Under Shade in Xabia (Javea)
Zagan the motorhome’s breathing a sigh of relief. He’s under permanent shade at a Camping Jávea, which is in Xàbia, in Valencian, or Jávea, in Spanish (N38.782542, E0.173097). We’re all enjoying a partial escape from the heat. We chose this site by searching the campercontact app for all sites with a review rating of 9 out of ten, and this one popped up alongside a handful of others. At €17 a night (ACSI out of season rate until 9 July), it’s great value, surrounded by orange groves, each tree footed by post-harvest windfall, and a 15 minute walk to the old town or the glistening Med.
Camping Javea. The building behind me was a fort, built to fend off pirates
Will we ever learn I wonder? Each time we head out on one of these long tours, we always seem to find ourselves being a little cooked at some point, with the predictable result of discomfort, frayed tempers and, as our fridge is also struggling in 30ºC, inexcusably warm lager. Long ago we sussed out what we needed to do to handle the heat: not be in it… Ideally we’d shift to warmer climes in the winter (Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily) and cooler ones in summer (Scandinavia, northern France, the Alps, the UK). This time we’ve cocked up that approach, and are trying (feebly) to correct the error by steaming north. Only we’re not. The temperatures inland in Spain are hitting 40ºC in most places, so we’re scared to head up there, and are hugging the Mediterranean coast. We’re sort of steeling ourselves for a blast north at some point into either the Basque country, or the Pyrenees, maybe Andorra.
Spain: hot. The dark red circles mean 100 degrees, in old money.
Some other things we learned about the heat are finally coming back to us, and forcing some change in behaviour:
- Shade is critical. If we can get under some decent cover, especially in the head-thumping heat of the early afternoon, then life becomes much more fun. Campsites down here are often geared up to provide shade (the one we’re on has nets strung up over many of the pitches, as well as trees), so we’ll be using them for a while, investing some cash in a better life.
- Campsites also give us the option to sit outside, which aires typically don’t allow (it’s seen as ‘camping behaviour’, which is often illegal).
- This motorhome thing has air con! At least it does in the cab while we’re driving, so we’re using it. By driving in the hotter part of the day, we can stay cool for a few hours by blasting ourselves with diesel-powered coldness. Charlie gets to play too, being popped by Ju’s feet to chill him down.
- Charlie’s fur has to be short. He seems to feel the heat more than other dogs, so we’ve again trimmed his fur down with our Wahl clippers, leaving just enough to preserve dignity and fend off sunburn.
Another option suggested to us is to fit an air conditioning unit either to the roof or under a bench. We pondered that option a while, but for the time being we’re not going down that route as (a) the units cost over £1500. With fitting costs that would be 10% of the van’s value, which we’d likely never see again (b) they weigh 20 to 30Kg, and we’re tight on payload (c) the current draw on the leisure batteries would probably mean we’d need mains hook-up fairly often, which would restrict us to campsites or aires with power. Nah. For the moment we’ll suck it up, and head for the cooler climes.
So, where have we been? Well, Cabo de Gata was a beautiful place, deserted again by Sunday evening. With a free parking place alongside the beach, staying longer would have been a no-brainer but for the lack of shade. The heat removed any reluctance to move, and we again stabbed a finger at the air con button and headed up the coast to Mojácar, a combined hill-town, beach resort where Ju’s relatives have a villa. We’d arranged to meet Rik and Didi, an expat US couple and family friends, who’ve spent a long time living and working in Mojácar, and enjoyed a delicious Spanish lunch overlooking the sea with them. These are fascinating people. Rik remains the only man I’ve ever met who uses a water spray when cooking on a BBQ (he’s run some huge BBQs in his time, and uses the water to control the heat). We were lucky to catch them as Didi paints amazing pieces of art and had a show on in the town while we were there. She has also for many years been involved in rescuing dogs and treating them, dedicating enormous (unthinkable for me, despite being a dog lover) amounts of her time, energy and money to this thankless task. I won’t relay the stories of animal mistreatment her and Rik have had to deal with over the years, but I will say these guys are tough old cookies.
Crop pickers in the fields on our route north.
Keen to keep heading north we left them to return to work, and in a bid to avoid paying motorway tolls found ourselves snaking up and down the bucking Spanish coast. Finding that the campsite we were aiming for looked to be in the middle of nowhere we (daftly) pushed on up to a free parking spot alongside the sea at Puntas de Calnegra (N37.51356, W1.39967). Although the parking looked idyllic, and we’d seen lots of other single campers in similar places along the coast north, the heat meant poor old Charlie couldn’t sleep even at midnight with the windows open (not very secure for us), a wet towel on him and being wafted with a fan. Enough tightness, we needed to get some shade before Charlie popped his paws in the air in exhaustion, or we mutually throttled each other. Hence we’re here.
Free camping on the beach at Puntas de Calnegra
Most of the route north was fast, free motorway, past Murcia, Alicante and Benidorm, with a final long slow, car-crammed drag through the towns north of the ‘dorm. The final entry to the campsite had us cursing the satnav, as it endlessly told us to drive down tight country lanes. Finally I remembered the reviews on the site had said many of the approaches were tight, so instead of trying to find the one wide route, we just piled down a lane, tucked our elbows in over a tiny stone Roman bridge, and rolled in to the site. When Ju opened the door to head into reception, it felt like we’d just stepped out of an aircraft arriving at Murcia: a hairdryer in the face! Sharpish we threw the van under the netting, later on turning around to keep the fridge in shade all day, and to use the van to create more shade for us in the evening. We are loving that shade!
Benidorm: an incredible sight after the development-free beaches to the west. Whatever you think of it, this place must pull in ENORMOUS amounts of money into an area traditionally agricultural and rife with poverty.
