First stop in Spain – Getaria on the north coast. If you compare yesterday’s map with today’s above you might notice we travelled a lot. It took us ten hours – not ideal. On top of that the last hour was on winding roads. I don’t think anyone, including the anyone trying to get home but stuck behind an Irish motorhome, was happy with that. And then we arrived in this beautiful place.

It was 8.45pm but still bright and our parking spot had a view of the sea. Plus parking was free after 8pm, so maybe everything that happened on this day was in fact ideal. It took a lot of manoeuvring to get parked but eventually we nestled in beside – but not touching – a tree.

For a long time Denis has wanted a way to ensure our communication was effective… not all the time just when we arrive at a parking spot that requires two of the us to park safely. And he purchased a set of walkie-talkies. As a child I dreamed of having a walkie-talkie set but it was never to be. Now I have a half share in a set of blue ones. Be careful what you wish for.

Arriving at Getaria would be their inaugural outing. I had received the training in their usage ten hours earlier from Denis and it seemed straightforward. What could possibly go wrong? Ten hours of driving. It can test a person.

I was tired and the adrenaline was making me a little shaky since the winding road but apart from my tendency to let go of the talk button when I thought the van was going to hit something (the precise moment you really need to be pressing the talk button and shouting STOP!) they worked grand. I’m wondering if they would be any use during a heated argument? If you have any ideas please let me know.

As soon as the van was tucked in we went for a walk into the town of narrow streets and expensive restaurants. It was too late for us to eat dinner and a little early for the Spanish so for the third night in a row we had what was left in our fridge, yum…

Next morning we awoke to the sun shining and the waves crashing. What a beautiful view to wake up to! Next stop Gernika-Lumo, you might want to look that up because it’s a difficult one but I really want to write about it because it’s a place where peace gets real…