We are wandering again in Spain and Portugal

[Wanders from Glos]

We are wandering again tomorrow morning. I wasn’t sure where to put our blog this time as we plan to visit Portugal, but we love Spain so much we will probably dip in and out of both countries. Anyway, if Jim thinks it is in the wrong place he can always move it. We have four weeks, so to save time travelling through France we are catching the ferry to Santander from Plymouth, arriving lunchtime Thursday. The ferry is expensive (and a bit dull) but gets us there. Andrew retires at the end of February (although it is his third attempt at retiring so take it with a pinch of salt ) so it’s probably the last time we use the ferry as we will have more time to travel through France.

What does everyone do about fresh water, do you have a full tank on the ferry? I am inclined to fill up so we can stop anywhere, but for some reason worry about it the weight moving around on the ‘high seas’. I'm not sure I am being logical though since it moves around on the road.

As usual there is in an outline plan of places we want to visit but experience tells us we will end up deviating from the plan pretty quickly. We will be chasing the sun and don't mind it hot, so a lot will be determined by the forecasts, fortunately they look quite good at the moment. We try to alternate between historic towns or cities, rural areas and the coast, but it is always variable. Andrew quite likes a spot of bird watching and is hoping to see a few species he can tick off on our annual list so we will head towards some places where birding is known to be good. We increasingly tend to avoid sites, except when we want some R&R around a pool. So it will be aires and camper stops, unless a place we particularly want to visit only has a campsite. Annoyingly we have an upgrade to lithium coming but we have dithered so long about what to do we have run out of time before we go. We do have 150kw solar and a 95ah lead acid battery though, so should be fine for a couple of days. The only thing booked is a site near Porto towards the end of the trip and we are already wondering if it was a good idea, we don't like the constraint of having somewhere to head for on a certain day.

The plan will be to drive for about 100 miles southwards in Spain, heading roughly towards Braganca in Portugal. Then get some fuel and do some shopping. After the shopping we will chill out at an aire, maybe in a nice town we can explore, we are think possibly Palencia, but who knows.

We encourage ideas, comments and suggestions and hope you enjoy the blog.

Glos Wanderers
Previous trips:
France 2024
Germany 2023

 

[Peavy]

We'll be watching! We liked your last blog on Germany and took some ideas from it.
Although, this time, we know your destinations quite well, new places are always being discovered (and we'll be crossing the whole peninsula in a few weeks too).
Palencia is a good stop where you will enjoy the food (there are some tapas bars there).
Have a good trip

 

[jumartoo]

and we'll be crossing the whole peninsula in a few weeks too).

Ooooh, where are you going? We'll be off ourselves again in a few weeks time (once our new battery arrives). No fixed plans yet.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

We'll be watching! We liked your last blog on Germany and took some ideas from it.
Although, this time, we know your destinations quite well, new places are always being discovered (and we'll be crossing the whole peninsula in a few weeks too).
Palencia is a good stop where you will enjoy the food (there are some tapas bars there).
Have a good trip

Thanks will check the tapas bars out!

 

[jumartoo]

We are wandering again tomorrow morning. I wasn’t sure where to put our blog this time as we plan to visit Portugal, but we love Spain so much we will probably dip in and out of both countries. Anyway, if Jim thinks it is in the wrong place he can always move it. We have four weeks, so to save time travelling through France we are catching the ferry to Santander from Plymouth, arriving lunchtime Thursday. The ferry is expensive (and a bit dull) but gets us there. Andrew retires at the end of February (although it is his third attempt at retiring so take it with a pinch of salt ) so it’s probably the last time we use the ferry as we will have more time to travel through France.

What does everyone do about fresh water, do you have a full tank on the ferry? I am inclined to fill up so we can stop anywhere, but for some reason worry about it the weight moving around on the ‘high seas’. I'm not sure I am being logical though since it moves around on the road.

