Route During Week Fourteen

Following the ferry delays, we finally arrive back in Europe at Algeciras as darkness is falling.  

We are wiped out and like a few other motorhomes on the ferry with us, we head for the Mercadona supermarket car park; not very glamourous nor what we had in mind but it’s a known quantity and it’s nearby.

We both come down to earth with a bump the next day and we feel tired and fed up. We need to get euros, European SIM cards and do a supermarket shop - all boring stuff.

At the ATM disaster strikes - or so we both think. Nick takes cash out and so does Janette but she's certain that her card has been eaten by the machine.  It’s all too much and there are tears (Janette not Nick!), an irate call to the machine operators, and then, there in Janette’s purse Nick discovers the card! Magic!

We look at the time we have left to reach Santander to catch the ferry home and realise that if we want to explore Portugal and northern Spain, we need to cover some miles if we are to be on time for our ferry home. We encounter the first and only traffic jam of our trip just outside Seville, but it only lasts for about 5 minutes.

The weather on the drive is horrible - rain and high winds. It's actually the first serious rain and bad weather like this that we've experienced since we left the UK in November.

Having done a late-night drive and got some miles under our belt we can afford to be more choosy about where we go so we head for the town of Tomar. 

We stay in the former municipal campsite which is now a free aire for motorhomes.  The site is neglected and has a forlorn atmosphere, one of faded glory.  It must have been a lovely place to stay once but now the buildings are abandoned and decaying, there is still office furniture in what was the reception area, the place puts us in mind of somewhere that was abandoned in a hurry because of some disaster.

The weather is appalling and we hunker down in the warm with a James Bond film and a nice meal cooked by Nick - and a glass of wine (or two... or...).

The weather hasn’t improved by the next day. It's still hammering it down with rain. Janette's trainers have holes in and Nick's shoes are sodden - so a new pair of waterproof boots each later... we decide to brave it and have a look round. 

The weather clears a bit and although we don’t see Tomar at its best, it is still a delightful place and one we’d like to return to. 

Set on the banks of the River Nabão, Tomar’s unassuming ambience belies its august past as a former seat of the Order of the Knights Templar.

The Templar Castle and the Convent of Christ are set on a hill above the town and their magnificence has earned them UNESCO World Heritage status, it’s easy to see why even on a rainy day.

We don’t do much more exploring but we’re certainly glad to have discovered Tomar. 

When we come back we’ll also go to nearby Fatima, the world-famous Catholic pilgrimage site.

Our next destination, Aveiro, is a city situated on the edge of the Ria de Aveiro, a saltwater lagoon. It is known as the Venice of Portugal because of its canals and the colourful boat called Moliceiros that ply them.

The Moliceiros were historically used for transporting kelp harvested in the lagoon and used for fertiliser. This industry has now ceased and the boats are used to take tourists on trips around the canals. We set sail, which is a great way to get to grips with the city.

We pass under several bridges adorned with colourful ribbons, our guide explains that in Aveiro couples attach ribbons instead of padlocks to bridges to express undying love, this is apparently to prevent the bridges from becoming too heavy and collapsing!

Aveiro is also known for its salt production and its art nouveau architecture, these properties were built by Portuguese emigrants returning from Brazil.

Nick isn’t sure about Aveiro but Janette likes it.  Again the weather doesn’t do it any favours, the rain has eased off, but it is windy and cold.

We stay on in Aveiro to enable us to take the train into Porto the next day.  Nick has already visited this city and loves it and our hopes are high.

It is still rainy and cold when we set off for Porto.  The train journey is unremarkable save for a glorious section that runs along the sea. 

We arrive at the central station, São Bento. It's a wonderful thing, the foyer’s interior is covered with around 22,000 azulejos - traditional Portuguese tiles - it is a fantastic introduction to the city.

We step out into the drizzle and make our way downhill towards the river. 

On the way, we visit the church of Sao Francisco the exterior of which gives no clue to the dazzling, Baroque interior. 

In this place, everything that glisters is truly gold! 

Every inch of the wall is covered with detailed wooden carvings all coated with gold leaf, 600 kg of it apparently!

One of these ornate carvings depicts the Tree of Jesse on whose branches stand the ancestors of Christ, it is we are told, considered to be one of the best of its kind in the world.  You have to hand it to the Catholics of old, they knew how to decorate a church!

We wander down to the river and across the iconic Dom Luis I bridge, goodness it is high - 85 metres (278 feet) to be precise - but Janette is fearless and it’s Nick who goes a bit wobbly!

We cross the river and get lunch at one of the many riverside restaurants where it’s also possible to do a tasting of various ports, we taste five - white, ruby, and tawny and we agree that our preferences are the 10 year Old Tawny, Fine Tawny and the Fine White - we feel another purchase coming on!

The view of Porto from the other side of the river is magnificent even through the drizzle which hasn’t really let up. We will come back here when the weather is better and we can really savour the experience. 

For now, we satisfy ourselves with a look at the old Rabelo boats which used to transport the port wine from the Douro Valley to Porto...

and then we catch the cable car back to the bridge and wend our way to the station.  It’s been a brief visit, but what a beautiful city this is, certainly on the list for a re-visit.

