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The pleasure of not knowing where you are going to spend the night, of enjoying the unexpected, and an always latent curiosity have led the writer and journalist Pedro Madera to publish a collection of guides that have become an almost essential reference for travelers seeking to enjoy of the map from a van or motorhome.

A way of traveling the world that began to gain popularity in the 50s of the last century and that in recent years has become almost a fever whipped by the desire to move after the pandemic.

Because "the road is freedom", as emphasized by Madera, who began to travel aboard a red Renault 5 "conditioned to sleep inside" and who has since traveled the world and a half behind the wheel.

His latest guide,

Travel more freely: new van routes through Spain

(Geoplaneta, 2022) includes 50 itineraries to explore our geography and lots of practical information and useful tips for camping or

customizing the vehicle

, cooking or caring for the environment, for example.

Each of the routes includes a detailed description of the landscape, but also illustrates us with curiosities, places and customs of special interest, gastronomic notes... It is, in short, an entertaining book of travel stories that takes us from the lands of the Miño to the gallops along the old Andalusian bandit paths passing through the landscape of the 1,000 storks of the interior of the country or the Mediterranean lighthouses.

Madera proposes routes full of anchovies, surfers and waves.

Of truffles and nature with a capital letter.

Of Templars and picnics.

Of bullfighters and glamour.

Everything that fits on our map to discover or rediscover with your hands behind the wheel.

How much did it cost you to fill up the tank when you started traveling by van?


I think it was never full... Putting 2,000 pesetas was a guarantee of a great adventure.

Unfortunately, today filling the tank exceeds 100 euros very easily.


What does the road have that no other way of traveling has?


On the road, the concept of time and space is marked by us.

By train or by plane there is a driver who is more sensible than me and who cannot go down secondary roads, or stop at a village inn and stay a couple of days.

The vehicle is so liberal that it withstands pressure from all kinds of political regimes.

It is a symbol of freedom and the pressure on individual mobility has a lot to do with it.


What is your favorite corner of Spain? I think that the Sierra de Gredos, on its northern slope, is the place where I feel most comfortable.

Not only is it very beautiful, but it is a place that still has a border feeling that allows you to do almost what you want.

You can ride a horse without having to dodge all kinds of fences and not having to hold my dog ​​when he sees a hare... Behind this there is an element of childhood that makes it a different place.

Recommend us a route for those who are new to the motorhome worldDown the Navia River from Lugo, from Navia de Suarna to its mouth.

Nature, beach, good gastronomy and few useless regulations.


What is the most surprising place you have recently visited? The Sierra de Artaba.

That is to say, the area of ​​Cabo Ortegal, Cariño, Cedeira etc... A mixture of nature, wind, simplicity and where almost everything seems easy.


Tell us one thing that cannot be missing in your 'van' Toilet paper is much more necessary than we think, but few people recognize it.

I also always carry the emergency box with a multipurpose knife and a towel so we can take a nap in the shade of a tree.

Traveling through Spain you don't have to worry about almost anything.

Of course, I always carry

a 50 euro note

hidden in the car as my father taught me.

Why should we travel alone?


Because it helps us get to know each other much better.

Being alone is almost as difficult as hearing silence.

We live in a society where if you like being alone you look weird.

When you are alone you think more about what you find and you also enjoy the people you meet more.

It also depends on the destination... There are places you wouldn't go alone, but it's highly recommended to do some personal humbling. Where will your next trip take you?


Today I don't know.

But I think going to France and driving up and down one of the mythical ports of the Tour de France in the Pyrenees and ending up on a farm near Florac.

That can be a good idea to start the road season.

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