The Big Trip - More sidra and a dunking (includes site review for Camping Ribadesella)

After the kid's late night at the fiesta (apparently they got back about 3am) we had a lazy day at the site but not before I'd been and bought sidra at the local supermarket. Drinking local sidra in the sun on a hot day is absolute heaven but first we had to work out how to pour it. Because it has very little fizz in it, it needs to be poured from a height. You only pour a couple of inches into the glass each time too so it's quite a lot of effort but it's definitely worth it. The locals make it look really easy, holding the bottle above their heads and the glass by their knees but I just ended up with cider all up my arm and down my leg. Isaac was surprisingly good at it though!

An added bonus for the day was that the neighbours on both sides had left so we had plenty of room to stretch out in the sun. The lack of space is my only real gripe with the site, even though I expected it, so being able to sit out and move about was lovely. It also meant a better night's sleep as the shouty family next door had gone, although they left very early and all five of them shouted at each other the whole time they were packing up....

We went paddle boarding on our last day, something that we've done a couple of times before and absolutely loved. We booked a tour with Escuela Asturiana de Surf and Hugo met us at the beach in Niembro. This is a small estuary with beautiful, clear water and would be a fantastic place to spend the day. It's also a great place to get back into your stride on paddle boards as it's perfectly calm water until you head out towards the sea. 

After paddling through the little harbour and under a bridge to see the waterfall and old mill we turned back to head round to the sea. Cue tormenting teen terrorising me and Amelia by chasing us to try and push us in. He succeeded.

He was less confident as we got to the sea though and I'm happy to say he fell off a few times but I still need revenge for the dunking he gave me!

Back at the site it was time to spend an hour packing away everything but the absolute essentials. The drive to the next site should take us around 6 hours so we don't want to be setting off at lunchtime and packing away at leisure the evening before is far less stressful than rushing in the morning.

Camping in Spain has been a fantastic experience. Everyone's really laid back (except the shouty family) and the area is absolutely stunning, with so much to see and do that we're leaving with a long list of reasons to return. Although it takes two days to get here it is absolutely worth it and we will definitely visit again, although I'm going to learn some more Spanish first as I think we'd have got even more out of it if we'd have been able to have real conversations with people.

Next stop France.



The site - Camping Ribadesella

I chose the site mainly due to the distance from Santander (far enough away from the tourist parts but close enough so the drive to France wouldn't be too intense) but also for the facilities. I normally like campsites that are little more than a field and a loo but for this trip there needs to be enough for the teens to do on site so we can spend time there without them getting bored. Camping Ribadesella manages to strike the balance between providing everything the big commercial sites do and still retaining that peaceful feel.

The management and staff are all very helpful and friendly but most of them speak no English at all so you need to make an effort to speak Spanish. With a few key words/phrases and plenty of sign language we managed to get by and everyone seemed happy to help us learn the language.

It's a big, terraced site and the pitches are much smaller than we find in the UK but there are slightly bigger ones dotted about and the owners are happy for you to pick your own pitch if you're struggling like we were. Most pitches have 10amp EHU with the usual three pin plugs and the trip switches are on the posts. 

Shower blocks are dotted around the site and all are spotless with an army of cleaners constantly doing the rounds. The 'facilities' are exactly as you'd expect to find on a UK site and there are additional family toilet/shower rooms.

The main draw of the site is the pool area, with a large, outdoor pool with two slides plus an indoor pool (swimming caps compulsory). In addition to this there's a great indoor gym plus table tennis, pool, crazy golf, tennis and a multi-sports area. 

The restaurant opens early for breakfast and stays open until midnight and gets very lively on an evening, especially if there's entertainment on (a couple of nights a week). The music can be heard all over the site so if you like to be in bed early the site probably isn't for you but otherwise I'd highly recommend it.