Last night turn out to be rougher than the last, and we were on dry land. Well, dryish. The sea was certainly looking pretty rough this morning, I feel glad we were on the ferry when we were. Feel sorry for those leaving today.
We attempted to identify a camp site or two on the outskirts of Bilbao so that we could head for the Guggenheim and keep out of the rain. There were two options, and despite a navigational error on the way into Bilbao (through a series of road tunnels not on the satnav) we ended up in the right part of town and right next to the first choice of site. Unfortunately it was all boarded up, possibly for good, and certainly for the winter. We opted for choice number two, which was out on the coast to the north-east of the town at a place called Sopelana, only to discover that they couldn’t cope with a van as large as ours. They claimed 4 metres max, which is about the size of a Supercarry van. I suspect they couldn’t be arsed to come out of their house (we had to phone) into the wet and windy weather.
We had lunch on the sea front (in the van, don’t be daft) whilst we pondered what to do next, and then decided to try the next town which claimed to have a campsite and an overnight parking stop. The campsite was, by this time, predictably closed. The parking area was, pleasingly, large and deserted and with a view of the waves crashing over the harbour wall. Plenzia appears in the pictures and is a quite pleasant place (despite the weather). The harbour has a slight feel of Watchet about it (although that might be the weather) and there is a lovely golden beach and promenade. We took a bracing stroll around the town and along the promenade and got back to the van just in time before the heavens opened again. The forecast is wet overnight but the winds abating, so hopefully tomorrow will be a much jollier day, and we shall head into Bilbao, do the museum and a little cafe culture perhaps, and then try and find out where to stay tomorrow night. Either here in Plenzia again, or maybe we shall head towards Logrono and the Rioja region which looks pretty tempting at the moment.
Well, at least youre out and about, despite the rain…the weather here is dry and cold with a frost the last couple of nights. Van drained down but itching to go somewhere. Had to be home for last two weeks as my sister has been sunning it in Fuetaventura so weve been on ‘old folks’ duty, lol.
Yes, they have changed the AP8 to swing the ferry traffic around Bilbao straight to the port, luckily i did a map update (and bought a newer Tomtom) before our trip last Autumn. The exit for the port os a curve on stilts, way above the city, but like a ride from Alton Towers!
We passed Logrono on our way back north via Zaragoza, didnt get a stop here as we had a ferry to catch….!
Stay warm, Rioja region sounds lovely.