Sun-seeking in Portugal and Spain Jan and Feb 2025

[DBK]

Dreaded chest lurgy seems to be getting worse! We both had a night of coughing punctuated by the odd ten minutes of sleep. Felt a little better after the hot shower but now, at 16:30 starting to feel lousy again. Hey ho! Same every year. French bugs must love our wussy constitutions.
We’ll resume our travels tomorrow so hopefully these indulgent posts will end.

We're stuck at home with colds which have lasted since Christmas! Hope you get over your quicker!

 

[G-RMPS]

Folllowing you later this week, via Newhaven-Dieppe. We, too, may hit the French motorways if it is still frozen. We did manage to get a cancellation at Denia, so will be there for some of the time at least. Otherwise who knows?

 

[Allen Barrow]

We too are heading south st Malo to benicassim beginning of February hoping for some sunshine? May I ask why the motorway and not the N10 and other N roads? Is the weather bad down the west coast? We plan none toll roads through France but intend to use it if conditions are poor (bought the electronic tag for tolls just in case). Also heading through Pyraneese to overnight at Huesca. Never done this route before so welcome any comments please.

 

[Ingwe]

We're stuck at home with colds which have lasted since Christmas! Hope you get over your quicker!

Wow, those are nasty colds. We’d heard from others in York with similar long-lasting viruses. We both seem to be improving in the day but by early evening, we deteriorate and the coughing starts again.

We drove 230 miles to Palencia and are parked up on a free parking with 22 special motorhome bays. Well marked and spacious. The rain is thrummimg down and we can barely hear the tv. An early night and hopefully sleep better than last night.

Really hope that you both shift your awful colds soon so you can resume your travelling. It can be very dispiriting!

 

[Ingwe]

We too are heading south st Malo to benicassim beginning of February hoping for some sunshine? May I ask why the motorway and not the N10 and other N roads? Is the weather bad down the west coast? We plan none toll roads through France but intend to use it if conditions are poor (bought the electronic tag for tolls just in case). Also heading through Pyraneese to overnight at Huesca. Never done this route before so welcome any comments please.

Only used the motorways to get south quickly. It was very cold, air frosts everywhere and we were afraid of ice. We anticipated that the peages would be free of ice.
Incidentally, the Fulli tag, which let us down badly in the summer due to the battery being flat, has worked flawlessly both in France and today in Spain. Tomorrow, Portugal.

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[Ingwe]

Folllowing you later this week, via Newhaven-Dieppe. We, too, may hit the French motorways if it is still frozen. We did manage to get a cancellation at Denia, so will be there for some of the time at least. Otherwise who knows?

Nice one. Are you in the same motorhome or have you got the new downsized one? Either way, have a safe trip and who knows? We may see you at Los Pinõs!

 

[Al n Val]

We too are heading south st Malo to benicassim beginning of February hoping for some sunshine? May I ask why the motorway and not the N10 and other N roads? Is the weather bad down the west coast? We plan none toll roads through France but intend to use it if conditions are poor (bought the electronic tag for tolls just in case). Also heading through Pyraneese to overnight at Huesca. Never done this route before so welcome any comments please.

We came back that route in march last year and stayed overnight in Huesca on the aire, it was our first time on the N10 and thought it was ok tbh.

We cross Feb 2nd and undecided which route to head south but would def go that route again, poss Somport tunnel unless the weather turns bad.

Al

 

[Ingwe]

Have a great time, we'll be following in a couple of weeks. Hope the lurgy is short lived.

I think Urrugne has its own microclimate, thats when the shorts come out for the 1st time .

Thanks and wishing you a safe and enjoyable trip. I think you’re right about Urrugne’s microclimate. Same as last year. Freezing through most of France, farmers’ protests on main roads but warm and sunny in Urrugne!

 

[LillyWales]

Nice one. Are you in the same motorhome or have you got the new downsized one? Either way, have a safe trip and who knows? We may see you at Los Pinõs!

What did you do to resolve the flat battery ?

 

[Ingwe]

What did you do to resolve the flat battery ?

