Racing Spring through France and into England

Lovely French Village with river in spring flow

Our first day in France - disaster struck! We took out a truck mirror, that was parked up on a cycleway/pathway in a one way street, plus cars parked up the other side. Damn! Next blog will probably have the outcome on this one!
We were in this particular coastal town checking it out for when my brother Allan & Nicky come over in June. Certainly know now to avoid this area, particularly as this was the quiet season we were travelling through. The owner of the property where the truck was parked at thankfully spoke English and did the translations as we filled in the "Truck Drivers" accident form for his company & copy for our Insurance company. She said even they have trouble getting out onto this road when the tourists arrive June to August.

Gothic churches throughout this area of France

We used the motorways when necessary to avoid big cities or get north. But by keeping off the motorways to avoid tolls (as Bill says "the french know how to extract euros, some sections, the cost exceeding the diesel spent") we got to see more than passing glimpses of villages. This was slower, at times frustrating and confusing (thank goodness for GPS on smart phones) but we did get to see some picturesque villages.
The houses appear, in some instances, to be so authentic they are in dire need of restorative maintenance. In reality this is well beyond the means or will of some of the inhabitants, and as is easy to appreciate, owning these heritage buildings can become a mill stone....

Bill's litte DIY challenge

French villages are old with the exposed wooden structures, crooked as and possibly getting more crooked, Bill guesses from crumbling footings, over the hundreds of years. Many have been restored to their former glory and worked in the leans to the restorations. They look amazing as you walk the narrow streets, but Bill is not keen to be doing any work on these properties! Must be getting soft!

Le Mans - not a car in sight!

Travelled through Tours, getting on our bikes to see this city as it looked like a large city with complicated streets after getting lost a couple of times trying to find the city centre. Failed at my Navigation 101 again!! Luckily it was Sunday, and France shuts down so it wasn't too busy with traffic. There was a market on in the "Avenue" - very much like a cross between an Antique Fair and Garage sale. It was huge. If you wanted to clothe yourself cheaply in great gear - this was the place to do it. But, as I keep telling Bill, how many jackets do we need!!

Troglodyte housing - Google them

 We spent the night in a stretch of the Loire Valley known for its wines & troglodyte housing. The cliff has taken lives over the years but is still lived in this day, with renovations being carried out while we were there. Obviously a rock or two doesn't upset the locals. They are lovely looking out over the river & fields, but really! No not for me.
Onto Le Mans which was an insight as to what goes on there, neither of us being motor  racing fans, Bill got sorted that the Isle of Man TT racing and Le Mans have no connection except both offering plenty of action for motor and motorcycle racing.

Bill & his mate from his
early days

A 24 hour motorcycle event was due on the weekend after we left, in view of the activity expected and road closures, our time spent here was enough to get the feel, see the historic old town (which was lovely) and move on to somewhere where the roads would not be closed for fast motorcycles.

Original roman walls
around Le Mans

Our second to last night in France we stayed in Pont De L'Arche another picturesque village on the river Seine, just out of Rouen. A lovely municipal parking spot right on the river, just along from the bridge that was constructed in 1944 by Allied troops, from pieces of artificial "Mulberry" harbour built for Arromanches, used to unload material after the D-Day landings. And still looking in good condition today. Google these artificial harbours - just amazing.

"Mulberry" Bridge 

Our last night was in a camp ground just off the motorway outside Calais so we ( really I) could have the luxury of a long shower to wash my hair. These things many of you take for granted, but when your water cylinder is only so big - you learn to minimise your water usage. The shower was real luxury :)
We had a quiet crossing, the weather was so changeable and cold as we travelled up the coast of France, and it didn't change once we arrived in England. We  tried 4 places to stay for the night but the ground was too wet to take vehicles. So it was off to Kath & Owen's in Winchester a night early. So nice to be reacquainted after 11 months, and spend some evenings in conversation. Kath having just returned from a trip in India and them having moved house since we were last here, there was plenty to talk about.

Pont De L'Arche

Our Plan now is to spend 5 weeks heading well north into Scotland to see people we met in 1979 when we spent 3months in Edinburgh. Hopefully the snow has cleared but it is still dropping randomly about the UK, we may find it anywhere.We are loosing our tans.
We had stocked up on wine \food beer Thank goodness.... but over looked the diesel.
Alcohol is nearly twice the price in supermarkets,3x in the pubs, and fuel 25% more, but food is about the same. This will make it easier to cut back on our excesses over the coming weeks, giving our livers a lighter load before heading back into Europe and spending time with Graeme & Claire.

