Is there still an anchor graveyard at Barbate?
Gordon
Gordon
Two Go Exploring Spain
- Thread starter DBK
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DBK
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Sorry, can't say, we drove through it.
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DBK
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And this was supper. Lots of butter, Marmite, tuna and egg plus lots of grated cheese. 
A curiosity of this site is why they planted trees in the middle of the road.
Charlie watches the sunset.
A curiosity of this site is why they planted trees in the middle of the road.
Charlie watches the sunset.
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DBK
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When we came back from our showers this morning a young collared dove was sitting on the mat outside the 'van door. It hopped onto the fence beside the pitch and just sat motionless. I could get close enough to it to take this shot with my phone.
It stayed there for a hour or so before flying off. Our guess is it flew into the window and was dazed. Hopefully, no lasting damage was done.
I didn't see it fly off because today I had a "playing with radio" morning. There is an area near the Cape Trafalgar lighthouse which is a wetlands reserve, the Lagunas Interdunares del Cabo de Trafalgar. In normal times there are shallow pools here but there are none now from what I could see.
The reserve is a designated site in the POTA scheme, Parks On The Air, but no one has operated from it, until today of course. It was about a 35 minute walk from the site.
Here are are a few photos.
The Faro de Trafalgar over my shoulder in this selfie.
There must be some dampness in the sand - things were growing, which over much of Spain they are not.
A map of the contacts.
A change of plan for tomorrow - instead of the threatened four hour drive we will do something much shorter and move north a bit more slowly.
It stayed there for a hour or so before flying off. Our guess is it flew into the window and was dazed. Hopefully, no lasting damage was done.
I didn't see it fly off because today I had a "playing with radio" morning. There is an area near the Cape Trafalgar lighthouse which is a wetlands reserve, the Lagunas Interdunares del Cabo de Trafalgar. In normal times there are shallow pools here but there are none now from what I could see.
The reserve is a designated site in the POTA scheme, Parks On The Air, but no one has operated from it, until today of course. It was about a 35 minute walk from the site.
Here are are a few photos.
The Faro de Trafalgar over my shoulder in this selfie.
There must be some dampness in the sand - things were growing, which over much of Spain they are not.
A map of the contacts.
A change of plan for tomorrow - instead of the threatened four hour drive we will do something much shorter and move north a bit more slowly.
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DBK
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Our first task this morning was to stock up for the weekend so we headed for the Mercadona in Conil de la Frontera. Conil is the original name of the town and the "de la Frontera" bit just means "of the frontier" meaning it was on the frontier between the Arabs and the Christians.
But such confrontation is in the past and it was nice to see actual agriculture going on around the area with cereal crops being harvested in the fields. I guess facing the Atlantic this part of Spain has had more rain than others.
Spanish fish counters always fascinate me so my apologies for inflicting more fishy photos on you!
Spider crab legs in this one plus packets of the tiniest shrimps.
Razor clams.
Fishy stuff.
We have stopped at Camping San Dunas in Puerto de Santa María near Cádiz. We've been here a couple of times before. It's a big site, at least 200 pitches I think and probably more but it is in a good position by the beach but if you want to visit the town or catch a ferry to Cádiz it does involve a bit of a walk. Cádiz is certainly worth a visit but we will pass on it this time.
This is where we are. Blue blob near the top in the middle of the map.
Close-up. Blue blob almost at the top in the middle.
And that's about it for today. We've had a short walk or two and Charlie has had a paddle and a roll in the sand. I washed him down at the MH service point afterwards.
Tomorrow (don't tell Mrs DBK yet) I plan to toddle into the woods next to the site with my radio.
These are the Dunas de San Anton after which the campsite is named. It's another unactivated POTA site* and I'm planning to operate late afternoon to have the best chance of reaching North America.
*Boring Ham radio stuff explained in earlier posts.
But such confrontation is in the past and it was nice to see actual agriculture going on around the area with cereal crops being harvested in the fields. I guess facing the Atlantic this part of Spain has had more rain than others.
Spanish fish counters always fascinate me so my apologies for inflicting more fishy photos on you!
Spider crab legs in this one plus packets of the tiniest shrimps.
Razor clams.
Fishy stuff.
We have stopped at Camping San Dunas in Puerto de Santa María near Cádiz. We've been here a couple of times before. It's a big site, at least 200 pitches I think and probably more but it is in a good position by the beach but if you want to visit the town or catch a ferry to Cádiz it does involve a bit of a walk. Cádiz is certainly worth a visit but we will pass on it this time.
