Tour of Portugal, Sep & Oct, 2023

 We bought our house in Pilar de la Horadada off-plan in 2003, and it was ready in June 2004.

We used it for holidays and for close friends, and moved here permanently in November 2012.

Every time we came, we discussed about how we would like to go to Portugal.

We bought Cervantes, our motorhome, in February 2013, and have since toured for 91,000 km around Switzerland, Spain, Italy, France and UK - always with Portugal as a destination at the back of our minds, but we never did get there.

Tomorrow we will remedy that as we set off, destination Portugal!!

We have no set plan, apart from the approach - we have the choice of driving South to North, or North to South, and considering the weather, have decided on North to South (if we can make any sense of the motorway tolls, which sound quite complicated on the online forums).

Today (Sunday 3/09/2023) we have a "Dana", which is severe weather in terms of rain and wind. Hopefully it will have passed through by tomorrow, which is when we start our trip.

TOTAL TOUR STATISTICS

• Distance travelled   2836km
• Travelling time   44 hrs 41 mins
• Amount of fuel used   250 litres
• Cost of fuel   €515
• Average fuel consumption   9.48 litres/100km (29.79mpg)
• Nights away   46
• Nights in campsites   43
• Nights in free aires   3
• Days on electric hook-up   42
• Menu del dias eaten   23
• Cathedrals and Churches visited   11
• Cost of campsites   €888.80
• Number of walks we took   41
• Distance we walked   195.07 km
• Altitude we climbed   3912 metres

You can see YouTube videos of the approaches to all the aires and campsites we have ever stayed in here, and an interactive map of all the places we have ever stayed here.

Sun 04/09/2023    Home to Fortuna

N38°12'22.3'' W001°06'25.4''   ///sailed.perfects.vaccines

Camping La Fuente

€17 per night for a large pitch and private bathroom. Excellent restaurant, huge thermal baths, service point, very quiet, gravel surface, easy access, very helpful staff.

We have one new leisure battery - the previous two gave up the ghost after 2 years, so decided to try just one, connected to the solar panel for power to charge it.

The first 2 days were OK - the voltage stabilised at 12.4V, with only the fridge pulling any power.

The voltage output fell off dramatically after 3 days, so we moved Cervantes to a pitch (we store Cervantes on a campsite, so hook-ups are available) for another 3 days, after which we packed the van (experts at it now), put the bikes on the back, and set off for Portugal.

Just an hours drive on day one to get us in the groove.

Our initial destination was at Molina de Segura, where a new aire had 2 electric sockets on offer, and sounded really nice, so we were there within the hour - just North of the city of Murcia.

Unfortunately, the circus had beaten us to it, and many workers were putting up slides and other dodgy, wobbly circular things (I've never trusted put-up and take-down circus rides)

We've spent time on an aire with a circus on it, and it was not a pretty experience!

We turned round, got out the phone with the Camper Contact app, and looked where the nearest site was.

We headed for Fortuna, where we had stayed once before (we had to park outside the complex because it was fully booked, and they took pity on us.)

This time we took advantage of a pitch with plenty of room and a private toilet and bathroom (only for us!)

Our private bathroom!

Lots of outside space.

We were soon relaxing in the warm wind outside Cervantes.

The restaurant here is open for lunch and dinner, so one of those will be our choice tomorrow.

Prior to our trip, our grandchildren (with parents) came to Spain for a week.

The last time they came out to Spain, we were all in our house, but it was a bit crowded. So this time we booked Cervantes into the campsite just down the road, and gave our daughter and husband and the two children (2½ and 5) the run of the house, whilst we slept in Cervantes.

All was well until I tried to drive onto our pitch on the campsite to park Cervantes.

The sun and temperature had been scorching for the last 3 weeks, and as a result, a sun screen (made out of green netting) was hanging down over the entrance to our designated pitch.

It was too low to get Cervantes onto the pitch.

We found some old plastic piping, and Glyn held up the netting with it, and I stupidly drove through straight away - then the netting caught on the TV aerial, and ripped 3 of the 4 fixings out of the roof !!! Totally my fault - I couldn't even see Glyn, so should have stopped, but I didn't.

I got an Amazon delivery of Gorilla tape (same day delivery) and taped it back into position.

The Sikaflex 522 came from Amazon 3 days later, and I well and truly stuck it down, and sealed all round the circular base.

A "Dana" was due in 2 days (a weather system bringing torrential rain and hurricane speed winds), so it was perfect, given that the Sikaflex cured in 24 to 48 hours.

To get here in Fortuna, we spent an hour on the motorway at 80kph, so I think it's had it's initiation, and is well and truly stuck and waterproof (the Dana gave us 18mm of rain in 3 hours), so that's a job well done.

Tuesday 05/09/2023   Fortuna 

An extremely quiet night last night - excellent.

We took advantage of the restaurant last night, and had a superb meal with a very large glass of wine.

By the time we had finished, every table was taken, and they had opened another dining room to accommodate the overspill.

The 2 staff managed brilliantly, being professional the whole time - kudos for them.

We were so impressed, we're going back for lunch today. The menu is super impressive - all the starters are non-meat, and there's a choice of 3 main courses that are non-meat.

The bathroom sink in Cervantes has become detached - the screw holding the drainer also holds the sink in place. The sink is only plastic, so is not heavy, but the screw holding the sink and the drainer has rusted through and snapped. The base of the screw is now embedded in the plastic hose below.

I brought the Gorilla tape into play again, and strapped up the hose and holder under the bathroom surface.

Then I got out the Sikaflex 522 again, and joined the sink to the outlet pipe. It should be cured by the time we go tomorrow, and should be a permanent fix.

We took a look at the heated thermal pool in the campsite

The thermal baths in the campsite

then headed for the thermal spas, adjoining the campsite. We walked for a good 45 minutes around the hot baths, the garish hotels, and the acres of wooden houses.

Coloured housing for the hot bath visitors

The very impressive entrance road

More impressive housing

We did no cooking yesterday, and didn't want to break a winning streak, so went for a lunchtime meal in the restaurant today.

Too much food to eat, and a bottle of wine between us, and we were ready to make our way back to Cervantes for an outdoor snooze - it's still 30°+ here with a strong, cooling wind - it's just perfect.

After a couple of mind-taxing Wordles, we drifted off in perfect silence - brilliant!

We've identified a campsite near Lagunas de Ruidera, about 3 hours away, so we're off first thing tomorrow to another campsite between 2 lakes - sounds lovely.

Wednesday 06/09/2023    Fortuna to Lagunas de Ruidera

N38°56'12.7''  W002°50'54.0''  ///morals.puzzler.dice

Camping Los Batanes

Large trees, big pitches, but hard to access, dusty surface, toilets, showers, bar and restaurant onsite, very quiet, excellent walking by the lakes, €27 including electric.

243km in 3hr 38min

We were sorry to leave La Fuente this morning - we've had an excellent stay here with our private bathroom, and we made some money back because they only charged us €17 per night, which we thought was the price of a normal pitch with shared bathrooms.

We took the A30  motorway all the way to Albacete, and were slowed only by a police check halfway along.

We made it through, then took a detour into the heart of the town, and parked right outside Aldi, which was very quiet - most unusual for Aldi - it's usually heaving with people.

We're now stocked up for the next week or so, and were soon on our way on the fantastic N430 - a smooth, straight, wide road at 80kph - what a joy to drive on - fantastic!

Our destination was the campsite alongside the lakes (some of which had dried up due to the extreme weather we've had for the last 6 weeks - very, very hot!!) called Camping Los Batanes at the small village of Lagunas de Ruidera.

The very helpful chap behind the counter gave us all the info we needed, and we were soon wandering around the campsite (hardly anyone was here) deciding on which pitch we wanted.

The pitches are all inside a square, with a tree on each corner, some of which look impossible to drive into, unless you have a very small van (ours is 5.9 metres long, and we struggled).

Many pitches are too narrow to drive into.

Lots of trees to manoeuvre round.

We had chosen a pitch, but the trees were that close together, we couldn't manoeuvre into it.

There is hardly anyone here, so it's academic where you go really. It looked to be an idyllic place to be, and it proved to be so - silence in the woods under a canopy of green - what a brilliant choice by the ace campsite finder!

The onsite restaurant here majors in meat - they have their own animals in the surrounding fields, and have many dishes cooked to order - if you're a fan of home-raised and 100% provenance meat - this is the place for you to eat.

Home reared meat from the fields.

The campsite bar and restaurant.

Inside the restaurant.

The facilities here are very good - showers, toilets, washing machines, etc. are all of a good standard.

Up to date and modern showers.

Hand or machine washing available.

Can't do without a quimico!

There is a cafe opposite us on the main road whose products and whole ethos is ecological and sustainable.

He was so enthusiastic, we bought a 3 litre box of tempranillo red wine made from organic grown grapes, with a stamp of authenticity.

They were advertising a glass of wine and a tapas for €3 - bargain!

We were so impressed by the wine, we went back and bought a box of Verdejo white wine made from organic grapes - what a nice man he was.

Wine and tapas for €3!!

A bargain price for top quality wine.

We're eating in Cervantes today - we bought some potatoes and beer and wine from Aldi on the way here, so it seemed churlish not to use some of them tonight.

Remoska 2 was put to work roasting potatoes, garlic and vegan burgers, with cheese and oregano - excellent!

Thursday 07/09/2023    Lagunas de Ruidera

A very quiet night in blissful silence - just what we needed.

We are in the middle of a forest, with acres of room everywhere.

When we woke up this morning in the middle of nowhere on our own, two tents had appeared on one of the pitches, right next to us - you have to ask yourself - why? when they could have gone anywhere.

Why?

Are they so insecure they have to be near someone?

We left the frightened campers and walked down the AB-613 small, country road, until we came to the lake, which was a fantastic green colour.

The massive red cliffs opposite, combined with the colour of the water made a brilliant contrast - just right for a photograph.

There are plenty of walking routes around the area - here are just a few on a roadside sign.

We walked along the shore for a good kilometre, and were nearly tempted to hire a kayak from the many on the shore, as had 3 or 4 people already.

Plenty for hire.

What did tempt us was the restaurant we passed with a fantastic lake view.

We managed to avoid temptation at the moment, and continued our walk to the end of the lake. It eventually joined up with another lake, but there didn't seem to be any way to walk there.

An excellent walk by the lakes.

We turned around, and had a fantastic meal at the restaurant, now busy with 3 tables already occupied.

You couldn't get any nearer to the lake!

 The food and drink was spot-on, and the walk home was just what we needed.

Menu del dia includes a drink

Starter!

Main course!

As we feared, the 2 couples right next to us were yacking away loudly, so I had to put some earplugs in to get some quiet and read my book, still asking myself - why??

Glyn has been practicing her magic, and found a campsite 1km away from a very special village for us to stay in tomorrow - more info when we get there tomorrow!

Friday 08/09/2023    Lagunas de Ruidera to Almagro 

N38°52'51.5'' W003°41'45.4'' ///directs.booth.cookery

Camping Los Arenales

Showers, toilets, washing up and clothes sinks, €26 per night including electric, water, sand/grit surface, very large pitches, restaurant, shop, 20 minute walk to excellent town, very helpful staff.

116km in 1hr 51min

This was our leaving day from Camping Los Batanes, and what a palaver it was to get Cervantes, our motorhome, through the maze of huge, hard, tall trees, which looked lovely, but proved to be a nightmare to drive through. They were far too close together to go 90° from one alley to another - crucial if you want to leave!!