As usual there is in an outline plan of places we want to visit but experience tells us we will end up deviating from the plan pretty quickly. We will be chasing the sun and don't mind it hot, so a lot will be determined by the forecasts, fortunately they look quite good at the moment. We try to alternate between historic towns or cities, rural areas and the coast, but it is always variable. Andrew quite likes a spot of bird watching and is hoping to see a few species he can tick off on our annual list so we will head towards some places where birding is known to be good. We increasingly tend to avoid sites, except when we want some R&R around a pool. So it will be aires and camper stops, unless a place we particularly want to visit only has a campsite. Annoyingly we have an upgrade to lithium coming but we have dithered so long about what to do we have run out of time before we go. We do have 150kw solar and a 95ah lead acid battery though, so should be fine for a couple of days. The only thing booked is a site near Porto towards the end of the trip and we are already wondering if it was a good idea, we don't like the constraint of having somewhere to head for on a certain day.

The plan will be to drive for about 100 miles southwards in Spain, heading roughly towards Braganca in Portugal. Then get some fuel and do some shopping. After the shopping we will chill out at an aire, maybe in a nice town we can explore, we are think possibly Palencia, but who knows.

We encourage ideas, comments and suggestions and hope you enjoy the blog.

Glos Wanderers
Previous trips:
France 2024
Germany 2023

I'll be reading. We quite liked Palencia, but we've not been there for many years.

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[Wanders from Glos]

Ooooh, where are you going? We'll be off ourselves again in a few weeks time (once our new battery arrives). No fixed plans yet.

We think we will kind of zig zag our way down and then do the same back up. So on list are towns like Tomar, Coimbra, Evora, Braganca, Obidos and Chaves. We might go somewhere like Figuera de Fox, or Nazare and to the southern coast for some sea. We also like the look of Parque Natural de Sierra. I'm sure we won't get to them all though we'll just play it by ear.

Are you thinking of popping into Portugal too. We love Andalucia and Extramadura and I suspect we will feel them calling us , but we need to give Portugal a chance, we've heard a lot of good things about it.

 

[Peavy]

Ooooh, where are you going? We'll be off ourselves again in a few weeks time (once our new battery arrives). No fixed plans yet.

We'll cross from home to to Porto and back.
We may too start a thread about it
So we'll all feed each other with ideas here

 

[Wanders from Glos]

We'll cross from home to to Porto and back.
We may too start a thread about it

Sounds a good idea. We will be in Porto around the 3rd and 4th October, its the only thing we have booked.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Back on 4G and watching as we head into Santander. We arrived for the ferry early after a text asked us to. We won’t do that again, waited more than 3 hours to board. In fact we were 3rd from last on. The crossing was pleasant enough, slightly rocky at one point. Had a good sleep too. The plan is to head for Palencia stopping somewhere for a supermarket shop.

The small complication is Claire’s mum needed a blood transfusion this morning so we need to have half an eye on plans to get her to an airport if necessary. It was always a risk, she went in for a hip replacement on Monday. The siblings are on hand but obviously if she takes a turn for the worst Claire will need to get back. Hopefully that won’t happen and it is just to get her essential minerals up.

 

[Lenny HB]

Have a good trip, we may catch up with you again, we are on the Newhaven Ferry next Wednesday we may end up in Portugal, as usual no real plans just want warm weather.

We think we will kind of zig zag our way down and then do the same back up. So on list are towns like Tomar, Coimbra, Evora, Braganca, Obidos and Chaves.

I know a great place to stop a few miles outside Chaves, I'll sent you the info rather than clutter your thread.

Andrew quite likes a spot of bird watching

So do I but Mi is not very inclined, she prefers the feathered variety.

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[Lenny HB]

Ooooh, where are you going? We'll be off ourselves again in a few weeks time (once our new battery arrives). No fixed plans yet.

One day we will meet up with you then I can bore Martin to death lecturing him about his electrics.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Have a good trip, we may catch up with you again, we are on the Newhaven Ferry next Wednesday we may end up in Portugal, as usual no real plans just want warm weather.


I know a great place to stop a few miles outside Chaves, I'll sent you the info rather than clutter your thread.


So do I but Mi is not very inclined, she prefers the feathered variety.

The Chaves site sounds good. Would be good to meet up again and have a look at the new van.

Have a safe crossing.

 

[Brize]

We are just ahead of you. We arrived in Bilbao early this morning in pouring rain, and headed up north of Huesca in the Pyrenees, close to the French border. At a lovely site about 4 hours from Bilbao, and sitting out in lovely sunshine. Views are fantastic.

