Wednesday 27th November
We are staying in an aire beside the old city walls of Peralada. After breakfast we cross the road and enter through the arched gateway. It’s just wonderful. It’s a genuine old town. The only concession to tourists is a few notice boards in some of the squares, mostly about Ramon Muntaner, a Chronicle writer, who was born here. There is a museum but it’s not open. We wander around looking at the way the houses snuggle together. Brick adjacent to stone adjacent to block. Nothing square or uniform, only as straight as the builders eye. The gnarled olive trees cast dappled shadows on walls coloured with hues of autumn. Coffee in a small cafe with lots of locals.
Back to the van and we top up our fresh water and give the outside of the van a quick clean. It’s got to the stage we end up with dirty fingers every time we open the back door. We then plot our route out to Port Lligat. This is where Salvador Dali lived. We climb up numerous switchbacks and down again and finally reached a tiny tiny fishing village. Dali’s house is on the waters edge. He started of with one tiny two room attached cottage and ended up with the whole row. We don’t go in the house but look around the outside and in the shop, which is in the cottage he started off with. We had to park the van up at the top of the hill and walk down so we then drive further up and around then back down the other side of the bay and have lunch. It’s a beautiful tranquil bay. There are several islands enclosing the bay so the water is gentle. And crystal clear.
Greg wants to go out to the lighthouse that we can see. So we drive past the ‘No Autocamper’ signs and along a narrow winding road through unbelievably rugged terrain. We reach the lighthouse, and thankfully a large carpark. We are at the eastern most point of Spain, Cap de Creus. The rocks are fascinating, most look like petrified tree bark, then there are yellow blobs and stuff that looks like concrete and slate-like rocks. The plants grow out of nothing and hug the ground, curling up the sheltered sides of rocky outcrops. Greg takes lots of photos.
I eventually retreat to the warmth of the van. I find another spot to park up tonight thats closer lol. It’s still going to be over an hours drive so hopefully we make it before dark. This area we’re currently in isn’t camper friendly. Most carparks have height barriers and those that don’t have “No overnight camping” signs.
We drive winding switchback roads around the coast. It may have a white line down the middle of it but it isn’t two cars wide. We cross into France through an old border control gateway. The windows are open but there is no one sitting on the chair behind the desk. Most other borders we’ve crossed the buildings are either completely gone or boarded up. This one looks like they’ve just popped out, except for the graffiti. 
The site I’d picked isn’t much, Greg finds a spot further on using Google satellite but it’s worse so we move on again. Third spot is better but not fantastic. Never mind it will do. It’s full on dark now so don’t want to keep on looking. There is another camper that obviously has just pulled in too, so we’re not alone.
We’re both sad to leave Spain. We’ve loved what we’ve seen and are quite aware we have only seen a small part of it. I think there are interesting time ahead for the country though. The last few days traveling through Catalan have made us very aware of that. There have been thousands of yellow ribbons, either painted or real, calling for the release of pro independence politicians. Also signs, tags, banners calling for a referendum and/or a republic. Catalan is the first language here and I can’t see this divide simply dying away.
28th November
Looking ahead at the distance we still need to cover and the days left, we realise we’re going to have to take much bigger steps so it’s going to mean some motorways. Alas, motorway driving is boring and you can’t just pull over to look at the scenery. Oh well. It is what it is.
We were entertained this morning by the young French woman in the van in front of us jumping out her side door, pulling up her dress and wiggling her butt in her lacy knickers, presumably, at the person still in the van. She suddenly notices us and laughs, pulling her dress back down. Doesn’t deter her too much because she just steps over the low wall, pulls them back down, squats and has a pee.
We then hit the road. Down the coast a bit then inland to Millau Viaduct. It’s 3km long and is the tallest bridge in the world having a structural height of 336.4 metres (1104ft). It’s quite pretty with the sunlight catching the cables. We get off at the visitors centre and lookout point. Have a look around at both the lower lookout and the upper. There is free wifi so Greg schedules some posts then we drive on and around and under it. We going to stay the night in the valley below it.
There are two potential sites the first beside the river. Lovely photos on the app but when we arrive and started driving down the two dirt uneven ruts we have doubts. Is it going to open up? We drive a 300 metres or so and decide it’s probably not. I get out and walk ahead to see if there is somewhere to turn around because reversing back wouldn’t be fun. I find a small area that could work so we drive on and perform a multi point turn. You’d need a four wheel drive here and I still couldn’t see where you’re meant to actually park.
