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Monday, May 26
First Week at Noja, Santander
by
George and Anne
on Mon 26 May 2008 23:37 BST
Days 110- 117 Mon 19 May – Mon 26 May 08
This site is huge – about 850 large pitches – but is only about a quarter full at the moment. This means lots of facilities and not that many people to use them which is great and the shower blocks are very modern and clean.
The site is right alongside a beautiful sandy beach, Playa de Ris, with a gate directly on to the beach about forty yards from our caravan so we are hoping for some good weather while we’re here. Playa de Ris is four kilometres of fine golden sand set round two curving bays of the Cantabric Sea. The beach, caravan site and town of Noja are surrounded by the Noja Wetlands Reserve which is home to many wild animal and bird species.
The Camping and Caravan Club have been allocated nearly fifty pitches, all in the same area of the site. The Rally actually started on Monday so we were entertained by lots of other caravans and motorhomes arriving and setting up around us.
After enjoying each others’ company and doing our own thing for nearly four months George and I weren’t sure how we would take to being organised in a big group but we are really enjoying the social interaction so far. None of the activities are compulsory but we find we are attending most of them – already been to quiz nights, boules competitions, coffee mornings and organised walks. Our fellow Rallyers are a mixed bag – from all parts of the UK, all walks of life, all very friendly and great fun.
We also had a lunchtime walk into town for a typically Spanish meal – 26 of us in all – three courses including wine for 11€ each. George found himself next to a fellow Rotarian from Queensferry Club in Edinburgh. Grainger and his wife Norma were great company – over the next few days we ended up consuming lots of alcohol together – finishing off their best malt whiskey along the way. Sadly they were only here for a week but we hope our paths will cross again in future travels.
Also on the site is a group of musicians - all men – who are on a tour with their bicycles, mandolins and penny whistles. They did a couple of impromptu sing-along performances in the bar here which were great fun (Anne and Norma practised their maracas playing – see photos) – it seemed the more we drank the better they were !
There is a 9-hole golf course 1km away – three par fours and six par threes. To play round twice cost 7€ per person so we thought we’d give it a go. The course was a bit rough round the edges, short but quite challenging and we really enjoyed it.
The weather this week has been mixed. Have had some heavy rain at night mixed with roasting sun and cloud during the day. One evening we were still on the beach in hot sun at 6.30pm.
As this is being typed we can hear the calling of peacocks. There is a children’s animal park at one end of the site and two days a week at 6.00pm they open the gates and we can all go in and feed the animals with the old bread collected from the camp shop. There are peacocks, peahens, llamas, cows, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, beautiful tiny black piglets and two sorts of deer - all very tame and taking food from our hands.
This has been quite an accident-prone week for the Rallyers – the local ambulance has been needed twice for bicycle accidents – and also poor Tom, the Rally Steward, went over his handlebars whilst leading an ambulance through the site to the latest casualty. The ambulance crew didn’t know who to stop for first but Tom heroically waved them past himself as he sat bleeding on the tarmac. Thankfully he was not seriously hurt and when the ambulance had left with the injured lady we made him and Shirley a cup of tea to help them calm down - after a medicinal scotch or two they eventually stopped shaking!
This is a lovely site in a great position and we look forward to the next two weeks – more of the same (minus the accidents!) plus some trips out.
Sunday, May 18
Salamanca to Noja, Santander
by
George and Anne
on Sun 18 May 2008 23:34 BST
Day 109 Sun 18 May 08
Got away early, soon after 8.00am, ready for one of our longest legs – 460km.
Quite a cloudy and chilly morning, we were quickly passing through very flat open terrain, definitely cruise control country. Lots of bright yellow gorse and wild poppies.
Filled up with diesel en route – 1.26€ per litre.
