And Finally

Despite our reluctance to actually go away this winter we're glad we did. Also changing our "modus operandi" to staying longer in fewer places suited us better and next time in Spain we may well book ahead as it is now becoming extremely popular and most places were at, or almost at, maximum capacity. A sign of the times perhaps.

It would have been nice if the fine weather in Spain had carried on over to Portugal, but in reality the weather deteriorated over the entire Iberian peninsular so we may well have been worse off staying or moving back to Spain. But the weather never stopped us from doing anything although we spent a lot more time just sitting rather than the continuous moving about as in previous years. The short interlude with our friends, June and Derek, also made a really nice change - although we don't have any problem talking to other people aquaintances were usually pretty short, maybe a day or two, and strangely we spent more time talking to other nationals than British!

Our lack of planning, that is, leaving everything until the last minute, showed up in various ways with forgetting guidebooks, having the wrong credit/debit cards and spending far too much on mobile phones which didn't turn out to as convenient as we'd hoped. Must do better!

Bertie performed very well, apart from the breakdown in Portugal which could have happened at any time. We consider ourselves very lucky in that the breakdown truck that RAC organised was from one of those garages that had proper mechanics and not just parts changers. Getting replacements for the broken parts would have been a nightmare but they just repaired the affected bits quite satisfactorily, saving us a lot of time. Not sure it was cheaper but it got done with minimum fuss. As always there are a few small running repairs to be sorted but we really must see about a respray of the cab area as the flaking paint is now getting quite unsightly. But for an 18 year old vehicle with 156242 miles on the clock he's not doing too badly!

So what's next? We're pretty sure we'll be going to Ireland again in May, especially as Jamie is due a rabies booster - we could have had it done maybe in Spain but often vets only want to do a 12 month treatment, as do the French, so back to Church Vets in Donegal for a 3 year jab. We've used up our 90 days in 180 in Schengen but are considering France or Germany later in the year. However we've got a lot to do at home first.

Thursday 27 March - Boulogne to Home

Up at 6.00am, just gettig light, after a very quiet night alone in the car park! Cold, not quite a frost, but clear with the promise of a nice day. A quick cuppa and snack before tidying up and then to the Eurotunnel noting the rtoads were quite busy even at this early hour. First off Pet Passport then checkin where we were allocated an earlier train. The place was deserted and French customs not interested, apart from stampng the passports. UK Immigration did a full van check, probably to give them something to do, and round to boarding where we had to wait a few minutes before proceeding onto the train.

35 minutes later we pulled into Folkestone and being the second vehicle in line were off quickly. Unfortunately our arrival coincided with the unloading of a freight shuttle and for much of the M20 we had to contend with lots of foreign registered trucks. We went straight to the services area, now changed from Stop24, for our usual full English before going along to Tesco in Ashford for a fuel top-up, which we think was actually more expensive than in France!

Not much to say abou the trip north; the M25 was reasonably quiet being mid-morning and we made excellent progress, getting right up to Peterborough services before needing a stop. Roadworks still ongoing at Darrington slowed us down a bit then Jamie wanted out so we dropped into Ferrybridge and had a latish lunch. We managed to catch the A1 Western Bypass, where we'd hoped the roadworks had been completed but weren't, and the start of the rush hour so it was a bit slow. Arrived home at 5.20pm.

A quick cuppa then mostly got Bertie unloaded ready for cleaning and a few running repairs over the weekend. Have to say that, apart from the breakdown in Portugal which was just one of those things, the van has been performing very well indeed so a bit of TLC is now warranted. He's got his mojo back!

Wednesday 26 March - Le Crotoy to Boulogne/St Martin

The weather finally decided to let up and we woke to a bright clear sun shiny morning and in no rush. Breakfast, serviced the van (hopefully for the last time this trip) and on our way, planning to use the coastal D925 to Berck and Boulogne although TomTom kept trying to turn us inland, probably to the D901 which is also a good road but not very scenic. We found out shortly why when we encountered works that had pretty well closed a road through one of the villages with no "Route Barre" signs we saw. Fortunately it was lunchtime and the workers were all elsewhere so we just ploughed on through!

