Oloron Sainte Marie Aire (N43 11' 2" W0 36' 31"), it is raining steadily as we turn in for bed.
At 5 o'clock in the morning, I am woken by Kathleen, there is a storm raging, the wind is so loud, it sounds as if there is an express train running next to the van, thunder is crashing above and lightening of course, plus, rain lashing against the roof. The good news is, it is not cold.
Kathleen insists on getting up, and dressed, her reasoning is, she is to be crushed to death by a falling tree (we are surrounded by trees), she wants to be fully dressed, not sure what difference that will make, personally, but, arguing the point, does not seem like a good option.
So, by 06:30am, we are up, ready, breakfast eaten. Storm has diminished to only torrential rain.
I convince Kathleen, it may be wise to wait for sunrise, or something approaching it, so, at 07:30, we are on our way.
A wise choice, to wait for a bit of light, there is a lot of debris on the road, and there are several trees down, partially blocking the road, as we head up the valley, toward the tunnel. Re-assuringly, there is are a number of large articulated wagons coming down the valley, suggesting the road ahead is passable.
The rain continues all the way to the Somport Tunnel, and, as we emerge, 5 miles later, in Spain, it is still raining.
The rain eventually stops, and is replaced by a violent wind.
We arrive at Bonterra Park, (N40.05726, E0.073248) Benicassim just over three hundred miles from Oloron-Sainte-Marie, at about 15:30.
The sun is shining, it is 19C. All is well. We even have time for a stroll along the Promenade, before our evening meal.
Some random thoughts based on your recent trips...
ReplyDeleteStarted on your January trip which I don'tt understand as you seem to have been "around" at that time?
Chatsworth is a great site with the hole in the wall (and your own key) to the walks in the park.
regarding the Bakewell trip, it was also a rotten day when we had the tarts so hoping it's not an omen for this year!
Talking to our next door neighbour Lawrence (Alastair as Liz almost always calls him, he is used to that) we confirm that it is ALWAYS the man's fault which we accept.
Liz confirms that men do indeed have it exceptionally easy?
The aires (or car parks as those churlish caravanners on SwiftTalk call them!) appear very much cheaper than "proper" sites but as I am forced to grimace, "It's all part of the holiday"
We have once stayed at Buhl where we pitched on concrete (difficult to get the awning pegs in ;-) ) and it was fine so I would do them if possible however I suspect I wouldn't get away with that as I would be a scrooge/tight/mean/unbelievable (perm any one from that!) Also, we couldn't cope with the multiple end points looking for somewhere that meets basic standards (mainly due to reversing skills - I can do it but don't relish it)
As you'll know the weather still isn't good here although we have escaped the large amount of water and there have been some pleasant days with a little Sun - we are making a small amount of solar!
Regarding storms following you, at Lake Como, on a very poor site, we had a similar storm with torrents running down the road plus Teresa and Chris were coming out to meet us and stay in one of Marco's "new" (to him, not new!) units which were basic (she doesn't do basic) We Skyped and got out of it by saying DON'T COME! but they did anyway so no blame on us.
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ReplyDeleteKen
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading your travel blogs so keep 'em coming, mon ami !!!
Bill