This is where we are. Blue blob near the top in the middle of the map.
Close-up. Blue blob almost at the top in the middle.
And that's about it for today. We've had a short walk or two and Charlie has had a paddle and a roll in the sand. I washed him down at the MH service point afterwards.
Tomorrow (don't tell Mrs DBK yet) I plan to toddle into the woods next to the site with my radio.
These are the Dunas de San Anton after which the campsite is named. It's another unactivated POTA site* and I'm planning to operate late afternoon to have the best chance of reaching North America.
*Boring Ham radio stuff explained in earlier posts.
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Have just caught up with your thread, thanks very much for posting it was a great read. Lots of places to add to my list of places to go. Thanks, Jane
Mr porky
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Last time we visited Cadiz (which is lovely) we stayed in the town at the harbour a terrible entrance which requires a shunt to get in but perfectly situated to explore Cadiz. Not sure it's still available though ?
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Looking on Google maps in satellite view I can only see cars in all the car parks. There may be a "no MHs" sign on the entrance to the city now?
- Sep 7, 2017
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We like Puerta de Santa Maria as well. The site is large, but the town is great and Cadiz is a favourite.Our first task this morning was to stock up for the weekend so we headed for the Mercadona in Conil de la Frontera. Conil is the original name of the town and the "de la Frontera" bit just means "of the frontier" meaning it was on the frontier between the Arabs and the Christians.
But such confrontation is in the past and it was nice to see actual agriculture going on around the area with cereal crops being harvested in the fields. I guess facing the Atlantic this part of Spain has had more rain than others.
Spanish fish counters always fascinate me so my apologies for inflicting more fishy photos on you!
Spider crab legs in this one plus packets of the tiniest shrimps.
View attachment 751853
Razor clams.
View attachment 751852
Fishy stuff.
View attachment 751855
We have stopped at Camping San Dunas in Puerto de Santa María near Cádiz. We've been here a couple of times before. It's a big site, at least 200 pitches I think and probably more but it is in a good position by the beach but if you want to visit the town or catch a ferry to Cádiz it does involve a bit of a walk. Cádiz is certainly worth a visit but we will pass on it this time.
This is where we are. Blue blob near the top in the middle of the map.
View attachment 751861
Close-up. Blue blob almost at the top in the middle.
View attachment 751862
And that's about it for today. We've had a short walk or two and Charlie has had a paddle and a roll in the sand. I washed him down at the MH service point afterwards.
View attachment 751870
Tomorrow (don't tell Mrs DBK yet) I plan to toddle into the woods next to the site with my radio.
View attachment 751871
These are the Dunas de San Anton after which the campsite is named. It's another unactivated POTA site* and I'm planning to operate late afternoon to have the best chance of reaching North America.
*Boring Ham radio stuff explained in earlier posts.
I hope you don't mind me a couple of places which might appeal as you head north!
The mirador near La Parada del Arriero, NW of Talavera de la Reina on N502 is one of my favourite views. (We stayed on the aire at Oropesa and saw more rabbits than anywhere else in Spain.)
Castillo de Coca for its ornate exterior. (NE of Avila on a minor road off N601)
Penafiel town square and its castle on the hill. (ONLY campsite we have used in Spain.) The square has post holes to convert it to a bullring and the TIC has photos of a lovely ceremony which happens there at Easter.
Enjoying your travel reports - Gordon
The mirador near La Parada del Arriero, NW of Talavera de la Reina on N502 is one of my favourite views. (We stayed on the aire at Oropesa and saw more rabbits than anywhere else in Spain.)
Castillo de Coca for its ornate exterior. (NE of Avila on a minor road off N601)
Penafiel town square and its castle on the hill. (ONLY campsite we have used in Spain.) The square has post holes to convert it to a bullring and the TIC has photos of a lovely ceremony which happens there at Easter.
Enjoying your travel reports - Gordon
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Many thanks for those suggestions. The mirador at La Parada del Arriero we stopped at once. I remember it partly because the wind was so strong I could barely stand up but also because after looking at the photograph I took, almost identical to yours, I spotted the Roman road. You can see it just in front of the modern road. A genuine Roman road a couple of thousand or so years old showing they didn't all go in straight lines.
We are heading towards Galicia so will be further west but I will make a note of those places for future use.