Called in to an Intermarche just south of Boulogne as we'd been trying to find a ceramic knife, the same as we'd purchased on our autumn trip last year - Intermarche was the only major we'd not yet tried and were convinced it was there. As luck would have it we found what we were looking for, though not the exact brand, so also bought a baguette and some cakes to have with afternoon tea, and some strawberries and..... well you know how it goes! Thereafter we headed for the Centre Commerciale at Boulogne/St Martin where we'd planned to overnight before our early morning Eurotunnel tomorrow. Like City Europ used to be, this is a regularly used place for motorhomes to overnight and has multiple stores, restaurants etc. with a huge car park and no problems (we hope) with illegal immigrants trying to secrete themselves aboard for a free trip to the UK.

Which is where I'm now sitting typing this rubbish in glorious sunshine watching the comings and goings. We have of course had a look around the shopping centre, naturally making the odd purchase but that's about it for today. Early start in the morning so early night for us. We'll do a summary when we get home.

Tuesday 25 March - Villedieu les Poeles to Le Crotoy

Still cold and cloudy but at least it was dry when we surfaced. Most of the other vans left before us so after breakfast emptied the waste tanks - water was off - and rejoined the autoroute to Caen. Our plan was to drop onto the coastal D roads once clear of the Pont du Normandie but we got a bit lost on the Caen ring and found ourselves heading for Ouistreham then getting caught up in a traffic holdup. Managed to circumvent that then took the canal/river crossing at Pegasus Bridge to get us heading in the right direction with a bit of skillful navigation from Bren. However we were then plagued with diversions, weight limits etc so found ourselves turning back onto the A13 and we'll take the toll, got to be a better way. Discovered that the A13 is now a free-flow toll road, that is, you are just registered on camera and you pay online up to 72 hours later, like the Dartford Crossing. We settled that quickly and easily later on.

Crossed the bridge, still a magnificent sight no matter how many times we've gone that way, then to avoid more tolls turned towards Le Havre and eventually, with more nav from Bren, got onto the D925 for Fecamp where we stopped in a LeClerc car park for a late lunch. We've used this route several times before and although it's obviously not as fast as the autoroute we're not in any particular rush and the roads are good enough for us to enjoy a more leisurely pace. Although it would be later than our usual stopping time we elected to push on to Le Crotoy, a favourite and regular stopover at the aire. It's a large site so the dozen or so vans parked up looked a bit lost but left lots of choice for a pitch.

A little bit of unforecasted rain after tea but still cold so the heating was switched on, something we've rarely had to do this trip in the evenings. We're now easily within shouting distance of Eurotunnel and the weather forecast is dry but cool for all the way home.

Monday 24 March - Grand Fougeray to Villedieu les Poeles

A cold grey morning and up earlyish as we'd a few things to get done today, the most important being a visit to the vet. Breakfast and serviced the van then round to the vet but they couldn't see us until 3.00pm. Now I'm sure if I'd spoken to the vet himself........... Ah well, it's not a real problem and as we really need to get it done today or the latest tomorrow we'll just wait. Fuel at the adjacent Super U station, which is around the cheapest in France, then along to the Super U for some shopping. That done we just returned to the aire and idled away the rest of the morning.

After lunch returned and were seen promptly and all done 10 minutes later. Bit pricey although probably due to needing two tablets as Jamie is a bit heavier than he should be, which is something we're going to address when we get home. He doesn't appear to be fat but 3 vets now have said he could do with losing a kilo. With that out of the way we got back on the road for a couple of hours; we could have stayed another night but really wanted to get a little further on and 100 miles was okay. A fast N road to Rennes before we joined the A84 non-toll autoroute towards Caen. Bren found a likely looking aire  near Avranches, about halfway, so programmed it into TomTom and found a nice location just off the town centre of Villedieu les Poeles with 7/8 dedicated (and marked off to stop cars using them as it was attached to a busy car park) spaces and right by a small river. Parked up, the usual cuppa but decided against a quick wander into the town when, you've guessed, it started to rain again!

The app noted a complaint that the crows were very noisy and the church clock rang every 15 mins plus the street lights were on all night - some people just can't be satisfied with a free parking place, with a service point too - but the church bells stopped at 10.00 pm and the crows mostly went to sleep when it got dark and the car park went quiet. The blinds took care of the lights!

Sunday 23 March - Royan to Grand Fougeray

We decided to stay 3 nights on the promise of a reasonable weather forecast so that we could visit Royan and maybe take Jamie onto the beach for a good run. But the weather gods were having none of it and each time we were getting ready to go it started raining again so we ended up just chilling out in Bertie. At least we had hookup and plenty of groceries so hobbies to the fore.

