Rasbro's Ramblings March 2015

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March was a mongrel of a month. If you have ever spent time in this lovely country you would know what I mean. They never stop, day and night; howling, growling, yelping, barking and whimpering (not our fellow motorhomers). Portugal is a great place to spend time but eventually the dogs get to you and you know its time to move on.

However we have spent the best part of a month working our way north along roads less travelled and overall this country has a lot to offer the motorhome tourist. They have certainly developed quite a lot more motorhome service points and parking places since our last visit which is just as well as the sheer number of motorhomes, especially on the Algarve is overwhelming. We spent 3 nights on a lovely site near Albufeira which had space for about 60 vans and each morning we had the breakfast shuffle as some left, some moved and some came in. There was never an empty space. This was a pattern to be repeated on numerous other sites along the way but things changed a bit as we moved inland where we have been able to find some breathing space and a few isolated wild camps.

There are some glorious sights to be seen in Portugal at this time of year, not least being the fabulous display of Golden Wattle (Acacia Mimosa) we have witnessed with great forests of them cloaking the sides of deep gorges and along river beds. Combined with the massive Eucalyptus forests there were times when one could be forgiven for thinking we had been transported back to Oz.

Storks have been another highlight. Hundreds of pairs of them nesting on any high structure they can find. In one valley we saw a nest on top of every power pole alongside the road as far as the eye could see. On the high voltage towers there were often 3 nests which I suppose is one way to incubate the eggs a bit quicker.

We have visited a few interesting towns including Coimbra with its ancient university buildings and richly decorated library. They have a colony of bats living in the ceiling which keep the books insect free and at night they put leather covers over everything to stop bat poo causing damage. The night before we spent in the car park of the Conimbriga Roman ruins where there are fabulous mosaic floors to be seen. We also spent an enjoyable half day in Tomar which has the original HQ of the Knights Templar, a fabulously atmospheric castle and sanctuary well worth a couple of hours followed by a visit to the Matchbox museum which is a wondrous collection from all over the world and is free! We had a giggle later that day when we remembered we visited Tomar back in 2003 and had just as good a time then!

Portugal is another great producer of red wine and a great drive can be had following the wine route of the Douro river. The road sometimes runs alongside the river and at other times it is like a balcony high above with views of the incredibly steeply terraced vineyards. We managed to stop and sample some delicious vintage port and excellent red wines at Quinta de Tedo where one yummy red was what they call a “vineyard blend” of 26 different grapes!



We spent a few days ambling around the Penede-Geres NP which is a particularly scenic part of Portugal then it was back into Spain. The far west coast of Spain is very rugged and not heavily developed so the seaside towns are just that with little high rise and a very lived in look. The Costa da Morte is full of craggy headlands, rocky islets and fishing boats. We enjoyed some lovely fresh fish bought from the local markets and Brian has mastered the art of steaming whole fish in the pressure cooker with the vegetables on top – one pot cooking at its best. The last couple of days of March saw us hiking in the Montes de Leon in beautiful spring conditions with a little snow still cloaking the peaks and fast flowing streams everywhere and birds getting busy, noisy and colourful.

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