A day of lakes

Wednesday 18 April 2018 - Day 45

Today dawned very foggy and cool at Fisterra, not unusual I should imagine for this part of the world.  I woke early this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep, so got up at 0430 and made a brew.  We had an early breakfast and hit the road, driving out carefully with reduced visibility.  As we started to move inland we climbed out of the fog and into bright sunshine, the valleys below us remaining enveloped.  It was a pleasant drive through some lovely countryside and villages.  They make full use of hedgerows and dry-stone walls here and, with the stone cottages and sheep and cattle in the fields, it was easy to imagine we were in the Yorkshire Dales or the Peak District.

Our destination was an aire in Fiera Do Monte, located in a wetlands conservation area with several lakes.  We were alone there and sat in the hot sunshine with a brew before following the well-marked trails, which took us along a flowing river and past lakes - including the main one, Lagoa de Cospeito - and muddy swamps reminiscent of the southern states of the USA.  There were several high wooden hides and we climbed these to watch the birdlife.  Although otters, wild boar and deer can be found here, it was of course the middle of the day, so none were seen.  However, I did see a small grass snake, sunning itself on the path before sensing our presence and slipping away.  It was a very peaceful hour and we enjoyed being out in the countryside again.  Back at the van, we didn’t fancy staying the night as it was in quite an isolated spot and there was a bit of graffiti and vandalism.  So I plugged in another aire about an hour away, back by the coast.

We’re now parked up at an aire in Viladaide.  It stands on one side of a large estuary, with hills in the distance and the town of Foz on the opposite side (which also it’s own aire looking back at us across the estuary).  On arrival, we realised we'd parked in front of Graham and Lynne, who we met when staying at the campsite at Aios a few days ago! It’s quiet here, nothing much except a few houses and a boat slipway.  The water’s calm and it looks very much like the Lake District, albeit a tidal lake! There’s a small tidal, sandy beach which we walked along and sat in the sunshine until the tide forced us to move back.  The sunshine continued all day and we were able to sit outside at 8pm to eat dinner.  We walked down to the slipway and sat on the warm rocks with our feet dangling and watched the sunset.  A couple of curlews flew in an arc and landed on the rocks over to our left and we could hear more somewhere over the other side.  I’m sat now with the sliding door open, listening to the curlews calling and watching the sky gradually deepen in colour, the hills and lights across the estuary reflected in the still water.  It’s been a lovely day; I hope I sleep well tonight.  We’re thinking of our daughter and her husband (and their cat Ivel!), who fly off to Washington DC tomorrow to start a new chapter of their life, for at least the next three years (Chris will be working at the British Embassy).  We wish them well and know they’ll have an amazing time.

Lagoa de Cospeito

Viladaide aire

Reminds us of the Lake District 

End of the earth at the Coast of Death

Tuesday 17 April 2018 - Day 44

We’re parked up in an aire overlooking the fishing harbour and sea in Fisterre.  The owner is a very friendly chap, who gave us a useful pamphlet of the town and area, plus the wifi code.  It’s only €5 for the night; for another €3 we could hook up to electric, but we’re all juiced up after the last 3 nights.  The drive here was lovely.  The coastal road follows the deep inlets and estuaries and we enjoyed the journey, including climbing over and down some steep hills. The area is a bit of a mix of Cornwall, Scotland and Norway in terms of scenery, certainly an area we’d probably return to.  

The aire’s right in the small town of Fisterra with narrow streets, old fishermen’s cottages, hostels for the pilgrims to stay in and lots of fish restaurants.  After a brew we walked into town and followed the Camino signposts, walking the last 3km to the Faro de Fisterra. The headland with its lighthouse (plus grockle shops, bar and hotel) marks the end of the Camino trail - we felt a bit of a fraud walking the last little bit, but massive respect to those who have walked the whole Pilgrim’s Way.  

Fisterra is known as the end of the ‘Coast of Death’ (due to all the shipwrecks along this coast), it’s naming coming from the Latin - finis terrae - meaning end of the land.  Many pilgrims finish their walk at Santiago de Compostela, but some decide to continue walking to Fisterra, to reach the end of the land and the start of the sea.  It adds another 84.5km to their journey and is signposted with granite stones with the yellow scallop symbol.  In the past, those pilgrims who reached Fisterra burned their clothes in a symbolic and traditional act of purification and the starting of a new life.  The whole Camino is a tough walk and I have a great deal of respect for those that complete it.  They’re helped on the way by cheap places to stay (a bit like youth hostels) and many of the cafes and restaurants provide a reduced-price ‘menu del dia’ for the Pilgrims.

We spent a little time looking out to sea from the headland, before reversing our route and returning to the aire, stopping off for some groceries at the Coviran supermercado.  Dinner tonight was a hotchpotch of ribeye steak, fried mushrooms and….baked beans!   It’s just what we fancied and it went down well, preceded by a couple of empanadas (the local small pasties) and a brew, then followed by a small cake and another brew - not exactly healthy but we enjoyed it.  