Northern Portugal, Northern Spain and into France but NO Easter Eggs

Nazare Beach

Our first year with no kids and no Easter Eggs! Not one! Someone forgot to let Easter Bunny know.
On reaching Comporta, we headed out to the resort sand spit with big beaches, scrubby sandy soil and big plantations of forestry, nothing like we have at home. This

Bill always looking for a little bit of rope!
His pocket knife is a bit too litttle for this one :)

amazing place has been well planned out as a resort, and although very empty while we walked the beach & drove through the streets, can imagine quite different come summer.
We had wanted to stop at Lisbon (Portugal's Capital) but the parking and traffic flow compelled us forever round the sea front (like Auckland's waterfront) so that when we finally stopped we were about 40 mins away and the traffic had been so difficult and we were so fragile, it was decided to keep on going, ending up in the small town of Mafra with a secured compound to spend the night and a supermarket & laundry 5 minutes away. Admittedly not with the cultural depth of Lisbon to draw on but still with a slice history not to be trifled

Mafra Palace

with. On walk about the next morning in the main square was possibly the biggest palace to date for us, built for King John V who deigned to spend a few months in, more a secondary residence. All built with gold money that the  Portuguese were extracting from Brazil, faster than the Royals could spend it!!!!!
The palace has a 92 bell carillon and is immense. We considered a tour but several hours of this (over  1200 rooms & 4700 doors and windows) would undoubtedly numb us, we had a nice cafe lunch (it wasn't very summery) instead and carried on up the west coast of Portugal

Wave action on Nazare Beach

We came to Nazare & Siteo for 3 nights, a place we were told to visit and it was great. Its big draw cards are a fishing village come resort, situated on an internationally renowned surf beach. The Atlantic is a big ocean and is forever pounding the entire coast, grinding out stunning beaches and thrilling cliffs.
Nazare has the distinction of a world record height for a beach breaking wave surfed at 72 feet or 23m. The You Tubes of these waves are incredible and worth a watch. The surf seems to run continually but saw photos of much quieter benign beaches which is just as well as

Old Ladies selling their dried fish along Nazare

you would not swim here often unless you were very competent. My dream of body surfing the beach was rapidly crushed as we witnessed the equally crushing waves, this was not for me, even if it had been another 20 degrees warmer.....
As we worked our way up in & out of coastal areas, we visited Aveiro, Portugal's Venice. It has, literally, a couple of canals into the town centre and is serviced by more boats than tourists at this time of year. Also in keeping with Venice it does have a large lagoon exploited traditionally for salt production and shell fish, sea food as always, a huge tourist draw. (the shellfish available is always huge from tiny pipi's and cockles up to

Trailers loaded with nets
ready for the next day's fishing

toheroa type bivalves mollusc's as well as winkles cats eyes etc. Mmmmmmm waiting for Sheryl's bro G'man when we join Claire and him for some time in France at the end of May, to shame us into being a bit more adventurous.......MMMMMMMMMMM!
Aviero was drizzly when we arrived in the late afternoon and it didn't look pleasant sitting in boats on the canal in the driving rain, so we walked the town and by the evening's end and had a Chinese meal (sweet & sour craving) with a lovely Portuguese beer & wine. As we had seen all the canals, we decided a boat trip was not warranted.

Churches faced up with blue tiles

A characteristic of churches and notable old buildings through Portugal and northern Spain has been the blue painted tiles adorning both indoor and outdoor facades. They are  from 14th Cent. and are indicative of the reclaiming by the Christians of the Peninsula from the Moors, not very old but still well outlasting frescoes and an insight into the accepted story of Christianity reigning at the time.
On reflection if asked about favourite places we would be recommending this coastline from southern Spain up thru Portugal, back into northern Spain and now across the Bay of Biscay. These areas are worth exploring we think, not so touristy,

Walk about Arcade's village

possibly because the beaches are not as benign as the Mediterranean, and the climate not as settled. Still very acceptable from our point of view. It will be on our "get back if we can" list. Porto was a pleasant surprise, an old port town, though again wet, (we fluked a fine arrival for a 4 hour exploration ) but so scenic. The river is navigable for over 150 kms and a thriving tourist industry on big, ultra nice river boats from 6 to 15 days with various side trips going right into Spain.
Onto Vigo, but decided to carry on as the weather still wasn't great, and onto Arcade. A very pleasant village at the top of another inlet port, well removed from the industrious busy river mouth and existing on a small fishing industry, mainly the  local shell fish. The town centre sculpture is a  large pearl in an oyster so gives  a hint of the promise.

