Oh dear, things can only get better!
We arrived in Santander last night at the start of our first tour in Spain. The weather had been poor for the whole ferry trip causing us to arrive slightly behind schedule. As we disembarked and headed for our first campsite it started to rain.
Prior to leaving home we had made contact by email with Camping Virgen del Mar to ensure they would be open late and we received a pleasant speedy reply.
Arriving at the campsite we followed through the gates an English MH.. Reception was closed so, as the night was quickly drawing, in we ( both units) decided to pitch up for the night and sort out everything in the morning.
We both checked on the site map where we should be pitching and set off. For a caravan the site road with two sharp 90 degree bends was a nightmare with literally only inches to spare to avoid bushes, tree stumps and buildings,
When we eventually got to the pitching area the MH had reversed into his area.
The site was totally empty. Th pitches were very difficult to access even with a mover as there were trees to avoid at each corner of the van. Any van over 5.5 m would never have made it.
So with rain falling we set up the water, electric etc and made our evening meal.
The other couple in the MH ( for some reason ) went for a quick recce round the site and met the owner who said we were all in the wrong area and had to move. They tried to but the MH was stuck in the soft grass. We decided not to move as it was now too wet and too dark to attempt a repeat of our own manoeuvring.
First thing next morning we moved, the damage caused to the grass was some tracking/depression of the grassy pitch. No mud or actual damage was caused to the grass. We paid for two nights.
However the MH was well and truly stuck. Planks of wood, jacks, trackmats and even a pull from the sit on lawnmower wasn't quite enough but it did move the MH up to the start of the tarmac. The owner was very annoyed and stopped his men using the mower to assist. The owner then saw the depressions cause by us which was probably the final straw for him, which resulted in him telling us to leave the site. At least we got our 2nd nights fee back.
So that is the first time we have ever been kicked off a site!
We are now on a site near Burgos
( The MH did finally get out using my jack so all's well that ends well
Comments
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On the upside swifty it can’t get much worse. Good luck with the rest of your break👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻😊
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Oh, dear!
I'll refrain from making wisecracks and echo Rocky's good wishes. 👍🏻😀
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sorry is this over there? No, I have been led to believe that all is wonderful over there? this sort of thing never happens over here/
Hope all improves Swifty
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Whilst not actually getting thrown off site,this reminds me when the children were younger we had left the Cherbourg ferry and driving down the peninsula,I was getting low on fuel so pulled into a campsite which was in the CCC brochure,approach Lane very dark,weather was foggy and pitched the van and kids in bed.
Woke up to people walking on gravel,opened blinds to find I had pitched in front of the chateau on their pristine lawn,campsite pitches were no where near, and I had squeezed the van through two ornamental posts.
Site owner was not amused,and we didn’t stay.
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"We are now on a site near Burgos"
Swifty, Assuming you are on Fuentes Blancas , hopefully it has dried out a bit? ......3 weeks ago it was sodden, and was snowing heavily as we left
. (heading home).Tell us your next destination, and I'm sure we can dredge up some more horror-stories
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many continental can appear small or more confined due to the foliage necessary to provide shade....some pitches even have trees in the middle of them....
where we are, nr St Tropez, is one such site....on a gentle terrace, which makes for many short, sharp turns to move up or down a level..
its not wet here but pitches are tight to get sited....
we did get 'stuck' once in France (a few years ago) and had to be towed off a pitch, but no real hassle, loads of help from friendly staff...
Swifty, I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun on the remainder of your trip, have a wonderful time....
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Just spent 48hr listening to the awning flapping night and day in Empuriabrava and currently overcast and 17 deg.
20 deg back home in Yorkshire!
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Maximum of 12C here in Burgos but a great bike ride on cycle paths all the way from site into the centre. Incredible cathedral.
Vic, the site is bone dry, hard to believe it was flooded so recently.
BB, are you on Selection Camping (again!)
Moving tomorrow to Segovia0 -
Swiftly, we've already had a few 'issues' in just a few days, but these things are sent to try us....but we know it's all worthwhile.....
