Santander to Plymouth on The Pont Aven

26th August to 27th August

That’s it! 
It’s all over! 
The European Leg of our Summer Tour is coming to an end.

After a lovely relaxed morning playing in the pool with Alex, Amy, Sen and Kieran, we left Hontanas on time, ie with not a lot of wriggle, or specifically traffic room. The 2 hour drive north to Santander was relatively smooth, until we hit Santander. The city roads were busy, and we made the mistake of following the satnav and not the signs.

Top Tip: when you arrive in a ferry or airport city - follow the signs! 
Do not let google, or TomTom, or Garmin or any other navigational device fool you into believing they know the best route. They do not. You will miss your turn. You could miss your ferry.

Thankfully, after a scenic drive through the city, we found our way back to the ferry port entrance and managed to check in just about ontime.  Getting back to the UK at the end of August 2021 was still quite complicated. We had to provide our Vaccine Status documents, present our PCR test results and ensure we fulfilled all Brexit requirements. Which we did.  The only slight issue we faced was when the Guarda Civil decided they wanted to take a closer look at us and our van. Thankfully, we passed what ever test they were implementing and were eventually waved on to the ferry.

We have traveled the route between Plymouth and Santander several times now, each time on the Pont Aven. Although it is definitely a ferry below decks, it feels much more like a cruise ship above deck. For the first time we were able to enjoy the onboard entertainment, all the bars and restaurants were open AND, even the swimming pool was open. Unfortunately we hadn’t realised the ship was fully operational until we started to explore, and by that time it was too late to bring George’s swimming trunks up from the Van. 
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We always take a picnic onboard and after our evening meal of random snacks I took the boys to see Black Widow (amazing film), and Steve stayed back at the cabin to do some more editing.  The rest of the trip was uneventful, we slept well enough, took a nice shower in the morning, and after a pretty awful breakfast we docked back in Plymouth.
Our month long trip to Europe has introduced us to new friends, and given us  many many wonderful memories.  
Is it time to plan next year’s trip yet?