Bonterra Park Campsite, outside Valencia, Spain

Mon 5^th - Thurs 8^th May

We needed some time off -- time off from our 6-month holiday. Boy I can just feel the sympathy oozing out from each of you as you read this entry right now. But anyone who has travelled for more than a few weeks knows that after a while you crave just staying put for a few days.

Besides, I've been intrigued with European camping since I moved here and wanted some time to study and understand it. What possesses people to leave their comfy homes in the city only to line up along small patches of grass directly next to each other like chickens in a hen house and call it a holiday?

Back in Colorado, camping has an entirely different meaning. Camping means driving for 4 hours to the most back mountain road you can find, crossing small rivers and listening to the underside of the VW van scrape against the dirt road as you bottom out on a trail that's solely intended for 4-wheel drive vehicles. You park up in a meadow completely surrounded by nothing but wilderness, circle the cars with tents in the middle and tell the kids not to wander off due to the mountain lions and wolves. There's no shower block or toilet. Instead you bring baby wipes to clean your arm pits in the morning and feel thankful that Uncle Oscar brought the customised chair with a toilet seat, dug a hole beneath it and stuck a roll of toilet paper on the nearest tree branch.

Don't tell Bevan, but when we first started planning this trip I wasn't exactly excited. Camping for 6 months across Europe only brought back visions of Colorado and my 30-something self felt a longing to take a shower rather than appreciation for the the beautiful surroundings. Couldn't we just save a bit more cash and stay in hotels?

I dreaded the day that he actually wanted to depart, until Adam and Davina sent home a few photos and stories of their camp sites while they were doing the same route 2 years ago. They were photos of Adam flying down a water slide and sitting next to a pool under one of those tiki umbrellas with a beer in hand. Wow... maybe camping had changed since I was 15 years old.

We pulled into Bonterra Park along the Costa Blanca and immediately you could feel our excitement pulsing through the van. The beach was just 200 metres away, a huge supermarket was across the street with every type of meat you could dream of barbecuing plus an extensive selection of beers. The grounds had a huge pool, a library, a bulletin board with daily events and even a large screen TV to watch nightly football matches.

My next few days followed a similar routine of heaven:

First sunlight
Look at your watch. If clock says 7am or earlier, return to sleep. If clock says 8am, assess state of tiredness. If feeling okay, proceed to next step. If tiredness persists, return to sleep.

8:00am
Roll over and notice that Bevan has been awake for 2 hours, but is reading a book. Bevan says he'll make coffee while you go to the showers. Smile happily.

8:45am
Morning shower routine has taken so long that not only is the coffee made, but Bevan has cooked poached eggs on toast. Smile happily.

9:30am
Wash dishes to say thanks to Bevan, then assess weather. If sunny, pull on swimmers and head to beach. If raining, grab laptop and head to reception to use WiFi.

12:00pm
Return to van from beach / library / games room / internet terminals. Cycle to supermarket across the street and pick out fresh bread, cheese and meat for lunch. Cycle home and enjoy a ham and cheese sandwich with beer.

1:00pm
If sunny, return to beach. If cloudy/rainy, check activities board. It's paella cooking day so cycle to the restaurant area and find a seat near the big cooking pot.

1:02pm
Realise that everyone else brought a bottle of wine to watch the cooking class, so quickly cycle back to van and pick up wine supplies.

2:00pm
Paella is cooked and tipsiness has settled in. Pile paella onto your plate, enjoy a second lunch and smile happily.

3:00pm
If sunny, return to beach. If cloudy/rainy, choose either more WiFi, reading a book in the van, playing the PSP or cycling into town for a bit of shopping.

6:30pm
Return to van and make guacamole. Eat guacamole with chips and beer.

8:00pm
Finally it's Spanish supper time. Cycle to supermarket and pick out food for grilling / barbecue. Pick up more beer / wine if needed.

9:00pm
Dinner is ready. Eat and drink outside under the awning and smile happily.

10:00pm
Gather beers / wine into the canvas carrying bag and walk to the social room to watch the nightly football match on the big screen TV.

12:00am
Walk to shower block, wash your face and brush your teeth. Return to van to find that Bevan has made up the bed. Smile happily and promise to put bed away in the morning as a thank you. Fall asleep to an episode of Flight of the Conchords on Bevan's laptop.