Spain pre-research tips

[krmarci]

Some useful information about tolls from the ETS2 teasers thread:

These toll booms are true to life though... In France they're hit and miss at 30km/h, 28 or lower seems to work better. In real life when you hit them they fly off . Had that happen once or twice. [...] Spanish are like the French. And all lanes have the toll booms.
They don't have lanes without them [...]

Booms in the telepass lane are really a nuisance. In Spain they are worse than what HRTrucking says because... you will never know if they are going to open super-fast or they are going to be delayed.

The exception is the "La Roca" toll on the AP-7 north of Barcelona, that has two special lanes of fast autopass. They have no booms, wide lanes and max allowed speed 60 (even I know they work at 70 at least ). Suposedly they are not for trucks, but a few times I've seen a trailer taking those lanes. I don't know if there exist any other tool like that in Spain.

Portugal on the contrary, if I know it well, has no normal tolls but vignetes and are controlled by camera gates. So, they are in the XXI century while on Spain we still are on the XX.

Regards

In portugal there are some roads where you can pay with money or card and others where you have to use ''easytoll''(mainly located in the north of the country)
http://www.portugaltolls.com/en/web/por ... agens/home

[plinio.lisboa.br]

Special Transport.
Product: Yacht. Racing yacht mast (25m). Racing yacht (16m length).
Port: Valencia.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/txBz4iKGph8[/youtube]

[dahaka]

I loaded recently at a windfarm next to Pamplona. The road was challenging, interesting, and VERY scenic.

https://www.google.hu/maps/@42.6916493, ... 6656?hl=en

And SCS is in luck, because the whole road is on google street view!

This could be a great chance to include a loading/unloading place, which is not only in a very scenic and challenging place, but also offers unique opportunities for future additions, such as cargo related to windfarms like wind turbine parts (oversize or not) and special transport.
Me and 2 of my colleagues went there with flatbeds to pick up 3 containers, which had built in loadbanks, transformers and other electrical equipment.
Here is a photo of my truck on the way to the top.
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The google street view link I included is where the loading occured, there is already a wind turbine standing there which is not on the google street view picture. I also have 2 separate videos of me descending the mountain loaded, and one short bad quality one as im driving up empty. I could send them to SCS by google drive or something, they are quite large in size, let me know if you guys need them! (although google street view should give you all you need)

[Esproquet]

Here's a map showing the main arid zones in the country:

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1. Tabernas, in Almería (Andalucía), already seen in many posts. A92 Granada-Almería
https://www.google.com/maps?q=desierto+ ... XoECBwQAw
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2. Bárdenas Reales (Navarra) somewhere in the middle of the north-east quadrant of the country. Northeast of Zaragoza.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Barde ... 1.4821482
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3. Monegros (Aragón), AP2 Zaragoza-Barcelona crosses it.
https://www.google.com/maps?q=desierto+ ... AXoECBUQAw
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4. Lunar Landscape (Almería - Murcia - Alicante, inner areas of the south-east)
https://www.google.com/maps/search/barr ... 3.5z?hl=es
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Ricote Valley (Murcia)
https://www.google.com/maps?q=valle+de+ ... AXoECBkQAw
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This is the Murcian coast , Bolnuevo (near Mazarrón)
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bolnu ... -1.3069957
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Parque Regional de Calblanque
https://www.google.com/maps/search/play ... 778,12.54z
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This is Elche, south of Alicante
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Elche ... -0.7125608
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This is the coast of Almería, Carboneras
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Carbo ... -1.9294681
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I don't know if you intend to do the Canary Isles, but the eastern ones are very very very desertic, not really far from the Sahara.

[Esproquet]

Why is Granada important?
IMHO, Granada is probably the most beautiful province in Spain. It's got a huge climate diversity. You can see +3000 m mountains after crossing a desertic valley (Guadix), cave houses, the effect of such high mountain ranges and proximity to arid zones makes it wet and warm, making it suitable to plant tropical plant as avocados.