Headed up to Burgos – passed the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Tour Lorry on the ring road! After passing Burgos we had some rain for a couple of hours and the terrain became more hilly. Eventually joined the motorway up to Bilbao, then on west along the coast to Noja, just before Santander, where we are booked on a Camping and Caravanning Club Rally for three weeks.
Found Playa Joyel caravan site with no problems and met the Rally Stewards Shirley and Tom who are lovely and made us feel very welcome.
Set up quite quickly and got the kettle on!
Saturday, May 17
Salamanca
by
George and Anne
on Sat 17 May 2008 17:09 BST
Days 105-108 Wed 14 – Sat 17 May 08
Well, what can we say – Salamanca is a super place. It is a very old city, not very big, situated on the banks of the Tormes River, and is famous for its beautiful buildings and thriving university. The older, cultural centre is very compact and the outer, newer area has wide, elegant, tree-lined roads – it reminded us of a mini Barcelona. There are several bridges across the river – one dates back to Roman times with nine of the original arches still remaining.
In the city centre is the beautiful main square, Plaza Mayor built in the lovely honey coloured Villa Mayor stone. The city is dominated by two beautiful cathedrals - one old, one “new” – the newer one is built partially over/on top of the older one making things very confusing for the visitor ! The Medieval Cathedral towers, 100 metres tall, are two of Salamanca’s most important emblems with a history dating back over 900 years.
We had a great day of non-stop walking, coffee in various squares and listening to the brass band in Plaza Mayor, which had a book festival set up in it which rather spoilt the view of the buildings.
There is a bus from right outside the caravan site entrance into the centre – 20 mins €1.05. Have found free wi-fi at our local library – brilliant.
Our next visit to the centre turned out to be very eventful – decided to drive in as it’s only 3k. No problem, straight into the multi storey car park – but on the way out hit the kerb by the pay machine and burst a front tyre. Changed the wheel with the help of a lovely car park attendant and had to go to the Spanish equivalent of Kwik Fit the next day to sort it out. They couldn’t match the other front one so we ended up forking out for two new tyres, better safe than sorry – see photos!
Weather now much better so have decided to stay here until moving to Noja, near Bilbao where the rally is, on Sunday. This is a small, very nice site and we’ll be sorry to leave. Would definitely recommend Salamanca for a short city break.
Tuesday, May 13
Porto to Salamanca
by
George and Anne
on Tue 13 May 2008 23:26 BST
Day 104 Tue 13 May
Set off at about 9.30am for Salamanca (middle of Spain NW of Madrid). This is a change from the original plan. We were going to go to La Coruna next, right up in the top left hand corner of Spain, but having looked at the map we realised that the road from there heading east was not too good. We have got to be in the Bilbao area by Monday 19th May as we are booked into a Camping and Caravanning Club International Rally so have now decided to cut the corner off and head northeast via Salamanca.
Very scenic route with some quite big climbs – passed by/over the Serra Gralheira on one side and the Serra de Caramulo on the other. Small toll motorway south out of Porto - €7.05 then free motorway all the way to the border which we reached after just over three hours. Quite strange, the Portuguese motorway ended at a small roundabout in the small border village of Vilar Formosa (the passport booths had obviously not been used for years) then the road leading away from the roundabout (in Spain) was a single lane road for about ten miles! It then turned into dual carriageway lined with bright yellow gorse bushes for the rest of the journey to Salamanca. Approx 330km total.
Lots of lorries about today – we don’t usually get any when we travel on Sundays.
Found the caravan site easily (despite TomTom directing us wrongly again at the end). It is tiny, only about fifty pitches and we were led to one which we could drive straight into – brilliant.
Weather not great at the moment but we are looking forward to visiting the centre of Salamanca as we know nothing about this area at all.
Monday, May 12
Picturesque Porto
by
George and Anne
on Mon 12 May 2008 16:20 BST
Days 97-103 Tue 6 May - Mon 12 May 08
First day - caught the bus into Porto centre – situated on the north bank of the Douro River. It’s only about 4k away but the bus (as always) went all round the houses and back streets so the journey took about 45mins. We are time rich so this doesn’t matter at all and it’s really interesting to see the small streets and gatherings of locals in their favourite cafes etc as we go past.