We travelled with half a tank of water. Not too heavy, but enough to be off grid if necessary.

If you are going to Bragança, just to the west off the N103 there is a lovely site called Cepo Verde. Swimming pool may still be open, and it has (had) a great restaurant. Recommended.

 

[jumartoo]

Back on 4G and watching as we head into Santander. We arrived for the ferry early after a text asked us to. We won’t do that again, waited more than 3 hours to board. In fact we were 3rd from last on. The crossing was pleasant enough, slightly rocky at one point. Had a good sleep too. The plan is to head for Palencia stopping somewhere for a supermarket shop.

The small complication is Claire’s mum needed a blood transfusion this morning so we need to have half an eye on plans to get her to an airport if necessary. It was always a risk, she went in for a hip replacement on Monday. The siblings are on hand but obviously if she takes a turn for the worst Claire will need to get back. Hopefully that won’t happen and it is just to get her essential minerals up.

View attachment 948185View attachment 948186View attachment 948187View attachment 948188

Best wishes for Claire's mum xx

 

[Wanders from Glos]

We docked in Santander to light misty rain. A word of warning customs were randomly selecting and pulling over motorhomes. They had two large green wheelie bins and were throwing food into them, I assume after a fridge and cupboard search. Fortunately we were not selected, although all we had were two apples! I've never seen this happening before.

We decided to stop at a small Lupo supermarket we have used before near Santilana del Mar and were pleasantly surprised but both quality and price. Also for my lactose intolerance, lots of different milks 'sin lactosa'. We bought a couple assuming it might be harder to get in Portugal. Then we headed south up through the hills onto the plateau where the rain had stopped but there was still a lot of cloud with the odd burst of sunshine. The aire in Palencia we had planned on stopping at was full and did not really look our thing, so we decided to press on to another one not far away in Ampudia.

We were so glad we headed here the free aire is very good, with free services too. It is next to a small bullring and behind some trees is the most amazing castle from the C15th, no more than 200 yards away. The town is fabulous too and very old, with walkways covered by the first floor of all the buildings. It is a lovely town and not at all touristy. A great find and well worth visiting.

We decided not to eat out as we are both tired, instead we will get some bread and coffee tomorrow so that we put some money back into the town. Plus we need diesel .

The clouds are rolling away leaving a starry night. I stepped out of the van to get a night picture of the castle.

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[stevewagner]

We are just outside Biarritz crossing into Spain tomorrow. Then on to Portugal starting with Chaves the following the N2 down to the Algarve. No fixed itinerary just see how it goes.

 

[jumartoo]

Thanks for that posting above. You've reminded me about Ampudia. We were there some years ago and had a lovely ride, but I'd forgotten where it was.

I must admit to being a bit sad at being back home and reading about your trip. Due to our bad planning (or lack of planning) we had to cut our summer travels short. We'll be back out as soon as we can though.

You've had a good start, interesting about the spot checks for food. I hope you have a lovely time. I'll be following your travels

 

[scousebird]

Have a great trip Wanders from Glos and all others on the road.

 

[jumar]

Following your thread with interest...although we travel extensively around Spain, we can always learn about new places and different experiences...Buen viaje...Boa viagem..

 

[Wanders from Glos]

We are just outside Biarritz crossing into Spain tomorrow. Then on to Portugal starting with Chaves the following the N2 down to the Algarve. No fixed itinerary just see how it goes.

Sounds similar, we may visit Chaves on our way back to Santander.

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[Jane And Rog]

Have a fantastic trip! We’re heading out to do much the same thing in 10 days or so so our paths may cross. Loving the blog so far, you take some lovely photos.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Have a fantastic trip! We’re heading out to do much the same thing in 10 days or so so our paths may cross. Loving the blog so far, you take some lovely photos.

Thanks we had forgotten how much we love this area.

 

[lorger]

We are just outside Biarritz crossing into Spain tomorrow. Then on to Portugal starting with Chaves the following the N2 down to the Algarve. No fixed itinerary just see how it goes.