Location:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Grana ... -3.5986525

Main roads:
A92-from Seville to the east (there's a fork of A-92 in the eastern part of the province A-92N north-east to Murcia, A-92 southeast to Almería)

A7 through the coastline (east-west, connects all the Mediterranean capitals).

A44 (E902) North - South (it derives from A4 (E5) from Madrid), it ends in Motril (Tropical coast of Granada).

GRANADA (CITY)
Location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Grana ... -3.5985571

OBLIGATORY THING TO INCLUDE IN THE GAME, you can see the ALHAMBRA and SIERRA NEVADA when you drive through A44 by the city
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GUADIX, you can see it from A92, it's got plenty of cave houses, red rocks and for a few kilometers it looks as if you were in the American west.
Location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/18500 ... -3.1403256
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Mirador de Purullena
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Cuevas del Campo
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In the whole province there are many cave houses (yes, as in the Paleolithic era), the rocks are easily broken and for centuries people have turned them into fully-suitable houses (warm in winter, fresh in summer), it's easy to spot them from the highways and motorways when you drive through the east of the province. How do they look? something like this, the first is a very old picture (nowadays most of these houses have been reconstructed and look pretty cool):
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BAZA, you can see it from A92, east of Guadix
Location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/18800 ... 9904?hl=es
Gorafe Desert, halfway through Guadix and Baza
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ORCE: Northeast of Baza, it's very close to A92,
Location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Orce, ... 7876?hl=es
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A-44, between Granada city and Motril
Location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/E-902 ... 8356?hl=es
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MOTRIL, coast of Granada, south of Granada city. A7 and A44.
Location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/18600 ... 0363?hl=es
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ALMUÑÉCAR, you can see it from A92, coast of Granada, west of Motril.
Location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Almu% ... 3537?hl=es
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LOJA, you can see from A92, west of the province.
Location https://www.google.com/maps/place/18300 ... 9075?hl=es
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Plenty of olive-tree plantations in this part of the country, west & north of the province
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I'll finish off with a couple of road videos I recorded myself from Murcia to Granada and back

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Granada-Guadix

Watch on YouTube

Málaga-Granada (A-92)

Watch on YouTube

Granada-Málaga (A-44)

Watch on YouTube

Guadix-Tabernas desert

Watch on YouTube

Tabernas - Lorca (Murcia)

Watch on YouTube

[Esproquet]

Castilla-La Mancha is in the middle southern half of Spain (southern plateau). It's famous for it's national parks, for holding the capital of the Castilian Kingdom (TOLEDO) during a few centuries in the High Middle Ages and it's cheese (MANCHEGO) among many other things.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castilla% ... 3La_Mancha

Situation:
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Road Map (from 2009):
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The landscape is flat in the middle of the region (LA MANCHA), with plenty of hills, although there are mountain ranges here and there, especially bordering to the South with Andalucía and Murcia, East (Comunitat Valenciana) and North (Sistema Central mountain range).
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This is the MOST TYPICAL picture that you can take in LA MANCHA, the wind mills that DON QUIJOTE used to fight. This particular photo is from Consuegra. There are a lot of castles and old towns, too many to choose from in almost any of the provinces, but the further north you go the older things get in Spain. There are plenty of stone and wood houses, this area smells like the middle ages. Sometimes you are surrounded by flat terrain with no mountains in sight, only the blue sky and a few scattered clouds.
https://www.google.com/maps?q=consuegra ... AXoECBkQAw
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ALBACETE is the biggest city, it's a very common truck stop place because it's halfway between MADRID and the LEVANTE (Murcia+Alicante+Valencia). Levante means rising (sun). From the Highway (Autovía A30 you can see very well the city and the train station. Plenty of windfarms all over the province.
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Windfarms
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TOLEDO is the most visited city. It's gorgeous, maybe not the greatest stop for trucks but definitely a must to include in the game. It's a very mountainious province.
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CIUDAD REAL, very close to the national parks, one of them has got a prairie that strikes as the Serengeti. Lakes here and there across the area.
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CUENCA, sunflowers and wavy hills. HANGING HOUSES are terribly beautiful as well.
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GUADALAJARA, it's mostly a commuter town near Madrid. Again there are gorgeous towns and villages scatered the territory like Sigüenza, Pastrana...
Sigüenza
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Atienza
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Valverde de los Arroyos
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Uceda
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Molina de Aragón
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[Some newbie driver]

Nice pictures and data that one os Castilla la Mancha.

