Author: judycoutinho

Oh dear … a problem with the Webasto boiler

Second day in Spain and something went wrong with the Webasto boiler. It gave off error messages about no combustion.

Into the workshop

After phoning Webasto in Madrid we found an authorised dealer in Valladolid with a skilled engineer named Cesar who could fix it. But of course it needed a new part which had to be ordered.

Evidently if you’re only using the water heater (as we tend to do over the summer) carbon builds up around the burner and eventually it stops working. Evidently these boilers need to be set to very high heat every so often to prevent this build up.

Breiza restaurant

The workshop was in an industrial estate just outside of the city but as this was Spain there was a very good bar/restaurant where all the workers from the surrounding businesses went for lunch. It took three excellent ‘menus’ at €10 each before we were on the road again.

Valladolid

Valladolid was our first stop. There’s a great camper stop in a car park near the city centre for €5 per night (see park4nite). 

River Piseurga Valladolid

To get to the centre you have to cross over the river Pisuerga and the town have made great walks along the river bank, bringing in sand to make a beach for bathing.

Jero tapas bar

We went out for something to eat and just happened upon a Tapas bar called Jero. There was a queue outside of people waiting to get in before it had even opened at about 8pm. So we were lucky and able to get a table.

Prawns on mushrooms

Delicious prawns on mushrooms!!

Onto the Ferry

We finally made it to the ferry although the day before it had been touch and go as on Friday afternoon we discovered that the water pump was leaking (so that’s what that funny noise meant). A quick dash down to Murvi managed to resolve the issue and we got to Portsmouth late evening, parking on the sea front.

  • In the ferry queue
  • Grey and blustery

The crossing was fine although a bit blowy as you can see. But we had a delicious evening meal in the restaurant.

As Brittany Ferries are a French company French Covid rules applied so masks had to be worn at all times except when sitting down and we were pleased to see that the staff really applied the rules. Fresh air was being pumped into all areas including cabins, so it felt pretty safe.

We had read that we couldn’t take any meat, dairy or fresh fruit and vegetables into the EU and we had cleared our fridge having been told numerous tales of fridge searches but then, going through the checks at Bilbao the only question we were asked was whether we had any pets. Oh well … off to the supermarket to restock.

Travelling down to Spain

This year we set off on 20 December, and got down to the Ribamar campsite at Alcossebra on Christmas Eve. We crossed the channel on Eurotunnel (so easy) and took the route recommended by Susy – Rouen, Chatres, Orleans, Clemont-Ferrand .., and then follow your nose to Spain. It was a very pretty route.

We stayed the first night at an Aire in Montreuil sud Mer, about one hour from Calais where we’d stayed before. The second night at a camperstop in Bruère-Allichamps – very pleasant by a river (once you’d worked out how to get in), and the third night at a Camperstop in the car park of a restaurant Chez-Nous in Fitou. Lots of vignerons around there so of course we had to contribute to the local economy. Both of these stops were found through the CamperContact App.

Perama Cave

The Perama cave is 2 km from Ioannina and if you are in the area it is well worth a visit. The cave was discovered in 1940 when the villagers were taking shelter from the bombing during WWII. After the war it was properly explored by Ioannis and Anna Petrochilou (cave experts) and found to extend for 5km.

It is stunning!

We were glad that we’d taken long sleeve shirts with us as it was 34C outside but only 18C inside – a temperature which remains constant throughout the year.

Ioannina bougátsa

Ioannina is the home of bougátsa and it’s absolutely delicious!! There is a little cafe called ‘Select’ whose decor hasn’t changed since the 70s. It only sells bougátsa which are made in the kitchen at the back of the shop by the owner whose picture is below. It’s served warm straight from the oven. There are two types savoury and sweet – no prizes for guessing which one we had.

The guide book calls it a kind of custard tart but this nowhere near describes it!

Jewish Community of Ioannina

Ioannina’s Jewish community numbers just some 50 people today, but was once the centre of the unique 2,300 year-old Romaniote Jewish tradition.

The Romaniote Jews, neither Ashkenazi nor Sephardic, emerged from the first Jewish communities of Europe. Records indicate the first Jewish presence in Greece dating back to 300 BCE.

These Jews became known as the Romaniotes, speaking their own language, Yevanic, or Judeo-Greek, a version of Greek infused with Hebrew and written with the Hebrew script.

By the start of the 20th century, some 4,000 Romaniote Jews lived in Ioannina. But amid the economic hardship and the turmoil that accompanied the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, many joined their Greek compatriots and emigrated.

Most went to the United States and Palestine, setting up Romaniote synagogues in New York City and Jerusalem. Later, a third was established in Tel Aviv. At the start of World War II, about 2,000 Jews remained in Ioannina.

On March 25, 1944, the German Nazi occupiers rounded up the Jews of Ioannina and sent them to Auschwitz.

Only 112 Ioannina Jews survived the death camps. Another 69 escaped the roundup, hiding with Christian families or fleeing into the mountains, where some fought with the Greek resistance.

The old Jewish area below the citadel is a warren of narrow lanes and alleys, arcades (called stoas) in Anexartisias Street, many now turned into buzzy restaurants and bars.