BBC’s Louise Minchin hires a campervan for a family surf adventure holiday in Spain

Simple pleasures: Louise with Mia and Scarlet in front of the campervan which will be their new home for three weeks


The little yellow VW camper-van which is going to be our home for the next three weeks turns out to be much smaller than we thought. It is 10am on Saturday morning when my husband David and the girls, Mia aged nine and Scarlett, five, come and pick me up from work after four hours of presenting Breakfast on BBC1.

After seeing the campervan, I immediately realise we need to cut our packing down by half.

But it still manages to include four wetsuits, two surfboards, four sleeping bags with inflatable mattresses, one Argos six-man tent and a partridge in an electronic tree (in this case mobiles, iPods, one MacBook Pro, a BlackBerry, a DVD player, Nintendo, video camera, and a digital SLR).

I just manage to fit a handful of books, diaries and colouring pens down the side of a seat in our yellow tin can.

It couldn’t be less like our car. Gone are the chunky doors, consoles, lights, stereo surround-sound, air-conditioning and onboard computer.

We have only three things on the dashboard: a speedometer, a milometer and
a fuel gauge. There’s also a fan that doesn’t work. We are down from six gears to four, with a top speed of 55mph.

The girls think it is hilarious that we have to wind down the windows by hand. We spend the first night trying out all our camping gear, in the safety of David’s brother’s field in Somerset. The tent takes two hours to put up, so we won’t be rushing anywhere.

This is going to be a pared-down life-style: four knives, four forks, four mugs. No fridge, no oven (although there is a hob and grill), no shower, no loo!

To get to Santander, we catch Brittany Ferries’ flagship Pont Aven in Plymouth. We have a four-berth cabin with a view, and the girls ignore the sign saying the bunks are not for children and hop happily from one to the other above our heads.

They can’t believe their luck as there is a cinema and swimming pool on board, and I promise two movies and popcorn.

Our first sight of Spain is of a long yellow sandy beach with deep green hills, backed by a hint of mountains shrouded in cloud. The ferry passes only yards from the shore and dogs bark and bikini-clad sunbathers wave us into Santander.

Only after we land do we decide we will head west in search of surf. Even though the ferry deposits you right in the middle of the city, it’s easy to get out of Santander. We stop and stock up with petrol, food, and water, and I cause a huge queue in the shop as I have failed to weigh my vegetables. But my Spanish degree makes life easier, and they are happy to help me out.


Rugged beauty: The coast near Ribadero where Louise Minchin's family stopped off for breakfast


We take the scenic route west through the charming fishing village of Comillas which has a gorgeous campsite set up on the rocks above the beach.

David thinks it is too soon to stop, so we drive on to Oyambre. We are doing a U-turn near the campsite there when an old man on a Vespa waves at us. We realise he is in fact the mobile receptionist and wants us to follow him round to find a pitch.

The campsite is right next to Playa de Oyambre, a wide crescent moon of a beach with hot white sand. There is a bit of surf so we both have a potter, and Mia teaches Scarlett to bodysurf in the warm waves. We have lunch in the cafe Pajaro Amarillo on the beach.

The place is charming, although the waiter is hopeless. I have the most delicious bright yellow seafood paella but they serve my entire meal before they bring anything for the children. David’s Jamon Iberico arrives when all of us have finished.
The campsite is beautifully kept, with manicured lawns and fuchsias and hydrangeas growing between the pitches.

Everyone seems to have come here for the whole summer, and they have literally brought the kitchen sink with them. Most of them have a separate tent for the kitchen, which is a brilliant idea.

They also have their parrots, dogs, cats and kittens. Evenings are noisy as children run around until midnight eating giant packets of crisps while their parents watch TV outside, smoking.

I see what I think is a huge lagoon right at the end of the beach where a river meets the sea. I persuade everyone to go on an expedition just as the tide has turned and the ocean starts spilling into the lake.

We manage to time it so that when we jump in by the beach, the water is coming in so fast it sweeps us up the river and round the corner into the lagoon. It’s like a huge natural water park. I love it and we do it three times before Scarlett gets too cold.

