2024 September: France and Spain – Oil Museum to the ferry at Santander and Home
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Cold again when we wake at Sargentes de la Lora, 7°C outside and only 14.1°C inside. We begin with hot coffee and soon warm up. We service Hymer before we leave, again all the facilities and services are free.
Across the high mountain road VU-6222 through Valdeajos then down and down the other side of the mountain to Basconcillos del Tozo. Here we turn right onto N-627 towards Aguilla de Campoo (with its off-road parking next to the 5.9m high bridge! At Aguillar, we take A-67 north, a fast and high level highway to Reinoso where we stop at Mercadona for much needed supplies of Serano ham, cheese and of course, wine! Back on A-67, the high level section along the shoulder of the mountains over viaducts and through mountain tunnels. There are spectacular views down into the valley.
As we approach Arenas de Iguňa we decide to come off the highway and have a break for lunch. Taking the slip road into the valley we stop at Valle de Iguňa services on N-611 and realise that this is the truck stop and café (serving Menu del Dia) where we stopped in 2018! There are no motorway services or filling stations on this section of road until you reach Santander. We lunch and are back on the road to Santander where we stop at Petroprix (best price around) and fill with LPG/Autogas and diesel. From there to the ferry port arriving early, about 3.00pm for our 6.30pm crossing and check-in.
Hymer is inspected inside, we are asked to declare the number of bottles of wine we have. Mr C. who is always well informed, tells him the exact number and that it is all delicious Espaňa Rioja, he smiles and moves on to the outside. Here he uses his long-handled mirror to check underneath for immigrants, a very thorough search which we never get at Calais! We join the queue in Lane 6 (of 12) quite happy to enjoy the Santander sunshine and wait for our boarding time.
Very poor experience at Brittany Ferries Santander this time
Boarding commences quite early, maybe about 4.00pm and we watch as the usually well-planned and well-ordered process falls apart before us. First they begin with Lane 1, the cars who were last to arrive, never a good start for the lanes of cars that were already here when we arrived who are already gnashing their teeth. Then they take the lane of caravans and trailers, then more cars, half lanes of motorhome, more cars… a few here, a few there! Lane 6 who have now been waiting 3 hours, mostly motorhomes but not all, begin to move to the loading area but the six motorhomes are side-lined, shunted to the side by the boarding end of the ship.
Here we have to wait another half hour but can see exactly what is going on. Then come the motorbikes, then more cars, then some small campervan with two motorhomes! We watch over time as total chaos unfold before us. The usual carefully planned and organised vehicle loading procedure falls apart minute by minute!! Monkeys could have done a better job!
Finally, a port staff member comes and ask each of the six of us “what is the exact height of your vehicle?” We know ours is 2.9m and we guess a couple of the others are the same, but some are taller with roof objects sticking up. Four of us are beckoned forward to board. It is rather worrying as one by one we are taken forward slowly by one ferry staff while one sits to the side at roof height with a whistle in his mouth and the other sits in front at high level also with a whistle in his mouth.
We inch forward, literally inch by inch as we pass beneath the steel girders of the deck above, the cars on it clearly visible. The two whistle-men clearly breathe a sigh of relief as we pass underneath (as do we). We are finally boarded together with the two motorhomes over 3m and two trucks.
What a debacle… it is now almost 7.00pm and we have been watching the boarding process for 4 hours! We enter by stairs 3b and climb up to level 6 and our cabin (6412). We stop and sit down, not until now realising how incredibly stressed we both are by this whole process, we reflect on how easy and stress-free the crossing to Calais is by Le Shuttle. We go and book a meal in the restaurant and open a bottle of wine.
The meal of buffet starters and main course is incredibly good, our cabin is clean and roomy, the staff are helpful and friendly, most bilingual in French and English; clearly it is the ground staff who need sacking! We are exhausted, eat our meal and go to bed early.
I wake in the night realising I feel hot and slightly nauseous and have that sinking feeling that I have eaten something that has upset me. I get up and realise that there is a considerably motion on the boat, I have difficulty standing (and it is not the wine…). I lie down again and feel the return of my equilibrium as I am rocked by the motion of the boat. There is a storm on Biscay! I fall into a fitful sleep but do not wake until 7.00am when I realise the storm has passed. I shower and bring two cups of coffee from the cafeteria to our cabin.
About mid-morning we venture upstairs and have a good look around. A cinema, a spa, a shop, a swimming pool (which is closed), the usual array of bars and lounges with chairs and tables. The deck is cold and awash with sea water, no doubt from last night’s storm. We sit and read; it is relatively quiet our fellow passengers doing the same.
Around 12.00 we walk down to the café and get a lunch of tuna and anchovies with a choice of about 10 salads, it is very good and very filling. We leave our cabin about an hour before arrival at Plymouth with some anxiety over the disembarking process. We need not have worried, last on-first off… well, maybe vehicle five to leave the ferry. The truck/motorhome queue joins the (separated) car queue for passport checking which takes about 20 minutes.
On our way about 3.50pm, joining the stagnant traffic through Plymouth which is of course, is a bottleneck from the ferry port. Onto A-38 through Ivybridge to Exeter where the road becomes M5 to Bristol. We stop at Sedgemoor Services about 6.00pm and cook turkey burgers, eating them in a bun with a large mug of coffee. Back on M5 north past Tewkesbury and Worcester, north to Birmingham and the M6 which we join sometime after 9.00pm without any queues or delays! We are amazed by our progress.
We change drivers at Keele services and decide, as the traffic is free-flowing, that we will continue on to Lancaster if we can. We arrive home at 11.15pm, totally exhausted. We bring basic food and our nightwear in and go straight to bed, not remembering anything more till early the following morning. We unload and clean Hymer, fill the washing machine and run a couple of loads as it is a bright and sunny day. We are soon back in the routine of home.
Photos from – Sargentes de la Lora to Santander and Home
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