Talking about traffic rules in other topic I remembered something that I don't recall if had been discussed here:

In Spanish, in the crossroads between main streets of cities, it use to be a checkered yellow stripes pattern painted in the tarmac, covering all the central part of the crossroad. Something like this picture

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That marking means that it's strictly forbidden to stop in the middle of that crossroad. Driver's must kept a security distance with their precedent vehicle big enough so if that vehicle can't cross the crossroad, you will not have to stop in the middle. In fact, the normal driving rules already state that for any crossroad; but ass people use to ignore it, those yellow stripes remember that there will be zero tolerance on those crossroads (fines are pretty high for that reason if police caught you; and actually lots of those have camera surveillance).

[Esproquet]

Thanks @some_newbie_driver, your posts are very useful as well.

Whenever I go to Madrid from the coast I usually make a stop at this place, it's very common

Location : https://www.google.com/maps/place/02007 ... -1.9334181
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Also, here's a video of mine driving from Madrid to La Manga (Murcia), crossing Castilla La Mancha.

Watch on YouTube

This is from Murcia to Lisbon, (crossing Castilla La Mancha as well as other regions), the shortest route takes some 100-150 km of national roads through Ciudad Real, so I took the northern route (via Toledo) with more motorway kilometers.

Watch on YouTube

This is Madrid - Granada (A4) it goes through Castilla La Mancha as well

Watch on YouTube

And these are a few videos (I still have to upload the return trip and a visit to Navas de

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[landscaper]

Atienza Quarry / Canteras de Atienza

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Location:
https://www.google.com.ua/maps/@41.2178 ... 312!8i6656

[plinio.lisboa.br]

Good morning to all employees, moderators, SCS Software workers.
  We have just found a video that is perhaps very important to contribute to the development of one of the main connecting routes between Spain and France.

1.0 Borderc Route:
San Sebastián (Es) - Bordeaux (Fr) - Bayonne (Fr) - Biarritz (Fr).

Watch on YouTube

2.0 Border Route: Torrevieja (Es) to Bordeaux (Fr)

Watch on YouTube

3.0 Border: puerto de Somport/Col du Somport (Spain) - Pau (France)
This information I am trying to preserve in the best possible way, because it may be useful in the development of the Iberia map.
  As everyone knows the ETS2 map in the south of France, it has a large space for placing road routes, as well as cities in connection with the DLC Iberia map.
  It was with this in mind that I am conducting this research on routes that can cross the border between Spain and France.


3. 1 (Es) Puerto de Somport/Col du Somport (N-330 + N134 Jaca) - Bedous (Fr)

Watch on YouTube

3.2 (Fr) Bedous - Oloron-Sainte-Marie (Fr)


3.3 (N134) Oloron-Sainte-Marie (Fr) to Pau (Fr)

Watch on YouTube

4.0 Route Border: Sallent de Gállego > > Portalet Pass < < Col de Marie-Blanque.
This small route allows it to be a cynical detour to the ETS2 map in the DLC Iberia the landscape in this region is very beautiful, and ...yes semi trailer trucks use this route especially on the Spanish side where in the video there is a truck.

4.1 Route Map A-136: (Es) Sallent de Gállego - Portalet Pass (Es).
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4aKJmCqxqM
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/42.7600 ... 048211!3e0

4.2 Route Map D934: (Es) Portalet Pass to Col de Marie-Blanque (Fr).
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WQw2LpqFLQ
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Fronter ... 070617!3e0

5. A-23/N-330: Huesca - Candanchú (Túnel de Somport) Border France

Watch on YouTube

Route map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/42.1442 ... m2!4m1!3e0