After three nights, it’s time to move on west again, but we have no idea where we will end up. The girl on reception takes pity on us and gives me a Spanish camping guide. We hit the brand new motorway, which is squashed between the cliffs and stunning mountains right up to the roadside.

We know we are driving past the Picos de Europa but sadly can’t see the mountain tops as they are covered in ominous grey clouds.

The dual carriageway has huge sweeping viaducts so high that they make me feel dizzy driving over them. The road is fast and cuts our journey down by hours, and we make it to the overgrown fishing village of Luarca in half the time we thought.

We take a look at the beach, which is inside the sea walls surrounded by brightly painted beach huts and is rocky with grey sand. We don’t like the look of it, so we decide to carry on into the countryside through fields of maize. We pass a couple gathering in their corn by hand in the hot sunshine.

Eventually, as the roads get smaller and smaller we find Camping El Tauran and are given a terse welcome by the severe but glamorous Spanish senora who runs the site super- efficiently.

The pitches are gorgeous, set into trees and hedges on the edge of a steep cliff looking down on the deep blue sea and dark rocks below. There is only a wire fence to stop you falling over the edge.

We park our little yellow van with our first sea view.
The girls are really excited as there is a swimming pool, but we are chased away by horseflies so fierce that they stay on our heads even when you are underwater.

At dinner in the tiny restaurant, there are only four things on the menu: cabbage soup, bean soup, tortilla and spaghetti bolognaise. Not inspiring, but all home-made and delicious.

In search of surf, we look at what is turning out to be our bible – The Stormrider Surf Guide Europe – and decide to check out nearby Frejulfe beach. We climb down through the eucalyptus trees to find a stunning black sandy beach with a sharp shelf down to the sea. The surf is up and a bit fierce for me, so David goes out on my board while the girls and I have a runabout and swim in a small river that runs into the sea.

In search of the daily ice cream, we run across baking-hot sand. By 2pm it is so hot it burns, and Scarlett and I have to sit down halfway across with our feet in the air to stop them scorching.

The holiday unfolds in days of endless seaside bliss.
We stop at the medieval town of Ribadeo for breakfast of chocolate con churros (hot chocolate with long, skinny doughnuts that you dip in), which the children love. It’s a pretty place and our visit was made by a religious pilgrimage of singers and musicians making their way to a shrine above the town.

Meanwhile, our little yellow home, which we had hired from www.eastcoastcampers.co.uk, was attracting a lot of attention, with everyone asking questions, and I found myself conducting minitours.

Where does it come from? England, but imported from Brazil. Is it new? Yes, it has only 1,000 miles on the clock. Is it air-cooled? No, they are not any more.
We were really sad to say goodbye to Spain. It was the best holiday we have ever had with the children. In three weeks on the road, we have found some fabulously unspoilt beaches, I have learnt to surf and we have had great fun being together, just the four of us.

The trip is made when Mia asks me where her Nintendo is, and she realises she hasn’t played it once.

The girls learnt a little Spanish, mostly the obvious ‘hola’ and ‘gracias’. Worryingly, Scarlett’s favourite word is ‘cana’, which is the small glass of beer that David has been ordering.

When I ask Mia and Scarlett what they liked most about the holiday, it isn’t the beaches, the campervan or having us all to themselves, but the different kinds of ice cream. Brilliant. We could have stayed at home!

Travel Facts

Brittany Ferries (0871 244 1400, www.brittanyferries.com/spain) offers return fares from Portsmouth and Plymouth to Santander from £354 return for a car and two passengers, including en suite cabin accommodation.



source :dailymail

Strictly glorious! Alesha Dixon’s finds her own El Dorado on a Mexican Riviera cruise

By ALESHA DIXON

The stunning bay of Puerta Vallarta is one the perfect place for a mid-cruise stop off


Wintry old Britain. It’s that warm breeze on your face that makes you realise you’ve left it behind - at least for a while.

Last February, I flew from freezing London to balmy Los Angeles to join the Sapphire Princess for my first cruise, a nine-day voyage along the Mexican coastline.

