are all up and showered then get a good breakfast which definitely helps settle the sea sickness feeling. There is a soft play area on the ship which Abby enjoys as well as a nice restaurant and shop.
Our drive through Spain is pretty straight forward, we stick to the toll roads and the locals stick to the free roads which means the toll roads are largely empty. What we do notice is allot of police cars at the side of the road pulling in cars for inspection. I don't know what they are looking for but we never get stopped.
On route we also pass under the Greenwich Meridian
On the approach
Arch marks the division between East and West
And the Sat Nav, just to prove its in the right place
The scenery is very parched dry and very flat. We have one stop for lunch and another for fuel, other than that is a long hot drive through the country. The only change to the dry landscape seems to come with wineries which are green irrigated oasis's in a sea of arid surroundings. We get lucky with a campsite at Navarrete, lucky because there are very few options on the route and this one actually seems quite nice. There are a number of British vans here, I wonder how many are also on their way to tomorrows ferry.
The difference irrigation can make
The next day, its the beginning of the end, our last day in mainland Europe and the last driving on the left. Today we travel to Santander. Its only a three hour drive, the first half is on easy empty toll roads, the second half is along the coast and through Bilbao which is either up or downhill. This part of spain is much more picturesque with rolling mountains and lush green vegetation. There is more of an Alpine quality here rather than the parched, dry and barred landscape we spent 8 hours driving through yesterday.
Bull
Anyone need some bricks?
We arrive at the Santander port without to much trouble, we fill up with our last cheap euro full and get a ticket for the ferry at the access gate, its 645E for the van, trailer and four berth outer cabin to Plymouth. Its about 3pm and we line up for the ferry, there are already lots of vehicles here. We have a few hours to kill so we walk around Santander, visit some shops and get some cash from Santander bank cash machine in Santander. We go back to the van for dinner.
Walk around Santander
The ship arrives about 7ish but takes an age to unload. It start boarding around 8.30 and we dont move in the que till 9.30. But we all get in and make our way up to the cabin. This is the nicest cabin yet, it has couches down both sides which fold into beds, then two panels in the roof from which two further beds decent. We reckon this ship must be pretty new. After watching the lights of the harbour disappearing, we settle down for a good nights sleep while we continue to move.
Our vessel arrives and is reassuringly large
Parked up waiting for the ferry
We say good bye to mainland Europe
The next morning and we can feel the motion of the ocean in you belly, it doesn't feel good, we are all up and showered then get a good breakfast which definitely helps settle the sea sickness feeling. There is a soft play area on the ship which Abby enjoys as well as a nice restaurant and shop.
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Britain
We eventually get out wheels back on British roads about 5pm.
Back in Blighty
Oh yea, need to remember that
The going out of Plymouth is slow, but once out the town the roads start to open up. We drive till 8 and get a services dinner, then back on the road and continue past Birmingham including a detour as the M5 is shut at the M6. We stop in at a services with the intention of staying the night but don't like the look of the place so continue to the next services which has a hotel with it, its full but they send us up the road to the next junction where there is room at the Inn. By this time its 11.30pm and we are shattered so a nice hotel room is the easy option, if the expensive one, but it's worth it for a good night's sleep and a lovely cooked breakfast in the morning.
10 weeks on the road and the second time we have stayed in a hotel
The next day and we hit the road for the last time on this epic holiday, the remaining 4 hours of driving are easy going and we get home for mid afternoon. Having driven through all those amazing countries and scenery, it feel very odd to be driving back on the local roads again, quite surreal.
The last border crossing
That night to celebrate the journey, we drink one of the two bottles of Asti that we bought at the supermarket in Asti, Italy, 5 weeks ago and has been bounced around in the trailer ever since, still tastes great.
The touchy feely bit
All done and home in one piece. But it feels very strange to be here [home], its feels strange to leave the van after such a long period and move back into a house, I say a house as it certainly doesn't feel like home, more of an empty shell. It was difficult to comprehend that the trip was over, I couldn't enjoy the euphoria of the trip being a success, instead I feel out of place in a building which no longer feels like home.
[this passed after a few days, once our lives were moved from the van back into the house]
We eventually get out wheels back on British roads about 5pm.
Back in Blighty
Oh yea, need to remember that
The going out of Plymouth is slow, but once out the town the roads start to open up. We drive till 8 and get a services dinner, then back on the road and continue past Birmingham including a detour as the M5 is shut at the M6. We stop in at a services with the intention of staying the night but don't like the look of the place so continue to the next services which has a hotel with it, its full but they send us up the road to the next junction where there is room at the Inn. By this time its 11.30pm and we are shattered so a nice hotel room is the easy option, if the expensive one, but it's worth it for a good night's sleep and a lovely cooked breakfast in the morning.
10 weeks on the road and the second time we have stayed in a hotel
The next day and we hit the road for the last time on this epic holiday, the remaining 4 hours of driving are easy going and we get home for mid afternoon. Having driven through all those amazing countries and scenery, it feel very odd to be driving back on the local roads again, quite surreal.
The last border crossing
That night to celebrate the journey, we drink one of the two bottles of Asti that we bought at the supermarket in Asti, Italy, 5 weeks ago and has been bounced around in the trailer ever since, still tastes great.
The touchy feely bit
All done and home in one piece. But it feels very strange to be here [home], its feels strange to leave the van after such a long period and move back into a house, I say a house as it certainly doesn't feel like home, more of an empty shell. It was difficult to comprehend that the trip was over, I couldn't enjoy the euphoria of the trip being a success, instead I feel out of place in a building which no longer feels like home.
[this passed after a few days, once our lives were moved from the van back into the house]
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The summary bit
10 weeks on the road [July to September 2011]
The route as recorded by out Garmin satnav (you can fill in the blanks with some of the ferrys)
We covered 5,500 miles.
Drove through ten countries (visited 11);
The Netherlands
Germany
Czech Republic
Austria
Liechtenstein
Switzerland
Italy
France
Monaco (by train)
Andorra, and
Spain.
Crossed the Pyrenees and travelled along the Alps.
We burned just over 1,000 litres of Petrol at a spend of £~1,500
Our average moving speed was 37mph and we’re driving for 150hours.
We have been bothered by wasps, then mosquitoes, invaded by ants, endured severe heat and come out the other end in one piece. And through it all, our little VW just kept plugging away, not bad for a 25 year van.
10 weeks on the road [July to September 2011]
The route as recorded by out Garmin satnav (you can fill in the blanks with some of the ferrys)
We covered 5,500 miles.
Drove through ten countries (visited 11);
The Netherlands
Germany
Czech Republic
Austria
Liechtenstein
Switzerland
Italy
France
Monaco (by train)
Andorra, and
Spain.
Crossed the Pyrenees and travelled along the Alps.
We burned just over 1,000 litres of Petrol at a spend of £~1,500
Our average moving speed was 37mph and we’re driving for 150hours.
We have been bothered by wasps, then mosquitoes, invaded by ants, endured severe heat and come out the other end in one piece. And through it all, our little VW just kept plugging away, not bad for a 25 year van.