But we now need to start heading north so as Sunday is usually a good day for travelling after our smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, not forgetting the buttered brown bread, (decadent as ever!) we positioned onto the service point and completed all the domestics before negotiating the barrier - we'd had to contact CCP again as our card top up payment hadn't registered but they sorted it in seconds, citing a problem with their payments system. Programming TomTom to Eurotunnel from here took us north to La Rochelle using the D and N roads, all very good, plus the odd free autoroute so we made excellent progress. It would have been nicer if the weather had cooperated but we contended with frequent showers, some quite heavy. Lunch at a service area on the one bit of autoroute.

Undecided how far we should try to go Bren started reviewing aires de camping car as we approached our normal stopping time. Grand Fougeray, halfway between Nantes and Rennes looked like it might fit the bill and as TomTom had already spotted it went for it. A typical village aire close to the centre with 7/8 spaces and a service point, we manoeuvred into as flat a position as we could without needing the levelling ramps, joining the couple of other French vans already parked. With thoughts of our current needs such as fuel, some shopping and, most importantly, a vet we got Google maps to scout around and found all three within walking distance so after a cuppa donned raincoats, just in case, and had a scout around  the village. Obviously as it's Sunday afternoon we were not expecting anywhere to be open but a look is helpful plus we got a bit of much-needed exercise.

So our plan tomorrow is first visit the vet to see if/when they can sort his worming treatment then fuel and shopping. With that out of the way we can then just continue north to see how far we can get.

Thursday 20 March - Contis Plage to Royan

A very quiet night and even Jamie didn't bother us until our normal getting up time. Somewhat cooler than forecast and a high overcast meant no direct sun but it warmed up quickly nevertheless. Nice as the aire was we decided to carry on a bit so after breakfast moved onto the service point to discover that, as we'd guessed, our arrival hadn't been registered. But CCP seem to have got their act really together as it gave us a number to call, promptly answered by an English speaker who instantly knew who we were, where we were and even that we were standing on the dump point! He also knew what time we'd arrived last night so reset things for us and all completed very quickly with absolutely no fuss. Impressed at our first use of CCP so we'll certainly use them again. Good value too, around £12.50 pn although we weren't actually able to get hookup (not CCP fault).

So once finished we moved off with no more intention than to run north along the coastal road then join the Bordeaux ring before once again returning to the coast as we were in no rush. An enjoyable run on the "D" roads, having to make a diversion at Blaye when the road through the town was closed, before joining the madhouse Bordeau periferique which we chose to go around to the west - it doesn't seem to make any difference. Off at the A10 and over the two big rivers, Gironde and Dordogne, before turning off towards the estuary and coast once again. Lunch in a layby whilst we considered our next stop. Royan was within our normal end-of-day time frame and also had a CCP close to the town centre as well as a couple of countryside locations nearby as backup. So we thought we'd take a look and found it easily enough with a number of spaces still available - which the CCP app had already told us, a useful feature. This time managed a hookup before we relaxed with a cuppa and decided that the weather forecast was stable enough for us to stay here 2/3 nights as a final break before making our run up to Calais for the train on Thursday.

Once again it has been very warm all day, 21/22C noted on the various pharmacy signs - most seem to have time, date and temperature displays. No direct sunshine but it's dry and we're more than happy with that. 

Wednesday 19 March - Vittoria to Contis Plage

Dry and cold overnight, the screens, which despite being wet had been deployed last night, had just about dried out so breakfast and a quick look at the Wednesday market before getting away. We could not use the service point as it was closed off during the market hours but we're good as there will be other points along the way. So with Bordeaux programmed into TomTom we got back on the autopiste, watching the weather deteriorate quite quickly although it never did actually rain, just low clouds in and around the mountain range we were passing through. But it eventually became sunny and warm as we approached San Sebastian then, as TomTom was set to avoid tolls, we missed the Bordeaux turn and found ourselves going around San Sebastian and to Irun. Because of this we've found it's not worth avoiding the tolls but it was too late, although there is always a silver lining and we topped up with (cheap) Spanish fuel just before the border.