As we left port and I breathed in a lungful of sea air, I couldn’t help asking myself: ‘What took you so long to try it?’

My career as a singer and songwriter has given me the money and the opportunity, but I had always thought cruises were strictly for grannies - mainly because own grandmother, Clem, loves them.

All I knew about life on board was what I learned from watching Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in the film Titanic. Not the tragic ending, of course, but the glamour of life on an ocean liner.

On this occasion I hadn’t taken my granny along but my cousin Emmaline. We shared a suite which was the perfect size: compact without being in the slightest bit cramped.

Sailing on the Sapphire Princess I quickly became a card-carrying cruise convert.


Cruising in comfort: Alesha enjoys a cocktail onboard the Sapphire Princess


It’s a cliche to describe the ship as a floating village, but that’s exactly how it felt. It’s one of 17 ships operated by Princess Cruises and is one of the largest cruise liners in the world, carrying nearly 3,000 passengers.

The extraordinary thing is that you would never know it. With five swimming pools and five restaurants, not to mention 13 bars, it never felt overcrowded and it wasn’t unusual to have the pool to yourself.

I hadn’t planned on joining any excursions, but it would have been a pity to miss exploring what’s known as the Mexican Riviera, the stretch of coastline below California.

The first stop was Puerto Vallarta, an old town overlooked by the Sierra Madre mountains. I had heard about the glorious beaches — the bay is 14 miles long. I also learned the area was discovered by tourists when Liz Taylor and Richard Burton were pictured there in 1964, but it’s still unspoilt.

Disembarking in the port, we found the perfect spot along the coast and then parked ourselves to soak up the sun. Listening to music on my iPod and sipping a cold fruit juice, it was my idea of heaven.

We ended up having lunch at a beachside cafe and staying there most of the day. I love Mexican food: chilli chicken, guacamole and tortilla have a real kick.

Finding time to get away hasn’t been easy. I’ve just finished recording my new album, The Entertainer, which is out later this month, and there’s been the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing, which I joined as a judge last year.

I won the competition in 2007 and that transformed my life. It is great to be part of something that the public loves, but the pace is exhausting, and for me it’s been like that since I started out singing with Mis-Teeq. But back to the cruise. Later that week we visited Mazatlan, another old fishing port with plenty of culture.

We could have explored its cathedral and all the markets (do you know how many different types of chilli there are?), but we found a friendly bar and got chatting to locals, then listened to some of them playing music on the beach.

Of course, it’s perfectly possible to enjoy yourself without going ashore. For a start, there’s the gym and the spa, which I visited every day. I liked that you could lose yourself on the running machine while gazing out at the horizon. We tried classes such as pump and stretch, yoga and Pilates, and then treated ourselves to a massage.

Just as well that I’m keen on exercise, because I love food. I’m the kind of person who will plan what they’re going to have for dinner while they’re eating breakfast.


The Sapphire Princess sails from LA down Mexico's Pacific peninsula, calling at Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas


I particularly enjoyed the Italian restaurant Sabatini, which we ate in nearly every night. The food was exquisite (I loved their large juicy steaks).

Considering how much of my career I’ve spent dancing, it was perhaps surprising that I didn’t hit the dancefloor. But I’m so used to entertaining people that sitting back and watching others was a treat.

We saw two shows, neither of which would have been out of place in the West End.
And there was an X Factor-style talent competition. Looking back, I can see that we packed a lot into every day, yet I felt refreshed by the whole experience of a cruise rather than exhausted.

Our final destination was Cabo San Lucas, which I enjoyed most of all the excursions. The ship moored way out and we took a tender to the marina and then a sea taxi to Lover’s Beach, which is hidden from view.

This is where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific. The scenery is unrivalled, and you can spot seals and pelicans if you are lucky. The waves are perfect for surfing, but be careful where you swim on the Pacific side: dangerous currents can sweep you away.