One of the many "Horreo's" we saw in backyards

We also started to observe family crypts in peoples back yards and once spotted, saw them all thru over the next few days and into Spain. We later found them to be what they call "Horreo's" - granaries, raised up of the ground on flat staddle stones to prevent rodents getting into them. Quite a quirky thing to see in many backyards in the towns and country alike.

Gijion Beach across to Old Town
Bit of action for the surfers in the water.

Gijon (Hehon) was another stop, a lovely seaside surf resort. Ticks all the boxes with retail cafes and across the road enough surf to keep Dad and the boys out of trouble and did I mention the cafes! We arrived in drizzle (a recurring theme as we head north) but the next morning the mountains behind us were liberally coated in snow. Just like Nelson can have in Spring too. The north here is very  hilly. The towns are all located in ancient glacial/deep river valleys giving deep long sheltered access as fitting for maritime trade etc, shelter from the Atlantic storms, woe betide if you missed the harbour though.

Wet weather doesn't put the
locals off coming to the beach

Bilbao, an amazing campsite and arrived late with a WARM wind, so immediately sat overlooking the stunning vista and cracked a beer, planning our next day, only to awaken to driving rain and wind. A shame as it did look worth a look, boasts a Guggenheim gallery, though to be honest, modern objective art is not my strong point. Give me something I can tell what she is any day....... I know I'm a cultural pariah. So on we go, we will stop with the rain and see where we are.....
It was foolish of us to think spring would precede us, warming the Atlantic coast in preparation for such illustrious visitors such as ourselves as now on the cusp of

Looking from Gijion's promenade back to the
snow covered mountains  

crossing into France, being dogged with very indifferent weather and much rain over the last few days we find ourselves now in the final throws of winter, with neither a palm or cactus to be found to remind us of our pleasant "wintering over in Southern Spain".....
The juxtaposition of the two ends of the Iberian Peninsular is so pronounced, gone are the Pueblo Blanco (white washed villages) and afore mentioned cactus, palms and still flowering bougainvilleas, we are now in deciduous forests, waterlogged and a few green buds of willow bravely peeking out

Bilboa - looking down on the town

for a show. The farmland so hilly, looks more like Switzerland. Most people are well wrapped up, its only the mad Kiwi's still venturing out in shorts and light wind breakers.

Our Bilboa campsite up on the hill.
But sadly was too wet the next day to explore.

Portugal Atlantic Sea Board

Lovely Village of Porto Covo

Portugal's rugged Atlantic coast makes for isolated old Fishing villages, wild golden surf beaches, awesome cliffs and for many Coastal walkways. One we have been following in the van a stunning 120 km multi day walk along the coasts golden

Village of Salema which we
walked over to from Boa do Rio

beaches and precipitous cliffs, from village to village. We drove in to some and stayed to do some exploring. The way of life for the old fishers was simple and unchanged for generations, congregating for long periods, smoking and watching, waiting waiting waiting.......The harbour too  rough to put out, but seldom a shortage of fresh fish, these villages have a small permanent daily market building stocked with the local produce, always fish, meat, poultry, and lots of veges, interestingly in Portugal our familiar Kumara very plentiful.

Amazing coastline along the Atlantic Ocean

The little and large shops having an amazing selection of frozen fish, and bigger supermarkets having a fresh fish section way surpassing what is offered in our fishing village of Nelson! Indeed the fish markets all through our travels have been spectacular to say the least as we've mentioned before. Pity we aren't very adventurous with fish!!!
Portugal also keeps its livestock in the fields - cows and sheep in the fields where they belong. This is the first sighting of our trip of normal beef and sheep grazing in the paddocks as we are familiar with in NZ.

Major road works
in Vila Nova de Milfontes

We're not sure of the deal with the EU but all major works (and there's plenty happening) is signalled by  large signboards that state the EU fund allocated to this or that project. The little villages seem to be getting huge infrastructure upgrades with all the old streets being dug up and all new services going in to them, then cobbles being relaid. Mammoth work for such small communities, and of course with the summer rush fast approaching, its all go.
It seems that these villages rely much more on tourism now days and as such there are large developments for holiday makers requiring these huge upgrades to cope for the 3 or 4 months of the year when the tourists arrive in their thousands, straining all the services. Also in this vein is (as in Italy) the