Luckily, a very nice man in a motorhome near us gave us a route of how to get out - the trick was to choose an alley that had a tree missing, so you could get round the corner.

This had to be followed by finding another tree missing before we could get out, past reception, and onto the narrow road by the many lakes - some with brilliant rock formations reflecting in the water.

Bright, white rock reflected in the water.

We chugged our way at 30kph along the lake roads, until we could make some progress on the very fast N430 road.

The campsite, Camping Los Arenales, proved easy to get to, after going through the narrow backstreets of Almagro.

The campsite was huge, and was practically empty, so we had the choice of where we were going, how we parked, and where the shade was.

All alone in the shade.

The pitch we are on is surrounded by trees, but not hemmed in by them. This makes the sunshine dappled, and cuts down dramatically on the heat - just right for us.

There is a restaurant, next door to a bar/cafe onsite, open to the public, which is why it was reasonably busy.

The very busy onsite restaurant.

Ready for the rush.

More room in here!

We plan to walk into Almagro tonight to walk around the town, possibly have a meal, and find out what there is to see, and when they are open.

Cervantes is going like a train, and has not missed a beat - we're on 91,000 km now, and everything is functioning as it should (except for the shower - "the tap is full of calc, and that is blocking the water coming through", according to Autocaravanas Navarro), so it's a wipe down with a damp flannel for us (or a shower in a campsite!)

Our evening walk around Almagro proved fruitless for places to eat, but we luckily found one, just as we were thinking of going back to the campsite.

A walk along the 1.6 km road across the fields to Almagro.

The lady who owned the restaurant was on her own, but still managed to produce a 3 course meal for 2 of us, which was excellent.

A nice walk back to Cervantes in the twilight saw us tucked up in bed after a brilliant day in Almagro.

Saturday 09/09/2023    Almagro

We woke to another sunny day, so I walked to the onsite restaurant to see if they were open, and what the menu was like.

The nice lady behind the counter was very apologetic, but told us that there was a wedding booked for all day today. It was no problem, and we wished them well and good luck.

It will be open as usual tomorrow, so will enquire then as to what is available and when.

After a few chores, we were off on another visit to the town of Almagro.

A walk to Almagro, and some excellent historic buildings.

We parked ourselves on the busy, café-lined main street. We ordered a small beer, and watched the world go by in it's many guises.

We had planned to visit the National Theatre Museum, which was just round the corner from where we sat.

The nice lady on reception confirmed we were pensioners from UK, and as such, were let in for free - yeah!

We took a good hour to have a good look around the 4 floors available. It was excellent, with some superb memorabilia on show, and some interactive exhibits. It is highly recommended.

Fabulous roof!

To be, or not to be - that is the question!

Some stunning costumes.

They were famous in their day.

You made your own amusement in those days.

Next, we went to the very ornate church at the top of the main street.

The lady on the reception sold us a ticket for 3 visits to different sights to see, the church we were in being one of them. The other 2, we could choose from a total of 10 other sites in the town, so that's for tomorrow.

Many venues to choose from!

The cost was €10 for the two of us.

Inside the church, the decoration was awesome. The stucco moulding and paintwork were unbelievable. How they did that to that level that long ago - it was fantastic.

There was a spiral staircase to the roof - I'm a bit wobbly on this sort of thing, but this was very safe with clear Perspex sheets to see through, but not fall through! It was all enclosed as it should be, not like some of the frightening death-traps we have been up before.

It was time for lunch, so it was down to the bottom of the main street, past all the other bars and restaurants, to the one at the very bottom on the right, where we'd been before for a drink.

A special was on offer, so we ordered two, and were amazed at the quality of the food - very good, and a reasonable price.

The walk home in the sun was good exercise, and just in time to watch the Vuelta cycle race on our TV. It started on TDP, and the reception was excellent, then it moved to La1 and the reception changed from very good to unwatchable - stuttering and freezing, so had to turn it off.

Instead, we sat outside with a homemade gin and tonic (saved myself €9 there!) with a good book and my lovely wife - what could be better?

Sunday 10/09/2023    Almagro

The wedding at the restaurant and tent went on after midnight, and beyond (according to Glyn), but we forgave them as it was a one-off - they'll only do this once!!

The loud music got more grungier and unintelligible after midnight - I presume the bride and groom had gone by then - luckily my earplugs saved me.

Our daily walk to Almagro in the sun gave us the opportunity to spend the other 2 visits on our purchased bono ticket, bought yesterday.

Exploring the architecture of Almagro.

We headed for our first port of call - the theatre on the main street, which had been active and used for the last 300 years, and everything was displayed as it would have been, 300 years ago.

Up in the Gods.

In the cheap seats.

The layout has never changed.

An historic monument.

What a great asset to have in the town - the crowds must flock to see this, especially as plays are still performed there.

Our next, and last, bono port of call was slightly out of town, inside a religious building, going back many hundreds of years.

The stonework and architecture was excellent - the number of hours it must have taken to carve all these designs and shapes out of blocks of sandstone, to ultimately make your church/chapel the best in the area.

Well done that stonemason!

A lot of work has gone into this.

Stunning Altar.

A very detailed mural.

Very ornate stonework.

The building dates back to 1504 !!

By some lack of communication, there was no-one there to take our money, so we still had a bono to use.

We plumped for one on our way back, but were a bit disappointed by the lack of exhibits, and the small area of them.

We walked back to Cervantes and the campsite, where we had booked a table for a meal at lunchtime (2pm)

We arrived at the restaurant at 1·45pm, and were promptly seated (we had a choice of 3 areas because we had pre-booked) at a lovely table for 2.

Excellent table for 2

There are 2 rooms available, and the number of people able to be seated, must have been bordering on 200. One table in the other room to ours, had a long, long table with approximately 30 chairs on it. It soon filled up and the excellent staff were taking orders - it seemed like it was normal for a typical Sunday lunch.

Massive table for 30!!

As soon as another 6 came in, they were seated and served immediately - I don't know how many staff were on, but they were all superb.

After our cheeseboard starter (almost enough for us, full stop!), our mains of salmon and merluza were superb, and the glass of wine was superb - what an exceptional restaurant!

Back at Cervantes it was time to relax, after phoning our next campsite to reserve a place.

Torrential rain at 5.15pm had us clearing everything away inside, and diving for cover. It only lasted for 5 minutes, but it was very heavy.

Monday 11/09/2023    Almagro to Horcajo de los Montes

N39°19'24.8'' W004°39'03.5'' ///freebie.safes.forests

Camping Mirador de Cabañeros

Great views from every pitch, water and electric on pitch, restaurant and bar, covered, outdoor, heated pool, 15 min walk to small town, great walking from campsite.

115km in 2hr 8min

An early start this morning - we were off on the road at 9·30am, heading for a campsite we had identified a week before, when we set off on our trip.

The road to it (the CM-4106) was shocking (in both meanings of the word!). The surface was breaking up for 50 km, and it was a struggle to try and keep the tyres on some of the road that hadn't disintegrated. Truly bad, I would not recommend it to anyone.

Which is sad, because the road got a lot better towards the end, and there is a superb campsite at the end of it.

The gent behind the counter in reception was super-helpful. He gave us the lowdown on where the best pitches were, and all the walks in the surrounding National Park.

He warned us that 30 Dutch visitors were coming tomorrow, so it may be a bit busier than today - they're all having lunch here.

Today is very quiet - we have the best pitch on the campsite, overlooking the town of Horcajo de los Montes, on a massive pitch on very coarse gravel (so we're not walking it into the van every 5 minutes!)

A brilliant pitch.

Fantastic views of the town (better with a beer!)

The hills in the distance are 100 km away!

After a spot of lunch (omelette with smoked salmon in a tortilla wrap - lovely!) and had finished downloading todays GPX track and approach video footage from our dashcam, we were sat on the edge of our cliff, looking down onto the village/town of Horcajo de los Montes, which appeared to have a lot of houses, but no apparent places to work from.

Maybe everyone worked from home, or for the National Parks. It's a good distance from here before you get to a built-up area.

There are full facilities at this campsite, all well-maintained, and fully stocked.

Washing-up sinks and games room.

Washing machines and clothes washing sinks.

Baby bath and sinks.

Urinals and grey water drain.

Outdoor, heated pool and restaurant tables.

We are just on the edge of the Parque Nacional de Cabañeros, dubbed "The Spanish Serengeti"

As you can imagine, the walking around here is spectacular, with many way-marked paths all over the park.

The detailed information, walking routes, and enthusiasm of the gent in reception was brilliant.

He showed, and gave us all the maps and walking routes available of this superb area, and did everything possible to make our stay here memorable - he passed with flying colours.

A detailed walking map of the immediate area.

A bigger area for the more adventurous walker.

A detailed plan of the campsite.

The National Park has one of the best-preserved Mediterranean forest areas in the world, all thanks to the staff and volunteers who work there.

We're having a day off from walking the surrounding areas, so Remoskita has been brought into play with sliced potatoes, onions and garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and a good measure of white wine, then leave it for an hour or so to do it's magic.

Couldn't be better!

We ended the day sat outside Cervantes with a glass of wine, looking at the far-away mountains - we estimate they are at least 100 km away on the horizon - what a brilliant view, and what a sunset!

Distant hills.

 

Beautiful sunset.

Tuesday 12/09/2023    Horcajo de los Montes

We were woken last night by the pitter patter of rain on our roof - it's only 1 metre way from our dropdown bed, and sounds like a monsoon.

When we got up to look at the "damage", we were happy to find that it was only a very short shower, so nothing was too wet, although Glyn's chair was damp, so a towel was needed to sit down and have coffee.

I am pleased to announce that the sealant I used to glue the TV antenna back onto the roof has hardened and sealed, so no water is coming through the hole in the roof where the cable comes through to the inside, and the antenna has not fallen off !!

Our plan today was to walk to the town, down a very steep road (an alternative, less-steep road is 2km long) which had some interesting houses built into the slope of the road.

This is one steep road-

-going up or going down!

Driving your motorhome up or down this road is not advisable!

The town was very quiet, with just a couple of bars/restaurants open. We assessed one as we had a cold beer outside, and it seemed well-run and value for money.

The Restaurante El Mirador.

It was still early, so we walked around the town and the perimeter, and saw no other bars, restaurants or shops open - it was very, very, quiet.

A walk around Horcajo de los Montes from the campsite.

We were very impressed by the Restaurante El Mirador (on the CM-4017 in the town centre), so were back there at 1·30pm, and had a really memorable menu del dia, with setas and scrambled egg, salmon with a superb garnish, an excellent sweet, and a bottle of wine between us - a bargain at €26 for the two of us!!

Scrambled egg and mushrooms, and avocado salad...

...a huge piece of salmon with chips...

...and cake and melon to finish - first class!!

It proved to be a long slog up the very, very steep road to the campsite, but we took it easy -  nothing to rush back to the van for.

The sun is out again, and the views are just as good today as they were yesterday - we feel as if we're on top of the world!

Wednesday 13/09/2023    Horcajo de los Montes

An extremely quiet night in this lovely campsite - not what we were expecting with 30 Dutch motorhomers staying here last night, all eating at the restaurant just up the road from us.

Kudos to them for being as Dutch as they were - very considerate.

We haven't been walking much this trip, so we set about remedying that, as we planned a walking route to the nearby peaks.