Even the smallest space is put to good use - I want one of those stone BBQs

It must be relief to reach this final marker

The end of the earth

The wild Atlantic - love it!

Sunday 15 April 2018 - Day 42

We’re still at the campsite in the village of Aios.  We slept well and it was good not to have to pack up and leave after one night.  I think some of my tiredness has come from researching and planning the next stop each night, then getting the van ready to go, followed by a drive to the next place.  Now we’ve find a lovely place to stop, we’re enjoying the relaxation, especially given our lovely view out to sea.  The bread man came in his small white van this morning with a large variety of freshly baked bread.  It’s rained on and off today, but we managed to get out for a beach walk in the afternoon, just getting back as the rain started again, but at least the wind has reduced.  From the van we’ve also watched dolphins swimming by and playing in the breaking waves.  We’ve made the most of being on electric hook-up to get everything charged up and used the Remoska for cooking dinner.  I’ve completed the monthly accounts and topped up the CaxtonFX card, which I mainly use for withdrawing cash; a Halifax Clarity card is used for the rest as they use the more beneficial international banking exchange rate of the day.  Tonight we may watch a movie or part of a series (stored on a Passport HDD) on the MacBook.  Or we may just stare out and watch the waves crash on the sure just 30 metres away.

Monday 16 April 2018 - Day 43

It’s been a much brighter and sunnier day, but the Atlantic wind’s been relentless.  I’ve been at sea in the south Atlantic - clear blue skies and blinding sunshine give the impression of good weather, yet the sea has been wild and stormy, throwing us about as we drop and twist through the deep swell, the wind whipping the top off the waves.  It’s like that today.  So it’s not a day to sit outside the van, but from the relative peace and quiet inside the view is spectacular.  The day started cloudy with some rain but it soon cleared away.  The bread man was an hour late today, but no matter, we still enjoyed our breakfast.  The two vans either side of us (both British) left today, so we wished them bon voyage and now there’s just us here.  Today I was on a mission. I need to replenish victuals, most importantly teabags!  So with rucksack on back, I cycled out of the site, climbing steeply, puffing hard and wishing I hadn’t eaten so much of that delicious bread!  Cathy was going to square away the van and then spend some time down on the beach, cleaning it of some of the micro-plastics washing up with each wave - every little helps.  I followed the coastal road out, up and down the hills, eventually reaching Sanxenxo.  Originally a small fishing harbour, the fish market still exists but it’s now a thriving tourist town with its own sandy beach and bay.  Although surrounding areas haven’t yet surfaced for the new season, Sanxexno was bustling, with many of the shops, cafes and restaurants open.  I managed to end up cycling along the seafront the wrong way down a one-way road, but nobody seemed to mind.  Cutting up through the town along steep roads, I eventually found a Lidl, where I spent an enjoyable half an hour or so filling a basket - it doesn’t take much to please me these days. With just a rucksack I only bought the essentials.  Back on the road, I tackled the hills and strong headwind to return to the site and pack away the purchases.  Shortly later Cathy returned from the beach with a bag of rubbish, although battered and beaten by the wind, which was now strengthening into the afternoon.  The rest of the day was spent doing some hand washing, which blew and dried well on the line, and sat inside reading.  The cab seats were best - in full sun - so warm, but out of the wind.  Dinner was some chicken wings I bought in Lidl, spiced up and roasted in ‘Oska’, with vegetable and egg fried rice.  I washed up outside, with the campsite dog for company (sorry, no tidbits!), as Cathy wan’t feeling well so went to lie down.  Some of our washing was dry (even the campsite owner was saying it’s ‘too windy’) and the rest came in later, aired on the van dashboard in the sun.  A brew, a bit of TV series watching on the MacBook & HDD and an early night I think.  Tomorrow, we’re moving on….I suspect we’ll have some more wild weather before we turn the corner and starting heading east along the northern Spanish coastline.

The Bread Man cometh

Mission Accomplished!

Proper dhobying!

Are you coming out to play?

Delicious

It's raining again!

Saturday 14 April 2018 - Day 41

We’re at a lovely little family-run campsite in the village of Aios.  It’s set on 3 grass terraces, all overlooking the sea and islands.  This part of Spain is very much like Cornwall, craggy cliffs, sandy coves, deep inlets and estuaries and the wind….always the wind!  It’s a really peaceful stop though and, at €10 per night including electricity, we plan to stay here for a few days; it’ll nice to put down roots for a while, chill out and get some walking and bike riding done….if the weather lets us.  Speaking to the locals, they tell us it’s been the worst weather for March and April in 20 years - we can well believe it!  After a sunny but windy day, it’s now raining heavily and is due to continue through the night until about midday tomorrow.

