North of Spain! Road is as Important as the Destination.

We had pasta in the same town and I said to Tomasz – lets go to Croatia and stay somewhere nice. We crossed the border at night and stayed in a tiny port, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I don’t even know how to localise this place right now. We asked some fishermen who were around if we could stay there and they agreed with a big smile. At that time we had no idea that free camping is illegal in Croatia, oops.

 It was something I needed after the “scratch drama”. The next day we took it slow and in the afternoon we stopped at a small campsite located just on the cliff, with the most beautiful view on the sea. We had some seafood for dinner, walk along the beach and that was pretty much it. Oh, I did clean our camper as a stress release activity. 

The next day we went back to Italy, to drive through it with small, yet beautiful breaks, which you can see in my Italian guide. https://whatshouldieatforbreakfasttoday.com/italy-road-trip-with-a-toddler/  Then we took a ferry to Spain, which literally meant that I spent around 20h in bed, in my cabin. A girl needs to do what she needs to do and I needed to rest and read. It was beautiful! Mia running around the ship with her dad and me alone with a book… If you don’t have a kid, you most probably won’t see a beauty of this situation. But if you do, you get the point. 

We got to Barcelona, left our van in a guarded parking and could not walk fast enough to the metro to get to the city. You see, we used to live in Barcelona for 3 months before Mia was born and I love almost everything about this city. It turned out that I still love it like crazy. If you’re ever there, check out my Barcelona guide.

And now comes the moment, when I share our the travel through the north of Spain. It wasn’t long, just a few stops, but I can already say that this is one of the most beautiful and exciting parts of Europe. If you asked me where to go with your camper, I’d say north of Spain. Spanish people are very friendly but this is just one of many reasons. The other for sure is food, but it will be an obvious one. The main one – nature and views. OMG! Waking up at 6 am to take pictures was never easier. You have warm weather and beautiful views in one. 

I will mention only a few places which I really enjoyed. But to be honest, there’s way much more. 

Bilbao – is a surfers favourite and you don’t need any convincing to go there. This is the city where I bought my first longboard and where I fell in love with it. It has a beautiful vibe and it’s worth checking out. 

San Sebastian has so many delicious tapas places, that you would have to stay there for a year to taste it all. A bit more over here . But in general, I need to write that there is a reason why I’ve been there 6 times already. This city rocks. It has a very special, relaxing vibe. There is also a sweet spot to park your van, from where you can walk to all the restaurants. The food is mind blowing, seriously, you need to try tapas over there, the people are friendly and it looks like everyone has a good day over there.

If you want to spend a day in a beautiful and unique place, you should stop in Tortella. A river where you can have a deep or you can go on a beautiful high stone bridge to look down. There’s a great walk attached to the deal and I saw a girl running next to a horse through the bridge. Pretty spectacular view. There’s a parking in a forest, so you can even stay for a night. 

Valle de Hecho – the whole territory is beautiful and you have a crazy amazing villages like the one on a picture. Can you imagine what happens when you have a coffee while standing in a window and you accidentally drop your cup? Bye bye cup. And do not let your cats sit there!

One of the most unique walks I had on the north of Spain was the one to Gaztelugatxe. It was beautiful, not too long and the views were just stunning. It is a popular spot, so do not expect to be the only one going there. Apparently there are even some traffic jams on a bridge during the day. But at 4 am, with the sunrise, it’s almost empty.

We had one of the most beautiful stops on the hills of Deba. There is a park, where you can stop for a night as well. Imagine waking up to a sunrise to see the clouds covering the  hills. I had a magical walk over there and the coastal view is unforgettable as well.