Calling into reception on our way out, we confirmed that the route we had planned was walkable.

Map of the National Park

Plenty of walking routes available here.

The very nice man on reception showed us on his computer screen, exactly where to go and what to see - fantastic service, and a great pointer to which way we walked, and what we saw.

We followed the path through the olive groves,

Fantastic walking!

Sometimes the path left the olives...

...then veered back into them.

We climbed the adjacent hill onto the very walkable path,

Great walking on these paths.

and walked along for a couple of kilometres. The views of the distant mountains and the valleys below were brilliant - we could see for miles into the far distance - well worth walking to the footpath we were on.

Superb views.

  

What a view!

You can see for miles!

The walking route continued up the hill, but the surface changed to melon-sized boulders, which were very difficult to walk on. We assessed that a twisted ankle was a definite possibility, so we turned round and re-traced our steps to the road.

A walk in the woods (apologies to Bill Bryson)

We considered a walk to town to have another brilliant menu del dia (as yesterday), but decided to have an equally brilliant Remoskita one-pan meal, (equally as good!)

We don't seem to be getting nearer to the north of Portugal as soon as we originally thought we would. We don't want to be travelling for 3 or 4 hours every day, but every other day should be OK. That would give us some time on day 2 to see and do what we want, but until we get to Portugal, we need to do the mileage every other day.

When we get to Portugal, we can stay where we want as long as we want - that's the start of our Portugal adventure.

Thursday 14/09/2023    Horcajo de los Montes to Plasencia

N40°02'46.2'' W006°03'27.7'' ///intently.emeralds.anode

Camping La Chopera

100 pitches on grass, electric, water, restaurant and bar, showers, toilets, car wash, playground, grey and black water disposal, pool, washing up and clothes sinks. €19 per night. Cycle path by river nearby.

231km in 4hr 05min.

We'll be sorry to leave this lovely campsite - everything you want is here - great support and information from the brilliant people in reception.

The views are stunning, the walking is endless, and the noise is at a minimum - one of the best campsites we have stayed in.

We need to get some miles in to get nearer to Portugal.

We took the less-steep road down to the town of Horcajo de los Montes, then up the other side towards Sevilleja de la Jara.

I thought the roads were bad getting to the campsite in Horcajo de los Montes, but the road leaving, the CM-4106, was absolutely atrocious. Over 30kph and the van and contents were shaken to death - this went on for 50 kilometres - we could not believe it. Potholes and rubbish road repairs all the way - a cobbled street would have been smoother.

By the time we got to Sevilleja de la Jara we were totally fed up! Castilla La Mancha, bow your head in shame for an absolutely atrocious road. Get a grip and do something about it!!

The rest of our long drive (4 hours 5 minutes to drive 235km) was on good, fast roads.

On the EX-A1 motorway, a car coming down the slip road to join the motorway, flicked a stone onto our windscreen, and we heard the ominous "click", and yes - the windscreen now had a 13cm crack on it.

We sailed on, keeping an eye on it, but it didn't seem to be getting any bigger.

The campsite at La Chopera is all on grass, luckily it's dry now, so no stranded motorhomes. The staff were very helpful, and were a pleasure to talk to, and we were soon hooked-up, and walking around the site to see where everything was. 

We spent a lot of time on the phone, trying to sort out our cracked windscreen, going first to our insurance company, who sent us an e-mail explaining what to do.

E-mails sent and returned resulted in a glass company who fitted windscreens phoning us to arrange a time. It's 6.30pm now, so I guess it's going to be tomorrow when we can get it done.

We had a good look round the campsite, and found there was everything here you could want - very impressive.

The pitches and driveways are lined with trees here, but not so bad as the previous forest in Lagunas de Ruidera.

Still trees, but sensibly spaced out.

Sunshine and a stiff breeze here makes just the right temperature - brilliant.

It's 8pm, and I've just had my name called over the tannoy  to go to reception. I wondered what on earth was the matter - had I contravened some rules or instructions? - all was explained as I met two fitters from the windscreen company, come to have a look at the windscreen, and confirm it needed replacing.

They came to Cervantes and examined the windscreen, then said it was possible, and it was arranged for the fitters to come on Monday at 10am. It would take 2 hours, and needed to set for another hour.

Great service, and all done very friendly and professionally.

We hadn't planned to stay here for 4 days, but as they say - needs must, and we'll be on our way on Monday afternoon.

I guess it's time to take the bikes off the back of Cervantes, and do some exploring (and shopping) around Plasencia.

Glyn managed to magic a fantastic meal from no-where - it's that Remoskita again - brilliant!

Friday 15/09/2023    Plasencia

Rain last night kept us awake for a while - all I could think of was the grass turning to mud, so we were stuck on the grass. Of course everything was fine when we got up - just my paranoia!

I'm pleased to say my Sikaflex 522 sealant has passed the rain test - inside, where the antenna cable comes through the roof, is bone dry - not a hint of damp, so the fixing is waterproof - yeah!!

Nearly all the vans which were here yesterday have now gone, so it's just us and another one on our stretch of grass.

As we're staying here for 3 more days than we thoght we were, we needed to buy some more food, so it was on with the walking boots, and follow the river down to the outskirts of Palencia.

There is a huge Carrefour hypermarket just outside the city, and we were there in 40 minutes, walking by the river almost all the way.

We had 2 bags and 2 small rucksacks, so couldn't buy too much - just enough to see us through to Tuesday of next week.

On the way back to Cervantes with the shopping, we took a short cut through the campsite bar/restaurant. We were lucky, because if we hadn't done that, we would have missed the blackboard that said "menu del dia" !

The 3 course meal with a bottle of wine was €15 each, and it was excellent.

Back at Cervantes, it was starting to rain, so I abandoned my job of swapping the inner tube on my bike - I'll do it when the rain stops.

It's not heavy rain, so I think it'll stop soon with no flooding.

We watched the International Space Station cross over the sky above us last night at 9.30pm, when it had just gone dark - brilliant, and it's due again tonight - we'll see it if this rain and cloud cover clears.

We sat out side last night and watched the birds roost in the trees at twilight - there seemed to be hundreds flying about, choosing which tree to stay in, then the bats came out!! Very entertaining.

Saturday 16/09/2023    Plasencia

This morning, rain is forecast for 12 noon, so we set off on the bikes (after I'd swapped the inner tube on Glyn's back wheel) along the cycle path that follows the river.

It was a bit chilly, and there was intermittent, small rain that didn't really last at all, so we didn't actually get wet.

The reservoir was quite empty, and the walking/cycling path to it was excellent.

The path continued north all along the side of the reservoir for the next 15km.

We ignored that, and crossed the reservoir on the dam wall, again on a cycle path.

Glyn on her bike

!5km of reservoir-side path

Some Hydroelectric being made.

You could be in the Lake District!

At the other end of the dam wall, we picked up the riverside path once again, and were back at the campsite in no time, after a brilliant ride, and Glyn was outstanding - well done that girl!

It started raining at 12 noon, as prophesied by the weather people, so we stayed in Cervantes and watched the Vuelta d'España cycle race on TV.

A break at teatime had us walking again by the river, with just a small amount of rain.

We managed to cook outside in Remoskita, but had to take it in before it was finished.

A DVD film was the order of the day tonoght, and all was well until the heavens opened and torrential rain came down in a very heavy downpour. It lasted for ages, and was so loud on the roof of Cervantes, we had to pause the film on the TV because we couldn't hear it, even full volume!!

It went on for a good 30 minutes by which time the ground was waterlogged, and the van was very clean.

Break out the wellies!

This was some downpour!

We've never seen rain like this before, lets hope the electric can cope with it.

It's 8.50pm now, and it's eased off a bit, so we may see the rest of this film!! (Mystic River)

Sunday 17/09/2023    Plasencia

After a loud night (rain!) we were amazed when we got up that the standing water from last night had all gone, and the grass was almost dry to stand on - amazing!

We celebrated by going on a 10km bike ride to Plasencia city. The dedicated walking/cycling path took us right into the centre, with a fantastic view of the cathedral.

The excellent cycle path to Plasencia.

A cup of coffee and a toast with tomato later, we were on the return leg - this time on the opposite bank of the river - what a great service by the council to give us these traffic-free routes.

The very impressive cathedral

The excellent cycle path.

Back at Cervantes, we were rustling up another one-pot wonder in Remoskita, this time based around rice.

Whilst it was cooking, I polished another side of Cervantes, which goes some way to protecting the finish from the weather, predominantly the sun.

The wind has got up, and the trees are bending madly - not a day to be driving I don't think.

It's the last day of the Vuelta d'España cycle race today, so that's guaranteed TV watching time at the early evening - it's always a thrilling finish on the route around the centre of Madrid.

The windscreen men are due to be here tomorrow at 9am. He said it would be a 2 hour job, then needed at least 1 hour for the fixing material to set.

To be on the safe side, we've decided to stay another night to make sure the adhesive has cured, so we'll be off into Portugal on Tuesday.

This campsite is quite busy, with vans and caravans coming and going on a regular, continuous rota. A lot of them are small(ish) motorhomes like ours, and the odd car and caravan. We were surprised how busy it was. The adverse weather didn't seem to make any difference - they still came piling in last night.

A plus for today was getting the Wordle on the first try!! - unheard of!!

This never happens!!

Monday 18/09/2023    Plasencia

The very heavy rain overnight (again) gave us a bit of a shock - the men are coming at 11am to fit the new windscreen, and I guess they can't fit it in the rain.

It stopped when we got up at 8am, so we were just praying that it wouldn't start again - we've been here for 4 days already, and don't want to stay any longer.

Luckily, it didn't rain, although it was overcast, and looked like it would rain at any moment, but thank you, it stayed dry.

The man in charge and his young apprentice got straight to it - stripping down the surrounds and polishing the new screen.

Polishing the new screen.

It looked pretty brutal, but in fairness, it hadn't been touched for the 10 years that we've had Cervantes.

When the opening was thoroughly cleaned, and a beading of strong glue was pumped around the perimeter, it was time to put the new screen in.

To keep it in place until the bond took place, they put two strips of tape on the top edge of the screen, then taped it down onto the panel above.

All went swimmingly, and it looked like a very good, professional job.

After they'd left, I got to cleaning the marks left after they'd finished. All was well until I got to the two marks above the screen where the tape had been. I thought the marks were a residue of the adhesive, but it transpired that the tape was so powerful, it had pulled off the white paint when it was removed.

It's not a big job, but a bit annoying - we'll have to put some Cervantes stickers above the marks.

We're definitely off tomorrow, and have identified a campsite in Guarda, just over the Portugal border, to stay in tomorrow night - the town is next door, and has a historic centre.

We had a last bike ride from here in the afternoon, and once again dodged the rain - that was lucky.

A last ride to the embalse.

More fine dining tonight with the wonderful onion/garlic/potato combination in the one-pot Remoskita - brilliant!

Sunday 19/09/2023    Plasencia to Guarda

N40°32'06.5'' W007°16'35.7'' ///betrayer.decorator.conjuring

Parque de Campismo

€13.50 per night inc electric under very big trees on sand/shale, in the centre of town, showers, toilets, everywhere is walkable, great cathedral, next to a park with fountains.

204km in 3hr 14min

A quiet night, and we were all set to leave, but had to wipe condensation from everywhere - a baptism for the new windscreen! We wiped the inside and outside of the glass (windscreen and door windows), and they immediately misted up again.