The next day dawns without the forecast rain, which is a relief. We head off to Tenões, just outside Braga as we want to visit a church - Santuário do Bom Jesus do Monte.  Apparently, Portugal's most photographed church.

It's at the top of a hill and to reach it you have to climb a magnificent zig-zagging Baroque staircase consisting of 580 steps; or for the less energetic there is a funicular railway which, as we puff our way up the steps, seems like it would have been a good idea! 

As you ascend the steps, there are several landings, on which there are fountains, allegorical statues, and friezes depicting the Passion of Christ.  The sanctuary is a popular Catholic pilgrimage site and the faithful ascend the stairs on their knees - we didn’t see anyone doing that!

The stairway is truly beautiful especially when viewed from the bottom and the sun has decided to shine today so we can really stand back and appreciate the sight.

We could stay here tonight as there is parking for motorhomes but we decide to head on to a place called Vila Nova de Cerveira which turns out to be a really pretty little town with a massive area for motorhomes to park in. 

The town is situated on the banks of the river Minho which marks the border between Portugal and Spain.

Unfortunately for us is the start of Carnival in Portugal and in Vila Nova, this is marked by an all-night party with VERY loud music.  It is still going when the 5 a.m. goods train thunders by whistle-blowing!  We doze a bit after that but don’t really get back to sleep and to top it all we wake to yet more rain.

A bit bleary-eyed, we get up and head back into Spain, to Santiago de Compostela. 

We opt for a campground a short bus ride outside the city and spend the afternoon catching up with laundry and other chores... or some of us do!

We’re lucky with the weather today, it rained in the night but the day is warm and sunny.  The bus costs 1 Euro each - amazingly cheap - and drops us right in the historic centre. 

We decide not to follow a map and just to wander around the old town.  It’s very atmospheric, old cobbled streets some of which are unfeasibly narrow!

Unsurprisingly perhaps all roads seem to lead to the Cathedral which of course is the final destination for pilgrims travelling the Camino de Santiago or the Way of St James.  We saw very few pilgrims which was disappointing but perhaps they’ve got more sense than to embark on such an undertaking in February!

The cathedral is built in the shape of a cross and the entrance takes us into a relatively simply decorated transept which is something of an anti-climax, however, as we move deeper into the cathedral we see the high altar and this is truly a thing to behold. 

Highly ornate and covered in gold and silver, it stands directly above the crypt housing the remains of St. James.  

We visit the crypt under the high altar to see the silver urn which are the remains of St James. It’s also possible to go behind the high altar to embrace the statue of St James.  It’s quite an experience as you’re right amid all the elaborate finery in a way we’ve not experienced anywhere else. 

The weather is lovely, really warm and sunny so we find a place for a lazy lunch with a bottle of wine - blissful.  As we wend our way back to catch the bus, we make an unusual purchase, a wine bottle holder in the image of an octopus which changes colour depending on which angle you view him from!  Weird but it will remind us of the Iberian Peninsula. 

As it’s Wednesday evening the campsite owner’s band is playing in the bar.  The bar is tiny and there are about ten campers there; it’s actually a really fun evening and the band is excellent!

Today the weather is atrocious once more, unremitting heavy rain. Possibly ill-advisedly, we head for the north coast and the small town of San Cibrao where there is a free aire right on the coast. When we arrive, the clouds part and the sun thankfully reappears once more.

San Cibrao is a bit of a paradox. It is a quiet, coastal town with several beaches some of which have fine, white sand which rivals the tropics; it has a lighthouse and a small harbour... so far so good. It also has an immense aluminium factory, a huge, orange structure that feels completely at odds with its setting.

We take the coastal walk through town, along the beaches, and up to the lighthouse and we’re charmed to find a sculpture of a mermaid on rocks in one of the bays, she is A Maruxaina.

The legend goes that on the small islands just off the coast of San Cibrao, known as Os Farallóns, there lives a mermaid - A Maruxaina - in bad weather she calls to sailors. Some say she does this to warn them of danger, while others say she is luring them to their doom.    

As night falls on the second Saturday in August, there is a festival where the mermaid is put on trial and is acquitted of any wrongdoing, the town then party - sounds fun!

We planned to spend another day in San Cibrao but our next destination is special and we must see it in good weather so, having checked the forecast we decided that today is the day and we’re off just a short way down the road to Cathedral Beach.

This beach is a renowned tourist destination and in summer, in order to limit visitors to 5,000 per day (!) - at its height, it was up to nearly 11,000 per day - you have to book a timeslot. But in February it's a different story and whilst there are people there it’s by no means crowded.

This natural phenomenon certainly deserves its fame: it is magnificent - huge cliffs with intricate strata and incredible rock arches.  It puts us in mind of Bedruthan Steps in Cornwall.

The beach can only be fully accessed for about 90 minutes on either side of low tide and even then there’s a fair amount of paddling required to access all of it but it is most certainly worth it. 

We stay overnight in the car park at the top of the cliff with a few other vans, we think this is only tolerated by the authorities as it’s low season but we respect this natural environment and leave no trace.

So that's it for this week. Just one week to go before catching the ferry home!