The wheels are rolling again...

On November 23rd it was time. Our Hummel is packed, Kilian is somewhat fit again...although without hair, but full of energy and desire to travel and we say byby to cold Germany. We thought for a long time about where we should actually go now. Originally, Greece and Turkey were on the plan. However, since Kilian has a strict aftercare program and our friends Fred and Gabi, who we met in the Peloponnese in 2018, want to go to Spain and Portugal, we decide to join in. We already have doctors in Spain and we know where to go. Our other friends Karin and Nicole are also in Andalusia and we want to surprise them. We're already looking forward to seeing the puzzled faces.

When the outside temperature is 2° we say goodbye to Germany and drive into France.

We move quickly through Alsace because the Pyrenees are in front of us and snow is forecast.

High up at 1100m near Albaret-Sainte-Marie the first eagles are circling above us. It is freezing cold and the air smells of snow. Small remote villages of stone houses can be seen on the slopes and a light frost covers the green landscape.

Bright blue skies await us on the summits. The landscape becomes rockier and karstic. Bizarre rock formations line the street. I'm practically glued to the windshield with excitement. What a magnificent landscape!

On the other side we are greeted by a Mediterranean landscape. Cypresses and olive groves dominate the picture. We bypass Montpellier extensively because there is an environmental zone here that we are not allowed to enter. In Peyriac-de-mer we find our friends Fred and Gabi again. We met them both in the Peloponnese in 2018 and remained friends. The two have been living in a motorhome for many years and have always spent the last few winters in Greece. Now they want to explore Spain and Portugal and we will now do that together. What a joy to see them both again. Lucy immediately fell in love with her white furry friends Theo and Packo and together they frolicked around the place by the sea where hundreds of flamingos are standing in the water.

The first walk by the water makes us extremely happy. Just 4 weeks ago Kilian was in the hospital with sepsis and now we are back at the sea! We can hardly understand it yet.

Two recovery days later, the time has come. We'll go together on November 27th. cross the border into Spain and the grin on your face gets bigger and bigger. Hola Costa Brava we are back!!

It is still cold at night in northern Spain and we continue in leisurely stages towards Andalusia, leaving Barcelona and Tarragonna behind and arriving in the Valencia area. Orange plantations, olive trees, reeds, palm trees and cacti dominate the landscape. It feels like coming home.

Near Oropesa we find a parking space in the pine forest and set off on foot on the 3.9km long path to the town. A huge marina and a great palm beach welcomes us. The city itself is ugly, ugly, ugly. Huge old high-rise buildings and mass housing spoil the picture. The sidewalks are up, the hotels and restaurants are closed and the city is deserted. We are happy that we don't have to go on vacation here but can continue driving again tomorrow.

For Kilian it was the first major hike after his illness but he bravely managed the whole way there and back.

On the further way towards Andalusia we pass countless similar cities that only seem to consist of high-rise buildings. Prefabricated buildings as far as the eye can see. We're heading quickly south. The Costa Brava is not to our taste.

We drive over the mountains, with a stopover, to the Alicante area. We leave this behind too and come to the Murcia district. We want to visit this little town and check in at the motorhome parking lot. In cities we simply feel that our bumblebee is better off in a guarded place. The diesel price is 1.29 euros!! In Murcia. The city is huge with 450,000 inhabitants. Unfortunately, the parking space is far away from the city center and it is difficult to walk with the dogs because there is crazy traffic. We quickly agree that this is too much for us. We sleep there for a night, I buy two pretty bracelets from our Belgian neighbor that she makes herself, we stock up on water and quickly disappear from this hectic city.

Today we drive the last stage with 330km to Motril Andalusia. There we finally surprise our friends Karin and Nicole, who we have shamelessly lied to for the last 10 days by telling them on the phone that we are on the way to Greece. We are also looking forward to the winter group from all over the world that we were able to meet last year at the Playa Granada campsite.

We hear about the snow chaos at home and are happy to have just escaped it. Our world consists of orange and lemon trees, palm trees, cacti, sand and sea. We definitely prefer this to winter.

The greenhouse area begins near Almeria. Thousands of greenhouses covered with plastic sheeting can be seen stretching to the horizon. Filled with vegetables that you can buy in the supermarket. You drive past them for hours.

Then the time has come. We drive to the beach area of Motril and feelings of home immediately arise. Hundreds of palm trees welcome us, the sea glitters in the sun and even the dogs are very excited because they realize where we are. We arrive at the campsite and surprise our friends Karin and Nicole. The faces were priceless. Almost all of the other winterers are there too and the joy of seeing each other again is great. We check in, drive our truck into the rather narrow space and a short time later find ourselves in the same place as this time last year. We will now stay here for some time to really "arrive" in beautiful Spain.

Our friends Fred and Gabi will also be stopping by here in the next few days and friends from Germany are also nearby and will visit us soon. It can only be fun.