Driving to Mallorca with dog on board.
As I promised, a short report on our trip to P. P. complete with hound!
We set off from Yorkshire in the early evening with the intentions of getting an early "shuttle" from Folkestone. In fact we did the journey to the terminal in much better time than we had hoped and got ourselves re-booked on an earlier service when we arrived at Folkestone.
I know we are "european" but there were no passport checks either on us or the dog, just a drive through with the "border officer" just briefly looking up as we passed. Again, in France, just off the shuttle and out into the night............our stashed tins of dog food could have been anything!!!
Our route took us down through Rouen, Evreux, Dreux then Chatres and on to the main A75 and an overnight stop in Bourges at the Etap Hotel. For those who do not know this chain, as we didn't, their properties are basic with few facilities such as restaurants but ours was spotless, the room was very comfortable and we were made very welcome. Our dog had been pre booked and whilst there are no "special zones" for pets, the company actively encourages their stay. You can buy a "self service" breakfast, served from 05.30 and this too was excellent......................not the "full English" but nearly the "full coninental".
An early'ish start took us on down via the Millau Bridge and on to Perpignan and into Spain. Whilst the French motorways are good, you know when you get into Spain as, at the moment the road south is being re-built for around 30 miles and very restricted. Our arrival into Barcelona coincided with the rush hour and it is not for the feint hearted unless you are familiar with the city or have a good sat nav............which we do!
It is a point worth noting that the French motorways are scattered with "Aires" or stopping places, some small, some large and mostly with toilets and fuel. The larger have one or more eating places too but that is not the case in Spain where the stopping places are far more basic. Another point is that there are long stretches of toll roads on the journey and the cost of these has to be allowed for.
The ferry terminal in Barcelona is, to say the least, chaotic but once you have found the right parking line and got checked in it is fairly easy to handle. On our arrival there were 5 boats leaving within a couple of hours and cars and coaches were in a real mess...............but, it was sorted. The ferry, mv Sorella is fairly new, I think about 15,000 tonnes and so, quite large. You can book a cabin on board or sit in the "aircraft type" seats. Dogs have a sepedrate area on the upper deck with about 30 kennels which must get quite noisy at times. There were around half a dozen on board when we crossed and that was loud enough!
There was a self service restaurant available on our overnight crossing but the food was nothing special. There is an a la carte location on board but it was all sealed up so I have no idea when it operates. We docked in Palma just before seven and, guess what...............we were checked by the Guardia Civil as we drove off, a bit more than when we left England.
So, here we are in PP, wall to wall sun but forecast for a bit of a blow tomorrow. As to the dog, she travelled well and is enjoying her holiday too and there is a good vet in town, should we need them.
We chose the "slow" way to get here and I know that with maybe 2 drivers taking shares, you could do the journey within 24 hours................you pays your money etc. Bringing the car has let us carry everything we need for a long stay, stop whenever we want and do what we want. Down side, cost of the ferry, something above £400, cost of fuel which is now Euro1.46 for diesel on French motorways and, toll charges. As to the fuel, IF you spend a few minutes and leave the motorway, you can find diesel at Euro1.30 in supermarket filling stations.
So, in a nutshell that's it............we're off for a quick one at El Ancla!
