Vilanova Park - Post 1

Monday 18th to Monday 25th February 2019 - mostly lots of lovely hot 🌞🌞🌞 🌞🌞🌞 but with occasional short periods⛅⛅⛅ !
Motorhome Miles 170,  🚴🚴 miles 35 and maybe 15 ish walking miles
Parking Co-ordinates 41.23161, 1.69432

As planned on Monday (18th) we left Camping Monmar (at Moncofa) behind and travelled 170 ish uneventful miles north to a campsite called Vilanova Park which is about 30 miles south west of Barcelona and about 3 miles from the town of  Vilanova i la Geltru.  On the way we had our usual stops for fuel, LPG and food so we arrived in the early afternoon, and almost immedietly, we realised we'd got a slight problem.   This site is enormous with over 1,400 pitches and much of it is on sloping ground - and as we haven't got our levelling ramps with us we thought we might be in for a long 30 day wonky stay!  However, although we haven't got the best pitch in the world to catch the 🌞🌞🌞 after 3 attempts we did manage to sneak onto one that wasn't too bad - we've just got a very minor starboard list!  But by now we're quite used to our  lopsided life and it really only makes a difference if your trying to cook something like an omelette😂😂!

Our nearly level pitch with a wood yard behind which can be a bit noisy and a bit dusty 🙉😂

The rest of the day and all of Tuesday was spent acquainting ourselves with our surroundings, our neighbours and with the sites many facilities which include woodland walks, pools, a very well stocked supermarket and also a lovely bar and restaurant which of course we had to try!

One of the three pools - but this one was closed because it's winter!!!

On Wednesday we nipped out on our bikes to explore a little further afield but mainly we concentrated on the  nearby coastal town  of Vilanova which has another lovely palm tree lined prom, a marina, a lighthouse, but more unusually, it has sea defences which include a large cow sculpture called 'Pasifae'!

It seems the sculpture (by Oscar Estruga)  is composed of three tons of copper and is linked to Greek Mythology,.  The story goes that Pasifae was the wife of King Minos, and the sea God Poseidon sent a white bull for sacrifice at the hands of Minos - but the king refused to kill it which angered Poseidon and resulted in him causing Pasifae to fall in love with the bull.  Pasifae was unable to control her desires for the white bull and ordered a large wooden cow to be built so that she could hide inside it and indulge in carnal acts with the beast😱!   In so doing they conceived a child that turned out to be half man and half beast - a Minotaur - and that beast terrorised the people until his eventual death at the hands of Theseus.

The Pasifae statue at Vilanova is a graphic rendition of that story and apparently the naked queen can be seen quite graphically inside the cow, but as yet, we haven't been up close enough to properly identify all the details - but when we do I'll show you a pic!

The tower at what we
thought was the top
of the hill 😂😂

One of the many
Signposts that
guided our way

On Thursday we decided to explore in the opposite direction to the coast, and this time we did it on foot.  Vilanova lies just below the Garraf and Foix Parks and they form some of the foothills to the  Garraf massif.  The  territory that rises up from the coast and into hills is interlaced with dozens of walking paths, but because of our lack of transport (now that T4rdis2 is firmly ensconced in the campsite) we're a bit restricted as to where we can get to.  However, that didn't really matter because John soon had his electronic maps out and identified a nearby trail that would take us up to the Balcony de Vilanova! 

Us at the top of the hill on The Balcony de Vilanova👏👏

Part of the path along the top of the ridge

Therefore, we completed a fantastic 9 mile hike that took us very high up over steep paths and onto a ridge from where we could look inland in a northerly direction, and out to sea in a southerly one.  And it also allowed us a distant glimpse of the Foix Reservoir which would be tomorrows target.

Foix Reservoir

So on Friday our picnic was quickly packed and off we went up hill once more to find the glistening depths of the reservoir which has been providing water for the area since 1928.

That's not John's birth date - it's the Reservoir's😂

The dam that holds back the waters of the River Foix 

A Distant view of the Castle at Castellet with it's image romantically reflected
in the waters of the Foix Reservoir

Sadly we couldn't find a picnic area on the banks of the resevoir but as our ride took us ever higher we soon spotted a Castle which sits atop a mound and this provided very well for our resting needs. 

The castle is within the ancient town of Castellet  and is UNESCO listed.  It dates back to 977 and has been inhabited for over 2,500 years, however it's feudal history receded with the passage of time and eventually it became a palatial residence, and later still a private property, and this may have been the reason that the gates were locked to visitors.

A 3 D Frieze showing the stone being quarried for the castle

But the hamlet itself was well worth our visit because not only did it have benches where we could rest, it also presented narrow steep winding streets with several balcony areas that overlooked huge swaths of vine clad countryside, and more distantly, views  in a seaward direction.

Vine clad countryside as seen from high up in Castellet

From there we peddled mostly downhill to the coastal town of Cunit where we partook of our picnic while watching the Med's waves wash up over their coastal defences, and then all that was left for us to do was peddle along beside the sea until we reached Cubelles and headed for home.

Cunit sea defences.

So after 2 busy days we awarded ourselves the weekend off, and that was partly because it was then that the Caravan and Camping Club Rally was officially starting.  However, it's all very low key and seems to be organised mostly around socialising which we've been doing with some very nice folks.

And now it's Monday again, and it's been another quiet day!  We've been to the Rally coffee morning and I've been up to the spa for a swim in a lovely pool that has a Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room attached.  Tomorrow we've got another outing planned but so far I don't think either of us know quite what that will be!

Bye for now
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