GK Tours. Day 31 & 32
Wednesday & Thursday, 4th & 5th December 2024.
Salou to Peniscola
Another quiet night was had, less road noise than we expected and the sun was out again when we emerged from the cave.
Our walk to the beach of Salou took about 30 minutes, past huge hotels, a myriad of shops and restaurants all closed up for the season. There was a supermarket open, which we noted to pop into on our return.and then had to wait until we were on the beach promenade before we saw any other open establishments.
It’s a lovely expanse of beach with a prom similar to Benidorm, geared for the pedestrian. The bars and cafes were all on the opposite side of the road.
Eventually we found a small ice-cream shop with tables and chairs in the sun that sold coffee 
. It was a cute little business and our café con leche (coffee with milk) was served on individual bamboo wood trays with pink crockery, a dinky little chocolate chip muffin on a pink heart dish finished the display.
All just for a coffee, what a great effort by the owner/assistant. She was very friendly too, delivering orders to nearby shops while we sat in the sun.
It was very warm – if you weren’t in the stiff breeze, so our jumpers and coats were on and off like yo-yos. After our coffee, we walked long the beach towards the headland.
A quick visit into Ale-hop ( don’t you just love those shops , always have something you may not need but do want 
) before we had pics with the Salou sign and then headed back to the van. We’d almost completed our 10k step challenge by the time we arrived back!
Onwards to Peniscola and another castle on a hill.
Our route took us through a town called Amposta.
The first thing you noticed is the bridge to cross the Ebro river. It was inspired by the Brooklyn Bridge as you will see from the photos. Not the sort of thing you would normally come across, but our trips have taught us to expect the unexpected .
There is also a roundabout that I failed to get a good picture of, with a bull and a bullfighter. Checking Google, the significance of this particular model is that Amposta used to hold a bullfight where the bull wasn’t killed but had fire sticks – sparkler type things – tied to their horns. Not something I agree with at all and would not like to see.
They grow short grain rice in this area – known as the Ebro Delta and as you drive towards it you can see the rice fields around you. Amposta also holds rice festivals every year, in June you can help plant it and in October watch the harvest.
Arriving in Peniscola we were lucky to get a 2 night pitch on the only open ACSI campsite in the area called Camping Edén. It’s nearly full with holiday makers pitched for Christmas and the winter months.
It’s a great location, just off the main front, a lovely sandy beach for Meg and a very pleasant walk into the old town.
The sunset was amazing tonight, coupled with the lights from houses on the hill behind us it made for a very magical evening 
.
Thursday 5th December
This morning we had a leisurely start and then ambled on down to the old town, on the beach of course to let Meg have some fun.
There’s a great castle on the headland with walls around the old town still visible. As we approached it on the beach Gareth said it looks just like something you would see in Game of Thrones. Well, it actually was! In the old town as you walk around, as well as info boards about the ancient buildings there is also information about certain films that feature the buildings or the walls etc.
We didn’t know most of the films but of course we knew Game of Thrones and El Cid.
The castle looked amazing but we were disappointed, once again, that Meg and hairy friends like her are not permitted, so we satisfied ourselves with a walk around the outside, still a very impressive and pleasant walk.
The views are just fabulous, especially on a day like today with bright, clear blue skies.
We stopped for a Clara and to admire the view before wandering again looking for the Bufador – a natural bore hole that sprays seawater when the sea is rough. Today we could only hear the noise and imagine the spectacle.
The Christmas market was being set up as we walked around, it looks like there’s going to be a wonderful display when it’s finished. It’s a national holiday in Spain tomorrow and a bank holiday on Monday so the old town will be busy, we are planning to visit as the sun goes down to soak up some Spanish Christmas cheer.
We’ll let you know how that goes .
On our way back to the van we popped into a supermarket and then stopped at what looked like a ‘popular with the locals’ restaurant and had our 4th meal out! Blimey, it’s not that we haven’t been trying but it’s difficult to find places open.
Gareth had little cockles (tellinas) cooked in olive oil and lots of garlic, oh my, so delicious, then for main he had grilled Bream and I had lamb chops 
, all washed down with a glass of Rosé.
We could taste the oily garlic on our lips for the rest of the day .
Back at the van we tidied up ready to move tomorrow. As it’s a holiday weekend the site is full, unless we get a space tomorrow due to a cancellation 
if not, we are going to move on to the free spaces just behind the campsite
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