Rasbro's Ramblings No 3

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Hardly able to believe it has already been nearly 4 weeks since we departed from England. After a quiet first night stop on the aire at Fort Mahon plage where we were joined by one other camper, the next day we continued along the very civilized French roads negotiating some heavy traffic along the N10 past Chartre but quickly getting into the swing of driving on the Right. Spent our second night at an aire in Montoire sur le Loir next to the train museum which didn’t seem all that promising but turned out okay.

The next day we visited the Abbaye de Fontevraud where Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart are buried. Our next stop was down the road in Avione where we stayed on a neat aire which cost 4 euro to get through the bollard and was laid out around a circle with 12 places. It was foggy again on Saturday but cleared by the time we got to Angles sur Angline where Broderie Anglaise originates. We took a walk around the old village with nice views over the river and then headed on down the road. Our next aire was in Nersac which was a bit tight with several other campers already in but quite a nice spot behind the gendarmes and the cemetary.



Monday was another nice day and we bought our first antique items in a village called Blors – a gorgeous hat block and some French xmas postcards. Next we visited Aubuterre sur Dronne which is a lovely hillside village overlooking the river. Had menu du jour in a bodega served by a very friendly lady for only 12 euro each including wine and coffee. Took a trip down memory lane driving through the St Emilion wine region, walked around St Emilion village then continued on to Sauternes where we stayed in the village aire behind the church which had very loud bells but they stopped at 11pm and started again at 7am.

In the morning we headed off towards the Pyrenees. First stop Mont de Marsanne and free internet outside Maccas plus a little shopping at Le Clerc for a couple of lighter weight quilts. Into the hills to check out the aire at Savauterre de Bearn but it seemed a bit too busy next to the tennis courts so we motored on to St Jean Pied a Porte which is a major stop on the Camino de Santiago and has a lovely old town and citadel. Paid 5.50 euro to stay in the aire next to the playing fields and school hall and it was a bit noisy early on but overnight stayed very quiet. However we were entertained watching the local lads practice rugby and on our walk along the river we spotted a Kingfisher and a Dipper!

Wednesday saw us camped on the Col d'Ibarin on the French/Spanish border where French people come to get cheap booze, fuel etc. Did our first mountain walk of 8km along a section of the GR10 with fabulous views of the coast and up to La Rhune which is where we did our very first mountain walk on our first sabbatical in 2003!

Thursday saw us have an easy cruise past Pamplona to Burgos where we stayed on our first formal campsite for the trip. Walked into Burgos late afternoon which is a nice old town but really frigid so after goggling our way around the cathedral we headed for home via El Corte Inglese department store where we bought BR a hat and KB a skivvy to keep us warmer.

The past couple of weeks have seen us traverse the full length of Spain and a bit of Portugal. Following a rough day (high winds and horizontal rain) on the road from Burgos to Salamanca we had a lovely sunny day to spend in Salamanca. It is charismatic town with beautiful architecture, nice shops and good food. We had our first Spanish “menu del dia” for 12 euro each including a bottle of wine and coffee. A highlight was the Art Neuvo and Art Deco museum which had the most fabulous collection of Lalique glass and bronze/ivory figurines.

Sunday we headed for the Parc Natural Monfrague where we free camped at a lookout and had our coldest night yet at -3C, but we still stayed cosy inside Hamish. Got up in the dark to drive up to a higher point to see the sunrise and it was worth it. Later we did a great 8km walk to the Cerro Gimo lookout then lunched near the dam watching 100s of Griffon Vultures circling on the thermals – quite a sight. Got to Caceres late in the day to park on the busy little aire. Walked up into the old town and discovered a lovely xmas nativity exhibition in a free museum. There must have been about 100 different models in all types of material representing xmas from all over the world.

Tuesday we headed further south through Merida where we had a look at the old roman bridge then on into Portugal via Zafra. The landscape is covered in olive and cork trees. Spent Tuesday night on a lovely aire in Luz just over the border near Mouroa and spotted our first Crested Larks and Black Redstarts.

Wednesday morning we stopped and walked in Mouroa (free wifi in the town square) then on to Evora where we strolled the sunny streets, ate hot chestnuts and bought our xmas presents to each other. Wednesday night was spent in a campsite next to the Odivelas Barragem with a few other Brits and Dutch.