Poms_from_Adelaide
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Great trip report - we spent 10 days travelling between Barcelona and just north of Alicante last year, then back via Zaragoza.
Here in Adelaide we have lots of the white ibis. They remind me of Gonzo from the Muppets with their beaks. They're known in Australia as Bin Chickens.
Here in Adelaide we have lots of the white ibis. They remind me of Gonzo from the Muppets with their beaks. They're known in Australia as Bin Chickens.
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Have finally caught up with you thread DBK, is this a good time of the year to visit Spain?
Charlie looks well!
Charlie looks well!
Jane And Rog
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We stayed here after our Morocco trip, whiling away the weekend while a replacement heating sensor was sent from Madrid. I thought it was an excellent campsite and fantastic location - you can head through the woods for hours, and down to the beach. The cape itself is well worth an explore at low tide, with lots of pools to poke around in.Before we left this morning I took Charlie on a short walk and came across this sign.
View attachment 750504
I've come across the word sequía before on this trip and fear travellers to Spain are going to see it more often. It's the Spanish for drought and the whole sign reads "Emergency work against the drought". They appeared to be laying a large plastic pipe, about 18" in diameter. It was a thin-walled pipe so wasn't I think for mains water. My guess is it is for harvesting rain water collected from gutters and road gullies so when it does rain the water doesn't just flow out into the sea.
Not far from the aire was a Carrefour so we headed there for supplies which was when the fun began. The parking area was tiny but we found a space (over-hanging just a tad!) and immediately after stopping we were promptly set upon by a lady in a smart yellow and green uniform which carried badges saying she was a Parking Vigilante. She gave us vague directions where we might park a MH but we couldn't find anything so drove off and found an Aldi instead. We couldn't get into their car park either which was small even by the usual Lidl and Aldi standards but there was room on the road outside.
I think the problem is land, especially level ground for parking, is at a premium in the Málaga area so car parks are restricted in size.
This wasn't the best start to the day as we had a long way to go. I prefer not to do three hour driving spells but with time on this trip running out we did it today, ending up by Cape Trafalgar on the Atlantic coast. The route wasn't busy until we got to Algeciras where the traffic was pretty horrible but we were soon through it and on our way.
We are under the blue blob in the middle of the map below.
View attachment 750555
Zoomed in a bit.
View attachment 750554
We are at Camping Pinar San José, which we have visited before but since our last visit they have spent the odd million euros in a fairly major upgrade. From a MH perspective facilities were limited but there is now a proper drive-over waste point with the unheard of to me addition of a MH washing point!
View attachment 750507
The toilet blocks are also completely renewed as have all the relatively small number of chalets. No plastic sheds here! And there's a swimming pool.
View attachment 750558
There is a back door to the site which opens onto endless dog walking opportunities. Note the blue blob above us!
View attachment 750502
Out of the front of the site we can reach, after a bit of a walk the beach and the lighthouse. We are going to stay a few days here.
There’s a sort of market / food stalls which is well worth a visit. It’s at maternal.saved.sympathetic
Jane And Rog
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Oh, and I’m loving the blog. You write so well, and the locations are always very clear so I can easily add them to my app for our own visits. I must add the maps with dots to my own blog.
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I'm no expert but May/June is generally good in our experience. But it depends here you want to go. We arrived at the end of March and were lucky with the weather, it could have been cold. We like Galicia and are heading that way but the weather isn't brilliant there at the moment except possibly in the far west. Santander, where we will catch the ferry next week is wet!
I don't think you can generalise, have a plan at the outset but be prepared to alter it if the weather when you arrive doesn't align with your plan.
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A long drive today of a little over 200 miles. A bit extreme by our normal standards and it did mean driving straight past interesting places like Seville and Merida, but we have visited them before and wanted to try somewhere different.
This where we are now, zoomed out a tad.
That's us under the blue blob about a third of the way up Spain. We had started near Cádiz which is shown on the map.
Closer in.
We are in the hills north east of Merida which is in the bottom left of the map above.
Our destination was Camperstop Alegría by the little town of Montánchez. This was voted recently the number one aire in Spain by the CamperContact website. It is run by a Dutch couple (Yvon & Joop) who speak perfect English and as you might expect is full of NL registered MHs.
Fortunately, not completely full and space was found for us. Although the opening question of "Do you have a reservation?" from Yvon did set my heart fluttering. But I did have a Plan B as there is another good aire not too far from here.