At Irun we got back onto the, now, French autoroute once again accepting the tolls as worth the time saved and a few kilometres later pulled into a rest area for lunch. We now had a decision to make as we have a full week to reach Calais. Do we keep heading on up to Bordeaux and kill some time later or maybe find somewhere nice for a couple of days? Once again the weather forecast was consulted and seemed to favour hanging around south of Bordeaux so once back on the road we left the autoroute and headed for the coast. Bren picked out a commercial aire, which turned out to be a Camping Car Park site, for which we had a card and app, near St Julien de Borne at Contis Plage. On arrival the barrier was raised so we just drove in and found a nice spot on this quite busy place. However this may well have been a mistake as the barrier came down shortly after so we don't know yet how we're going to get out, not having registered as coming in!

The site has all the usual servicing facilities as well as electric, although all the points had been "claimed" but we can manage well enough, the solar panels absorbing the warm sunshine - we recorded a temperature of 22C, the highest we've seen since southern Spain! At this stage we're not sure if we should stay here a day or two or push on and find somewhere for over the weekend, but we'll think about that later. For now Jamie is happy to be able to sit outside in the sun, checking out all the other dogs!

Tuesday 18 March - Ampudia to Vittoria

More heavy rain overnight which only stopped as we got up but the screens were absolutely soaking wet when we took them off so they ended up in the shower. Breakfast, service the van and pleasantly surprised to find the water on as it's always been off on our earlier visits. First priority to find fuel which was on the autovia but not too expensive at £1.29 pl. As mentioned yesterday, north west Spain doesn't have much going for it scenically so we stuck to the autovia, letting the cruise control look after things. The road became the autopiste AP1 but tolls on this section have been abolished so we just stayed with it.

Although we'd put San Sebastian in the satnav it was beginning to look a bit of a stretch given that we'd not yet stopped for lunch. We knew that there was a good aire at Vittoria-Gasteiz with an adjacent Mercadona supermarket for some grocery shopping so as we're in no rush diverted there. Quite busy, it's now got a barrier which is operated by a parking app but it was quite simple to use and still free so we got in, found a spot and settled in to a late lunch. Later we took a walk across to the supermarket, wrapping up as it was a decidedly cold breeze, and got the necessary. We noticed that a new Eroski supermarket had been opened next to the aire so Bren just had to go and have a look!

Later in the evening it started raining again but the forecast is for it to stop around midnight and then be clear for at least a couple of hours. We'll see.

Monday 17 March - Chaves to Ampudia

Another nice, if cool, morning and gave Jamie a decent walk, mainly to find a different way off this site because we're a bit worried about catching the water drain again on the top of the steep slope. Found a back road out so we'll go that way. Breakfast, paid our dues via the honesty box, service then with Leon in Spain on the satnav headed off. Short holdup just outside town due to a police investigation, though couldn't see what about, and onto the autostrada to cross the border into Spain. In heavy contrast to Portugal, Spain was flat and boring so we stuck to the autovia, only leaving to try for a cross-country road to Leon but failed to find it.

Not long after we stopped for lunch and checked the maps etc to plan for the afternoon. That's when we noticed an old favourite Spanish aire, at Ampudia, was more or less on our route so decided it was worth heading for tonight. Fuel looking a bit low so started looking for replenishment but nothing showed up on our route except the station at Ampudia which looked like it had been shut down for a while. Not too worried though as Palencia was only about 30km and we'd more than enough for that. Aire was empty, not surprising as it is well off the beaten track, but we were joined later by a Belgian van, the occupants of which marched off into the village and we didn't see them again!

Put the clocks forward an hour to correct for Spanish time.

Sunday 16 March - Sao Pedro do Sul to Chaves

The rain petered out during the night and we woke at a more reasonable hour to a bright beautiful day. No services here so after bacon and egg sarnis (it's Sunday!) we travelled a short distance south to a recognised parking place with services. We knew beforehand there was little chance of us being able to overnight there but at least the service point had been kept clear so we were able to carry out a full domestic service, chatting to a friendly Portuguese guy who gave us a hand.

Then, with fingers crossed we set off for Castro Daire (again) to rejoin the Rota Nacional 2. Once again we encountered places where the Rota diverted off the N2 and, although it showed us lots of nice things to see on at least two occasions the signs disappeared and we got lost! At one point we dropped onto the motorway for a short distance just to get ourselves back on track.