We finally conquered it, and made our escape to Portugal.

The motorway was fine (the EX-A1) to Moraleja when the 109 (Extremadura) became the 526 (Castilla y Leon), and the driving was brilliant. Smooth and wide with stable bends, we climbed up high, then swooped down the other side - brilliant!

At Ciudad Rodrigo, we once again joined a motorway, the E80/A-62, and drove due west towards the Portuguese border.

Glyn had been invaluable, as usual, and had mastered how the motorway tolls worked in Portugal.

We had registered our number plate, and given our credit card details online, so theoretically, we could drive through sensors on the motorway, and would be automatically charged, then the amount deducted from our credit card - all done remotely.

Our campsite/parking in Guarda, 20km from the border with Spain, was easy to find, following our trusty Garmin Sat-Nav. It got us right to the door through the traffic in Guarda.

The lady on the desk was very helpful, and smoothed our entrance to the parking spots.

We got the last parking spot.

We got what was essentially the last spot, and had to join up 2 long hook-up leads to just reach the power box.

Setting off for the town, we had the church in our sights, but had to lose 30 minutes before it opened...

...so that was a cast iron excuse to call into a bar for a beer!!

The beer of Portugal - Super Bock.

The reduced rates in the cathedral for us old fogeys were welcomed, and boy, what a surprise when we entered - it was huge, with such elaborate stonework in granite. It was stunning!!

What a ceiling!!

A very imposing building.

How on earth did they do this, so long ago?

The scale of this building is enormous.

We had paid to go to the roof also, and the view from there was breath-taking - absolutely brilliant.

I don't usually like heights, but this somehow was different - I guess the height of the walls, and the absence of small children trying to climb them.

The views were endless - you could see for miles - very impressed.

We sat down for lunch in the main square, and had a good Chinese meal in the sun - quite unusual, but very nice.

The cathedral is in the background.

Back at Cervantes, it was a relax outside until it got a bit chilly, as the sun set behind the trees.

Wednesday 20/09/2023    Guarda

It was a tad cold last night - I woke to see Glyn next to me wearing trousers and a fleece jacket!!

I was bracing myself with just a sheet and a blanket, and must admit I was a bit cold. The sun came out at about 9am, and you could see the steam rising from the damp earth in the rays of sunshine.

We has a brilliant, massive, very warm duvet the last time we used the van - but could we find it this time - no chance! (found it in the storage compartment under the lounge sofa in our house, when we got back home!)

We set off to Guarda city again this morning, heading for a church we had previously passed, that we thought would be interesting inside - we were not disappointed.

Stunning from the outside...

...and on the inside.

WOW!!

We had a hot chocolate drink in a shop on the corner of the main square, and very nice it was.

Hot, sweet chocolate!!

The owner came out for a chat, and found he was very knowledgeable about chocolate. He'd been here a year, having left Cuba, where he was born. He was a very nice chap, and we bought some expensive, but the best quality, chocolate to have as a first class  sweet.

Leonidas chocolate bag.

Chocolate box.

Lots of goodies in here.

Excellence.

On our walking travels, we had passed a restaurant which looked very promising for lunch. It had won many awards every year for the last 10 years, and the menu suited us down to the ground - plenty of non-meat options!

The best restaurant in Guarda!!

We were back for lunch there at 1.30pm, and what a fantastic meal it was, with a superb bottle of wine - brilliant!

A very welcoming restaurant.

Excellent wine, and lovely soup.

Superb Cod and Cheese sauce - the best ever.

Huge piece of Cod, with potatoes and Chick Peas.

...and a huge sweet!

After staggering back to Cervantes we were met by loud music coming from the adjoining park area, where a team from the council had put on facilities for youngsters - races, zip wires, and buggy racing. The music, as in Spain, was up at maximum volume - it was far too loud for the age of the children - it seems to be a problem in Spain and Portugal.

The music got too much for me, so I retired out of earshot for half an hour.

Back at Cervantes, we both decided we'd had enough of music, so went for a long walk around the outside of Guarda.

We stumbled across a massive shopping centre on 4 enormous floors, just outside the old town!!

Basket at the ready, we took the opportunity to stock up with wine, cloths (for our new windscreen) and hair colour.

A quick beer in the main square, then back to Cervantes for some rest.

We've identified a campsite for us to go to tomorrow, up near Bragança, where they have a washing machine and dryer - an essential for us at this moment in time.

Thursday 21/09/2023    Guarda to Bragança/Gondesende

N41°50'56.3'' W006°51'40.6'' ///crooned.cork.stormed

Cepo Verde Turismo

Pool, grey and black water disposal, showers, toilets, restaurant/bar, great views, muddy surface, sparse electric points.

187km in 2hr 49min

At 9am this morning, we were getting ready to move on, and the torrential rain that had been pouring down all night, was still coming down in buckets-full.

I was soaked disconnecting the electric (2 leads connected together), and Glyn got soaked taking the ramps and steps in. All in all, a very wet start indeed.

We were soon on the IP2/E802 road heading north, making good time on excellent roads - quiet, good surface, and well signed.

We were running seriously short of food in Cervantes, so Glyn identified a supermarket, just past the city of Bragança, where we stocked up with food and drink, then filled up with the best diesel (worth it in the end), and set off for the campsite for today in Gondesende.

The roads were steep, and we were gaining altitude rapidly. Turning right off the Chaves bound N103, which had a very good surface and plenty of room, we were on the M504, again a good surface with lots of room. 

2 kilometres later we turned right again to the campsite. The road was very narrow, (no room to pass anything coming the other way), and eventually came to the campsite of Cepo Verde Turismo.

The site was spread over many different levels, with electric boxes on some of them. It had just finished raining here, so the ground was waterlogged and muddy - not very inviting.

One of the reasons we had chosen this campsite was because the ACSI book had identified that it had a washing machine, which we urgently needed.

After we had booked in for one night, we asked where the washing machine was. It turned out that the washing machine was owned by the person in the campsite who took our booking, and they would do our washing for us for €20!! - what a scam!!

We obviously declined, and are moving tomorrow to Villa Real, where there is a laundrette just outside the campsite, with a full wash and dry for €12.

It's really too cold, wet and windy to explore where we are today - time to move on tomorrow and get to see Portugal, inland and on the coast.

Cervantes is cruising like a dream, and the windscreen had a serious examination in the torrential rain this morning, and came out with an A+ - no leaks anywhere, and the screen is crystal clear, so all good there!

We had foolishly run short of cash as we entered Portugal, and wondered if we could get some at ATM's, and if so, what would be the cost to us. 

We tried twice in Guarda, on different ATM's, and were successful with both. Cash dispensed with no charges with both our cards - so we thought! When we looked at our statements, we saw we had been charged €8 to take out €200 - no mention of this from the ATM - I thought that it was the law to inform us if there was a charge to withdraw money?

Friday 22/09/2023    Gondesende to Vila Real

N41°18'11.7'' W007°44'12.8'' ///reacting.filled.venues

Parque de Campismo de Vila Real

€19.30 per night including electric, reception, showers, coffee machine, sinks, washing machine, on grass/gravel, marked pitches, unmarked pitches on the hill with great views.

124km in 1hr 47min

It drizzled most of the night, and acorns and seeds continued to drop onto our roof - not a good nights sleep!

We got up early to escape from the mud and cold - it would be a different kettle of fish in the height of summer, but a cold, rainy day in September was never going to work.

We set off early, in part for the conditions, but also to miss any traffic that we may have met later, on the very narrow (not wide enough for two vans to pass each other) road from the campsite.

We were soon on the fast A4 motorway (free!!) heading for our next stop in Vila Real.

There is a great deal of history here, which we are looking forward to exploring.

However, the chores of every day brought us down to earth, and we set off (after checking in and parking at the excellent Parque de Campismo de Vila Real) to a laundrette which Glyn had pinpointed and saved on her phone.

A very easy to use wash and dry laundrette later, and we were back at Cervantes with the chairs in the sun (yes - really) eating tortilla on wholemeal bread - excellent!

It's wonderfully quiet here with some very unusual places to park - there is an electric hook-up box on top of the adjacent hill, with magnificent views of the town and the distant mountains.

We're sat in the sun at the moment, just behind our van, soaking up the rays - thank goodness the miserable rain and overcast skies are behind us - long may it continue.

The "check glow plugs" message comes up when I switch the ignition on in Cervantes.

I suspect that this is because of the cold weather (9° this morning when we got up). The glow plugs help the diesel to be vaporised, then squeezed to start the engine.

The temperatures in our home town of Pilar, I guess makes them redundant, but because of the temperatures here, they are needed to start the engine, and continue until the working temperature is reached.

There is a flashing yellow coil showing on the instrument panel when the ignition is on. The engine did sound a bit ropey this morning until everything had warmed up to working temperatures.

What to do ?? Carry on going south towards the warm, or call into a proper Fiat garage and get their opinion of what to do? (we've already wasted 4 days waiting for a new windscreen!)

Late afternoon saw us heading for town to look at a couple of very famous churches.

Unfortunately it was time for mass, so we didn't go in - we'll try again tomorrow.

Back at Cervantes, we're sat outside, cooking a one-pot meal in Remoskita, when an enormous Mercedes truck drove onto the site, with windows up the sides and a covered section behind with solid sides.

It transpired that it was a holiday truck from Germany, staying in a different place every night.

They've been through Germany, France and Spain, and now they're here in Portugal.

The customers/passengers are doing all the work of putting up the awnings and folding down the sides to make a cooking platform, plugging in the electric, and generally doing all the work.

What an operation to do every night - very impressive. They all seem very jolly people - what a brilliant way to see lots of different places. I don't think the truck has a shower, so it's going to be busy in the campsite bathroom tonight.

Saturday 23/09/2023    Vila Real

The enormous holiday bus was soon on its way at 7:50am (the passengers have seen nothing, apart from the campsite) to who knows where?

the forecast for today is full sun and 20°+ all day, with no wind.

This is music to our ears, so we were out of the door for 10am, on our way to see the insides of the churches we couldn't see yesterday.

The first one was plain from the outside, but inside -WOW!! Unbelievable patterns on the ceiling for the full length of the church - absolutely stunning. The altar reached the ceiling, and was equally outstanding. What a place this was -  really breath-taking!

Leaving this jewel, we went to the other one we had missed yesterday. Inside was quite bare, with almost nothing on the walls or ceiling, although it did have an enormous organ (ooh-err!) which probably made up for it.

Outside was heaving with children, playing on the blow-up climbing and sliding inflatables, put up on the side of the road.

We were looking for a likely place to eat today, but everywhere seemed to have little choice (if any!), or be ridiculously expensive.

We decided to leave our part of town, and crossed the bridge over the valley to the other side, which was much more what we were looking for.

We toured around at least 6 restaurants, and landed on one that was quite busy (always better than having no-one in), so in we went, with our stumbling Portuguese.

Luckily, we got a waiter who had a little bit of Spanish/English, and with our little bit of Portuguese, we managed to order the bacalao (the signature dish of Portugal) - we were going to order one each, but he said that one was quite enough for two people (and he was dead right), so we had a superb meal, as the restaurant got busier and busier - always a good sign.

We made our way back to Cervantes by following the road down to the valley floor, then under the bridge, and back up the other side.

Back at Cervantes, with the washing done and out to dry, we did our daily Wordle (look it up - you'll be hooked!!) and sat in the sun to give our feet a rest.