Eventually came out to the river and could see picturesque Porto across on the other side. The bus then crossed the river and we got off in one of the main squares. The weather was a bit cloudy but we had a great day walking round the town – we always head straight for the tourist information centre to pick up maps and info, then have a coffee and plan what we want to do. Porto is a beautiful old town – full of grand old buildings and monuments – with waterside cafes and restaurants - and is linked to Vila Nova de Gaia by six bridges. The Ponte Luis I is the famous iron bridge designed by Gustaph Eiffel. See photos (probably too many !)
We have been to Sherry Country – we are now in Port Country. Porto is the ancient town, situated at the mouth of the Douro River, which gave its name to Portugal and Port Wine. Vila Nova de Gaia on the south bank is the home of the cellars of the famous Port exporters – Sandemans, Grahams, Crofts, Offleys etc.
We went to Sandemans Cellars (called caves here) and had a tour and tasting (see photos) – similar to our sherry visit. The guides were all clothed in the Sandeman Don’s black cloak (as worn traditionally by Portuguese students), and the black hat (representing Spanish tradition). – see photos.
Have spent days at the caravan in the sun. No wi-fi here so have made trips to a local internet café to catch up.
There are various organised boat trips up the Douro River so we thought we would treat ourselves to a full day version. (This was actually recommended to us by the lady who we bought our meat from in Quarteira in the Algarve ! – we got chatting to her about our trip, told her we were going to Porto after Lisbon and she said we should do it !) -
Had a fabulous day – boarded the Vale do Douro at 10.00am, set sail and were served breakfast at our reserved table inside - we were seated with a lovely young American couple from Boston.
The weather was quite cloudy to begin with but very comfortable sitting up on deck with a fleece jacket on. The scenery was fabulous and we had a wonderfully relaxing journey as the river headed inland towards some of the oldest wine producing vineyards in Europe – all set on sloping terraces - where the grapes for the Port wine are grown.
We passed through two locks. The first after 20k (Barragem de Crestuma-Lever) had a water level difference of 14m and we were served an aperitif of white port out on deck as the water level rose. We were then served a fabulous three course lunch complete with wine and coffee which we enjoyed with our new American friends, Katy and Jay.
The sun began to break through and we sailed on - at about 3.00pm, after about 70k, we passed through the second lock (Barragem de Carrapatelo) – water level difference of 35m, it was absolutely massive - the biggest on this river.
Eventually we reached our destination – Regua – transferred to a coach for the 5 min journey to the Castelinho Wine Caves for a quick trip round and more tasting !!
Then to the station for the two hour train ride back to Porto.
What a great day out – all for €65 each.
Had a look at a couple of nearby golf courses – one was a 9-hole links course (€35 for 9, €50 for 18) the other was a quirky 6-hole course (€20 for 6, €30 for 12, €40 for 18). We were planning to play tomorrow but have decided to move on to Salamanca in the morning.
We really like Porto. There is much more here to see and will definitely come here again.
SEE PHOTOS - CLICK HERE
Tuesday, May 6
Lisbon to Porto
by
George and Anne
on Tue 06 May 2008 23:14 BST
Day 98 Tue 6 May 08
Left at about 10.00am and set off in cloudy weather – very busy roads, eventually got out of the Lisbon area at about 10.30am !
Lovely journey to Porto – 320 km - passing the 4,000 mile mark on the way.
Pretty green rolling countryside, passing by small farms and villages. Took under four hours actual driving – we stopped a couple of times for coffee and cakes. Toll motorway nearly the whole way - €43.25.