This map doesn't add much other than demonstrating if you let Google Maps record you, it knows exactly where you have been! For example, it shows a service area at the half-way point where we stopped for lunch. It isn't impossible it even knew what we ate!
A couple of photos of the aire. Very clean gravel surface and many marked walks in close proximity to the aire. We will stay two nights at least.
This where we are now, zoomed out a tad.
That's us under the blue blob about a third of the way up Spain. We had started near Cádiz which is shown on the map.
Closer in.
We are in the hills north east of Merida which is in the bottom left of the map above.
Our destination was Camperstop Alegría by the little town of Montánchez. This was voted recently the number one aire in Spain by the CamperContact website. It is run by a Dutch couple (Yvon & Joop) who speak perfect English and as you might expect is full of NL registered MHs.
Fortunately, not completely full and space was found for us. Although the opening question of "Do you have a reservation?" from Yvon did set my heart fluttering.
But I did have a Plan B as there is another good aire not too far from here.This map doesn't add much other than demonstrating if you let Google Maps record you, it knows exactly where you have been! For example, it shows a service area at the half-way point where we stopped for lunch. It isn't impossible it even knew what we ate!
A couple of photos of the aire. Very clean gravel surface and many marked walks in close proximity to the aire. We will stay two nights at least.
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The town of Montánchez is dominated by a castle.
Yesterday morning we walked from the camperstop to the castle, a distance of about one and a half kilometres.
Some shots of the centre of the town.
Just below the castle is the cemetery.
Yvon had recommended we visit, so we did. The gates were closed but unlocked.
A sign outside said it was voted the best cemetery in Spain in I think, 2015. A curious tourist attraction but worth seeing.
The main part of the castle is not open to the public (unsafe I suspect) so you can only walk around it.
The views were good from up here.
Looking in the other direction was a hill covered in masts.
It is the 994m Montánchez and is, you've guessed it, a SOTA (Summits On The Air) hill. So after lunch I walked for almost exactly an hour to the top of it. On the way I passed this sign. They are big on ham in Montánchez with numerous shops selling it in the town. I suspect it is down to the forests around here being full of oak and sweet chestnuts which would have been used to fatten the pigs in the autumn when the acorns and chestnuts would have fallen to the ground.
So here it is, Ham with a Ham. (Apologies for the camera angle - this is an "up nostril" shot.).
There is a curious feature on the summit, the Cancho Que Se Menea which means I think, the boulder which moves. What is usually called in English a "rocking stone". This one is a little under 4m high.
Or rather it used to move until around 1937 when some of Franco's troops pushed it over. It was subsequently reinstated but in a curious way - using concrete to make a short pillar on which it has been stood! Very odd.
But perhaps those who did the restoration were readers of the Eagle comic and especially the adventures of Dan Dare?
My little 6m high mast was dwarfed by those around me.
This is me looking daft with the chinstrap done up tightly to stop my hat blowing off.
It wasn't a very productive session, six contacts made using Morse code (CW) and just one using voice. But you only need four to claim the two points this summit has so it was enough.
A drive of under two hours today brought us to the free aire at Béjar.
It's an old railway station but has a double service point with free fresh water.
It was quite a big station in its time.
This is where we are, level with Madrid. The black line on the left is of course the border with Portugal.
Zoomed in a bit. We now are just into Castile & León having crossed out of the Extremadura a few kilometres earlier.
The town.
The old single track railway line is now the Camino Natural Via de la Plata. We have seen several cycle tourists go past, laden with panniers. The Via de la Plata Or Silver Route starts, from my quick research, in Seville and goes to Gijon on the north coast but with side branches to Santiago de Compostella and to France.
Using the track this afternoon we walked into Béjar to see the medieval walls.
They are incomplete and only go around part of the town but were interesting.
This is the aire viewed from the walls. The MHs are hidden by the trees.
Béjar was famous for textile mills, this might be the ruins of one beside the old station.
We will continue north tomorrow. 
Yesterday morning we walked from the camperstop to the castle, a distance of about one and a half kilometres.
Some shots of the centre of the town.
Just below the castle is the cemetery.
Yvon had recommended we visit, so we did. The gates were closed but unlocked.
A sign outside said it was voted the best cemetery in Spain in I think, 2015. A curious tourist attraction but worth seeing.
The main part of the castle is not open to the public (unsafe I suspect) so you can only walk around it.
The views were good from up here.
