Celebrating Christmas on the beach

December 30, 2020

After spending a couple of days in the snow, I swiftly crossed the French border headed toward Spain. The weather looked much better when I passed Dole in the morning: blue sky, sun shine and lush meadows.

Sun shine and blue sky south of Dole

Attracted by the warm weather in the south, I spent all day driving until I reached the Mediterranean Sea in the afternoon.

Mediterranean Sea near Montpellier

After resting and eating a little bit, I still felt energized to drive the remaining 200km to Spain.

Sunset while driving toward Spain

Arriving in Spain

It was already dark when I finally crossed the Spanish border. I spent the night near Girona and continued my journey in the morning. The engine of my van was quite busy when crossing the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range with 55km/h.

Crossing the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range

After spending most of the weekend on the road, I reached Madrid where I stayed for a couple of days to work and meet some of my friends living in the Spanish capital. As usual, I stayed in the area of Casa de Campo.

Van parked near Casa de Campo

I left Madrid before Christmas and drove into the area of Belvís de Monroy where I worked in a quiet environment.

Area around Belvís de Monroy

I still had to run my wood stove in the evenings to keep the van warm, so I continued my trip toward the warmer south.

Sunrise on the highway

The weather was much warmer when I reached the province of Huelva. I was finally able to work with open doors while staying at Embalse de Zufre.

Embalse de Zufre

A spontaneous trip to Tarifa

I was planning to spend the Christmas holidays in the mountains before taking a ferry from Huelva to Lanzarote. My plans quickly changed when a friend of mine invited me to join him and a few other vandwellers to celebrate Christmas on a beach near Tarifa. I accepted the detour and drove down to Duna De Valdevaqueros.

Duna De Valdevaqueros

We enjoyed a lovely Christmas dinner on Playa Valdevaqueros.

Christmas dinner at Playa Valdevaqueros

After spending a couple of days with my friend and the others, I drove back to the harbor of Huelva.

Van parked near Parque botánico José Celestino Mutis

I spent my last night on the mainland near Parque botánico José Celestino Mutis before boarding the ferry to Lanzarote. :ship: :sunny:

View from the ferry sailing to Lanzarote