But it was all worth it and with Bertie running well  we enjoyed a stunning run on the old road up to Vila Real. The only negative was that as it was the old road, replaced with a motorway, maintenance was pretty well non-existent and often we were down to less than 30 mph but still it was well worth it and is well-recommended. Of course the bright warm sunshine helped a great deal!

Shortly after Vila Real we stopped for a quick bite to eat, quick because we wanted to make the town of Chaves for our overnight rest, it being the last town in Portugal, and we weren't really sure what the situation would be despite several possibilities in our parking apps. We chose a likely looking spot in the town but, not entirely unexpectedly, it was absolutely chock full of cars. The Portuguese are the same as their Spanish neighbours when it comes to Sundays, which are family days out with a vengeance.

However we had notived a motorhome parking area as we entered the town but had discounted it as it was a commercial area and we really didn't need anything. But rather than traipse around the town we decided to just go for it so returned and joined another van, which turned out to be an English couple in a French registered motorhome who, as "reception" was closed, told us what to do. There were instructions anyway but it's nice when someone offers assistance. So we settled down to enjoy the last of the days sunshine, happy that our day had gone well and our problems appeared to have been successfully sorted. 

There are full facilities here, including electric and showers, so we'll make full use of them before heading into Spain tomorrow.

Saturday 15 March - Sao Pedro do Sul

We weren't too sure about the opening hours of the garage but somebody appeared about 7.30 and opened the gates so we got up, not that we could do much! So for now we just got on with life and just after 9.00 Rui and his mate appeared to continue work. We stayed out of their way of course but there was little communication although Rui did occasionally show me what he was doing.

But shortly after lunch we realised that everything was going okay and there was a real chance it would be finished today. We just stayed out of their way until around 5.30pm they pronounced themselves ready and started the motor, checking all the connections etc. and waiting for the temperature to reach normal operating levels. All turned out well and Rui went through what he'd done and what we should watch for, although he was confident we'd have no more problems - well with these repairs anyway. So into the office to pay the reasonable bill, bearing in mind the man hours they'd put in, said our thanks and manoeuvred out of the yard.

Still a little nervous we drove carefully, first to Lidl to restock on items we were short of, and of course the heavens opened! Then, not wanting to travel any distance in the dark, we returned to the park where we'd stayed on Thursday night for a late tea then an earlyish night. We'd both expended a lot of nervous energy over the last 36 hours so needed the rest.

But we felt we had been incredibly lucky that the recovery driver was also able to fix our problem, especially in the time frame. Ordinarily, and our expectation, we would have had to wait for the breakdown company to locate a repairer and then be transported there, which wouldn't have been until at least Monday. Then we would have needed accommodation whilst the work was done. We believe someone like a Fiat workshop would have replaced parts (when they could get hold of them!), rather than repairing, involving far more dismantling and of course a much larger bill. Thank goodness there are still many smaller "proper" workshops with mechanics who know what they're doing still around.

Friday 14 March - Sao Pedro do Sul to Sao Pedro do Sul!

The rain did indeed clear up during the night and we awoke to a beautiful crisp, clear, sunny and dry day, but it was a bit parky! Nevertheless it did warm up quite quickly and after breakfast we were on our way again - no services here but we're fine for now. Following the problems we'd had sorted before we came away we'd checked oil and water yesterday and before leaving confirmed all was still okay. To be honest we've been neglecting this but don't think it was contributary to what happened next.

Making our way up the N228 towards Castro Daire and climbing quite hard the water temperature warning came on and the engine started to feel a tad rough. Pulled up outside a fuel station to investigate and discovered coolant pouring out from underneath and down the nearest drain with a strong vibration from the motor. Shut everything off but couldn't see where it was coming from. Fortunately the garage had a mechanic so we enlisted his help and he discovered a plastic pipe had broken underneath the radiator and completely drained the cooling system. He couldn't do anything to help - to be fair we think he was just a glorified tyre fitter but at least he was honest. So with uneasy recollections of last years debacle we called the RAC, our European breakdown service provider. This time they seemed much more switched on, explaining they would get a breakdown truck to us as soon as possible and once the problem was diagnosed we'd look at our options. Called a few minutes later by the Portuguese breakdown service who said 30-45 mins.