The road front runs past these houses
along the beach

many abandoned construction sites of all sizes largely in resort areas or on the fringes. The financial crashes really hurting some.
We were stopped for the first time today for an ID check by the GNR (Portuguese police)
They thoroughly checked our NZ and International licences telling us that they will need to be renewed next month then finally smiled to wish us a safe holiday. They weren't interested in our passports at all, indeed camp operators being the only ones wanting to see them. The GNR are not at all flashy and the mainstay of the vehicle fleet, least ways down south, are a fleet of old old Nissan patrols, possibly 15 years old and well used.Their uniforms are also very low key

Down the main street on sunset
at Porto Covo

looking more like forest workers in sensible work clothes(always a pistol though) but at the road side check the young men were very smart in a more formal uniform. and very handsome Sheryl said.........
We have been freedom camping here, there being many areas that, it is not so much "allowed" as "not forbidden". Also many villages have dump and water facilities and land to to park up. A lot of the road side parking has height restrictors to keep us out but a lot don't, it seems a harmonious mix, the old timers who have been coming for a few years say it's too strict and you "could and did park up anywhere in the good old days". We've all heard that before. Truth is there are a lot of campers around so some control is necessary, or else we would take over!!!!

The Bread Man at camp
Bill getting fresh baguette

We have stayed in real camps on two occasions so far and this has been half the price of Spain & Italy at about 12 euro and one at 8 so are not complaining. As also mentioned last blog the wasteland parks are only 3 or 4 euro, also very acceptable. We talked to an English couple who come out often for 6 or 8 weeks at a time and saying so far at 4 weeks in this trip had only spent 12 Euro on accommodation.. They eat out a lot, so do benefit the economy especially this time of the year.

Walking along the cliff top walkway

Its been nice to be able to eat our full of oranges and mandarins but not like home, these are tree ripened, they are literally picked ripe for the local market, so juicy and delicious. We did a walk the other day and picked fruit from the road side,

Looking back along part of the
Coastal Walkway

yummmmmmmm...The other fruit that seem wasting are loquats, looking so ripe but not able to pick unless you have ladder and not for sale, We think because its not a keeper, pick and eat only, but prolific here. Spring is also arriving in these latitudes, spring has been chasing us up the country as we still head north.. with different wildflowers appearing amongst the fields and dunes.

Cork Tree that has had some harvesting done.

We are travelling through cork country. Portugal produces the biggest proportion of cork for the world market, and indeed all wine here is still corked ,we daren't mention the screw cap is a NZ idea!!!
The cork oak to us is a very nondescript tree but you can see where they been harvested. The bark is stripped initially at 25 years of age then typically at 9 yearly intervals after that, the trees living 300 odd years, still a big business. Its a very ordinary looking product in its raw state but a large viable industry, and still harvested as they have done for hundreds of years.

Sines - an important Port since Roman times
 with huge oil refineries today

The other forests here are pine and eucalyptus. The pine is not at all like our superior pine plantations, often looking quite unsuitable for milling, there are several types seen growing, like Rabbit Island everywhere. The gum trees apparently are used for paper production and small poles in the agricultural sector, I imagine they would need treating for ground work.
A small mercy I, the driver, have enjoyed here is the roading. Very much like our roads, not counting the big pay motorways, with mostly good verges and areas to pull off the road, something lacking most every where else in the places we've visited.

The River Village of Alcacer

We are working our way north through a homely environment with happy smiling people tanned from outdoor work in traditional roles.The feeling we get is honest hard working villagers not fully understanding why we all come in such droves every summer and increasingly year round???? Them city slickers and foreigners..........

My "takeway" coffee
(They had ran out of takeaway cups,
so I did have to return this one)

Loving Portugal - The Algarve

Looking back along the coast to Portimao

We crossed over the bridge from Spain into Portugal immediately loosing an hour, plus half our life savings! We got sidelined into a queue and credit card taken before we could continue into the country, all automated. Road tolls $20 NZ for 80 odd Km over 40mins then $4 NZ to complete the journey on a locally tolled road. They can often be avoided, if you can use your map better than Sheryl did!

Maria & Simon & Boris
Our third lovely HelpX Hosts

We arrived at our third HelpX host - Simon (English) & Maria (Brazilian) and Boris (Russian- well not really, he is a Podengo).
Stayed near the town of Messines, which is remarkable for little except it is historically central for transport options and good BBQ chicken at a local restaurant that we were taken out to. Delicious. Thank you S &M
The streets in the regions towns are cobbled with the local stone, a white flint that gets so polished its downright dangerous. It is persevered with, I assume, as it is a local resource and labour intensive, two big pluses for a local economy! The local little village of Paderne is near by that Sheryl & Maria cycled to for a coffee. Apparently very good too.

