Tarifa Wind Gusts Monday 5th April - Accuweather.com

Details for Monday Apr, 5

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Monday Day

	Times of clouds and sun with winds gusting past 80 kph
High	13°C
RealFeel®:	6°C
View the Hour-By-Hour™ Forecast
Winds:	ENE at 53km/h
Wind Gusts:	123 km/h
Max UV Index:	High (7)
Thunderstorm Probability:	0%
Amount of Precipitation:	0.0mm
Amount of Rain:	0.0mm
Amount of Snow:	0.00cm
Hours of Precipitation:	0 Hrs
Hours of Rain:	0 Hrs
Hours of Daylight:	12.5 Hrs

Hurrican strikes Gibralta!

I spent the night laying awake listening to the winds building and the Van' rocking and creaking as the gusts increased in force. By 3.00am I had to go outside in my birthday suit and rescue shoes and chairs that had been left outside as well as turning over tables and wedging anything else under the Van'. 
In the morning the sky was darkened by the sand being blown into a Mistral wind blowing over from the African Continent. We decided that in the circumstance a few more facilities including an indoor pool would be useful if the weather was less than perfect so we packed up and headed for a site I had found near Marbella with a Heated indoor pool and warmish outdoor pool. 
We took the coast road and were immediately hit by the gale  force wind gusts catching the high sides of the Van' and lifting it off the suspension and in one case forcing me about 10 feet across the road towards the traffic coming in the other direction - very near miss.
The road between Cadiz & Marbella passed by the Tarifa Wind Farm -  serious winds blow over the Strait of Gibraltar area, for this reason Tarifa is both a paradise for wind surf, kite surf and wind farm turbines generating electricity. In today's case the winds had gone totally ballistic and the climb over the mountain pass was genuinely terrifying as stopping was not an option and the gusts were close to blowing us over the edge.
After we passed the Rock of Gibraltar the winds started to calm down to just storm force and we headed along the A7 to Marbella and then onto Cabopino Camping.

We have pitched at the top of a row on a high terrace with sea views and have already used the brand new and fabulous indoor pool (very warm) and the Restaurant and facilities look 5*. Its a short walk to the beach and/or shops and it looks like we will stay here for at least a week as it a great site.

More pictures tomorrow when we have looked around and checked out the beach etc....

El Puerto de Santa Maria

Ok so I am sitting down with a glass of Red writing the blog after a full day in the sunshine in El Puerto de Santa Maria near Cadiz in Andulucia. We started the day with cycle along the coastal path to get our bearings and found several good playgrounds for the boys as well as a nice local bar/restaurant that I was able to order take away fried Octopus, Chips and a Tuna salad for Sue! After spending some time back at the site we set off on the bikes with James in the Tag Along Carriage (tired after the trampolines) and sue in her running gear!

We followed the coastal bike path for 3 miles and came across a very nice marina and associated restaurants and shops etc. (Mini Puerto Banus) as well as a replica Spanish Galleon docked on the harbour wall. Sue ran for six miles while we chased after on our bikes although we had the speed edge going downhill!

Unfortunately this area celebrates Easter the week before and therefore its shutting down again this week so not much going on and no waer in the pool. With a family of swimmers this is serious trouble so we are heading off to a very nice site just past Marbella called Camping Cabopino with two heated pools that are open, one indoor and one outside. Site has sea views and a nice beach so we will be there tomorrow knowing me. Weather is still sunny there but not as hot but thats a price worth paying to keep the troupe occupied and happy as little fishes :-)

Camped out in Cadiz

Well today was spent on the road driving between Valladolid and Cadiz via Salamanca and Sevilla. Thats a 600 mile ten hour drive and the route is almost entirely mountainous although it is now via a new motorway.
As soon as we arrived in Sevilla the weather changed to summer sun and warm air, palm trees and a glorious sunset made it feel mid summer and we arrived at the Campsite just west of Cadiz at around 9.00pm. Very nice site with grass garden style pitches and very modern and clean showers etc. Will check out the area tomorrow including the beach!  Forecast weather is 25-28c and sun for next 2 weeks! Boys are fine if not a little bit exited about being let out of the Van' after 3 days travelling.....Worth it now we are here and transported into the summer :-)

Salamanca Cathedral:

Salamanca:

Bordeaux gales but arrived in Spain!

After staying the night in the Loire Valley south of Tours we pushed on and have just pulled up for the night near Valladolid in northern Spain. Weather is fine and quite warm but tomorrow we get to sevilla or Cadiz and 30 degrees!
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Aire just South of Tours:

Due to forecast Severe Gales (Force 9 and above) for entire crossing of the Bay of Biscay we have cancelled the outgoing voyage and are going to drive to Cadiz instead!

Spanish Easter

We have just booked a Brittany Ferries cruise to Santander on the latest high speed super ferry mv Cap Finistère with the Campervan. It gets to Spain in only 23 hours compared with 38 on the P&O ships. We shall make our way down to Sevilla and then Cadiz before heading into the Algarve before heading up the Silver Coast of Portugal. Current weather forecast is 28c and sun for the Seville area for the whole period.

More to follow as the trip progresses.