Now we were pretty sure of our location and the fact we could tell them the name of the garage should have helped but an hour later another phone call that their driver couldn't find us. No wonder, he was 100km away! By now we could offer coordinates, What3Words location and more but she was eventually confident she'd now got the right location and would send another truck, 45-60 mins. The RAC chipped in here and said they would help the Portuguese company as from the location details they described what we could see out of the window, so higher confidence. Alas, being lunchtime, we were not surprised when nobody turned up, even with more communication with the RAC. But at least it wasn't raining.

Around 4.00pm a breakdown truck arrived with a really good mechanic (named Rui), who spoke excellent English, and he instantly spotted that we had more problems than a broken water pipe - all the bolts in the offside engine mount had sheared off and the motor dropped. This was getting serious but after a short discussion and a couple of telephone calls he loaded us up (left Jamie in his cage in the van) and took us to his own garage - in Sao Pedro do Sul! He also agreed that it would be fine for us to stay in their compound in the van and we could plug in electric and get water if needed, until the breakdown service found us a repairer, probably now not until after the weekend, which we were resigned to. After unloading he carefully watched a colleague put Bertie over a pit in the workshop area, we thought to get a better look at what was going on.

A few minutes later we noticed Rui and his colleague had started taking things to bits, okkaaay! When I asked he was looking for a replacement water pipe and was having no luck, but had an idea for a workaround. As for the engine mount his intention was to remove the snapped bolt then drill and fit helicoil inserts. They worked at it until 7.00pm until the place closed. Obviously the gates were shut, meaning we were locked in but not a problem and with the electric plugged in we were comfortable enough. However their last action was to release the two big guard dogs to roam during the night. Now they were not particularly nasty just very inquisitive, as are most dogs, and persistent, having discovered Jamie, who was having none of their attention. We managed to quieten him down but one of the two guardians came around the van barking several times during the night. Jamie actually did ignore it so we did too!

 

Thursday 13 March Abrantes to Sao Pedro do Sul

Yesterday was a do nothing day, with only a few showers so we managed a couple of decent walks with Jamie along the river. The old town looked nice but it was a longish walk and then a steep climb so we pleaded laziness and stayed at home! Watching the weather forecast is a bit depressing as there appears no respite and indeed the southern part of Spain, and by default Portugal, are forecasting quite severe weather including appreciable amounts of snow! But there is little we can do about it for now.

So today our plan was to continue along Rota Nacionale 2, once again discovering that it didn't always stick to the N2 but occasionally went off "the pretty way". We did however learn to anticipate it and left a few very short bits unexplored, the whole route anyway being a very pleasant drive. Nature also starting to wake up with heather and magnolias blooming early. Stopped for lunch by the river at another pretty town of Gois, having to do an about turn when we came to a weight-restricted and narrow bridge. The N2 is a bit hit and miss along this section and several times we found ourselves apparently going the wrong way so eventually we dropped onto the IP3 which more or less parallels the N2. Although not yet desperately in need, we spotted a service area selling LPG and also topped off the fuel tank whilst we were there.

Time, a little late actually, to start site hunting and the largish town of Viseu had several P4N spots but unfortunately they were all full or entirely unsuitable - it didn't help that it was now pouring with rain. Castro Daire looked promising and it was a very nice looking spot - but again full. Now getting dark we were starting to get a little, well, frustrated and cast our net further. A park at the small town of Sao Pedro do Sul meant backtracking around 25km but was more promising so we took the decision to give it a go and arrived in the gathering gloom to find a large empty carpark with one other van parked up. Success! (We always manage to find somewhere).

It now being late teatime we settled and got ourselves some nourishment before it once again started raining quite heavily, forecast until midnight but then clearing, promising a cold night.

Tuesday 11 March - Alcacovas to Abrantes

Another wet night and up around our normal time, managing to take Jamie out between showers. After breakfast we took advantage of the servicing facilities (thankyou Alcacovas!) before finding our way back onto the N2 and heading north to find a supermarket at Montemor, a few miles on, to get some bits we were a bit light on. Found the Intermarche okay, also meeting a Dutch couple who had been at Alcacovas, then continue north. Once again we encountered more heavy rain showers and observed some quite striking cloud formations, but it did appear that there were more brighter periods the further we went.

