Set off at around 10:45 on Wednesday 13th May to drive down to Portsmouth. Pretty uneventful really - no roadworks, no holdups and straight into the queue at the docks. When loading we somehow managed to get ourselves on first and lined up first to get off when we reached Bilbao. We were then straight to our cabin, unpacked a few things and then found the bar....whilst getting our bearings obviously. And this was before the vast majority had even boarded. To our shock we then found out that the ferry was doubling up as a mini cruise - a Foxy Bingo mini cruise. I hate bingo!!! The first half of the trip went smoothly and then we hit the Bay of Biscay and a force 6 wind - the ferry rolled just a little and it helped to counter the alcohol.
And then we reached Bilbao (8 degrees and raining - it could easily have been Manchester). Again an uneventful trip down to Madrid, apart from the new roads that the Sat Nav didn't know about! and we passed the Steria office as drove around Madrid. Always planning ahead, we then tried to get off the motorway to find our way ready for Saturday morning. What fun that turned out to be! An hour later and we had located the way in readiness for the next day and set off to find the campsite.
Again signposting and maps were at a premium! But eventually we found the
site, pitched up and are ready for the adventure ahead!! Pasta, tuna and
beans for tea.