If I had seen only Cabo before going home, I would have been perfectly happy — but then I spotted the dolphins. We were sunbathing on our balcony and a pod of them swam so close I screamed with excitement. It had always been my dream to swim with dolphins, but seeing them playing in their natural habitat was even better.

Another day, we were lucky enough to catch sight of a humpback whale.
I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to get off the boat. Not just because it was back to bleak midwinter, but because I had experienced so much in such a short time.

I’m 32 and, though I don’t have children, I can appreciate that cruising is perfect for families. And it’s particularly good for different generations. Both my mum and grandmother would love it and I will definitely take them next time. My only problem? Breaking the news to Emmaline.


Travel Facts

Princess Cruises offers a nine-night Mexican Riviera cruise on the Sapphire Princess, round trip from Los Angeles, from £1,129pp.

The itinerary calls at Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, and includes flights, transfers and one night’s stay prior to joining the ship. Weekly departures between September 25, 2010 and April 30, 2011 (0845 3555 800, princess.com)


source: dailymail

Why should paradise be only for lovers? Fearne Cotton discovers the romantic Maldives without a man

By FEARNE COTTON

Lap of luxury: Fearne Cotton relaxes on the shores of the Indian Ocean at Baros resort


The Maldives are always at the top of honeymoon destination wish-lists, and if there was a loved-up capital of the world, these islands in the Indian Ocean would be it.

But here I was, heading to this roman tically charged hotspot without so much as a boyfriend to lug my small but perfectly formed suitcase.

I feared that as a man-less woman in a world of happy couples, I would stick out like a very sore thumb.

This was the first anxiety about my Maldives holiday. My second was that I am such a fidget I feared I might become a bit bored with all that wonderful island bliss. Put simply, would there be enough to do?

To my great relief, all these worries were dispelled as, happily ensconced in Baros – a small, lush tropical island set in the shimmering waters of a shallow lagoon in the North Male Atoll – I worked out what the true Maldives were all about.

It’s not just a place for a fine romance – it has something that any traveller is glad to discover: the joy of doing nothing.

I went with a girl who is one of my best friends and we quickly realised we were in for a happy time chilling out. In fact, it would be hard to imagine a more perfect place than Baros for letting the cares of the outside world slip away.

From the moment I arrived, my BlackBerry and mobile phone were switched off (I’m slightly ashamed to admit, however, that I kept track of my emails via laptop – there are limits to the amount you really want to escape) and I learned to relax.


Castaway: The Maldives are known as one of the top holiday destinations in the world to unwind from the stress of modern life


Getting to the Maldives has become much easier thanks to the growing number of direct flights. We travelled on the direct service with British Airways. It was an overnight flight, so we slept on the plane and woke as we arrived in brilliant sunshine. From the airport at Male, it’s a speedboat ride of about 25 minutes to Baros.

Being in my late 20s and enjoying a hectic life, I’ve never been one to covet the pleasures associated with getting ‘away from it all’. But Baros persuaded me that there are times to take a step back from the madness of modern life.

To say we did nothing at all on Baros, however, would hardly be accurate. There was eating to be done – and what meals! – along with yoga sessions and fan tastic cruises to spot dolphins, which were par ticularly special for me as I had never seen these amazing creatures in the wild.

Anyone planning a trip to the Maldives shouldn’t assume that a holiday there is a Robinson Crusoe affair where you have a bamboo shelter on a beach.

Our over-the-water villa had all the comforts of home, with an iPod dock, a TV and DVD player – we took our own films – and good wi-fi reception everywhere. In fact, we were living in the lap of luxury with every facility at our disposal.

I’ve been on retreat-style holidays where you are subject to quite a tough regime of controlled diets, exercise and medi tation, and that level of control can be rather annoying.

On Baros you choose how much you want to relax. We did exercise – I loved going to the gym to do yoga – but we enjoyed watching the sunsets much more.

This was a big daily event, best enjoyed with a glass of champagne in hand.

Also out watching the sunsets, of course, were the happy couples, but they didn’t dominate the island. Indeed, I was surprised to see that the resort also attracts a lot of families with older children.