Lunch was on a rough layby-ish spot, noting again the lack of traffic and the very nice scenery. Surprised to also spot a few storks and their nests which we thought was a bit far north for them - we're out of the Algarve now by the way. Continuing on our leisurely way we sort of estimated that the town of Abrantes would be a convenient place to look for a place to stop, bearing in mind that we considered 4.00 pm was as late as we should be to have a good chance of finding a spot. Abrantes boasted a municipal site at a very reasonable price and promising location so TomTom was programmed and took us to Parque Tejo where a very nice lady booked us in for two nights, once she'd finished with the Dutch couple we'd encountered earlier. A bit wet underfoot, not surprising considering the amount of rain, nevertheless a hard standing with electric and nearby full facilities for €9 (including €1 for Jamie, first time we've "paid" for him) per night close to the, very full and fast-flowing, river and good views of the old town across the adjacent bridge.

With the weather now appearing to have settled to a short dry spell we got the screens in place, hopefully to dry out a bit, and enjoyed a cuppa in the last of the days sunshine. We're in no rush so thought a couple of nights would be nice and hopefully might get a bit of sun although, once again, the forecast is not good. Looking at our "timetable", which maybe includes getting a rabies booster jab for Jamie in Spain then the usual worming 24 hour treatment closer to the Eurotunnel, we can afford to take our time. Thankfully this trip is proving to far more relaxing than last year!

Monday 10 March - Silves to Alcacovas

We've spent a reasonably quiet week on the Camperpark and been well satisfied. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been very cooperative and we've spent most of the week dodging rain showers, some particularly heavy. But the whole of south western Iberia has suffered the same, some areas worse than others, so we just have to put up with it. Nothing we can do about it so just relax and enjoy our own company and entertainment. It's not been cold though. There has been quite a turnover throughout the week, many only stopping one or two nights although there is one fairly obnoxious German in a converted lorry who thinks he owns the place and seems to have been here for some time. Interestingly, his front registration plate has been covered up, and we wonder if that's to stop the Portuguese police noting that he has probably been in the country too long..........

Halfway through the week whilst doing the domestics the waste pipe on the bathroom basin came adrift, depositing a bowl full of water all over the bathroom cabinet and floor. However to get it back on involved a degree of disassembling, including removing the sink itself (fortunately not the tap!) when we discovered that the cheap plastic mounting plate had broken away plus one of the holding screws was missing. Always up for a challenge we glued the mounting plate back into position and reinforced it with some small bolts, which eventually had to be replaced with screws, but ended up with a solid fix, the missing holding wingnut replaced with one from "elsewhere" - much better than the original mount. Oh yes, we did remember the waste pipe and a small screw hopefully ensured it would not come apart again. Typical example of a 5 min job taking 2 hours, but we had nothing better to do and you do have to expect maintenance issues on a 17 year old van.

On Thursday the forecast seemed to be more settled so after an earlyish lunch we took Jamie for a walk into the town, calling at the T.I. for a map (50 cents) and also getting some cash. Worth noting that all the ATMs were non bank aligned and made a small charge for withdrawals no matter whose card you use. Silves, like many towns, is built up around a cathedral and an odd-shaped "castle" on a hill which was a fairly steep climb to the top. Outside the walls, now mostly gone or at least hidden, lots of narrow winding streets with plenty of cafes and bars, whilst inside it was mostly all the old cottage type dwellings, generally very well preserved. Odd, then, that there was a junior school right at the top although a car park suggested there was a back road up for the cathedral and castle. A gentle stroll back to the van, calling at the supermarket for some bits then enjoyed an ice cream sitting in the warm sunshine. Late on we took the precaution of packing away the chairs as the weather forecast - which seems to be dominating our trip this year - was for longer spells of heavy rain.

The rest of our stay was spent mostly indoors with the occasional foray with Jamie in between the rain, keeping the van domestics serviced and a brief trip to the supermarket to top up prior to our departure. Bren discovered that there was an actual recognised tourist trail along the route we had thought to take north through Portugal, the Nacionale 2, which follows the N2 from Faro in the Algarve to Chaves on the northern border with Spain, bypassing the major towns and cities which we've visited before. You can even get a "passport" which many of the several hundred places of interest, shops etc, along the route will stamp showing your progress. It's around 760km long, good for 3/4 days gentle travelling so we confirmed that as our intention.