Arrived at the caravan site with no great difficulty, although the directions given were not brilliant. Parts of the site are very crowded, lots of motor homes, but we have found ourselves another good spot in a partly wooded bit, plenty of room. Another Orbitur site, (shower block not brilliant, but usable) – with our ACSI Card is €10 per night, and we get 7 for 6 nights, so only €60 for the week – bargain.
Walked down to the beach and had a beer in the beach bar in the sun. Huge sandy beaches along this part of the coast – the site is in Vila Nova de Gaia, right by Madelena Beach, which is south of the Douro River. Looking forward to exploring the town of Porto.
Monday, May 5
Lisbon
by
George and Anne
on Mon 05 May 2008 20:11 BST
Days 89-96 Mon 28 Apr - Mon 5 May 08
This municipal site is somewhat different to others we have stayed on – there are very few caravans here, quite a few motor homes and lots of tents. Our pitch is away from everybody. We have seen no Brits here at all (which is usually a benefit). There are eight wash blocks on the site, all spread out in the woods – between us we tried most of them but found them all to be very basic and probably some of the worst we’ve had. The great benefit of the site is that it is so close to the city centre.
Finding an internet café was a priority at first as there is no wi fi on this site so set off on our first morning to central Lisbon on the bus – 25 mins, €1.35. Eventually found free wi fi facility on the top floor of a shopping centre so managed to get up to date. Too far to trek with the laptop again so will have to make do with the computers in reception at €0.30 for 15 minutes. Blog will have to wait.
G‘s tooth still very bad so had to find another English dentist – no such thing in Lisbon apparently so went to one quite nearby who spoke no english at all. One of the reception staff at the caravan site was spectacularly helpful with translations – the dentist even telephoned the site three times while we were with him to speak to the staff here to make sure G understood what was going on! Anyway, the tooth came out, no more problems.
Sorted out the awning for Pam and Lester who arrive on Thursday for a few days. Blew up the air beds, hung a curtain across the middle to give them some privacy, stocked up on alcohol, got out the red carpet etc. We thought we’d make them earn their keep by writing a guest blog entry …read on…………..
Guest Addendum by Pam and Lester Biffin
We have been invited to contribute to the blog by our generous hosts. Whether this is a genuine attempt to inject an alternative style or merely because they can’t be bothered to do this bit, we will have to let you decide.
Had a trouble free flight – only marred by spending well over an hour waiting for our bag, so that we could get out of the airport. A and G were waiting to greet us and we made straight for the site – an oasis of green within the city, just 4 miles from the centre – and had a beer (or two!), a barbie and a planning meeting.
Friday was a whirl of bus rides and walking interspersed with seeing the sights of Lisbon. It soon became apparent that it is a very hilly place and the vast majority are heading up. Pavement cafes, great architecture and sunshine – great combination for a grand day out – the bonus was finding a replacement glass for the coffee pot, which was mysteriously broken at some point during the previous evening. After a fine meal back at camp, we re- inflated the punctured airbed again (Cath – I will explain when I see you) and so to bed.
The other must place to see close to Lisbon is the riverfront at Belem, which is where Portugal’s naval history is clear for all to see. Lots of walking between monuments, museums and galleries plenty of sun and we had our first ice cream of the trip. In the evening we had a meal out and went to Hot Clube de Portugal, Lisbon’s premier jazz venue. Got a fast taxi back at 2am and crashed. (into bed)
Not too much enthusiasm to get going this morning – after a light breakfast we headed off to Sintra and Estoril – both worth an hour or so to have a wander about and watch the police cart off an errant biker from the prom.
Our last evening has come around all too quickly, but a superb barbie and a couple of drinks made it memorable. We will be seeking another opportunity to visit again, if we are lucky enough to be invited. (please).
Thank you for one of our favourite city visits ever. End of. Pam & Lester xxx.
Thanks for that both - we had a great time too. As you well know you are more than welcome any time. Simply as.
Loads of new photographs to view – CLICK HERE.
Off up north to Porto tomorrow (Tuesday).
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