Camping in Spain

This morning I find myself sitting in a campsite in Tarifa, Spain and remembering a variety of other camping trips I have made in my life.

I camped as a girl scout - digging a hole in the ground for the bathroom, learning to set up a teepee style tent, and running for the real shelter when foul weather came.

My dad borrowed a camper created from an old bread truck and we experimented with the idea of family camping.  Later we bought a pop up camper and traveled over quite a big of the east coast of the US.  The camper included air condition.  Many of our camping trips were with my Uncle Bill and Aunt Carol and their two daughters Sherry and Stephanie.  We would swap campers and have perpetual sleep overs.  My Aunt Carol always brought an electric frying pan (this was such her trade mark that I was not surprised for her to give me one as a wedding present).  My dad would "scramble" a pound of bacon most mornings and we would have fried pilsbury canned biscuits.

When I got married we bought a used tent and, sight unseen, headed to the SC coast for a camping trip.  Turns out the tent leaked and we spent the night sleeping in the car.  I discovered I was not a hot weather, humid air camping kind of gal and our camping quickly came to an end.

Scott took up back-pack camping a little later in life and I tried it once.  You know the idea of carrying everything you need in to the campsite on your back, using nature for the bathroom, and picking some spot in the wild to set up camp.  I enjoyed the company, but sorry - the kind of food you can eat when you have to carry it in on your back just doesn't measure up to what I call "real camp food."

Then we moved to Spain.  We are blessed to live in a beautiful country with lots to see - however, with the move came a cut in salary and an increase in costs.  Wanna see the country?  Find an alternative to hotels and eating 5 meals out (yep, in Spain we have 5 meals a day).  Several of our co-workers camp and I decided to give it another try.  Last summer we camped for two weeks (nothing like jumping in head first) and this weekend is the 2nd time this year we have pulled out the tent.  I still think I would prefer a 5 star (or even 2 or 3) hotel or at least a pop up camper, but I am finding I do like camping.

It's a little different here in Spain.

• You pay for everything - the site, the size of your tent, the number of people with you, electricity, pets, car, ....  easily between €35 and €50 per night - but compared to a hotel, still a great deal!
• You do not have water at your site.  You walk to the bath houses or sometimes the water spickets that are spread out for water.
• The campgrounds provide an area for washing your dishes.  Usually a line of sinks and counters and you can have some great conversations while doing your dishes.
• Especially in the summer, campers in Spain are serious - they bring microwaves, televisions, paella pans, and more.  
• There are no fires (in most places in Spain open fires are illegal) and very few grills.
• Quiet hours are start later and end later - but when they say quiet hours, it gets silent.

Each camping trip I get a little more proficient about what to pack, how to organize, what to plan on cooking, and etc.  I figure in about 10 years I should be a good "spanish camper."

Here are a few pictures of our "home away from home" this weekend.