Portugal Here We Come

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Crossing the border from Spain into Portugal is rather a non-event. Driving south you suddenly come across the EU symbol of yellow stars on a blue background with the name Portugal written across it. We gave a great whoop and then carried on as if nothing had happened. Really we were quite excited because we were driving into the unknown, and that proved to be just the case.
After leaving Santiago de Compostela everything seemed straight forward, just follow N550 south. The scenery was quite picturesque with small agricultural plots on whatever land was able to be cultivated, or coastal scenery. There was still a lot of hill driving. The coffee stop at a roadside cafe was a welcome break and even more welcome was the 1.20euro price for the coffee and complimentary slice.
This might be the last blog for sometime because we fear we are destined for the Portuguese justice system and prison. The Portuguese must have known we were coming because they have unexpectedly turned their secondary motorways into electronic toll roads. We stopped at a service centre and enquired as to the consequence of driving through the electronic barrier without paying. “That’s not a problem as long as you take the first exit 500 metres further on”. So away we went. We managed to find the yellow road and drove most of the way to Porto at about 50 kph negotiating interesting little towns, farm equipment, impatient drivers and innumerable traffic lights. As we closed on Porto it was time to plug in Miss GPS for guidance to our hotel. She was determined to get us on the motorway and we could not ignore her this time. At first all went well until, sure enough, we headed through the electronic toll barrier, not once but three times. At one point we checked it out again at a service centre. “Are you driving a Portuguese rental car?” “No, a French lease car registered in my name in New Zealand”. “That’s not a problem, just drive on.” So we drove on wondering which hotel we will be in when that unwanted knock on the door occurs and the men in blue march us off for unpaid toll charges. So enjoy this blog while you can.
We seem to have struck it lucky again. Our hotel is reasonably new in the Gaia area of Porto and great value (39.45euros a night with free internet and free parking). With signs of building everywhere, Gaia appears to be going through a period of redevelopment . We’re looking forward to using the local rail system for some exploration in the city tomorrow.

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