Looking in the other direction was a hill covered in masts.
It is the 994m Montánchez and is, you've guessed it, a SOTA (Summits On The Air) hill. So after lunch I walked for almost exactly an hour to the top of it. On the way I passed this sign. They are big on ham in Montánchez with numerous shops selling it in the town. I suspect it is down to the forests around here being full of oak and sweet chestnuts which would have been used to fatten the pigs in the autumn when the acorns and chestnuts would have fallen to the ground.
So here it is, Ham with a Ham. (Apologies for the camera angle - this is an "up nostril" shot.).
There is a curious feature on the summit, the Cancho Que Se Menea which means I think, the boulder which moves. What is usually called in English a "rocking stone". This one is a little under 4m high.
Or rather it used to move until around 1937 when some of Franco's troops pushed it over. It was subsequently reinstated but in a curious way - using concrete to make a short pillar on which it has been stood! Very odd.
But perhaps those who did the restoration were readers of the Eagle comic and especially the adventures of Dan Dare?
My little 6m high mast was dwarfed by those around me.
This is me looking daft with the chinstrap done up tightly to stop my hat blowing off.
It wasn't a very productive session, six contacts made using Morse code (CW) and just one using voice. But you only need four to claim the two points this summit has so it was enough.
A drive of under two hours today brought us to the free aire at Béjar.
It's an old railway station but has a double service point with free fresh water.
It was quite a big station in its time.
This is where we are, level with Madrid. The black line on the left is of course the border with Portugal.
Zoomed in a bit. We now are just into Castile & León having crossed out of the Extremadura a few kilometres earlier.
The town.
The old single track railway line is now the Camino Natural Via de la Plata. We have seen several cycle tourists go past, laden with panniers. The Via de la Plata Or Silver Route starts, from my quick research, in Seville and goes to Gijon on the north coast but with side branches to Santiago de Compostella and to France.
Using the track this afternoon we walked into Béjar to see the medieval walls.
They are incomplete and only go around part of the town but were interesting.
This is the aire viewed from the walls. The MHs are hidden by the trees.
Béjar was famous for textile mills, this might be the ruins of one beside the old station.
We will continue north tomorrow.
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We cycled the Via de la Plata, I think it's my favourite of the routes we did. The terrain, scenery and lifestyle, changed so much between Seville and Santiago.
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DBK
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That's a long way! I'm impressed.
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The walls of Béjar are illuminated at night.
Unfortunately, the floodlights also seem to shine on the flats behind which somewhat detracts from the intended effect I fear.
It was cold here last night, the thermometer was showing an outside temperature of 6°C when we woke up and it was 14°C in the 'van! So I turned on the heating for the first time in over a month.
This morning I inspected the abandoned Winnibago on the aire.
UK registered and still taxed but the MOT ran out in 2020. It was probably towing a car as this trailer was next to it.
The notice says "Vehicle Sealed, contact Police"
I hope the owner is OK.
We are now at a curious aire by the little town of Mombuey. On the way here I stopped for fuel at a Repsol garage. All looked normal until I went to pay where I came across a bar, it was like walking into a pub, it even had draught beer. To pay for the fuel I had to catch the barman's attention and use the far end of the bar where they did the fuel side of the business!
This aire is curious because it is part of a small group of aires flying under the Raia Norte banner. These are grouped near the Spanish border with Portugal. They have a website but it left me confused about what it was all about. The aire is fine and it is free to stay but to get water you need to register online and pay €5.
The reviews on CamperContact suggest this is too much to pay and all too difficult! But if you consider it as €5 to stay the night with water thrown in I don't think it is unreasonable. I managed the registration and payment but would agree it isn't easy. There isn't an English language option on the website but Chrome did a good translation up to the point where you had to pay where it all went Spanish. My daily Duolingo Spanish lessons were useful at this point.
But you can't criticise an aire with its own ermita, even if it was locked.
It should be a quiet night.
We might reach the coast tomorrow.
Unfortunately, the floodlights also seem to shine on the flats behind which somewhat detracts from the intended effect I fear.
It was cold here last night, the thermometer was showing an outside temperature of 6°C when we woke up and it was 14°C in the 'van! So I turned on the heating for the first time in over a month.
This morning I inspected the abandoned Winnibago on the aire.
UK registered and still taxed but the MOT ran out in 2020. It was probably towing a car as this trailer was next to it.
The notice says "Vehicle Sealed, contact Police"
I hope the owner is OK.