OH starting yelling that she'd forgotten her Kindle when just 5 mins from home...luckily I had charged it up and put it in the van...
as we were waiting for the ferry, OH asked if I had turned the gas off, I was pretty positive, but went to check....lowered the electric step and must have stepped on it just prior to it reaching the parked position...
a strange noise.....and a limp step that would not retract despite the motor whirring...
oh, well, I can live with that.....deploy manually, no problem...started van and .......what!?.....the 'step not retracted' alarm buzzer was making its usual racket....no amount of trying to put it up with either switch would turn it off.
so I spent a while during the crossing wondering how I could turn it off, as the thought of several thousand km with a constant warning buzzer sounding wasn't appealing....
when we disembarked, I pulled over at the first convenient spot and had a rummage under the van and was relieved to see that there was a trip switch that could be turned off with a little folded cardboard and some gorilla tape.....sorted.....no racket, step retracts around 90% on its own so no issue when driving and can be deployed/retracted with the flick of an ankle
will get it properly sorted when we return home..
so, the following day was good, without issue, but yesterday as we approached the pumps during a refuelling stop on the A9, we were told that the fuel dispensing computers had failed and all the pumps were out of action until a full reboot of the system could be carried out...."could be and hour or so....."
as I didn't think we had enough fuel to confidently go on to the next services, we stayed in the ever expectant queue...
i must say, the supervisor was brilliant, got it all up and running in about twenty minutes and off we went, arriving here at tea time...
the sun has been out, it's warm and the beer at Cavalaire sur Mer was very welcome after the stroll along the beach.
on the way back OH mentioned the pool......and that was when I realised that I'd forgotten (both pairs of....) my swimming trunks.
still, that's life....it could be a lot worse, enjoy all
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What's going on with this website, post nicely spaced then on saving all is jumbled up!
Should have been like this - Maximum of 12C here in Burgos but a great bike ride on cycle paths all the way from site into the centre. Incredible cathedral.Vic, the site is bone dry, hard to believe it was flooded so recently.
BB, are you on Selection Camping (again!)
Moving tomorrow to Segovia
WIFI good in the morning but poor in the evening and CT worst of all for loading time!!!
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Hope there are no more mishaps for you all but tis life.
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Swifty, we are...but it's only our 2nd visit....
we had a smallish window (for us) of 4 weeks and we wanted a bit of doing nothing time......walking, swimming, cycling etc...
its great here for lolling about, recharging batteries...and we have to be back early June as we are back into France again (west coast) with OH parents for 10 days...
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Swifty, Burgos is lovely isn't it. When we went there we got a lovely police escort to the site
oh what fun that was as we took a wrong turning into the park and not able to turn around and get out, thankfully the nice policemen took pity on us and escorted us silly Brits all the way to the site, on a Sunday you can imagine how busy the cafe at the front of the site was. 
As you say it can only get better, after Segovia where are you heading? we leave next Wednesday for France so BB had better not hog all the good weather.
About 14c here today so quite warm for a change
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I think we've all had trips that had a few "whoops" moments down the years. Hope everyone stays safe.
On the upside, it's already 20c here in Yorkshire, today is going to be a zinger, another lovely day for our little cycling festival!
Have a good time all you lucky folks away for months!
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Arrived in Segovia yesterday and the weather is now fabulous, the snow on the hills/mountains is thawing as we watch. We cycled into Segovia this morning and intend to go to Madrid by train tomorrow. Our plan is then to stay at Toledo before the drive to Cordoba.
However plans can always change.
We thought Segovia was incredible and should be on everyone's must see. How clever were those Romans?
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....ah....things are on the up...Ive found my trunks!
thaks for city info, S, a few to add to our list...
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We arrived in Santander last night at the start of our first tour in Spain.
I've spent several first or last nights at Virgen del Mar when I've traveled to Costa del Sol for the winters. Yes! only the front portion of the site is in use during the low season.. When the ground is very wet in some years I and others have parked on the roadways. Last year the ground was so water-logged I spent the night sited in the carpark at the entrance. For a review of the site and more pictures see my blog.
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