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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2884 |
14th March 2017 Windsurfing: Riomar Wind Direction: ne Wind Stength: wavey Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny and warm Max Speed: 21.34 (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 11 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Monday 13th March – travel 326 miles – holiday record – snow then heavy rain, windy :( Not too bad a night considering my insect bites were itching like crazy! It was windy and raining but when Mag looked out the window she said that it was snowing! Amazing really as we have had a week of sunshine and 25 degrees plus! There were a few cars heading up to work at the military installation at the top of the mountain and then the snow plough came up and down. So with breakfast finished I took a few pics and we left the high car park just under the Morron de Espuna at 1583m. It was very pretty despite the low cloud you could see the pine trees with a light dusting of snow with at least an inch on the ground in temperatures struggling to reach 3 degrees! Then our day took a turn for the worse as we turned one of the sharp bends and met the snow plough coming back up closely followed by two Parque vehicles:( The road is very narrow, barely wide enough for two cars to park but the snow plough’s mate got out to direct us through even moving our wing mirror in, it was a tight squeeze but we made it! Then one of the rangers stopped us to tell us in Spanish that you are not allowed to sleep in the Parque, we could hardly deny it as the van was covered in snow, we nodded apologetically and drove off. That’s twice we have been caught out stopping where we shouldn’t, that’s the fun with wild camping:) The snow turned to rain as we went down a different route, turning left at the coll and it just went on and on in a series of tight bends, just amazing:) The rain was torrential as we then found the A-7 a nice dual carriage to Murcia stopping to shop in a big Lidl (not impressed prefer smaller normal ones!) and fill up with diesel. Back on the A-7 in the still torrential rain and high wind - it took us past Valencia with only a tiny section of pay taking us to another road cutting off the big Benidorm/Calpe point! The dual carriageway when Mag was driving went up very steeply and topped another mountain covered in snow! This piece strangely stopped in the middle of nowhere just past Castellon de la Plana, the road turned back to the coast and was particularly busy with lorries. Sad really as the toll motorway is just down the hill, they should reduce the rate to encourage more people to use it. This is a strange section of Spain as there are three roads within a narrow space all going the same way! We would definitely use this road again as it gets you past some of the grottier parts of Spain quickly. At least the rain had stopped! It was getting on now and we had had enough of driving so drove out onto the Delta De L’Ebre and parked on the seafront behind the dunes at Riomar where we stopped a month ago. There were three windsurfing campervans already there for the night and a kitesurfer having a late go who was driving a large car transporter! We had a quick walk on the beach to stretch our legs then had a pick and mix tea of bread and pate. The weather is the same as when we were here before!! So, we will see what tomorrow brings, maybe a sail or if no wind then it’s back to the Pyrenees where the weather is supposed to be sunny:) Tuesday 14 March – windsurf *** then walk ***** sunny and warm :) F2 Ride 282, 38 cm fin, Tushingham Lightning 7.8 and 6.5 – wind NE 15 Max. 21.34 kts, ave. 19.43 kts, 17 km (11 miles), mile 15.72 kts , alpha 9.51 kts , 49 mins out. Nice night on the beach front at the deserted Riomar on the Delta De L’Ebre and woke to sunshine with a nice breez. It’s the first time we have seen the sun here:) Walked down the board walk to the beach to check the wind and it was onshore 15/20 mph so looking good. I checked with the three German campers just down the road if they were going out but their English was not good and it sounded like they were going out later. During breakfast, they all left so checked the wind again and maybe a fraction more. The other German camper parked by the kite school had rigged so went and had a word with him. He had rigged 5.7 and said that the NE wind was a thermal wind that died off at 1 o’clock with the wind swinging East but usually staying light in the afternoon. So, I returned to the van and took my board down to the beach. The German was struggling with 5.7 so rigged 6.5. I had one run out on the 282 and 6.5 but was way underpowered:( At least it gave me a chance to check the depth of the water a mile the other side of the bay where the waves were breaking - it was deep enough to sail. I wobbled back and rigged the 7.8 and had a few runs, joined by a few kitesurfers and the German who had rigged bigger. It was fun in the waves but still under and then the wind dropped after under an hour on the water, shame really as lovely day and a nice spot. I left the board rigged on the beach heading back to the van to see what Mag had been up to? She had done her exercises and was knitting on the quiet prom enjoying the sunshine. I was not hungry so took the yoga mat to the beach to do my exercises with not a soul about:) My peace was rudely broken when a bus load of noisy kids came to splash about in the sea! Exercises complete I headed back to the van for lunch. Mag was itching for a walk so we set off along the beach to the right towards the nature reserve. I didn’t even wear any shoes. We got to the end of the beach where the dunes were roped off and had two options a footpath to the large wooden viewing tower we visited last time we were here or continue along the beach. As the 40 kids, had taken the footpath it was a no brainer and we set off along the beach. It was stunning, we had dunes to the right and a shallow lagoon to the left with a mountain backdrop in the far distance. We didn’t see a soul:) There were fish jumping in the lagoon with waves breaking on a the far sandy beach with birds feeding in the shallows and birds of prey overhead. I waded across the warm shallow water while Mag continued along the dunes and we met up on a deserted wild windswept beach to watch a pleasure board come out of the River Ebre turn and return. It looked really weird because it appeared to be gliding above the sand from where we sat!! We couldn’t believe we had walked as far as the river. We continued to where it enters the sea past a washed up, damaged boat and shack to frighten loads of gulls. We could hear the wild fowlers in the lake and two fishermen headed out in small boats as we returned. Mag had picked up some lovely, really different, shells. When we got closer to the main beach a few more people were about but not many. They included the fishing lady on her bike we saw yesterday and a few dog walkers. We were amazed to find we had been out for over 2 hours!! Mag headed back to the van to put the kettle on while I collected my board off the beach. Then a well-deserved cuppa and cake. I de-rigged on the beach and strapped the gear on the roof as the sun set over the palm trees. The end of another top day. Mag had made a delicious chicken and mushroom meal:) Great news from home - Over the last few days we have been having text chats with our Daughter in Law back in Felixstowe as she was very excited about the prospect of her dream job in the vets which is only 3 doors along from our house. She had an interview yesterday and a trial today and…….. she got the job :) She is so thrilled and will be perfect for it as she absolutely loves anything to do with animals and has lots of experience. She has just been waiting for the opportunity :) Photo Gallery Here |
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