…And So It Ends

Here we are once again, sitting in a line of motorhomes at the Port of Bilbao. There are lovely smells of cooking wafting about as evening meals get going; we aren’t the only ones who checked in for the ferry the night before. It’s a good way to save us the stress of rushing here in the early morning traffic – and let’s face it, if anyone’s going to miss the ferry due to traffic problems, it would be us. And so it ends, the conclusion of another set of adventures.

It’s been a strange few end-of-the-trip days. The weather has closed in a bit with clouds and drizzle here in the north of Spain so we haven’t been able to sit out much or do a lot of exploring by bike or on foot. We’ve made small hops along the coast to Bilbao, stopping in quiet seaside towns.

Harbour reflections...
The Last of the Summer Wine

Lekeitio was probably the most interesting place we’ve seen in the last day or two. It’s a harbour town with a marina surrounded by colourful tenement buildings. These are colourful washing and Spanish flags hanging out of the windows which flutter in the sea-breeze. They had the world’s tiniest zoo, and a loud rock band belting out tunes for late night revellers most of Saturday night in the town square. A fairly typical heavy-rock band with vocals, drums, lead & rhythm guitars, bass and accordion. Hang on – accordion?? They were pretty good to be fair.

And so it ends - sports day, I mean
Carefree kids burning off their energy on a Sunday morning.

It was jackets and jumpers on for the Sunday morning, warming coffee stroll. It was good to see that all the previous night’s detritus had been cleaned up overnight. In fact the square was buzzing again with the sound of children. Many, many children. There was a running track set up with cones for the local school’s sports day! It was a delight to see the enthusiasm of the kids as they threw themselves into the races.

So at the end of another long trip, what have we learned?

I probably mentioned that we had a new, modern leisure battery fitted before we left. That was a great call. We really haven’t had to find an electric hook-up the whole time we’ve been away. Vince’s old battery must have been very tired. This one rarely drops below 95% despite our fixation with our Game of Thrones box set! 

One of us – ahem – has learned that tender feet need factor 50 sunscreen if you’re on the beach all afternoon…

We’ve learned not to over-plan. If we’re not in a particular place on a particular day, we don’t get too stressed, and if we like somewhere – well why not stay a day or two longer? 

This trip we’ve enjoyed lots of podcasts – they’re so easy to download and play back through Vince’s speakers on the more boring drives. But we’re so middle-class I’m embarrassed to say which ones. Let’s just say there’s lots of Radio 4 stuff in there. 

We’ve met some lovely travellers on the way round – you know who you are – and on this trip our relatively new Instagram account has made us many new friends. Follow us on @vincentvan_gone for up-to-the minute malarkey.

We’ve learned that the busy coastal resorts don’t always want us, but as a result we discovered that the inland towns and villages make wandering Vinces very welcome with free services and lots to see and do. 

Where next? And when? We don’t know, and we don’t know! Our first grandchild is on the way – our older daughter is relieved it’s a girl or she’d definitely have had to name him Vince. Our youngest has a wedding to plan for 2020. Gill has offers of supply teaching, and I’ll be weeding and strimming the summer away at Mossyard Caravan Park. Please come and see us any time by the way, at mossyard.co.uk

We’re lucky enough to have moved to a beautiful part of Scotland so we hope there’ll be frequent short breaks with the big fella and (don’t tell Gill) but I suspect we might get away for a three or four weeker in October or November. 

Meantime, as always – thank you for coming along with us for the last 4500 miles. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it wouldn’t be the same without you. In the unlikely event that you find yourself missing our updates, just drop us a line at ken@vincentvangone.co.uk  – I love to chat 😉 No, really!

Strange bird
Only a mother could love it…
Even stranger bird
Trawler coming home
Our ferry home. Not really..!
About Ken Tomlinson 217 Articles
Semi-retired biker, blogger and world’s best grandad. Doesn’t take life too seriously. Discovered motorhoming in 2015, sold up and downsized to fund more travels. Now with added Yorkshire.

4 Comments on …And So It Ends

  1. I’m going to miss your commentaries and I’ve appreciated noting all of the places that have appealed to us as we retire in 1 week and are planning our first trip abroad in September with 6 weeks practice in the uk first. I especially like your reflections which give us food for thought. Enjoy your summer and especially your new grandchild. I work in the wedding industry so beware it can get stressful

    • Aww thank you Gloria! I’ll be steering well clear of wedding arrangements 😀

      It’s good to hear that you’re going to be enjoying the motorhome lifestyle – good luck with it, and if we can help with any questions feel free to drop us a note.

      Happy travels!
      K&G

  2. About time you gave up that work malarkey! Always enjoy reading about your travels, looking forward to the next trip, and if we’re ever up your way we’ll certainly look you up 🙂

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