This trip is a bit of a reprise. In the halcyon days of owning Casa Libélula, we were used to spending Christmas, along with much of our winter, in Jalón, Spain. However, since trading in Casa for a motorhome we haven’t tried it. We are now correcting that oversight and are heading back to Heredad de Elias Ferrer, complete with its fascinating training bullring, in Alacalalí for Christmas 2025. Apart from the weather, which frankly can go either way, the appeal of Spain at this time of year is that they tend to downplay Christmas. Or, at least, they did. We intend to see how it is now.
This was a slightly late decision on our part. We managed to book a Portsmouth-Bilbao crossing on 16th December; a late evening departure at 22:45. Sadly the club-class lounge was full so we have to mix it with the hoi polloi. Our return trip on 31st January from Santander [note to self: for pity’s sake remember that you have booked an asymmetric journey, this time] does come with the club class lounge.
We left our usual safety buffer and set off for Portsmouth at 15:30 on 16th, a Tuesday. We’d be running into rush hour on the jaM25, so a buffer would be necessary. Other than slowly through the usual bottlenecks of the jaM25 (the M40 and the M3 junctions), our journey went smoothly. We checked into an already busy Portsmouth ferry port at about 19:00. Most folks were there early, perhaps to avoid darkness.
Our ferry was delayed by 30 minutes but we finally loaded and departed at roughly 23:10. We’d really lucked out; we were loaded on deck 3 and were in pole position, literally jammed up against the disembarkation ramp. We weren’t sure if immigration into Spain would be slowed by new biometric checks, so being up front in the queue could prove to be a distinct advantage.
Our crossing was one with two nights and a whole day spent on board. We’d also lucked out with a window of fair weather so the potentially scary Bay of Biscay wasn’t; in fact as we’ve noted in the past, the Channel can be a little rougher. As well as missing out on the club class lounge, we had to make do with an inside cabin but, to be honest, the fake illuminated sunny view is actually much better than a genuine porthole.
We actually docked in Bilbao in the middle of the night, at something like 02:00 – 03:00 on 18th December. Disembarkation however, was still held until 08:00 – the Spanish immigration authorities must be given time to wake up.
Sitting in port for the early hours suited us. Thanks to our BBBs [Braindead Bastard Brexiteers], we can no longer bring food into the EU. This means that we need to arrive when it is possible to go shopping and find a suitable place to do so. we were intending to stop at Leclerc in Miranda de Ebro and that wouldn’t open until 09:00. Leclerc was about an hour’s drive away. Our extremely fortuitous pole position had us disembarking as the third vehicle off the ferry. We were at the immigration booths slightly before they were ready.
There didn’t seem to be any additional delays occasioned by any new biometric checks. We were soon on the nightmarish roads of Bilbao attempting to leave it without taking any wrong turns. I hate the roads of Bilbao. After an hour we arrived at Miranda de Ebro to fill our fridge.
Now, this Leclerc supermarket is a joy to behold in more ways than one. Not only is it an excellent French-chain supermarket but it has a free overnight parking area for motorhomes complete with a motor vehicle service point. How stunningly practical and helpful is that? You’d never get anything this motorhome-friendly in the UK. It’s utterly brilliant; everything you need on your doorstep including a wonderful supermarket.
Next stop: Zaragoza. Zaragoza is about half way from Bilbao to Alacalalí and this is where we planned to stop overnight. Francine had booked the campsite. After a brief lunch break on the outskirts of the city, we arrived at about 15:00. Check-in was easy (other than squeezing delicately past an inconsiderately parked caravan, it’s rear corner left sticking out in the road. For Spanish sites (this is a municipal), our pitch was quite generous. Frodo got settled and we repaired to the onsite bar and restaurant for some well-deserved refreshment.
And relax! The beer, incidentally, was new to me. It’s Ambar, local to Zaragoza, and very good it was, too.
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