Sometimes when we’ve been to cities or villages for a while, we need solitude. Not only to give our social personality a rest, but also to get some work done without distractions. Staying by Lake Viñuela gave us both, plus a lot of sunshine and amazing views.
(This blog post also contains sponsored content from Tropilex Hammock)
Meeting a new friend
We’ve been following Henrik from Henrik’s Vanlife for a while, because the fishing videos he made back home in Denmark are quite funny. One day he decided to drive to Spain though and when we had the chance to meet up with him by the lake, we didn’t hesitate.
Henrik’s trip to Spain is a story in itself. He had been dreaming about traveling full time for a while and one day he saw a post about a vanlifer parked at a parking lot in Spain and Henrik pinned that parking lot in his GPS and began driving. 3 days later he was there and his life as a traveler was a reality.
Finding two trees
Have you ever thought about how hard it is to find two hammock-ready trees in nice surroundings? Probably not, but this has been the case for us for a long time.
We’ve been wanting to make a beautiful video of our Tropilex hammock for a long time as a thank-you for the gift to Tropilex, but we haven’t been able to find the perfect trees. Until we arrived at Lake Viñuela and were able to hang and enjoy our hammock.
We often get offers from companies wanting to work with us, but our rule is that we only give credit to things we like and use and our hammock is one of those things.
- First of all we love the colors and the fringes. They’re right up our alley and fit our RV lifestyle
- The fabric is hand woven and has a thick and soft quality
- The weaving work is made in Colombia, Brazil and India with attention to fair working conditions
- Tropilex is a member of 1%for the Planet and they donate a minimum of 1% of their annual sales to support nonprofit environmental organizations
- The Tropilex hammock is spacious and so comfy that it’s the perfect place for Siesta
All these things are things we stand for too, and we’re so happy with our hammock.
The lack of water
Even though Lake Viñuela is beautiful, calm and full of fish it also clearly shows how bad the situation is when it comes to the lack of water.
As you see in the picture the lake is missing a massive amount of water. The lake is in fact a water reservoir but the last few years’ drought has been hard on the water supply. The truth is, that Spain starts 2023 with half of the water reserves than usual, so unless a rainy miracle happens, summer will be full of watering restrictions.
Watering bans for the farmers, bans about filling swimming pools, but most likely also several hours every day without water in private homes. Along with this comes wildfires due to drought, wildlife dying from thirst and all the other things attached to the lack of water.
So on one hand the lake is stunning, but on the other hand a sign of disaster.
Leisure and barbecue
Staying by the Viñuela lake is great because it’s possible to park at a private peaceful spot, but also at the official parking lot next to the barbecue area. The barbecues are free to use and each of them has a dining area with a table and benches next to it. Even though it’s winter, several families use this opportunity.
In summer there are also showers and toilets by the lake, but these are closed in the winter. We even saw a mini-golf course and there’s no doubt that we’ll be back to check it all out in the summer too.
Traveling with Avenger
The spot by Lake Viñuela is perfect for Avenger. Not many people travel with cats, but a lot travel with dogs and somehow many of them don’t feel the need of keeping their dogs on a leash, as we do with Avenger. Don’t get us wrong we love dogs, but it can be problematic when Avenger is sitting outside the RV minding his own business and a loose dog comes along.
We often hear the owner say: “It’s okay, my dog is used to cats and just wants to play” but that isn’t the real problem. The problem is that Avenger doesn’t want to play. He’s not used to dogs and will fight them off with his super-sharp claws. That’s nature, but some dog owners don’t seem to understand that.
By the lake there were no loose dogs, so Avenger could be on his own outside (he has a long flex line) watching birds, chasing grasshoppers and chilling in the sun. Peace and calm for both him and us.
Lakes are awesome
Even though we love the ocean, we’re also huge fans of lakes. We quickly found out that we don’t like bathing in lakes due to the mushy bottom, but the beauty of a lake in the middle of calm nature is exactly what we need sometimes. Well, sometimes things aren’t all calm, like when we went to Embalse de Negratin but in general.
After a few days by Lake Viñuela working, relaxing and having great chats with Henrik, we ran out of food and water and had to find civilization again. That’s how vanlife is and that’s what we love about it. The freedom to do whatever and go wherever we want.