Visited the Fulli site where they warn you not to try and replace the battery yourself (something I’d thought about doing) but to request a replacement tag.

They will then send you a new tag on your undertaking to return the flat/faulty one to them within 30 days. It is a breach of Fulli’s T&Cs to damage the tag which could happen if you tried to change the battery.

Some tag suppliers provide details of the tag battery’s voltage on the monthly statement so you can request a new tag in advance of its failing. At time of writing, don’t believe Fulli have yet introduced this service.

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[Wanders from Glos]

We have given up on Fulli. The tag worked really well, but payment has been a nightmare, including overcharging that took 4 months to recover. We agreed and verified bank but they failed to take the payments. It has been too much faff, but we might look at someone different for September.

 

[Al n Val]

We have given up on Fulli. The tag worked really well, but payment has been a nightmare, including overcharging that took 4 months to recover. We agreed and verified bank but they failed to take the payments. It has been too much faff, but we might look at someone different for September.

I was gonna go with Fulli, i’m with Emovis atm and just fancied a change, but think i’ll stick with them now if you’ve had problems

 

[Debs]

Thanks and wishing you a safe and enjoyable trip. I think you’re right about Urrugne’s microclimate. Same as last year. Freezing through most of France, farmers’ protests on main roads but warm and sunny in Urrugne!

Thats good to hear.
Hope the weather in Palencia improves, along with your lurgys!

 

[Wanders from Glos]

I was gonna go with Fulli, i’m with Emovis atm and just fancied a change, but think i’ll stick with them now if you’ve had problems

It worked well but payment was a nightmare

 

[Peregrinator]

Very wet in tarifa

Great place for the indoor shopping & eating, also great for the Chinese shop across the railway, always go there for all the bits & pieces for the van.

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[lorger]

Great place for the indoor shopping & eating, also great for the Chinese shop across the railway, always go there for all the bits & pieces for the van.

Is that not Tavira ?

 

[Ingwe]

Palencia is in the Spanish plain so naturally we had rain almost all night long. So loud, it almost drowned out the sound of our collective coughing, which also lasted most of the night. There was a number of other vans in the 22 spaces allocated. We were left two spaces either side probably because the occupants were frightened of contracting the plague.

And then when we were so tired through the exertion that we drifted off we were woken by the sound of a road cleaning machine and leaf blower that started at 05:30 and stopped at 9:00. Probably due to sleep deprivation, I managed to set off the van alarm and we had to resort to the spare fob to turn it off. Our nearest neighbours to our left were Brits. I saw one occupant leave the van so went over to apologise about our alarm going off at an ungodly hour. It turns out that they, woken by the cleaning machine and blower, had got up and ventured into the town centre and so had not been troubled by our alarm.

We compared notes with Janet and Jeff with their lovely Burstner Harmony which dwarfed our little van. A very pleasant couple and I was able to assure Jeff that filling up with LPG in Spain and Portugal is easy with the adaptor that they had. They’d not filled up with gas outside theUK. It transpires that they do not do social media and despite my suggestions that they join MHF, they said they’d stick to a Burstner users’ group. Leading, horses, water, drink………

We parted company after exchanging details and we headed of to a Mercadona. We are always pleasantly suprised how much cheaper groceries are generally in Spain than in France and the UK. We had a cold bag and a large reusable carrier full and the bill was about €50. Similarly, we found how cheap it is to have breakfast in a Spanish motorway services. We stopped an hour out en route to Castelo Mendo and had a massive coffee for me (having asked for large) and a large tea and it came to €3.50. In France, the tea alone would have cost that and my lovely coffee would have set you back at least £5 at a British services. Also, the boccadilos and other yummy looking breakfast items are cheap as chips and look as desirable. So we intend to have breakfast while travelling at services and damn the consequences!