We are now at a curious aire by the little town of Mombuey. On the way here I stopped for fuel at a Repsol garage. All looked normal until I went to pay where I came across a bar, it was like walking into a pub, it even had draught beer. To pay for the fuel I had to catch the barman's attention and use the far end of the bar where they did the fuel side of the business!
This aire is curious because it is part of a small group of aires flying under the Raia Norte banner. These are grouped near the Spanish border with Portugal. They have a website but it left me confused about what it was all about. The aire is fine and it is free to stay but to get water you need to register online and pay €5.
The reviews on CamperContact suggest this is too much to pay and all too difficult! But if you consider it as €5 to stay the night with water thrown in I don't think it is unreasonable. I managed the registration and payment but would agree it isn't easy. There isn't an English language option on the website but Chrome did a good translation up to the point where you had to pay where it all went Spanish. My daily Duolingo Spanish lessons were useful at this point.
But you can't criticise an aire with its own ermita, even if it was locked.
It should be a quiet night.
We might reach the coast tomorrow.
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DBK
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The thermometer was reading an outside temperature of 3°C when I woke up freezing in the early hours this morning. Turning on the heating sorted the problem and I was able to get back to sleep. Brrrr!
My efforts wrestling with the Raia Norte website yesterday were wasted. The screen at the water point had shown signs of life when we arrived yesterday but this morning it was blank apart from a flashing blue symbol of a tap. Nothing could induce it to produce water so we motored on and stopped instead at the free aire at Xinzo de Limia where we found the water was, literally, on tap. From our brief visit this looked a good aire for a night.
This is the route we took, mostly on an autovía (motorway) which had some very rough sections with teeth-rattling potholes.
In the greater scheme this is where we are now.
In the top lefthand corner of Spain.
Closer up.
We are at Camping San Francisco near the popular holiday town of Muros.
The route here started in dry, parched country so typical of much of Spain this year but it became much greener over the course of the day. We even have a green pitch!
Why come here? Because this far west part of the north coast is the only bit with sunshine for the next few days.
There's also a hill nearby...
Which will be Saturday's objective.
The campsite is in the former grounds of a monastery which became a hotel and now seems to be a Residencia or Old Folks' Home. I won't have far to stagger if Saturday's objective does its best to finish me off.
There's a Way of the Cross path next to the site. I will explore it and report back.
My efforts wrestling with the Raia Norte website yesterday were wasted. The screen at the water point had shown signs of life when we arrived yesterday but this morning it was blank apart from a flashing blue symbol of a tap. Nothing could induce it to produce water so we motored on and stopped instead at the free aire at Xinzo de Limia where we found the water was, literally, on tap. From our brief visit this looked a good aire for a night.
This is the route we took, mostly on an autovía (motorway) which had some very rough sections with teeth-rattling potholes.
In the greater scheme this is where we are now.
In the top lefthand corner of Spain.
Closer up.
We are at Camping San Francisco near the popular holiday town of Muros.
The route here started in dry, parched country so typical of much of Spain this year but it became much greener over the course of the day. We even have a green pitch!
Why come here? Because this far west part of the north coast is the only bit with sunshine for the next few days.
There's also a hill nearby...
Which will be Saturday's objective.
The campsite is in the former grounds of a monastery which became a hotel and now seems to be a Residencia or Old Folks' Home. I won't have far to stagger if Saturday's objective does its best to finish me off.
There's a Way of the Cross path next to the site. I will explore it and report back.
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The area is lovely with ancient rock art to find close to you, I cannot recall their correct name. Also dolphins to watch in abundance. We enjoyed the hospitality of the community centre pretty close to your campsite in the town. Muros was a place we frequented on the bikes with an interesting sea driven mill. Enjoy
We are in Tordesillas and in the morning plus 6c Bloody Freo
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I walked up the Way of the Cross route yesterday morning, which is just behind the campsite. A notice explained some the background. I'm slightly miffed they don't visit on the 27th of November - my birthday!
The path is made of some very large stones. Dog added for scale.
It ends here.
The flowers at the bottom were plastic but there was a bunch real flowers higher up which were only a few days old. So folk do still visit.
In the afternoon we walked to Muros on what I assume is the original road, a little inland of the current coast road. It was a forty minute walk. The last bit was a steep descent which became of course a steep ascent on the return journey.
Some random pictures of Muros.
