This year’s late summer/early autumn trip is a complete experiment. We are somewhat used to Spain, having owned a house there in Jalón for four years, but we are completely unfamiliar with camping in Spain. The main reason we sold our house in Spain was to be less tied to one location and to be more able to see other areas of Spain. So, now we are taking Frodo to tour round a bit.
Part one of the journey is the 21:45 ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao, with which we are very familiar. We used this route a lot travelling to our house. Now we’re doing it with a motor home.
We arrived at the port three hours ahead of the departure time and were a bit surprised to see the embarkation lines already well populated. Check-in must have opened earlier than we are used to. We checked-in and joined the lines ourselves before repairing to the bar for some light refreshment.
As we sat with a drink or two staring out over the lines, two humongous motor homes checked-in and joined the queues. One of them, a Hurricane, was enormous – something like a Winnebago. It must have been 9m or more and with a motorcycle mounted on the back. I wondered if it had been named after the bow wave of air created as it drove along. Since Spanish campsite pitches are typically smaller than French campsite pitches, I also wondered how the hell you managed to park the behemoth. Supermarket car park? I think not. I’d be embarrassed to drive the thing. The twin-axle Frankia that pulled up behind it was no smaller, just a little less American in design (I use the term “design” loosely).
Eventually the first lines began to move forward to pass security. When our turn came we bypassed the security checks and joined the second queue prior to actual boarding. This second wait was quite short and we were soon driving onto the ferry, the Salamanca, one of Brittany Ferries’ “greener” boats.
We found our cabin and settled in before taking an orientation wander around a deck or two. We were one of the earlier vehicles to board so the boat was not yet busy and we grabbed the opportunity for some dinner at the on-board restaurant.
The only downside was that the duty free area wasn’t open so I couldn’t get a voddie nightcap. Apparently though, they would deliver it to your cabin later since you are not supposed to drink it on board. Nothing really lost, then. Besides, it’s bound to be cheaper in Spain.
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