A pretty uneventful trip on almost deserted roads to the Portuguese border and we are now parked up at a lovely free site at Castelo Mendo. This ancient medieval town has panoramic views and is worth a walk about tomorrow morning. Although only just over the border, Portugal’s time zone is the same as the UK so at 17:50 it is already too dark to explore this evening. There is a car with a tiny caravan that looks more like a trailer parked here but otherwise we’re on our own. There is a toilet drain with its own water hose well away from the fresh water supply. There is the lovely clanking of goats’ bells and as a treat, about half a dozen or so came trotting past us as they were shepherded into their night quarters possibly for milking.

We are looking forward to a good night’s sleep and hope that our coughs do not return tonight, at least not at the frequency and intensity of last night. But we will sleep as long as we can as we are travelling a shorter distance tomorrow. Destination not yet known.

Parking space at Castelo Mendo

Entrance to the medieval village of Castelo Mendo

Our view this evening

 

[scousebird]

I hope you get a good night's sleep.

 

[Dart]

I was gonna go with Fulli, i’m with Emovis atm and just fancied a change, but think i’ll stick with them now if you’ve had problems

We also returned our Fulli tag last summer as it was so unreliable. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't so we had no confidence in it. We ended up going to the Fulli office near the Millau viaduct as we happened to be passing that way. I explained the problem to the chap at the counter and he just shrugged and took the tag off me, no offer of a replacement so that was the end of that.

 

[Al n Val]

that’s it then i’m sticking with Emovis

thanks for the info

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[Wanders from Glos]

Castelo Mendo looks worth a stop, it’s been favourited on S4S.

 

[Ingwe]

Sorry to report that we both had another night of coughing but we did at least get more sleep than on the previous two nights.

Castelo Mendo at night

Anyway, Castelo Mendo is a gem, well worth a visit and stay. It was very quiet with only us and our German neighbours in their tiny caravan/trailer thingy. We could hear them talking late at night so they must have heard us barking. They left as soon as it was light, probably terrified that they’d caught TB.

After breakfast of avocado on Spanish baguette, tea and coffee, we set off to explore Castelo Mendo. It is slightly uphill but nothing taxing. Some of it is 12th century but most of it was built during Henry VIII’s reign. The lovely narrow streets are bounded by little stone houses, most of which had wood stoves burning. Though this an ancient town and an obvious tourist site, it is still very much inhabited, with cars incongruously wedged into spaces outside some homes.

Entrance to the town

There is a small café which was shut, unsurprisingly, given that we were the only ones walking about. We found a little shop who’s owner was an old woman, very stooped and clearly very happy to learn that she wasn’t the only human still alive. She welcomed us into her tiny shop of which I would have loved to have taken a photo. It seems a bit rude so I didn’t. Her English was marginally better than our non-existent Portuguese but we were offered a taste of a cherry liqueur, that I found too sweet plus we just don’t have the space for another litre bottle of hooch even if only costing €13. She showed us a cheese that I guess was made from the milk of the small flock/herd of goats that so charmed us last night with their clanking-clinking bells. But again, our fridge is chocca and we wanted to avoid the stink that we suffered with the Camembert we bought on our first day in France. We settled on a large jar of honey and will worry about where we’ll store it later. Many “muito abrogados” later we continued exploring this ancient village.

There are some splendid ruined churches and a castle (or castel) and the views from the top are lovely. “You can see our van from here” I cried.

On the way down, Mrs Ingwe slipped on a slimy rock and twisted her ankle. It wasn’t the cherry liqueur, honest. We were able to get down without mishap but now the ankle is beginning to ache. And of course there is also the shock that comes with a fall when one approaches 60.

Today we are only driving about half an hour to Guarda which we are informed is the highest village in Portugal. We have arranged to spend a couple of nights with showers, toilets and 16a hook up. I know, against all the rules. But I think the rest and relative comfort will be restorative for both of us and that was before the navigator’s slip. And at €14.50 a night (including 16a hook-up) it’s a no-brainer. The site is in the town so, ankle permitting, we can walk into the town and stock up on cakes and other treats which are so delicious in Portugal.

 

[scousebird]

On the way down, Mrs Ingwe slipped on a slimy rock and twisted her ankle. It wasn’t the cherry liqueur, honest. We were able to get down without mishap but now the ankle is beginning to ache.

