A day in December, picture this, freezing cold weather

As the weather in Spain gets cooler, we start to wonder if we have made the right decision to travel all year with a campervan, rather than a motorhome. Having a small van with no bathroom means that we rely on campsite facilities. As we have mentioned in previous posts, the variety of these is endless and in no way relates to price or category of the site.

We are currently on a Category 1 site; despite this it only offers 5 amps, insufficient for either the electric hotplate or the water heater and the site showers are only protected from the elements by one half door. Tonight these elements are making a good attempt at trying to blow over a 3 ton van and so, as you wander in to your centrally heated bathroom, you can only imagine the joy of showering with a gale blowing around your ankles and will not be surprised to read that we decided to be grubby.

Unusually, there is plenty of hot water for washing up at this site, although the sinks are still open to the elements; in tonight's gale Anthony was the only person using this facility, with no one to share the joy of watching soap suds whipped by the wind and flying over his shoulder as he washes the evening's pots.

Fortunately, our lovely van is snug and warm once the heating is on, we've got wi fi and chocolate and we don't intend to go outside again until the wind calms down.

Daytime temperatures are still around 16 - 19 C, but at night it can dip to anything from 6C to 10C. This is really only like camping in the UK in Spring or Autumn, but, although the sites are open all year, often the facilities have been designed with only summer in mind, with no exterior doors and no heating.