Sunday 24/09/2023    Vila Real

Well - we tried yesterday to contact 3 campsites around Porto. One didn't answer the phone, two others did, but put us on hold for 15 minutes, with a pathetic "we value your call - please wait to be answered", or in real terms "stay on the line as long as you can - we're making money off you"

We gave up in the end and went to bed, wondering if we would ever see Porto - surely it can't be that difficult.

This morning, Glyn found a way to access an online booking system for a campsite to the north of Porto.

We went through all the questions, then came to the payment - half now, and half when we arrive.

All was well until it put us through to our Spanish bank. We filled in all the answers to questions, and eventually had to sign in to access our bank. We then had to confirm our payment by putting in our 4 digit password - very, very, very scary!!

We did it, and everything went through OK, but we were still concerned about putting our secret password into a transaction we had no control over.

Everything seemed to be OK - lets hope for the best.

We've booked a campsite to the north of Porto, so trams, buses and Ubers can get us to the city.

The campsite we're still on is a haven of tranquility - a lovely place, especially as the sun is beating down, with not a hint of wind.

After confirming our campsite, we decided to go for a long, quiet, peaceful walk, and got exactly that!

Walking the Corgo River.

The 100 steps down to the river from the campsite was taken in our stride.

The walk alongside the river was very calming and sedate - a splendid antidote to giving someone our bank password.

At the end of the river, all the shops and bars seemed to be closed, then we clicked that it was Sunday!

It took us 15 minutes walking to find an open bar, so a tercio was very welcome - thank you Super Bock.

We found the river again, and walked back on the opposite bank - very peaceful and quiet.

Back at Cervantes to a one-pot meal, and an excellent glass of Outeiro red wine rounded off the meal royally!

The sun is out and the temperature inside is 29°c and outside is 34°c - yeah!!! Lets make the most of it - tomorrow it may be raining!

Monday 25/09/2023    Vila Real to Angeiras

N41°16'03.1'' W008°43'11.1'' ///gnome.tanks.quirk

Parque de Campismo de Angeiras

€26.50 per night including electric, showers, toilets, grass pitches, sinks, restaurant next door, good cycling, 5 min walk to sea, narrow cobbled streets.

107km in 1hr 40min

It was really quite warm last night, and the 3 layer covers on the bed were reduced to 2!

We wanted to get off on the road pretty quickly, so were 2nd onto the desague (grey water discharge), then onto the fast motorway to Porto.

The motorway tolls are not 100% crystal clear, and we took a stab at the correct booth when we were stopped on the motorway.

We had bought into "Easy Toll", which consisted of overhead cameras taking your number plate, and charging you accordingly.

The problem with this is that not every motorway has this system.

The road we were on had the "other system", so it meant getting in the correct lane to pay, and paying the right amount.

Luckily we stopped in a lane which had a brilliant man in the pay booth (most lanes were automatic), who clarified what to do on each different motorway.

Arriving in Angeiras, we found the campsite with no problem. We had pre-booked over the internet, 50% of the cost, and paid the other 50% when we arrived at the campsite. "ACSI card is not accepted for prior bookings" she said!

We had read horror stories of these campsites being "very busy", and the receptionist had persuaded us to book ahead.

As we got here we realised that the campsite was 50% empty, and we could have saved a significant amount of money by just turning up and showing them our ACSI card - a lesson learned!!

The campsite is huge, (not all of it is open to motorhomes).

We walked to the sea (the Atlantic Ocean!) and found a lovely restaurant on the seashore - the views were superb.

We shared a bottle of white wine in a cooler (very nice), (and cheap), whilst we waited for our main course - the "Menu del dia" of cod and potatoes. We didn't expect what arrived, which was a huge basin-sized tower of bacalao and potatoes with onions and spinach, formed into a circular shape, half as high as it was broad. It was excellent - we couldn't fault it, and enjoyed every moment. 

The Atlantic Ocean looked very fierce, with enormous waves and spray drenching the beach. The small birds were doing a lovely dance each time the waves came in - looking for some food that the waves were bringing in.

Back at Cervantes, we were settled into reading kindles and updating the blog (which you are reading!)

There is WiFi supplied by the campsite, but it won't connect if our Avast Antivirus is on, so obviously we're not using it!

We're on the flightpath here from Porto airport, so it's nice to see the planes flying above us, in and out of Porto.

Tuesday 26/09/2023    Angeiras

It was lovely and quiet last night - no noise at all, which is almost unheard of.

Our plan today is to explore the coastal city of Porto.

Glynis has excelled herself once again by researching the buses, trams and trains, and got us to Porto with consummate ease.

It was a bus trip of over an hour, then onto the tram system for another 20 minutes, and all went to plan with no hitches.

A very, very helpful lady at the tram station walked us through getting a day ticket out of the machine (I've no idea how she did it!) She then showed us how to validate the ticket - which we must do before every new trip on the metro. We thought she was one of the staff on the concourse to help idiots like me, but it turned out she got on the tram with us - just another passenger!! What a star - we would still be there scratching our heads!!

Arriving in the centre of Porto, we got off the tram to be faced by a football sized crowd of sightseers, all drifting in the same direction (towards the sea), and we had no option but to join them. 

Porto - it's busy, busy, busy!!

It was really difficult to see what we wanted to see - the queues for everything was ridiculous, and this was the end of September, going into October!

Goodness knows what the queues are like in the height of summer!

We managed to escape when we reached the river, going to some scenic, but not packed locations. We never went into the people-hungry cathedrals, and instead found our own monuments and churches - not as big and flamboyant, but every bit as interesting.

Up one of the steep, narrow streets from the river, we came across a small Italian restaurant, where the food was delicious.

The tram/bus back was a piece of cake, and we were soon outside in the sun with an ice-cold beer (the fridge is working wonderfully)

Just outside the campsite gates, we saw a tractor and trailer following a harvester - watch the following video, and be impressed!

Wednesday 27/09/2023    Angeiras

A lovely peaceful night (apart from the Collared Dove chanting "You Bastard" every 10 seconds). Maybe they do it all night, and I only hear it when I wake up.

Today was bike riding day, so we got the bikes off the back of Cervantes, and set off along the wooden walkway, parallel to the coast, going North.

Both bikes with the front wheels off - fit just right.

After a couple of kilometres the path went up in steps, so we had to carry the bikes up the steps, but it was worth it for the view at the top.

We turned round and went south along cycle paths and some road mileage (hardly any traffic!), and were soon on our own on a nearly deserted beach.

Cycling by the Atlantic.

We had passed a likely-looking restaurant, so I went in to reserve a table by the window, overlooking the sea.

"No need", he said, it's going to be very quiet today! I took his word for it, and got back on my bike, and we biked further south.

We planned to be back at the restaurant for 12 noon, when it opened, and in the meantime we (Glynis) rescued a lost dog and returned it to it's owner, and stopped for a well-earned beer at a roadside café.

As the restaurant worker had predicted, there was no-one in the restaurant when we got there. We sat by the massive picture windows, and had a superb view up and down the beach.

The waiter was a very nice guy who gave us all the help we needed to choose the right fish.

I has never heard of "Black Scabbard" fish, so went for it on the recommendation of our waiter, and how right he was - it was brilliant!!

We also had sardines, but they were a bit small, so he gave us double the amount - what a nice man.

Excellent wine, and bread and olives to start.

Black Scabbard and Sardines - excellent!!

Every fish ordered was grilled on a charcoal barbeque round the back of the restaurant, that you could see from the cycle path.

Bread and olives, fish, potatoes and salad with a bottle of wine later, we were on our way to the campsite, where we guessed the Wordle on the first attempt - how lucky was that?

You won't see this very often!!

Thursday 28/09/2023    Angeiras

The roof of Cervantes is now covered in leaves from the trees above - should blow off when we get moving.

It's sunny again today - we've been really lucky with the weather here, nice and warm with a gentle breeze.

This is a very busy campsite - vans are coming and going on a regular basis, some good at manoeuvring, some not so good!

Glyn was not feeling 100% today, so I went for a bike ride on my own.

All the way north following the shoreline on a quite narrow wooden walkway. There were quite a few people (pilgrims) walking in both directions, so at times it was very busy. The further north I got, the quieter it was.

Refreshment stop!...

...with a beer!

I decided to come back using inland roads. The plan was good, but the execution was awful.

Every road was made up of small (10cm square) blocks of granite, what we in UK would call "cobbles"

They are not smooth! They are very uneven, and shake the fillings in your teeth out - shocking to ride on.

Cobbles - a nightmare to ride on.

I took advantage of the smooth pavement when I could, but the roads were really tough to ride on. I made it back home eventually, with numb hands and bum.

The comings and goings of the campsite were still going on - there was some classic reversing and revving of engines going on at some point - great entertainment.

Glyn had spent the time on her own by organising our destination tomorrow. We're off to Coimbra, which has a campsite almost in the middle of the city.

It sounded great on campercontact, with the normal fantastic reviews, and the abysmal reviews - don't take everything you read as correct - some people who leave negative reviews have another agenda going on.

We've done most of our emptying and filling today, so can get an early start tomorrow. It's only 149km, mostly on motorways, so we should easily be there for lunchtime.

Last thing tonight, we walked down to the sea to see the sunset. Unfortunately there was a bank of thick cloud on the horizon, so couldn't see it set.

The setting sun just about to go into the clouds.

Walking back to the campsite, we had the consolation sight of the full moon rising out of the opposite horizon - very impressive it was - you can understand why Neanderthal man was in awe of the rising full moon. It was very impressive!

Friday 29/09/2023    Angeiras to Coimbra

N40°11'16.9'' W008°23'54.8'' ///silly.bedroom.hopeless

Coimbra Camping and Bungalows.

€23 per night inc electric (ACSI), 5 flat terraces on grass, with or without shade, dogs permitted, fitness room, sauna, pool, snack bar, restaurant, fresh bread available, WiFi, toilets, showers, service point, supermarket 5 minutes walk away.

142km in 2hr 17min

Off early this morning, after cleaning a good autumn leaf drop from the trees above.

When the windscreen fitters had left, they left a gap between the windscreen and the bottom rubber moulding. When we first bought Cervantes it was as described above.

I thought it was rubbish then, so I ordered lots of black Sugru and moulded it all the way along between the bottom of the windscreen and the rubber moulding - then it was watertight!

Leaving Angeiras we were soon on the A28 motorway, picking up a ticket quite early on, and paying for it when we left the motorway, quite near to our new campsite (€13 by cash or card)

Coimbra Camping is built on the side of a hill, with 5 flat grass terraces you can park anywhere on. If you want electric you need to be reasonably near a supply box, or have a long length of cable. 

We found a nice, quiet spot on tier 1, and were soon plugged in...

In the shade and plugged in.

...and Glyn was once again slaving over a hot stove to make scrambled egg on toast (which was excellent!) before we went for a short walk.

We stumbled across a supermarket over the main road from the campsite, so stocked up on wine, puddings and beer.

Short walk to the supermarket.

We're the highest and furthest away from the busy motorway below, but it's not really intrusive - it must be a lot worse further down and nearer.

We were surprised on the way here that the motorway was at a standstill on the A1 outside Porto - just too busy with traffic!!

We realise that it's like that on the M25 round London, but as we come from the North of England, we never came across traffic jams on motorways purely by too many cars (plenty of accident hold-ups though when I worked for the Highways Agency).