They are big on arches in Muros. Apparently they were used to store fishing gear and to dry fish.
This is the parish church.
Inside, using a feature we've seen in coastal churches in France, the roof looks like an up-turned boat.
The font is intriguing. It might look like a Cumberland sausage but it's a snake, that snake, and is meant to show the triumph of good over evil.
Muros is a well-to-do town with many shops and without the air of neglect we've seen in some rural villages. A pleasant place.
My main task today was to walk to the top of the summit you can see on the left in this shot.
It is the Pico da Garita, the one on the right is the slightly lower Monte Louro. The purpose of course was to operate my radio from the summit. It is an unactivated SOTA summit, that is no one has operated a radio from the top of it. And they still haven't as I will try and explain.
The path to the summit of Monte Louro was not easy.
Overgrown in places.
With boulders and metre high steps to climb over.
The views from the summit were worth the effort. The cement column is a vertice or Spanish trig point.
And this was the view from up there of the objective, the Pico da Garita.
As the crow flies just 300m away but it was beyond me to reach it. A path is shown on the map and it is visible on Google Maps satellite view. The problem I think is although there may still be a path it is now covered in chest high bracken which hides the massive boulders and other pitfalls which cover this hill. The terrain was tough going and I wasn't going to risk breaking a leg in one of the hidden gaps between the numerous rocks.
When I got back to the campsite after two and a half hours of walking and scrambling I was ready for a shower and a cold beer - or two.
I'm not down-hearted. I gave it my best shot and having now switched to wine all is becoming very mellow.
The path is made of some very large stones. Dog added for scale.
It ends here.
The flowers at the bottom were plastic but there was a bunch real flowers higher up which were only a few days old. So folk do still visit.
In the afternoon we walked to Muros on what I assume is the original road, a little inland of the current coast road. It was a forty minute walk. The last bit was a steep descent which became of course a steep ascent on the return journey.
Some random pictures of Muros.
They are big on arches in Muros. Apparently they were used to store fishing gear and to dry fish.
This is the parish church.
Inside, using a feature we've seen in coastal churches in France, the roof looks like an up-turned boat.
The font is intriguing. It might look like a Cumberland sausage but it's a snake, that snake, and is meant to show the triumph of good over evil.
Muros is a well-to-do town with many shops and without the air of neglect we've seen in some rural villages. A pleasant place.
My main task today was to walk to the top of the summit you can see on the left in this shot.
It is the Pico da Garita, the one on the right is the slightly lower Monte Louro. The purpose of course was to operate my radio from the summit. It is an unactivated SOTA summit, that is no one has operated a radio from the top of it. And they still haven't as I will try and explain.
The path to the summit of Monte Louro was not easy.
Overgrown in places.
With boulders and metre high steps to climb over.
The views from the summit were worth the effort. The cement column is a vertice or Spanish trig point.
And this was the view from up there of the objective, the Pico da Garita.
As the crow flies just 300m away but it was beyond me to reach it. A path is shown on the map and it is visible on Google Maps satellite view. The problem I think is although there may still be a path it is now covered in chest high bracken which hides the massive boulders and other pitfalls which cover this hill. The terrain was tough going and I wasn't going to risk breaking a leg in one of the hidden gaps between the numerous rocks.
When I got back to the campsite after two and a half hours of walking and scrambling I was ready for a shower and a cold beer - or two.
I'm not down-hearted. I gave it my best shot and having now switched to wine all is becoming very mellow.
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I’m getting envious of all this blue sky I keep seeing in some pictures….
OP
OP
DBK
LIFE MEMBER
It's the Blue Blob from Google Maps. It follows me around.I’m getting envious of all this blue sky I keep seeing in some pictures….
We spent hours at the shoreline at the end of Mt Louro, where the white road ends on your photo, watching the dolphins whilst sitting on the rocks with our pack up 
They seemed to stick around the fish pens just in the bay. We liked it so much we stayed about 3 weeks in glorious rain free weather after following the Camino from France in the van one year. Fond memories 
They seemed to stick around the fish pens just in the bay. We liked it so much we stayed about 3 weeks in glorious rain free weather after following the Camino from France in the van one year. Fond memories
OP
OP
DBK
LIFE MEMBER
It is a magical area. We keep returning here, this is at least our third visit. Hopefully, not our last.We spent hours at the shoreline at the end of Mt Louro, where the white road ends on your photo, watching the dolphins whilst sitting on the rocks with our pack up
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