16th September 2022 Isle of Wight to Santander, Spain.
Since our last trip out life has been quite stressful and packed with work. It’s time to get away. So what has happened since our last trip?
Covid is still about although not as virulent and dangerous as it once was, in fact, the WHO are about to tell us all that the pandemic is over. War is still on in Europe and we have no idea where that will go or for how long. Inflation is the highest it has been for 40 years, apparently. It seems harder to get things done and to get them done properly and on top of that our personal life has undergone a few changes. Whew! The past six months have certainly been a roller coaster.
So yes, it is time to get away again. Most definitely, but where to this time? Well, we shall just stick a wet finger in the air and see which way the wind blows…
Our journey starts from home, of course, and we are heading first for Santander, northern Spain. We are taking the Brittany Ferries ship the Galicia out of Portsmouth at 21:30.
We left home on our local, late, as usual, Wightlink ferry to Portsmouth. Because our local ferry can’t be trusted with timekeeping, we elect to leave the Isle of Wight at 4:20.
To kill time we make our way to Southsea beach for a very large and very expensive fish and chips.
Despite the expense, it was very nice to be scoffing freshly made fish and chips and mushy peas and watching the sun setting over the Isle of Wight.
Our expensive tea kills plenty of time. We make the short drive to the ferry terminal in Portsmouth, check-in, and wait to board.
Did we mention that the fish and chips were expensive?
Our arrival at the Portsmouth ferry port was stress-free and not too busy compared to the Dover/Calais crossing where recently we have seen some chaotic scenes.
We are waved into the belly of the beast, and it is a beast. The 1-year-old Brittany Ferries Galicia.
Once we are on we make our way to deck 9 where our cabin is. The boat is superb, well-fitted, clean, and tidy. We like it. How about the cabin?
We love the cabin, no window as we are on the inside of the ship, but it is well appointed. The beds are super comfortable, a nice big toilet and shower, and just enough space for a few clothes. Brilliant.
Time to go back outside and watch our departure.
It’s a cool night tonight but worth being out as we watch another gigantic Brittany Ferry dock just in time for us to leave. We pass the huge broken down new Navy aircraft carrier. You know the ones. Cost 3 billion quid each, no airplanes, and now they don’t work. Yeah, those ones.
We slowly slide past our old harbour where we used to keep Stargazer, our boat, before passing the Spinnaker tower at Portsmouth harbour and then out into the Solent, passing the Isle of Wight on our right.
We left the Island at 5 pm. It’s now 10 pm and we are just passing Bembridge. We haven’t come very far in 5 hours!
Once we are well underway we go back inside. It is cold. We manage a nice blue cocktail before going to bed. Tomorrow we should be just coming into the Bay of Biscay
If you are following us again on our trip then a warm and hearty “hello“, if you are new then “welcome“. You are all very very welcome. Our blog is not selling or endorsing anything, it is just a journal of our trip.
enjoy the travels and the mini adventures……….
Sure you both need and or deserve a bit of time off………
enjoyyyyyyyyyy.
jxx
Awww cheers, Jon… Hope all is ell with you and see you soon
dj
Hi Guys. I’ll be watching closely to see if you’re our way at all! Have a great safe trip.
Paste!!!! How are you, dear fellow… We are on the other side of the peninsular over in Portugal. First time in a van!!
Hello derek & Hayley, nice to see you both off on your trip, I am happy that you are both taking time out from work & everyday things, it’s time for you both to relax and enjoy yourselves, fabulous photos so far hope to see lots more, sending you both so much love, safe travels, hope too hear from you both very soon, Danielle has sold all her puppies 🐶, so they are going to their forever homes in 4 weeks time,, we are going to miss them so much, bye bye for now take care of each other xxx ❤️❤️❤️
Woof Wooof… Good news on the pups… Good to hear from you, keep in touch xxx
So pleased to hear you’ve managed to get away again before the cold weather sets in. Have a good ferry trip – and we’ll look forward to hearing where your adventures take you to this time.
The ferry was brilliant… First time on it in a van. We loved it. Hope you are both keeping well
Good to hear that you are off on your travels again. Looking forward to hearing all about this latest adventure.
Fantastic to see you a few weeks back. We had a good weekend. We hope that its not too long again before we meet. Say hello to your mum and dad for us. It was so good to see them… dj & h xx