We've lived in Spain now for 11 years, and after driving nearly 100,000 kilometres, have hardly ever come across a traffic jam on a motorway.

Well, it's a first for me, but I've just found the perfect shower!!

There is a proper wall between the shower and the coat hooks (3 of them!), so your clothes are dry when you get dressed, a proper tap which stays on and makes the water hotter to the left and colder to the right, has a shelf in the shower to put your bottles on, and room enough to get dry without breaking your elbow.

There's a bit of road noise at the campsite, but nothing to bother you. All in all, a very nice place to stay.

Saturday 30/09/2023    Coimbra

Another really quiet night - so many vans here, and it's so quiet - I can't believe it!

Glyn has a bad back, so didn't get much of a comfortable sleep, but still managed to make the most of today in Coimbra centre - made of stronger stuff than me!!

We got the early bus to Coimbra centre from just outside the campsite entrance, along with 2 other couples from the campsite, and were there in 30 minutes, thanks to a kamikaze bus driver - nothing less that 50kph!

Once there, we climbed the ridiculously steep, narrow roads towards the cathedral.

It wasn't open for 20 minutes when we got there, which gave us time to have a cup of very milky coffee - (when in Coimbra!) before we went in.

A donation of €1 each (how ridiculously cheap - we felt very ashamed) had us inside, wowing at the size and opulence of the whole building - absolutely stunning - we hadn't got a word between us!

Quite plain on the outside...

...but just look at the inside!

WOW!!

Look at the detail here!

Further up the hill, and the churches got bigger and better - what it must have cost in the days when it was built - stunning!

Plain outside...

...stunning inside!

Breathtaking!

Speechless!

There were too many "wows" and "have you seen this" - we've run out of expletives! The decorations, mouldings, statues, etc, took our breath away.

If you could see it , you would say "wow, how did they do that?" - it must have taken a lifetime for someone to carve that column - all hand-carved with fantastic skill.

Look at that carving!

Walking along the river...

...we came across the "eating street".

We stopped at an Italian one for lunch with pizza for me and tagliatelle for Glyn, with 2 huge glasses of wine, and an expresso to finish - excellent.

We decided to walk home, so it was a good 1 hour walk, 

and we were glad to see Cervantes again -

- back at the very quiet, park where you want, campsite - just right for a relaxing afternoon.

Sunday 01/10/2023    Coimbra to São Pedro de Moel

N39°45'34.4'' W009°01'31.9''///exercises.sackful.packet

Orbitur São Pedro de Moel

€23 per night with ACSI, wooded campsite by the sea, 400 sloping pitches on sand and soil, with and without shade, dogs permitted, pool and waterslide, restaurant, WiFi, cycle paths, toilets, showers.

95km in 1hr 33min

An early start (we were off for 9am) meant we were at our new campsite, Orbitur São Pedro de Moel, on the coast, in the town of São Pedro de Moel.

It was another round of taking a ticket on the motorway (in the correct lane!!!), then paying for the privilege of driving on their motorway (again in the correct lane!!), which is getting a bit wearing now, since we started this at the top of Portugal, and now we're only halfway down the country.

The campsite we're on is a 5 minute walk to the sea.

It's Sunday, so the beaches were packed, but we still managed to get a table and have a beer overlooking the sea.

A beer with a view!

We climbed to the very top of the cliffs and had a stunning panorama of the beaches both ways - a brilliant view.

Brilliant views from the top of the cliffs

Back at Cervantes, we had a discussion of whether to stay in Portugal with it's drivers (no idea of stopping distances!), motorways, and general crowds everywhere we go.

I must admit, it's getting a bit wearing, and I've thought a couple of times - is it worth it to get jostled in a crowd of people - not our idea of fun.

We'll prioritise what we want to see before we leave Portugal and get back to Spain, but for now, we'll make a plan and see if we stick to it.

The town we're in seems very affluent, with plenty of big houses with very large gardens.

We're free-parking here, there are no designated spaces - you just park where you want, then connect your electric. A drawback to watch is that you're under a lot of very tall conifers, and they're just losing their pine cones. They're a long way up, so goodness knows the damage if one lands on your van!!

It's almost impossible not to park under a conifer.

Just hoping for the best.

This is a huge site with room for 400 motorhomes, so needs 4 toilet/shower blocks.

The reception is run by a very helpful lady, with a small shop for essentials.

Monday 02/10/2023    São Pdero de Moel

We planned a walk for today to the north of the campsite, then to the coast, and back to the campsite.

The 10km walk was all on tarmac roads with huge trees on either side - they were absolutely massive!

Further on, the trees stopped, and the terrain was flat and had been cultivated once, but was now running to seed.

Great walking...

...and not a soul in sight.

Off-road track for 4x4 vehicles.

We were soon by the coast, with a fantastic view of the coastline, the cliffs, and the enormous beaches, all with a café/restaurant.

After 10 kms we were glad to see our own beach, and the hunt started for somewhere to eat.

A lot of the places which were packed yesterday were closed today. We hunted up the side streets, and found one with a vegetarian menu, and some cold beer!

The house cat was angling for some food as soon as the waitress had gone. I did save something for him, but by the time I had finished, the cat had gone next door to try his luck there (it's on the floor if he comes back).

I don't think he's starving!!

We staggered back to Cervantes, and crashed out for an hour or so, after deciding where to go next (we have our eye on a campsite by a huge lake near Montargil)

Tuesday 03/10/2023    São Pedro de Moel

Another really quiet night here - the silence policy from 11pm to 8am is certainly working.

If only the outside floor wasn't so dusty and slippy, the campsite would be ideal.

The weather was overcast this morning, but not cold, so I elected to go for a bike ride.

Keeping the legs turning.

Glyn opted out, so I was soon on the traffic-free byroads at the back of the campsite. We walked it yesterday in parts, and I thought it would be ideal for cycling on.

Another brilliant map - what a service!!

I followed the most used tracks on Strava, making sure I passed a café for a coffee.

Café con leche (Spanish for coffee with milk) obviously has another meaning here. What I got was warm milk with coffee wafted over the top of it - ugh!!

Very, very milky coffee.

Carrying on, on some excellent roads, I ended up doing 34km in just over 2 hours.

A very quiet ride.

After 28km I stopped again at a café by the sea. I didn't want to risk the shocking coffee again, so had to opt for a cold beer - shame!!

A lovely secret bay.

Couldn't be nearer the sea!

Not a coffee in sight.

Back at Cervantes, we were all set to go to town for a mid-day meal. We had identified one by the sea yesterday (when it was closed), so went again to it - success - the place was buzzing.

We grabbed the last table outside, and had a brilliant meal with some ice-cold white wine - superb!

Glyn, bless her, had done the clothes washing while I was cycling, and it was dry when we got back from lunch, so we put that away.

We did our daily Wordle and made full use of our kindles - they are brilliant - it's like having your own library of hundreds of books in a small, thin tablet - a fantastic idea that works perfectly.

Tomorrow we're off to a campsite in Montargil by a lake, a halfway stop on our way to Evora.

Wednesday 04/10/2023    São Pedro de Moel to Montargil

N39°06'00.2'' W008°08'36.7'' ///falcon.pianists.hairier

Orbitur Parque de Campismo de Montargil

€23 per night inc electric (ACSI), WiFi, showers, toilets, playground, 100 pitches on grass or gravel/sand, restaurant, service point, washing machine.

165km in 2hr 44min

Early morning start at 9.15 this morning - we were off after paying for the extra night we had yesterday, and now we're on the motorway, stopping at one toll to take a ticket, then pay for it when stopped at a later pay booth.

Added to that, we have driven onto a motorway with another way of paying tolls to a different company.

Our original account takes the toll fee out of our account when we go through a barrage of overhead cameras that take our registration number - no slowing down or stopping, trying to grasp a ticket which is just out of reach, and reaching almost halfway out of the cab window to validate the credit card - not user-friendly at all!!

However, the last 50km were off the motorway, along 'A roads' which alternated between an excellent road surface, then an atrocious road surface - no inbetween, it's either very good or very bad.

We stopped at an Intermarche supermarket, just 20km from our final destination, identified by Glyn, the super shopping sleuth.

We bought everything we thought we would need for the next couple of days, (consisting mainly of beer and wine!) then on to the final 20km and the campsite by a lake.

The reception was manned by a very helpful lady (as most of the Orbitur staff are) who told us where the best site was to overlook the water.

She was not wrong, and we bagged a great spot right on the water´s edge - fantastic!

What a great parking spot.

We couldn't have got a better one.

To get the electric hook-up connected we had to phone reception to get someone out to unlock the electric box - stops people getting electric they haven't paid for.

All was well, and we're now sat outside Cervantes with a nice cold drink, taking in the view of the lovely lake.

Thursday 05/10/2023    Montargil

Last night was a real problem. Because we're so near the water, there were loads of minute flies/fleas, so small you could hardly see them.

They only became visible at night, and were attracted to light.

Our habitation door was open and the kitchen lights were on - when we went inside to go to bed, the kitchen worksurface was covered with hundreds, if not thousands, of almost too small to see, flying insects - they were everywhere.

Dead bodies everywhere!

We had to spray them, then hoover them up and close all the rooflights - they could get through the smallest of gaps, but the main deterrent was to turn the light off.

It was something like your worst nightmare - the invasion of the millions of insects.

Luckily, Glyn was very calm, and sorted it out within minutes - me - I'd have slept outside!

Even with all the doors and windows closed, there were still midges coming in (or were in already), so we just did our best to get rid of what we could see, and go to bed!

There's a large lake just out of our back door and this morning, before sunrise, the opposite shore was hidden in mist and fog, making the surface of the lake invisible. There was a huge mist over everything - very spooky.

Thick sea mist.

The sun eventually burnt through everything, and the lake and shore were visible again.

Back to normal now.

We decided on a walk alongside the lake, which was very quiet and tranquil.

Alongside the lake in 34° temperatures

No footprints here!

Cervantes from the beach.

There was a tremendous amount of people in the campsite today, arriving at all hours yesterday. A bit of research confirmed that today was a national holiday. It was in remembrance of the 1910 revolution, which overthrew the centuries-old Portuguese monarchy, and replaced it with the First Portuguese Republic.

We decided on lunch in the campsite restaurant, after we had translated the Portuguese menu, and confirmed with the waiter we were correct.

It was very good, with an excellent waiter who knew exactly what to do and when.

We had the biggest glass of wine we had ever seen, and the food was lovely.

The largest glass of wine ever!

Since we left for lunch, a Portuguese motorhome has parked on the entrance road to our parking spot. This would force us to go under the trees, scraping along our roof and potentially damaging our TV antenna and solar panel.

Tomorrow morning will be interesting.

Friday 06/10/2023    Montargil to Évora

N38°33'24.7'' W007°55'38.7'' ///boxer.fruit.widget

Parque de Campismo de Évora

€23 per night inc electric, washing machine/dryer, showers, toilets, service point, WiFi, pool, shop, playground, 50 pitches on grass or paved, security cameras, city centre is a walk away, supermarket nearby.

98km in 1hr 47min

Well - we were ready to go by 9.15am, with electric disconnected, and cable reeled in and stowed.

No movement from the other van blocking the entrance/exit. Glyn caught his eye and waved, which he acknowledged, and the next thing we knew was him moving his van forward so I could get out.

He then disappeared inside, so we couldn't wave thanks to him. I think he'd realised that he'd parked in a really stupid place, blocking the entrance and exit.