I managed a quick cycle down to the port, guiltily eyeballing the weather-worn bearded fishing men staring at me as I stared at them fixing nets, peering into the fish-icing shed and watching the freshest seafood being sold from windows to the side of the icing shed. 50% of the population here are foreigners, but everyone was speaking fluent Spanish at the seafood stall. Later on, James and Sue introduced themselves, having come across this blog in the past, and we spent a great evening with them shooting the breeze. Sort of retired(ish), they spend about four months travelling in a Hymer, in a couple of two month stints, and mainly in Spain. Their appreciation of Spain, of the food, languages(s) – Spain has a bunch of languages (reflecting the fact Spain is made up, like many countries, of historically fully independent areas), culture and drink was addictive, and we found ourselves feeling we’re really not giving the country its dues. Future trips are being mentally formed when we get our timing right, so places are open and alive after the winter, but not yet baking hot.
Fishermen mending nets at the Javea port
Locals grabbing still-kicking fresh seafood
Late in the evening James dropped a wee bombshell too: there’s bull running here in the next few days. Oh yes, Bulls. Real ones. With pointy horns. Some small, some medium, and some big swines, legging it up and down the road in the town (we were told folks are far less brave and do much less goading as the bulls get bigger). The idea of going to watch a bullfight remained latent in my mind up until a few days ago when we saw the horrific bloody reality of the thing on the TV in a resaurant, so that’s a 100% certain no-no now, but I’m not averse to seeing these beautiful beasts bashing their way down a street or two. Apparently the price of beer is even reduced in celebration! We have a recommendation for somewhere to eat and watch the bulls, so we’ll chill here a few days, eat, stay out of the sun and throw darts at the map for a route to the cool.
Right, time to get back outside guys. Cheers, Jay
Hi Both,
We have just started our adventure and are heading south as you head north.
Your report of the excessive heat has us worried as we also have our dog with us.
We will have to carefully choose our route, as we are booked in to do a villa sit for friends. They live at Rojales with is south of where you are.
At the moment we are on the Atlantic coast at a French aire at Capbreton.
The Temp is a very warm 26C and with the breeze making the sea great for the surfer’s it is keeping us cool. Not looking forward to the raising heat as we travel south. But at least when we arrive it will give me a chance to start our blog. Yours has so inspired me as we have been putting plans in place ready to start our adventure.
Keep Charlie cool
Paul
Hi guys, I’m certainly enjoying your blog and sympathise with your cold beer predicament in 100 degree plus heat. The technique that we’ve used in our motorhome is to put two water bottles in the freezer compartment overnight and transfer them to the fridge in the morning. This keeps the fridge cooler. In the space where the water bottles resided is placed as many beers as will fit – they don’t freeze but do get cold. After beer time repeat and hope the campsite leccy has enough amps.
Bob
Liking your style Bob! We drank all our beer (and James’s) last night though. Need to nip over to Dia, they have it on special at the moment for 50c a litre, woo hoo!
Sympathising with your heat predicament – up to 30 degrees here in the Pelion peninsula in Greece and I am nervous unless there is shade and water nearby. I think we should have left Greece a few days ago for optimum temperature surfing! Fortunate to be spending a few days in a friend’s house though before tackling a race back across mainland Greece and Italy to the safety of central France. We’ll be in Burgundy by the end of June for at least a month if you are passing and want to pop in. Best, Robina
Hi. Have you seen the Cool My Camper ac system? Appreciate it still requires hook-up, but it may be a good option for you…
Nope, thanks Robin. Had a look at it here: http://www.coolmycamper.com/products/. £540 so not cheap, but a third the price of fitted options. Relatively low power use so could potentially use an inverter for a few days at a time. 20Kg and bulky but we could squeeze it in. If we do more hot camping I reckon we’d seriously consider something like it, very interesting, thanks again. Cheers, Jay
No worries Jason. Yes low power and portable so a good option for the future too. Gets good reviews as well. Probably not so effective for larger motor homes, but for vans of around 6 metres in length looks like a good option.
Don’t come to France….it is too hot!! We thought that heading north and east, it would be ok, but have been in the low 30’s since leaving Sauvagnac on tuesday. If I were you I would head for the mountains again!! I love the Pyrennees and actually, the French side is usually cooler than the Spanish side.
Thanks Lorraine, Pyrenees is looking favourite, or Spanish Basque country, or both! Man hugs to Larry, good effort on the Puy du Dome. Cheers, Jay
The trouble is that it’s hot all the way up to Northern France for the next week, even St Malo will hit 30deg soon. I’ve just received a 12v dashboard fan to supplement my 240v Tower Fan. I may take another fan as we head for 3 weeks in France next week.
We will go as far south as Beaulieu sur Dordogne before heading up to Beaune/Dijon for the TdF stage into Nuits st George on July 7th.
I just had my air-con re-gassed and it feels icy now. Angeline has made some full-length blackout curtains for the drop-down bed. That means we should be able to seal off the cab and concentrate the air-con into the cab whilst we are driving, rather than trying to cool down the entire van.
Lee at http://www.gohumberto.com
Good idea with the curtains, may have to try that if we can persuade Charlie to come up front after years of telling him he’s not allowed up front! Cheers, may see you in France, Jay
We have just returned today from our first 6 week trip, and we were amazed to see that you are staying in Javea. Have been following your blog for ages, and used your packing list for our prep! We were there a couple of weeks ago, not just at that site…in the same bay overlooking the children’s play area and that lovely building…! Fully agree it’s a great site, pool is just fab.
Ah, good pitch, loads of beautiful shade! Never made it into the pool though, big mistake! Cheers, Jay