Sumptuous: The elegant interior of a Baros resort villa


If you have a frantic job and you’re looking for a complete break where you can enjoy quality time with children you barely see during the working week, then the Maldives is a perfect destination.

On Baros you can socialise as much or as little as you like. You can remain in your villa, hardly ever venturing out, if that’s what you prefer. We really liked heading to the bar each evening before and after dinner, chatting to people over a drink.

One of the great pleasures of the Maldives – and you hear this from many people who have holidayed there – is how lovely the staff are: the nicest of people, so polite and so gentle. We made friends with quite a few of them.

Inevitably, the high points of our day were the meals, which were spectacularly good.

The accent is on healthy eating. This doesn’t mean that you can’t spend the day drinking and slobbing out on the beach, but the good-living ethos of the resort means you tend to do things that foster your wellbeing.

I was grateful for the oppor tunity to try lots of new food. Everything from curries to salad is prepared in front of you.

Baros’s top restaurant is The Lighthouse, which features elab orate seafood as well as modern fusion cuisine with Asian and Mediterranean influences. An evening meal there we declared to be one of the finest of our lives.

And it’s worth coming here just for the Lighthouse Lounge, a martini and champagne bar that has a fabulous terrace with 360-degree views of the ocean. Lime Restaurant near the sea is the place for fabulous breakfasts – so fine that some guests would leap out of bed and run there every morning.

The Cayenne Grill (‘alfresco dining in thatched gaz ebos offering niches of privacy above the lagoon’) serves seafood, fish, meat and vegetarian dishes ‘served with flavours of dis tinction and accompanied by a healthy selection of salads and irresistible desserts’.

It was here we discovered the range and variety of the cooking when, on our first night, we sat down to the weekly Maldivian feast set out as a huge buffet.

If the restaurants aren’t of interest, you can order food 24 hours a day – breakfast, snacks, meals and drinks are served in the villas.

There may be some who opt for priv acy. We didn’t quite live the monastic life – we enjoyed having cocktails in the evening and a few drinks with our dinner, but we did our healthy thing during the day.

We loved going to a cookery demonstration with Damian, the head chef, who became one of our great island friends. I’m an atrocious cook so I was really grateful to get the benefit of some basic tips.

Damian is an Australian who has worked in the Maldives for five years with a team of chefs from the islands and Sri Lanka. He demonstrated how to make a number of dishes from the restaurant menus, and gave us the recipes.

They seemed quite easy to make, although I have to admit that I haven’t got round to trying them out yet. (Damian gave me his email address and said if I had trouble doing them at home, I could contact him any time.)

What I really liked was the fact that whether you were at breakfast, lunch or dinner, you could often have your food cooked right in front of you: omelettes for breakfast, for example.

And there was always plenty of locally grown fruit, such as the fresh est mangos and pineapples.

One of the treats was to go snorkelling. I’ve been lucky enough to go diving in Florida, but the marine life in the Maldives is incredible.

Within a few minutes of our first session, we saw a massive reef shark which we were assured wouldn’t hurt us, though I have to confess it almost made my heart stop when it loomed up beneath

me. We also saw a lot of less scary marine life, such as the wonderful turtles.
But perhaps our greatest indulgence was the island’s Aquum spa. Walking into the newly refurbished building was like entering paradise. Each massage room has its own gardens and patio area with a bath tub where you can relax after your treatment. It was all so lovely.

I had a painful back, which was treated by a delicate little flower of a woman who pounded my shoulders very successfully.

All the spa treatments were marvellously reviving: I had come away from London tense after a prolonged period of hard work, but returned home feeling brilliant. Travelling to the Maldives is good for body and soul. I can honestly say I’ve never done a trip like that before. And I can’t wait to go back.


Travel Facts

For further information on Baros, visit www.baros.com. British Airways (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com) flies directly to the Maldives from Gatwick three times a week. Prices start from £677 return. Seasons (01244 202 000, www.seasons.co.uk) offers seven nights at Baros from £1,710 including accommodation in a deluxe villa, breakfast, British Airways flights and private transfers.


source: dailymail