We can recommend Algarve Camperstop Silves (it has a couple of sister sites) as having good facilities, friendly staff and reasonably priced - cost us €11.50 pn including electric. Showers extra and curiously toilets at €1 a go! However to get a place you really need to be arriving well before lunch as you cannot book - that said last thing at night we did spot the odd unoccupied pitch and on two occasions larger units (with trailers) were parked on an unused area. You may just get lucky! 

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So, onward! As expected, more rain but with the occasional bright spell which allowed us to finish the domestics and packing away. Our insulating screens, though still very effective, were absolutely soaking wet, difficult to pack and then had to be stored in the shower so they could hopefully dry out a little. Away by 10.35 and rather than return to Faro we set TomTom to intercept the N2 at Castro Verde where we found the Nacionale 2 well signposted. Unfortunately, although the scenery was very nice the weather still decided to be fickle and we spent quite a lot of time with the wipers and headlights on, but at least the roads were quiet, if not always the best surface in the world! We paused at Barragem de Roxo, which was a suggested stopover, as many of the barragems of Portugal are, with a view to overnighting. But we'd not been on the road all that long so just had lunch and pushed on. Just a note to beware if using the Nacionale 2, especially with a larger unit. It occasionally diverts off the N2 to go through a small town or village "of interest" although we don't know what qualifies it as such. In one place we ended up driving along back streets, still following the signs, but then came to a closed road which involved some careful manoeuvring then creeping around the one way system until we found our way back onto the N2.

With the weather still unsettled Bren started surveying some choices to park up overnight and hit upon the small town of Alcacovas which boasted a carpark with motorhome service point, next to the ambulance station and a sports centre, which was a bit tricky to find. We joined a couple of other vans and settled in, only for the weather to once again spoil our day. But it was a quiet enough place and we were joined later by a couple of other vans, although most of the carpark was on a steepish slope and one gave up trying to get level and subsequently disappeared.

Monday 3 March - Armecao to Silves

The weekend did turn out to have mixed weather, both Saturday and Sunday starting off dry and sunny but deteriorating after lunch. Overnight some of the showers were quite heavy and the morning revealed that the sandy surface we were on turned quite muddy, despite having the Morocco mat deployed. Not particularly cold and we did get several opportunities to enjoy the sunshine. Walkies revealed the site as quite extensive with a large proportion of "semi-permanent" caravans which were in fact quite well used we noticed on Friday and Saturday nights. But much to our surprise there were also a few locations that were almost deserted although that may have been something to do with their proximity to the quite busy road. The bar, restaurant and swimming pools didn't appear to be busy though.

However we had decided on only three days here so Sunday afternoon saw us packing up what we didn't need to avoid the forecast heavy rain then on Monday up earlyish to do the rest between showers. Van serviced and bill paid we were away by 10.55 with no real idea of where we were going, just a thought that we needed some shopping. Terry had been perusing various locations further along the coast on the basis of wherever the best weather forecast was and chanced upon Silves. We had stayed at this attractive town early on in our motorhome travels but ever since had failed to find anywhere to stop, it being very popular. However it was still early in the day so we decided to take a chance and go direct to the Algarve Motorhome Parking site, just on the western edge of the town, only about 15km away according to TomTom.

Passing through the town we did notice the m/h stopover near the swimming pool closer to the centre was full to overflowing, many vans being parked up in the area outside the actual site, so did have some concerns, however the Algarve website did say they had 5 spaces and the barrier was up when we arrived. Luckily they still had two pitches left, one with and one without electric so we plumped for the electric one. Another van pulled in behind us and took the other and the barrier came down.........!

This is a commercial dedicated motorhome parking area with all facilities, though a couple, which we didn't need, were an extra small cost. Pitches of a good size on hardstanding laid out so that everybody got plenty of sunshine with just a few trees providing limited shade, not needed for now though. Very helpful receptionist who showed us everything we needed and unlocked the electricity for us, we got a good "vibe" right from the outset and therefore booked 7 nights. As we were staying longer we used the ramps to level the van - we don't always do this as long as it's only a bit off - then got the chairs out and enjoyed a coffee.

After a late lunch we wandered along the road about 250m to the big Continente supermarket to restock the larder before returning to settle down for some more relaxation in the sunshine. After all, this is what we came here for! We have no plans although will probably take a walk into the town when we're sure the weather has settled, however the mid-term forecast isn't particularly good.

As before we won't be doing daily updates so, see you next time!