We woke quite late for us - about 0900.  It could be due to moving the clocks forward to Spanish time again, or it could have been the wine we drank last night!  It was a beautiful, still morning; the tide was out and there was a light mist over the estuary and hills.  A few of the local fishermen were out in small rowing boats, followed by an expectant flock of seagulls. We made a brew and sat on one of the benches by the water, soaking up the view.  By the time we’d breakfasted and secured the van, we were the only ones left.  I’d walked into town earlier to get some cash and we drove off to our next stop here in Aios.

There’s a lovely family who run the site and live in their house right next to the beach.  Their little dog came to say hello, then regularly checked up on us during the day, rewarded with a scratch behind his ears!  We threw some bedding into the washing machine and once it was done, Cathy took great delight in hanging it out on their line to dry in the sea breeze. A couple of the Camino trails run past the site, following the coastal path north towards Santiago de Compostela.  On our coastal walk this afternoon we followed part of one the well-marked Camino trails linking the fishing village of Sanxenxo with Portonovo - the Sendeiros litorais de Sanxenxo.  Another trail was signposted following a similar route, although I couldn’t tell which Camino it was from the sign.  Our walk took us along the rocky coast to the village of Barbeito, where the trail crossed a sandy cove, up to the village of Paxarinas.  I’d taken a rucksack in the hope of finding a little local store, but both villages clearly only come alive in the season. Both had lots of closed hotels, empty holiday apartments and caravan sites, but no shop.  We can make do for a couple of days - although teabag stocks are getting critically low! - so I’ll go hunting again on Monday when I go out for a bike ride (tomorrow is a right off due to the forecast heavy rain).  

It was lovely to get out for a walk for a couple of hours after days stuck in the van. Back at the site, the washing was dry and after a brew I cooked some seafood tagliatelle. We bought the dried pasta in a vegetarian shop that also baked bread and vegan cakes, when we enjoyed our vegan lunch (we’re not vegans but we enjoy the food).  The seafood was tinned clams and baby squid; the Spanish and Portuguese have a great selection of tinned seafood; their large tins of tuna are delicious.  We’ll certainly be taking a few of them home, along with plenty of good Spanish olive oil.   On the way back from our walk we could see the dark clouds forming out at sea and not long after we returned the rain started.  It’s still going and it’s really chilly, so we’re staying in the warm van with a hot cup of tea.  Tomorrow’s forecast is similar so it’ll probably be in ‘in day’ again! It’s time for me to do the monthly accounts and reconcile statements, so that’ll keep me quiet for a while.  But the weather’s supposed to be improving for Monday and Tuesday, so we plan to stay here four nights to take advantage and explore the area a bit more on foot and bike.

Lovely view - enjoying our morning briew

The campsite dog likes a bit of attention!

The family are converting this bus into a motorhome

In Galicia

Friday 13 April 2018 - Day 40

We’re back in Spain and very happy!  We’re parked up in an aire in Arcade in Galicia.  We have a great view of a fjord-like bay, with gin-clear water and plenty of large grey mullet swimming around.  The hills are green, the blackbirds are singing, we have an extra hour of evening sunlight and we like it!  Portugal was oppressive.  Since arriving in Spain and parked up, we’ve watched children out playing football and laughing. It made us realise that we didn’t see a single child out playing in Portugal.  Also, they have roads in Spain! Real roads with no bomb craters, loosening your fillings and wrecking your van.  Again, I’ll say this is our observation, and others will love Portugal, but its not for us. 

We had planned to stay overnight in Portugal at Esposende; it sounded good on paper.   However, on arrival it was a large car park, in front of a busy bus station, with HGVs coming and going.  It was about 1km from the coast - typically for Portugal, stuck in the middle of nowhere.  But it was an ideal place to stop and take a long, hot shower, as we could empty the grey water and top up with fresh.  It was warm and sunny, so we made the most of the stop. Feeling refreshed, we drove on, but not before I’d moved us one hour ahead to Spanish time.  Once over the border, we enjoyed the smooth roads and made our way to our current stop.

We’re now parked up between two Dutch vans. It’s a typical Spanish town (ie laid-back) and we’re between the working port and the marina. As I mentioned above, the view is like overlooking a Scottish loch or a Norwegian fjord - we like it.  We had a wander and a chat with our Dutch neighbours before I cooked a pork curry with rice. I think we’ll sleep tonight and we’re looking forward to exploring Galicia. 

We also survived Friday the 13th!

Shower and tea stop in Esposende

Tucked in amongst the big boys....back in Spain!

Me and my mate had a boat like this - a Cornish Clinker called Fuga. It sank under us when we were fishing!

Hearts of Oak have our Ships...