After seeing someone post about this route last week we really fancy it so will be following you with interest

 

[lorger]

We’re hoping to head this way near end of October, it will be our first long trip as both finish work in October. Really looking forward to your updates and suggestions of where to visit, enjoy your trip

 

[Jo662]

Following your thread with interest,as we will be heading that way very soon, but we will cross via the tunnel ,and meander through France on the way.
Have a great time ,and look forward to seeing the places you will be visiting.

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[Wanders from Glos]

The roads in this part of Spain are smooth, very quiet and very straight. They really are very easy to drive, especially as the speed limit is around 55mph. They are so straight even the slightest bend merits a cacophony of warning signs.

Anyway, the plan has already gone to pot. When we left the ferry we were intending to stay in Palencia, but ended up in Ampudia and were very happy with the decision. Today we bought bread and had a coffee in a very typical Spanish bar, despite the rugby scarves hanging from the wall. Then we set off for Bragancia in Portugal, and here we are in .... Zamora, Spain.

We had to pass Zamora and at the last minute decided to have a look. We are on another free aire, about 10 minutes walk from the castle and cathedral. The aire is next to a park so we wandered over to eat lunch and watch people using the exercise equipment. It's quite a big city with a lot of flats, but that is normal in Spain and they don't tend to look as tired and run down as the UK. I think a lot of people live in them across Spain and use the parks to go out side, perhaps that's why there are so many and they are so well equipped.

Towards the Douro River is the old town with a medieval castle and a cathedral famous for its cupola. The stone bridge dating back to the C13th was under repair so you couldn't use it from the other aire. We often find ourselves somewhere a fiesta or fete is taking place perhaps because of the time of year we travel and Zomora is no exception. This time it is cheese, with 350 stalls selling it. Until a few months ago I have been unable to eat cheese, but recently after an illness that ruined my gut biome I was told I should try sheep's cheese after building it back up. I have been making up for time ever since. Needless to say some cheese was purchased including some from Braganca, so we did kind of get there. Anyway, some pictures of castles, cathedrals, bridges and a statue of a strange religious order that look remarkably like the Klu Klux Klan to me.

Tomorrow we head to Braganca.... definitely probably maybe.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Another day another castle, we have finally made in to the free aire at Braganca and it's a gem. The views are outstanding across to the hills and of the castle walls (not our van in the picture).

After a walk for coffee in Zamora we headed to Braganca a gentle drive of a little more than 60 miles. It didn't start well when a large lorry slipstreaming us felt he could overtake. Of course he couldn't make it and after well over a minute with me sat on cruise control around 55mph and him on the wrong side of the road he started sounding his horn and getting excited. Obviously the sensible thing to do was for him to pull back in, but that didn't seem to be happening with on coming traffic, so we slowed and allowed him to pass and then sat behind him for miles. It left me wondering what the driving in Portugal was going to be like, but actually there have been no further incidents and it has been very calm.

The aire is one of the best we have used and if you haven't been before and you are out this way don't miss it. The citadel is well preserved and wasn't busy making it easy to see the great views. The keep has an exhibition of military equipment for those who enjoy that sort of thing. One of my jobs is as a funded history PhD student and sometimes I just want to get away from it so we didn't go in.

From the citadel we walked into the town. It is clearly not as wealthy as Spain, but was nonetheless very pleasant, with rendered ornate buildings.

We stopped for a beer, which seemed very cheap at €4 for two glasses and then back to the motorhome for a shower before heading to a restaurant that a few have mentioned on S4S. Today has been quite hot but the next few days will be much hotter, well into the 30s, so we think we will find a camp site with a pool, possibly in the hills further south. I also need to charge my PC, such a nuisance not having the lithium and inverter installed yet, although it is my own fault.

 

[Hamiltonclan]

Hello, we were on the same ferry. As of Sunday, we are in Salamanca having taken a few days to unwind before heading to Porto as well.

We will be watching for nice places to stopover as you are ahead of us
Ash&Bex

 

[berni109]

I remember that hill with the cars parked being much steeper than it looks in your photo.
Great place for a stop over.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Hello, we were on the same ferry. As of Sunday, we are in Salamanca having taken a few days to unwind before heading to Porto as well.

We will be watching for nice places to stopover as you are ahead of us
Ash&Bex

I bet you got off before us Are you heading into Portugal later or staying in Spain.

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