Thursday was very foggy and we had to stop for a while due to lack of visibility (we were wary of the type of drivers there are in Portugal). Our next aire was a privately run place on top of a small hill run by an English lady. It was a nice spot except for her house generator running most of the day and night!

Friday 23 December saw us heading to Pena de Rocha just above the Algarve where we eventually stumbled our way around a 6km walk with nice views. It was by accident we did the actual walk we set out to do as the ground signage did not seem to relate to the map we had. BR even had a sticky moment when he had to back up and out of a very narrow, steep village road. Next we went looking for a camper dealer which turned out to be non existent then we found a big centro commercial where we stocked up for xmas. Our next stop was Camping Olhau to meet up with our English friends for the next few days of celebrations.

Xmas eve saw us all walking into Olhau to the wonderful Saturday market. We each had our designated shopping for xmas day food so off we went. Our biggest challenge was to identify and buy a good cut of steak to cook tomorrow! BR went to the bar to use the internet and had a fall down some steps seriously hurting his knee and seriously smashing the laptop screen! We also noticed the repairs to Hamish are not holding up too well so we will have to take it back to the guys when we get back in spring.

Sunday 25 December was a lovely day. It started with a morning walk followed by bacon and egg for brekky. Lunch started about 12.30pm and lasted until well into the evening. The menu consisted of huge prawns for starter, steaks for mains and xmas cake and custard for pudding. A bit later we had more nibbles and cheeses. The food was interspersed with games of boules, coits and later Farkel. All in all a very pleasant day only spoiled by BR’s sore knee.

Boxing day was fairly subdued around the campsite. BR kept his leg up most of the day. Some of us went into the Rio Formosa park for 3 lovely hours of birding amongst the forest and marshes. Visited the amazing water mill just as the tide started to rush in through its sluices!

Tuesday morning we decided to go to Faro hospital to get BR’s knee checked out. I dropped him off then went looking for a computer repair place where I discovered the new screen for the laptop would cost 255 euro and take at least a week to arrive, so we scuppered that idea for now. BR got seen to in 3 hours (cost only 9 euro) and they said just to rest the knee for a week as there seemed to be no serious additional damage. However, his skiing days may be over.

Wednesday was another lovely day so we spent most of the morning down on the foreshore where BR could sit and read as well as look out over the estuary whilst I went birding and walking. Spotted my first Sardinian Warbler, a very pretty bird. I also did a bit of shopping in the local grocery store then took BR to a cafe where we had a lovely seafood and potato stew and pork steaks (BR only) for lunch. Couldn’t eat it all! Finished the day at Castro Marim where I did more birding and walked up to the old castle. The aire is alongside the road into town so not expecting a quiet night.

And it wasn’t! The traffic slowed down but not enough to be classed as quiet. We headed for the nature reserve just out of town but couldn’t get to the bird hide and only spotted a few Flamingos from the info centre. So we left Portugal to cross the Rio Guadiano back into Spain stopping to do a little shopping on our way around Huelva. Followed the coast road as far as we could then turned inland to El Rocio. This place is a real wild west kind of town with horses up and down the dusty streets, tied up to railings and generally being exercised. Couldn’t find the info place so went to the camp ground where the helpful girl checked us in and booked us a tour into the Park Donana for tomorrow. I walked back into town later and it was even more surreal as darkness stole in!

Friday morning saw us up before dawn to go on our tour. The young man picked us up first then 2 other couples and we jolted our way around the national park for the next 4 hours. Turned out to be really good. Spotted the majestic Spanish Imperial Eage, the Short Toed Eagle, Red Kites, Kestrels, big herds of red and roe deer, a large wild boar, a Black Crane and numerous Flamingo. We also got friendly with a French couple who invited us to stay in Bordeaux next time we are around. Came home to cook chicken on the barbie and have a lovely, lazy afternoon. The town was turning into a zoo by sunset with many people pouring in to party for new year.

Yep, it was a big party night with music and fireworks going all through. I fortunately was saved by my noise cancelling headphones which allowed me to sleep pretty well all things considered. So, here we are today, the last day of the year. We drove around Seville trying to find a GPL place which we eventually did, then we had to fill up with fuel and supplies so that has taken up most of the day. We are now parked next to the Rio Guadalqivir amongst a lot of old fishing boats and hoping there will be no new years eve revellers joining us.

Happy New Year and a Great 2012!

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