My wife Monique, the light of my life, pasted away on the 23rd December 2023 at 17:00. In spring 2024 I drove alone down to the south of Spain, and in the summer I drove back north alone.
We had wintered in south Spain every year since 2007, spending anything from 5 days to 25 days to make the trip of around 2,300 km. We would stop in different places, see different sights, taste different foods, always together.
Sitting alone in the car was such a sad experience, and in many ways it was more intense as I slowly realised that nothing will ever be the same. In 2024 I explicitly travelled fast, stopping only to sleep, and using different “staging-posts” along the way. Travelling by car was no longer a pleasure, it was just a means to get from one place to another.
Now it was time to migrate again south, always, and forever, alone. I must force myself to adapt to the inevitable (adapt, but never accept). So in this trip south I decided to stay in two places we had used frequently in the past. I decided to challenge my emotions.
Route planning
The route seen in the feature image, was conditioned by the need to stop and say hello to an old friend.
My first stopover was just south of Lyon. I thought that this was a new option, but when I entered the secure parking I realised that we had been there before.
My next stop was in the Parador Aiguablava, on the Costa Brava, in Catalonia. We had stayed there is the past, but since then it had been completely renovated and reopened in 2020.
I would conclude the trip with a stay at the Parador of Lorca.
I picked this stopover for two reasons.
Firstly, not to leave too early in the morning, thus avoiding any problem of ice on the roads, meant scheduling my trip over 4 days and three stopovers, with a first leg of only around 600 km.
Secondly, as usually in the new year it’s more difficult to find decent hotels open in France, outside the cities. The first 2-3 weeks in the new year are traditionally difficult, and it would appear that along the Rhône Valley, this was even more true than other parts of France. Some 4-star hotels “of charm” were open, but often full. Others had closed for post-Christmas vacations.
My requirements were simple, i.e. minimum 4-stars, demi-pension, and secure parking. Not far from my preferred route, not in cities and towns that would imply traffic delays, and not in the usual square-boxes offered by mid-market hotel chains.
As I entered the parking I suddenly remembered that Monique and I had stayed there twice before, i.e. the night of the 20 March and the night of the 30 October, 2015. The buildings, rooms, services have remained the same through to today.
Surprise, surprise, leaving the hotel I found my car covered in morning frost. The temperature had dropped to -8°C overnight.
My report is Hotel – Cottage de Clairefontaine, Chonas l’Amballan.
This is certainly an excellent Parador in a spectacular location. The place has changed so much that there was little of Monique’s spirit left there. But eating alone will always be difficult, and bring back so many memories of times passed together.
My report is Hotel – Parador Aiguablava, Spain.
The Parador of Lorca is a very useful stopover. I’ve never been particularly inspired by the rooms. Monique found them cold and dull, and she didn’t leave a spirited reminder there for me to discover this time.
I discovered that they have, for some unknown reason, changed the one-way direction to get up to the castle and Parador.
My report is Hotel – Parador de Lorca, Spain.
