SPAIN -

We drove on to Spain and checked into our next mobile home at Salou near Tarragona. I had booked this one, a 2 bedroom on a 4 star campsite through the internet for 102 GBP or $300 NZ for a week so this one was a real bargain. It was because it was a last minute deal as the camp was due to close the following week for the season. The site had 2 huge pool complexes, a bakery, supermarket etc. We were a 5 minute walk to Salou beach where the good weather allowed us to swim in the sea. A highlight in Salou was the great people we met who 'camped' alongside us. There was a Scottish family with 3 kids on one side of us and a Swiss family with 2 teenagers on the other side who spoke perfect English. The Swiss family were adamant that we go and visit with them in Switzerland on our way back to England so we did (more on that later).

Tim and I had spent 6 weeks in Spain in 1987 camping and had fond memories. The country is much poorer than its neighbouring countries and the introduction of the Euro currency has made things more expensive than ever before for the tourist. The country has beautiful beaches and coastline but sadly they are not as well looked after as they should be. The number of foreigners living in Spain is huge due to the great weather and relatively cheap housing compared to the rest of Europe.

We went to Spain for the sea, beaches and sun and that is what we got so we were happy. After our first week in Spain we drove further south near Alicante and stayed at the beach resort of Javea where we had booked a last minute deal on a villa for 225 GBP or $660 NZ for 7 nights. We had our own 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom villa with our own private pool and garden. (see photo at top right).

In 1987 I celebrated my birthday with Tim camping in Benidorm so it seemed fitting that we celebrated my birthday again this year in the same place. Benidorm is the number one beach resort in Europe. It is like a huge Surfers Paradise I guess you could say. We went out for lunch there and it was a lovely day.

After our fortnight in Spain we had to head to our next destination - Tuscany, Italy.