I hope it isn't too painful and feels better soon.

 

[Bina]

We are sitting in van Playa de Luz isle christina
Been raining since 2 am and is set for couple of days
Will be heading to Portugal wednesday

Is that Camping Giralda Isla Christina?

 

[PeterCarole29]

No it

Is that Camping Giralda Isla Christina?

was Playas de Luz but now in Portugal

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[paddymcc]

Great pics, thanks for sharing. Hope coughs and ankle improves rapidly.

 

[LeonC]

Hi Ingwe. That tiny German caravan was parked next to us two nights ago in Gijon!
You've carried on south, we're going sideways also just into Portugal, at Chaves. Intending to spend a cpl of nights here.
Hope your coughs / colds / ankles are better soon.

 

[LeonC]

Ps: last night we had a free night in Léon.
Well, you have to do these things....

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Sorry to report that we both had another night of coughing but we did at least get more sleep than on the previous two nights.

Castelo Mendo at night

View attachment 1004222
Anyway, Castelo Mendo is a gem, well worth a visit and stay. It was very quiet with only us and our German neighbours in their tiny caravan/trailer thingy. We could hear them talking late at night so they must have heard us barking. They left as soon as it was light, probably terrified that they’d caught TB.

After breakfast of avocado on Spanish baguette, tea and coffee, we set off to explore Castelo Mendo. It is slightly uphill but nothing taxing. Some of it is 12th century but most of it was built during Henry VIII’s reign. The lovely narrow streets are bounded by little stone houses, most of which had wood stoves burning. Though this an ancient town and an obvious tourist site, it is still very much inhabited, with cars incongruously wedged into spaces outside some homes.

Entrance to the town

View attachment 1004223
View attachment 1004224

View attachment 1004225
There is a small café which was shut, unsurprisingly, given that we were the only ones walking about. We found a little shop who’s owner was an old woman, very stooped and clearly very happy to learn that she wasn’t the only human still alive. She welcomed us into her tiny shop of which I would have loved to have taken a photo. It seems a bit rude so I didn’t. Her English was marginally better than our non-existent Portuguese but we were offered a taste of a cherry liqueur, that I found too sweet plus we just don’t have the space for another litre bottle of hooch even if only costing €13. She showed us a cheese that I guess was made from the milk of the small flock/herd of goats that so charmed us last night with their clanking-clinking bells. But again, our fridge is chocca and we wanted to avoid the stink that we suffered with the Camembert we bought on our first day in France. We settled on a large jar of honey and will worry about where we’ll store it later. Many “muito abrogados” later we continued exploring this ancient village.
View attachment 1004226
View attachment 1004227

There are some splendid ruined churches and a castle (or castel) and the views from the top are lovely. “You can see our van from here” I cried.

View attachment 1004229

View attachment 1004228

View attachment 1004230
View attachment 1004231
View attachment 1004235
On the way down, Mrs Ingwe slipped on a slimy rock and twisted her ankle. It wasn’t the cherry liqueur, honest. We were able to get down without mishap but now the ankle is beginning to ache. And of course there is also the shock that comes with a fall when one approaches 60.

Today we are only driving about half an hour to Guarda which we are informed is the highest village in Portugal. We have arranged to spend a couple of nights with showers, toilets and 16a hook up. I know, against all the rules. But I think the rest and relative comfort will be restorative for both of us and that was before the navigator’s slip. And at €14.50 a night (including 16a hook-up) it’s a no-brainer. The site is in the town so, ankle permitting, we can walk into the town and stock up on cakes and other treats which are so delicious in Portugal.

We had a fabulous meal in Garda this summer. The name might be in our blog otherwise I’ll work it out for you from Claire’s diary.

 

[Ingwe]

We had a fabulous meal in Garda this summer. The name might be in our blog otherwise I’ll work it out for you from Claire’s diary.

Ooh that sounds interesting. We’re planning our main meal being lunch and a small tea.

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