We carry on to the second potential place which will do. There are a couple of motorhomes here already and Greg has to move a boulder to make space for us to park but that’s okay and our view through the windscreen is of the viaduct, lights coming on as we watch.
29th November
I look ahead of the weather app to the days and nights we’re planning to be in Mulhouse, and a car museum. High of 3, low of -3. Now that’s going to be fun, not! When we collected the van we were told not to let the inside temperature get below 3 degrees as the lpg will liquify and then possibly turn to ice and block the pipes. Guess we will have to leave the heat on when we go into the museum as well as running it all night.
We go for an explore around the village of Peyre, the village we are staying at. It is mostly Troglodyte houses, as in homes and other buildings built in caves. We’re parked on top of the bluff we walk down a switchback lane it’s not very wide and when we get into the village the main roads are only 1.5m wide. One of the corners is so tight that the cars we saw go on a few metres and reverse in front of the old church to turn around. The town itself is so pretty. The old church and several of the upper houses are built in and out of caves. The outer wall of the old church is flush with the cliff wall around it. It has intriguing stain glass windows. The lower houses are on the steep slope, their top floor or roofs in line with the lane above. There is nobody around except for two builders working on a house. Greg takes lots of photos because every direction you look is a beautiful scene – a small table outside a door with some Veggies for sale, the cave with a public toilet and hand basins, the sloping roofs with crows swooping in and out of holes in the cliffs above, faded doors and shutters, flower boxes. And as a backdrop to all this ancient stuff is the super modern viaduct sweeping across the river Tarn and the autumnal coloured trees. We eventually drag ourselves away, back to the van and hit the road.
We drive across country, through the Parc National des Cevennes. The trees are at the end of their colours, mostly browns with a few pops of yellow or orange. The river beside us is the most amazing aquamarine colour. It’s totally clear and fast flowing. The train line follows the road over arched viaducts in every valley. We stop for lunch just outside one little village and there is a small snake sunning itself on the wall. It puffs itself up and arches back as Greg takes photographs of it.
We carry on driving through gorges and over plateaus. There are rainbows but no rain thankfully. We traverse plane tree lined avenues, reminding both of us of La Sagrada. Greg has to stop, of course, to take photos. I now factor in photo op time when planning our destination and timings. Today’s travel according to google is about three hours. It will take us about five. That includes coffee and lunch stops so it’s not all down to Greg. There is also the factor that we don’t drive at the speed limit.
The first spot I’d found to stay now has height barriers so we cross the bridge and pull into a paid aire. €15 and we get power and wifi plus water and drainage. Can’t complain really. We plug in and have a drink and nibbles. The sun is just starting to set so we leg it down the end of the road to the real reason we’ve come to Remoulin – Pont de Gard. There is nobody around as we walk through the empty carpark and past the closed visitors centre and along a lit path to the aqueduct. The sky through the arches is amazing colours and the moon is peeping through an upper window. Greg sets up his camera to take some long exposures. Timing is everything as the moon moves so you can’t set too long a time. THEN the lights came on. Total OMG! We move down the bank a bit so we get the reflection in the water and watch as it performs a light show for an audience of two. Another pinch me moment.
The Pont du Gard was built by the Romans in the first century to supply water to Nimes, then called Nemanusus. It’s the highest of all Roman aqueducts and one of the best preserved, primarily because it was also a toll bridge. Money talks.
Eventually it gets too cold and we retreat to the van for a late dinner. We’ll go back early tomorrow morning to catch the sunrise. Or at least that’s the plan tonight.
Speaking of plans; I’m plotting courses, finding Aires and planning all day drives to get us to Saint Tropez tomorrow and Monaco on Sunday night. Then I stop and ask myself ‘why?’ This holiday has never been about rushing from one spot to another and the ‘must visit’ tourist destinations. So I throw the plans away. We will get to wherever we get and we will see whatever is in front of us. Saying that, Monday and Tuesday will be all day driving days as we head inland and back to Munich. Just one planned stop, the car museum in Mulhouse on Wednesday. Likely to be an all day affair. Thursday won’t be quite so long but we’ll need to get the van in order and ready to hand back on Friday morning.
BAGGAB 