So we were off to Évora on the N2 road, which was very narrow, and luckily very quiet. The surface was a bit ropey, but driveable.

We eventually met the A6 motorway and were soon on the outskirts of Évora, trying to pay the motorway toll, but the machine wouldn't accept our ticket. Eventually a voice came through, miraculously speaking english. After checking our ticket (there was a camera in the pay machine), we could pay and carry on.

The road surface of the road entering was atrocious - what a welcome to a lovely city - the administers in the town hall should bow their heads in shame! 

Another lovely receptionist was ultra helpful at the campsite (they train them well at "Orbitur" - a complex of 20+ campsites throughout Portugal), and we were soon settled down in a great pitch with full sun, and no overhanging trees! - yeah!

The facilities here look excellent, especially the pool - it's going to be 33° here today, but there is a cool mitigating breeze - just right.

It's too hot to walk to town, so it's a lazy afternoon reading and relaxing, and watching people come and go.

Amend that to go to town and have a couple of drinks and soak up the atmosphere.

A quick walk into town, turned into an excellent vegetarian meal.

We explored the town, and looked at the outside of the buildings we wanted to see the insides of tomorrow.

Looking for somewhere to eat, we stumbled across a vegetarian restaurant that weighed out the food you chose from a vast array of containers - all vegetarian!

The charge was what the plate of food weighed - ever seen this before, but very impressed.

With a nice glass of wine, the food was perfect, and what an unusual food presentation.

Saturday 07/10/2023    Évora

It was scorching hot yesterday, and today it was going to be the same, or hotter.

We bit the bullet and walked into Évora once again. After a mooch around, the cathedral came into view, and for the princely sum of €3 each, we had access to the roof, the cloisters and the cathedral.

Walk to town and found a brilliant restaurant.

The roof was super scary - so far up with a very small wall between you and a very long drop. However, the view was stupendous - you could see for miles - how they built this so many years ago with no proper scaffolding I don't know - loss of life must have been sky-high.

Don't let your children run about on here!

This is a huge tower.

Grinning in fear.

Cool as a cucumber.

The cloisters were amazingly ornate - craftmanship at it's best, and so much of it.

Then into the cathedral - breath-taking - we were lost for words. The scale of the thing was enormous, with everything OTT.

The organ was huge, and halfway up the wall, and the roof high, high above us was so elaborate, we couldn't envisage how they did it!

Once we'd got our breath back, we were looking for a place to eat, and as luck would have it, we chose what must have been the best restaurant in Évora.

Restaurante O Antáo was amazing.

The food was really cheap, but the standard was first class, with a starter, main course and a bottle of wine, the value for money was through the roof. We were the only ones in at the start, but by the time we left the tables were filling up - a sure sign that the locals know where to go for excellent food at a good price.

We had a long, sunny walk home, so our first thought was a dip in the campsite pool. It's 33°, but the pool was still a bit chilly, but OK once you're in.

It was time for a sit down, and get into a good book.

Sunday 08/10/2023    Évora to Beja

N38°00'24.0'' W007°51'39.7'' ///roofed.mocked.gains

Parque de Campismo Municipal

Showers, toilets, electric, on compacted earth, service point, plenty of room, no designated pitches, narrow entrance, near to Beja city, €6.95 per night including electric.

83km in 1hr 15min

An early start this morning - we were off by 9am.

We left Évora on the IP7, a pathetic road surface, not worthy of a cart track.

Just the opposite of the E802, which we were on after 2km on the above. Fast, smooth and quiet - they should all be like this.

We found the campsite in Beja with no problems. It was a bit dated, but this was reflected in the price - the cost per night for our motorhome, 2 people and electric was €6.95.

The dated toilets, showers and sinks were in a building that was very much Art Deco - coloured tiles everywhere, which gave it a very period appearance - it must have been stunning when it was first built.

The site is very quiet at the moment - we've only seen one other person so far!

We decided a walk to town would be beneficial, so we knew where to go tomorrow.

Walking around the old city of Beja.

After a very welcome ice-cold "Super Bock" in a café with a great view over the distant plains, we walked to the castle, and had a word with the young lad on reception.

We climbed up this tower - scary!

He was a font of knowledge, and when we told him we were in the campsite, he told us about the feria inside the massive hangers, just a 5 minute walk away.

He got our attention straight away when he mentioned a wine tasting from 39 stalls. Just buy a glass from reception, then all the wines are free to have a taste from everyone. Some were a mere wet your lips size, and some were half a glass full.

We tried to concentrate on the ones we knew, but it was fun to try the ones we had never heard of.

We were so impressed, we stayed for a bacalao meal (bacalao/cod is the staple fish of Portugal)

After a very nice meal, we carried on with our tasting, and were tempted to buy 3 bottles of superb wine. The guy outside in the video below looks like he's had a good few in here!

Leaving the building to go back to the van, we saw another building across the pedestrian walkway. We spotted some dogs going in and out, so put our noses through the door and discovered a mongrel dog show.

Just our thing, so we stayed and watched for another 40 minutes - we're suckers for any type of dog!!

We were becoming weary, so it was a quick walk back to Cervantes, to sit and have a good read. There is WiFi here, but you have to go nearer to reception to get a proper signal, but it is free.

Not many more people have arrived since we left, so it looks like a quiet night tonight.

Monday 09/10/2023    Beja

We were in bed for 9:30 last night - this touring is very tiring!!

Lebara are messing about with our roaming data because we're in a different country to Spain, where we bought the package.

I've just had a message from Lebara saying I've used 80% of my allowance in Portugal, and I've got 60GB left!! Lebara didn't say anything about a lower allowance in another country - seems like a lack of communication from Lebara here!!

We planned to go up the town tower in Beja, which had been sympathetically re-built, and was now towering above everything in the town.

It was €3 for old codgers like us, so off we set, up many, many stone spiral steps to level 1. Very impressive, with some great views.

Then up some more stone, spiral steps to what was nearly the top. The views were breath-taking, as was the drop if you looked over the edge!

I managed to get halfway round, clinging to the inside wall, with stunning views to the horizon in every direction. Glyn went around the other 2 sides, as I tried to get my heartrate down a bit. On balance, it was more than worth it for the views from the top.

There were another set of steps to get to the very top, but we both felt we'd seen everything we wanted from the first balcony.

We walked around the town, looking at the architecture of the buildings, and the tranquility of the green parks.

To the top of the Castillo Beja - I'm still shaking!

Aldi supermarket was 5 minutes away, up the road from Cervantes, so we stocked up on food and drink, then went back to Cervantes to have a lazy afternoon reading, dozing and planning.

We have parked Cervantes so we have some shade in the afternoon. It's still 30°+ here, when it should be cooling down a bit - global warming seems to be here to stay.

Tuesday 10/10/2023    Beja to Cortegana

N37°54'48.5'' W006°49'42.9'' ///fleshes.scariest.afraid

Camping Ribera del Chanza

30 pitches on sand/crushed stone, electric, showers, toilets (and disabled), short walk to town, €20 per night inc electric, lots of bars/restaurants, dogs allowed, good walking and exploring.

103km in 1hr 40min

Again an early start (had to check-out at reception, but I waited outside due to smoking fug inside), and we were on the IP8 towards our goal today - to get out of Portugal!

The road surfaces are shocking - potholes, broken surfaces, lumps and bumps everywhere - until we got to Spain (where the IP8 changed into the N433) the surface was atrocious - it rattled your fillings out of your teeth. It didn't seem to deter the boy racers - maybe it was not their car, and the had all their own teeth.

Another problem with Portugal was the standard of driving - having someone ½ a metre from our rear bumper whilst doing 65kph is not what you want - they wouldn't have a chance other than to run into the back of us if we had to brake for any reason - piss-poor driving, and very arrogant.

When we got to the border where we entered Spain, the road became driveable - good surface and wide enough.

Our destination today was a campsite in Cortegana, which was easy to find, and almost empty. We got a premium plot on the outside of the main parking area, with a fantastic view of the town, castle, church and the hillside opposite.

Great views from our brilliant parking spot.

The very nice lady who took our credentials gave us the best and quietist pitch, sloping uphill, so just right for us.

We spent a lovely couple of hours looking at the view, and watching the Spanish fighter pilots from Morón Air Base (we assume) flying in perfect sync, leaving contrails in the sky.

Mid-afternoon, we set off to go to the castle on the hill, visible from everywhere in town, with a bit of a slog up to the castle entrance.

Around the castle in Cortegana.

The views from the top were awesome - we could see 3 ranges of mountains in front of the horizon - that's a long, long way.

On the way back, we were in need of a drink, and found a roundabout with 6 bars/restaurants around it - talk about competition!

We plumped for one which had amazing tiles covering the walls in every room - it looked fantastic.

The other 5 restaurants  were either closed, or had no-one in. I bet this changes at weekends.

Back at Cervantes, Glyn magicked up a brilliant pasta dish in our superb Remoskita, which attracted the attentions of a black and white cat, very friendly and angling to stay and be fed - we had to say a sorrowful no.

As the sun set, and the stars came out, we realised that we had no lights visible to us where we were parked, which enabled us to see the fantastic array of stars in the sky - stunning, and we saw a satellite crossing the whole of the night sky - how lucky are we?

Wednesday 11/10/2023    Cortegana

A very, very quiet night - no arrivals or departures.

We planned a visit to the cathedral in the centre of the old town, but it was securely locked - we tried it 3 times over a period of 4 hours, but no joy!

We walked to the bullring on the outskirts of town, and discovered a climb up to a viewing spot, where almost the whole of the town could be seen, as well as the castle we went up yesterday.

After a walk around town, 

we gravitated to the busy, busy roundabout, and spent a good 30 minutes watching the cars trying to out-think each other as to where they were all going.

Sometimes it was at a standstill when no-one would give way, but someone always did, and the chaos started again - great fun.

We had had a drink outside of the Bodega La Esquinita, and decided today to try their food, so we picked 6 options from their menu.

Unfortunately, 2 were not available, and of the other 4, 2 had an ingredient missing. It was no problem, as the food they did give us was excellent, and the surroundings in the old gentlemans club, with the tiled walls and stunning ceilings, were absolutely brilliant.

It's still baking hot today, up in the low 30's, and not much wind, so it was slowly back to Cervantes, where our resident black and white cat was waiting for us - hoping to be adopted, we think!

But it's not to be, although it's a lovely cat.

Friday is a national holiday in Spain, so the campsite is planning to be full to capacity - they don't hold back on celebrating anything going in Spain, so it may be a bit noisy - if we're still here!

Thursday 12/10/2023    Cortegana

So - today is Spain's national day, where they celebrate everything Spanish.

Madrid has a huge procession of military and ordinary people, along with a tremendous show of hardware for defence of the country, and an appearance of the King and Queen.

The military hardware includes the Patrulla Águila of jet planes, which put on a show of Spanish presence with coloured smoke to re-enforce their fly-by. They are based 2km from where we live in Spain, so we know the routes off by heart.

We walked to the town of Cortegana to find it nearly deserted.

Walking route around Cortegana

Our intention was to follow a designated walking trail (the PR-A5) which was quite narrow, and the surface was uneven rocks and boulders. We followed it for 20 minutes, but it became worse if anything, so we turned round and came back.

This was one of the good bits...!

...and this!

