Spain in November was much colder than we expected.

Our week in the Sierra Nevada was gorgeous with mainly bright sunny days and cold nights (as low as 2C), Although the daytime temperatures rarely climbed above 13C, it felt much warmer in the sunshine and it was perfect weather for hiking. As we packed up the van last Monday, there was a change….clouds were dimming the brilliant blue skies of the previous week.

We headed north, skirting around the city of Granada, stopping to charge the van, outside a Burger King with little else around which meant that we felt compelled to eat something there. We had picked a different charger (a super-fast one) but when we got there, it wasn’t operational – one of the few times that this has happened in Spain and unlike in Morrocco, there was more public chargers within a few kilometres.  The downside was that many of them are outside fast-food chains.

Spanish roads are reasonably good and they are almost all without tolls unlike France or parts of Portugal. We stopped for the night at a small hotel in the Castille-La Mancha region, outside Villafranca de los Caballeros, about an hour or two south of Madrid. The wind whistled through the shuttered bedroom windows and the aircon unit on the wall rattled and coughed but produced little heat. Our phones said the outside temperature was 10C but that it felt  like 3C. The inside temperature wasn’t much higher.  It had seemed a bargain –  a convenient and cheap stop – when we booked it at €31 for the night. It could have been gorgeous but it had a desolate ‘out of season’ feel. There were lake views and an inner courtyard but the wind  raced up the stairs to the upstairs ‘habitaciones’ (bedrooms).  Flocks of migratory birds glittered over the salty waters…..the birds also found it a convenient stop ….but there were very few people. The man on reception was friendly but he was dressed in a padded jacket and woolly hat, and the restaurant and bar were closed. Our room had two single beds….totally by chance I got the comfortable one, Caoimhin’s was lumpy with a huge dip in the centre.

After our ‘ budget experience’ and because the weather was too chilly to sleep in the van, we booked an apartment in Logrono in the Rioja region for three nights, eager to get north  and closer to the Bilbao ferry.  We choose Logrono, simply because we have never been there but getting to Logrono from the lake involved a long drive, over five hours, but we decided that one long hop was preferable to dawdling our way.

Continuing through Castille-La Mancha, the region is so flat that our eyes had to adjust to the flat plains and the unending horizons, so different to the mountain ranges to the south. A few old fashioned windmills – like the ones that Don Quixote tilted at…were visible in the fields. This time, we charged the van in a town-west of Madrid, Arunjuez, where we had breakfast in a local spot, a huge slab of tortilla omelette for Caoimhin and tostada for me which came with the typical tomato paste, olive oil and salt, washed down with rich café solos. We stopped again for a break and a coffee in a rural spot outside a hostal, favoured by truckers. It was pleasantly warm but things soon changed.

Soon we are in the mountain again, North of Soria, the rain turns to sleet and the temperature gauge drop it 1.5C, hovers there for a bit and then dips to -1,5C. The road was twisty and the surface slippery,  it was only 3pm but the conditions made it feel much later. There was freezing fog and a fleet of snow ploughs already out on the road. We passed through gorgeous villages with stone houses, clinging to cliffsides, but were glad to descend from the Sierra Camero Neuve and the Sierra Camera Viejo to the flat plains around Logrono.

There was welcome blast of heat when we opened the front door of our lovely apartment with a little balcony overlooking the street. It was very central, less than a ten minute walk to the Cathedral, and a bakery next door and a supermarket three doors down. There was also free underground parking.  Logrono doesn’t have a lot of ‘wow’ sights but it’s a friendly place where people smile and ask us where we’re from…..particularly as Caoimhin is walking around in shorts, a rain jacket and a woolly hat. Logrono is on the route of the Camino de Santiago so the shops in the covered arcade around the  Cathedral are full of camino shells and walking sticks although there are no obvious pilgrims. The cathedral from the outside is a mishmash of architectural design but the altar inside is dripping in gold. There’s also a very impressive painting by Michelangelo behind the altar in a secluded alcove. You have to insert a euro coin in a slot to illuminate it for a few minutes…..a shrewd move to both protect the painting and generate cash.

The Museo de Rioja, in a gorgeous baroque 18^th century baroque building, is a really superb museum about the history and culture of the region from prehistory to the early twentieth century, stopping just before the Spanish Civil War. All the info is in both Spanish and English and is really well-done.

After loading the Buzz with some Rioja wine, we were ready to head onwards. Driving out of Logrono in sunshine to the sound of clinking bottles in the back, we headed for the hills on minor roads through farming countryside, stopping to take photos of the craggy peaks, windmills and villages. Spain is an astonishingly beautiful country with gorgeous diverse landscapes

When we booked our return ferry tickets from Bilbao to Rosslare, Brittany Ferries were offering special deals with the Spanish Paradores, which are a state owned chain of luxury hotels in restored historical buildings, such as palaces, convents, monasteries and castles. The hotel profits go to the upkeep of the buildings and create employment as they are often in rural areas Although we are usually fans of ‘cheap and cheerful,’ we are not adverse to a bit of luxury especially in unique buildings. We love paradors and have stayed in a few of them on our previous trips to Spain…  it’s like stepping back into the past but with modern comforts.  Our last two nights are in Parador de Argomaniz, about an hour south of Bilbao, for the incredible ‘special offer’ price of €50 a night including breakfast. If you have never stayed in a parador, I urge you to look them up and give yourself a real treat.

Parador de Argomaniz doesn’t disappoint…..it even has EV charging points. The building dates back to 1712 and was once a convent before being converted into a palace and during the Peninsular Wars was used as a headquarters for French Troops. It is even rumoured that Napolean stayed here and planned his attack on the nearby town of Vitoria from this very place. It’s in the tiny village of Argomaniz with gardens and woods and a renowned restaurant where we plan to have dinner tonight…..our last night……before our thirty-hour ferry tomorrow. A great place to spend our last days in Spain.

Vitoria- Gasteiz is a beautiful city although we had never heard of it until yesterday. It is the capital of the Basque Country and is a wonderful mixture of medieval buildings, tree-lined plazas, quirky shops with an emphasis on modern sustainability. Since this morning, it may have  become our favourite large unban centre in Spain……we have kept the best until last❤️

It’s been another incredible two month trip from Rosslare to Bilbao to Morocco and back, all in an electric van. We’ve slept in the van and stayed in a palace. There have been many highs and a few lows…..we never suffered ‘range anxiety’ until we went to Morocco.

When we are home, and have time to digest our experiences, I’ll post about the highlights but until then, thanks for reading and coming along on the journey with us.