Bill's first block wall

Simon & Maria are on a 3 acre plot slowly turning it into a multi use venue but ultimately an events venue \ cafe with a focus on motorcycle activities for tourers. Portugal is a nice place for touring and is Simon's passion.
We were available to help with some block walls and finishing stone work over the 10 days we spent living in the van as the accommodation wasn't presently available and was easier as the van is very homely.

Simon & Bill pouring the base for block wall
Lots of "Boy Toys" (Tractor & large concrete mixer)

Boris my new Russian friend was a  delight and we played chess often...sorry chase often,  he beat me at that also, he is a very strategic thinker.
Albufeira is a delightful coastal beach resort stunning with amazing cliffs. The whole area or southern coast is much like the coast at Hahei Beach on the Coromandel, where we were ensconced only 12m ago with Sam and Pauline in Big Yella. The kayaking would be stunning but alas this time of year, though pleasant, doesn't warrant the operators operating. This shoulder season is a nice time of year to appreciate its charms with only a few tourists, not all the cafes, restaurants are open but enough

Albufeira Beach Front

that they are competing for your Euro with good food and beverage prices, but you still need to be aware, if they are not advising a price ,you will be paying over the

The streets of Albufeira

odds.

Silves Castle Ruins

We visited Silves, another smallish town with a neat big castle and obligatory Moorish history, spent an enjoyable few hours in the castle, church and town just mooching, soaking up the sights, history and beer.
We have observed more facilities for motor homers here in Portugal. There are park up areas in most towns. Taking advantage of otherwise vacant land ie harbour board

Portimao Marina - spot us in the camp!

land or adjacent to sport facilities (stadiums etc),  they are generally centrally located, parking for a few euros typically 3 for a 24 hour period . Very basic facilities, pay for water, dump facilities, shower and toilet (if you're desperate) and no attempt to beautify the waste land. But fulfils a popular need. This suits us very well, long may it continue. We parked up 2 nights at Portimao in a group of 200 odd, mostly German, Dutch, French, Portuguese and British plus 2  Kiwis, a rare bird indeed. There is certainly more effort made in the area to keep the tourist on side as it is a big earner for these coastal areas, in the off season.

Lovely beaches in the Algarve

Portimao was well worth the visit and I would put it on a recommend list for any one wanting a beach holiday with plenty of scenic enjoyment, will not vouch for peak season, however shoulder is good.
Portimao and  Lagos were important parts of the sad story of slavery, openly used by one and all over the  eons. Slavery, again, was a valuable resource not to be ignored, from the Ancient Greeks through to America in recent ages. The Portuguese were raided by Moorish  pirates and themselves raided Africa for slaves and this grew into a huge business for the Portuguese Kingdom as a whole, but not limited to the Portuguese.

Large square in Lagos where the Slave Markets were held. 

Later the Christian Persuasion were implicit in the continued highly profitable trade. Both sides of the argument were naturally able to use the bible to justify their position as also the Moors.

Looking across to Sagres

Best not get into this argument me thinks!!!!!

This southern coast is reasonably sheltered and warmish but we will move up the western coast which is more rugged, relatively isolated, an exposed Atlantic coastline. What weather gets past the UK, arrives on these shores.....

Bill out on the Western most Southern point
of Portugal - amazing coastline   

Today we ventured to the very end of the known old world (pre voyages of discovery). A place called Sagres where the Naval school was set up around the 15th century to teach navigators the art, to be able to go forth and discover the New World, which the Portuguese did, very effectively.
Sagres and Cape St Vincent were the edge of the world and nothing was known (by the Continental Inhabitants) of any thing else out that side of the world. Trade & riches, "commerce" were the big drivers in this story.
 As I said earlier, this is the exposed Atlantic coast and though it was a stunning cloudless day it was an unrelenting strong cold wind blowing all day which sapped

Sao Vicente (St Vincent) Point

our strength after 4 hours of fighting it. The area had no trees, only stunted pushed over bushes, no where to hide. Needless to say there were cafes on the other side of the cliffs away from the predominate gales providing much needed respite. Hallelujah.

Looking to "Worlds End"

The weather has certainly cooled down and is less settled, but still acceptable with many stunning clear days, almost good for a swim, We are moving well north to Calais for an April 7th crossing, and  we are not holding our hopes for better swimming conditions, though thought I might try some body surfing at Nazare (google it).

Another day, another beer, life's a beach!