We then spotted a circular walk on the opposite hill to where Cervantes was parked. It stated it was 6km, which was OK,

A good, clear map of the route.

so we started off on the good road surface, then stopped to take photos of Cervantes on the opposite hillside - looking good!

Cervantes centre shot!

The path got a bit broken up towards the end, but was still easily walkable, with some excellent signage.

Excellent signs.

Cycling routes as well as walking routes.

Walking into town, we came across the only bar in town that was open, and boy - were they doing some business!

A cold beer lasted about 5 minutes

so it was back to Cervantes to magic up some food (Glyn!) and a long, cold drink - we were quite tired.

After a quick snack of frikandels (veggie) on Remoski - heated baguettes in a red pepper sauce. We prepped the veg for Remoskita later on for dinner.

It's getting quite full here, but the noise level is quite low - a few kids, but nothing we've not heard before. Hopefully we'll have a quiet night - they all seem nice people.

Friday 13/10/2023    Cortegana

Surprisingly quiet last night - it must be a bunch of really nice people here.

It was overcast this morning, with a fierce south wind, and we were sheltering inside!

We had a trial run of turning off the plugged-in electric, and ran Cervantes just on the leisure battery for a couple of hours. 

We just wanted to know if we could go all night without plugged-in electric, so we could have a much better choice of where we could stay overnight.

At the moment, we only stop on campsites/aires that have electric hook-up, and this severely reduces the places we can stay at.

We got a new leisure battery just before we set off on this trip, and hadn't tested it before.

With everything unplugged (the fridge was still running) the voltage dropped from 13.8 volts to 12.5 volts, where it stayed for an hour. The leisure battery was being charged by the solar panel on our roof, and was staying steady at 12.5 volts, so that was OK with us - sites with no plugged-in electric, here we come!

A walk into the town centre in Cortegana by the busy main roundabout (with 5 bar/restaurants around the roundabout), and we were outside with a 3 course menu with wine for €12 each - what a bargain!

Most of the motorhomes/campers here to celebrate "Spanish Day" have gone, so it's very quiet again here.

It's overcast and not sunny here today, but it's still warm, and nice to sit outside in the quiet peace of the countryside.

Saturday 14/10/2023    Cortegana to El Visor del Alcor

N37°23'02.8'' W005°43'17.9'' ///dragon.twisting.bliss

Área Autocaravanas Parque de la Muela

Free aire parking with water, electric is paid for, 18 spaces on crushed gravel, service point, 72 hours max stay, restaurant nearby, centre 500 metres away, noisy at night from the park next door.

146km in 2hr 23min

There was torrential rain hammering down onto the roof of Cervantes last night - didn't get much sleep!

I was imagining a quagmire of mud when we opened the door at first light, but it was miraculously seeming untouched.

We have a steep banking covered with sand/dust to get out of our parking spot, but by some magic, it wasn't muddy at all!

Driving away was a breeze, as Glyn said it would be - I should listen to her more often!

On the road, the surface was a bit cracked and potholed, but we got there in the end to the E-803 motorway, after which it was plain sailing.

There is a free aire in El Viso del Alcor for 20 vans, with a desague, chemico, water and electric, if you need it.

Paid for electric.

Desague - drain for used water.

Rules of the aire.

We did an experiment last night to test the leisure battery, only recently fitted. We turned off and unplugged the electric hook-up, and let the leisure battery supply the power.

It settled at 12.6v, and stayed like that all afternoon, and all night. The day had the solar panel on the van roof to charge the battery, and it stayed at 12.6v all afternoon until the sun went down.

We expected the voltage to go down, but no - it stayed at 12.6v all night, despite some lights being on, and some tap use.

I woke a couple of times during the night (rain on tin roof - what a racket!) and the reading was always 12.6v. This convinced us that we could go to any aire, without checking and wondering if electric was available, and was it working.

In our early days of motorhoming we hardly ever used plugged-in electric - our tour of Northern Spain in July and August in 2019 had 57 nights away, and we had 7 nights on hook-up!!

Our faith in having electric all night gave us the confidence in the battery to park in the free aire in El Viso del Alcor, without the threat of having no electric.

We had a walk around the city, and stumbled across a restaurant specialising in Italian food.

A massive Pizza to share was all we needed, then it was back to Cervantes to see who had turned up on the aire. Another two vans followed us in, so there's three of us at the moment.

Sunday 15/10/2023    El Viso del Alcor to Osuna

N37°13'51.6'' W005°05'48.8'' ///urgent.chase.resolved

Osuna aire

Free parking on supermarket car park, smooth concrete, full service point, water, no electric, marked pitches to park in.

73km in 1hr 8min

As predicted, the town was out last night, seemingly most of them in the park just above where we are parked.

Noisy? - I should say so, but it's all part of motorhoming life.

Luckily I had some earplugs, so missed most of it, to wake up to a very quiet, serene morning.

We were off pretty sharply, soon on the road to the town of Osuna, with a wealth of history and monuments.

In the car park of a large supermarket, the council had cordoned-off part of the car park for a motorhome aire.

There was a grey and black water drain, and fresh drinking water...

...and many marked-out pitches on smooth concrete for motorhomes, which we thought was brilliant.

Once parked, we went off to explore the town, and the many, many churches, cathedrals and monments.

Osuna - too many churches to count!!

The scale and eye for detail on so many exteriors was awesome. Every street seemed to have a church or cathedral, and the interiors were stunning - so elaborate from so far in the past.

Some were open (and packed with parishioners), whilst others were firmly closed.

The panoramic view from the very top was breath-taking. I don't know how far you could see, but it was a long, long way!

The 12 volt leisure battery is doing it's job - no electric hook-up for 2 days now, and everything is working OK.

We have to charge our phones/kindles whilst we're moving - but it's no big deal, and going hook-up free has opened up so many more options of where we can stay.

There are just 5 of us here at 8pm, and we already have our shopping list for the supermarket opening tomorrow at 9am.

We're going to an old favourite just outside Granada tomorrow - we'll have some hook-up, so can charge everything there.

Monday 16/10/2023    Osuna to Beas de Granada

N37°13'31.1'' W003°29'17.8''  ///cloud.fogged.dispenser

Camping Alto de Viñuelas

Pitches on finely crushed gravel, showers, toilets, restaurant, electric, reception, great views, steep approach, small village 10 minute walk away with bars and restaurant, excellent hill-walking.

174km in 2hr 10min

We waited until 9am this morning when the large supermarket (just across the car park) opened.

Stocked up with essentials and beer, we were on the road for 9.20am.

The A-92 motorway was brilliant - smooth and wide, and we made good progress until we got nearer to Beas de Granada, where the road deteriorated into some tarmac with lumps, bumps and holes in it.

We eventually got off it, and made our way along the GR-3107, a narrow, steep road to the campsite.

We'd been here twice already, once when it was snowing - that was an adventure!

The parking spot we chose gave us a view of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and we were level in Cervantes with no ramps!! (doesn't happen a lot).

Look Mum - no ramps!

After testing the showers, the weather was nice, so we took in the views and chilled out, looking at the awesome mountains.

Later on we walked down the hill to the sleepy village of Beas de Granada.

We only found one bar, so thought we would give him some business and have a beer.

The sleepy village of Beas de Granada.

As is usual this trip, we've been accosted by a feral cat, looking for a permanent home.

The last one in Cortegana was very laid back, and knew exactly what to do to ingrain herself into our lives. She didn't succeed, but before we left, we had the good news that a Portuguese couple had fallen for her, and had returned to the campsite to take her home.

There's a ginger one at my feet now doing exactly the same thing! God loves a trier, and I hope someone takes her home soon.

Tuesday 17/10/2023    Beas de Granada

We're at 1072 metres above sea level here, and it's quite windy and a bit cold - extra blanket needed last night.

It's overcast and threatening rain, so not sure what we're doing next. We had a walk planned, which we've put on hold for the time being.

There's lots of coming and going in the campsite, up and down the quite steep entrance road - great for people-watching, and seeing how they cope with manoeuvring.

At lunchtime, the weather lifted and the sun broke out, so we decided to go on a walk to the source of the Rio Beas, a good walk into the hilly valley on the west side of Beas de Granada.

To the Nacimiento Rio Beas /the source of the River Beas)

Strava on my phone, and Google Maps on Glyns' phone kept us on the straight and narrow, and we eventually found the nacimiento (birth) of the river. At this time of year the river is dry, but will soon spring into life when the rains come.

After a mid-afternoon snack, we sat in the sun (and wind) and caught up with friends and family.

We're on hook-up again today, so Remoskita will be making an appearance later, Glyn said something about rice, garlic, onion and salmon - sounds good to me. This would be after an afternoon snack of tortilla with ordinary and gorgonzola cheese and capers, folded in half and pan-fried in a little olive oil to make the quesadillas.

Lovely! - the cheese inside melts, and the outside gets crispy - just right!

Wednesday 18/10/2023    Beas de Granada to Vélez-Rubio

N37°39'08.5'' W002°04'27.2'' ///playful.agitation.butch

Area Puerta Oriental de Andalucía

Free aire on crushed gravel/sand, service point, no electric, water, 12 wide pitches, 3 minute walk to town, lots of bars and restaurants, very quiet during the day.

152km in 1hr 55min

We woke this morning to drizzle, which soon became rain. We dodged the worst of it whilst getting the electric hook-up wire disconnected, and seeing me out of the parking spot to the road.

it was motorway all the way on the A-92 and A-92N through low cloud, mist, torrential rain, bright sun, and a fantastic rainbow - never a dull moment here.

The road surface was excellent, and we made good progress on this excellent motorway (free - no tolls!!)

The wind was building all the time we were running, and the last 50km we could really feel the van rocking with the strength of the wind, luckily it was generally behind us most of the time, but obviously the roads were not dead straight, so we had some hairy cross-winds at some points.

Our old favourite was the aire in Vélez-Rubio, where we have been 3 times before. They have grey and black water disposal, and fresh water. There is no electric, and the pitches are very big - they'll take the largest of vans.

The town, with plenty of bars and restaurants, is a 5 minute walk away, and is well worth a visit - it has a fantastic church to see.

At the moment there are 3 of us parked up, so 7 places are still free.

We managed to find a restaurant offering a menu del dia (a set menu of starter, main course and sweet, with a drink included, usually from €8 to €20), giving terrific vale for money.

The wind is still pounding Cervantes - we'll have to see what the weather is like tomorrow morning before we make the decision to move.

Thursday 19/10/2023   Vélez-Rubio to Home

181km in 2hr 27min

    

The exit from Vélez-Rubio was straightforward, so we were on the road for 8:30am.

We had researched the weather for today, and the forecast was for a strong 50kph wind from the Northwest, starting at 4pm.

In view of this, the 8:30am departure made sure we missed this - it was only 2hours 30 minutes to home. I hate driving Cervantes in high winds, getting buffeted around and worrying about getting blown over completely.

When I worked on the NW England motorways I was involved in the traffic management after incidents on the motorway, and I can honestly say that overturned vehicles because of the wind, were the worst ones - always respect the wind!!

We still have a non-working shower tap in Cervantes, which we should be having replaced sometime next week.

We've crossed another country off our list with our tour to Portugal, and were glad to get back to Spain, where we felt much more comfortable.

Cervantes never missed a beat, as usual - we just need to get the glow-plugs checked - we have a warning light on the dashboard just before the engine is started. The warning goes off after 10 seconds, and doesn't seem to affect the starting or driving, but we'll get it checked just to be sure.