Sunday 1 April 2018 - Day 28

Nido’s parked up in an aire at Sanlucar de Barrameda. It feels more like a rustic campsite, with grass pitches, toilets, showers and washing machines.  And we have electric hook up and WIFI, plus unlimited fresh water and somewhere to empty the loo!  For those of you sat at home who’ve not spent time in a campervan, you might think I’m a being a bit giddy.  Well I am, although the gin might be helping!  We’ve been relying on our leisure battery, solar power for a couple of weeks.  When we’re wild camping, fresh water and power is a precious commodity, not to be taken for granted or wasted.  Lights and pumps are only switched on for as long as needed.  For the loo, we have a spray bottle with a mix of flush fluid and water to save precious fresh water (isn’t it weird that we waste perfectly good drinking water to flush our loos at home). Grey water (washing up and showers) is used to rinse out the loo cassette (or even my coffee pot!).  So we’re a bit giggly about being able to flush the loo and leave lights on for more than a few minutes. It’s a nice little aire and the manager - Alfonso - is charming and helpful.  It’s down a dead end road to the sea, although the beach is a bit industrial, with the brown wash associated with a large estuary.  It’s relatively quiet, although we did have several dogs barking and even a peacock calling. 

This aire wasn’t our first choice.  On the way out we stopped off at Conil de la Frontera (by a noisy road and a smelly river) and Sancti Pentril La Barrosa (nothing much but sand and mud) and then moved on towards an aire at El Puerto De Santa Maria. I’d booked us into a campsite for 3 nights in this town, with the intention of taking the ferry to explore the old town of Cadiz for some sherry and tapas, plus some beach time and cycling.  The campsite was close to the beach but driving through the metropolis left us cold (if you’ve followed us for a while you’ll know we’re severely allergic to any form of busy town or city).  So it was another change of plan (and an email to cancel the campsite booking) and a push on to our current spot.  We ended up here, with a loose plan to make a long run to Portugal tomorrow, although if we find somewhere to wild camp in the Huelva wetlands on the way past Seville, we will do.  On a similar note, we saw our first flamingoes today!  They were in the wetlands (rice paddy fields?) to the north of Cadiz.  Cathy loves flamingoes so it was unfortunate we were on the motorway with no opportunity to pull over and watch them.

Back to first thing today.  We slept well at last night’s lovely stopover. I was up at 0900 and wandered into the town for some bread; it really was like some of the lovelier coastal parts of France - back two or three streets from the main drag were small shops, bakeries and cafes, vying with the (closed) posh clothes and ’trinkets’ (ornaments) shops.  I bought some freshly baked (still very warm) bread and rolls  from a panaderia, then stopped off at a small shop for some eggs and olive oil.  Back at the van, we had what is known in the Royal Navy as a ‘Lazy Sunday Routine’ - no ‘Call the Hands’ (alarm clock) and brunch - in our case fried eggs and fresh rolls and a pot of tea (C) and coffee (me).  The gas was on for hot water and we enjoyed our showers, drying off the towels in the warm sea breeze.  Zahara de los Atunes is a lovely town and one we’ll revisit if we return to this part of Spain; the Costa de la Luz is definitely our favourite area so far, although we’re really looking forward to exploring north-west Spain.  

Moving on, our next stop was Los Canos de Meca.  This was once a hippie hideaway, straggling along a series of sandy coves beneath a pine-clad hill 12km west of Barbate (where I went to empty our loo but refused to pay €3 for the privilege!). It’s a very laid back place and another mecca for the kite surfing community - we parked amongst the ‘dudes’ with their wet-suits, dreads and beards, in their self-converted vans.  We feel much more comfortable around them.  But I wanted to come here for another reason….

…at the western edge of the village a side-road leads out to a lighthouse on a low spit of land with a famous name:  Cabo de Trafalgar.  Off here, Spanish naval power was decimated in a few hours on 21 October 1805 by a Royal Navy fleet under the command of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson.  He - and many hundreds of his shipmates - paid the ultimate price on that historic day.  As I walked along the beach, now full of kite surfers, I imagined the flotsam and jetsam being washed up onto these shores.  What did the locals do with the bodies of the battle-damaged or drowned sailors? Did they give them  a good Christian burial, or empty their pockets, strip them and push them back out to sea - life was hard then.  I soaked up the view and atmosphere as I walked along the beach towards the Cape.  Once at the point, overlooking this evocative area of the sea battle, I found myself heartily singing “Hearts of Oak”.  Standing to attention and a salute, I just stood and looked out to sea…so much history.  I’d sailed to the Battle of Trafalgar area before.  In 1981, on our way to Gibraltar in HMS BRILLIANT, Captain Coward ordered the ship to stop over the exact spot where the battle took place.  He led a ceremony of remembrance and a wreath was laid.  I’ve spoken to others who were onboard and they remember Captain Coward had a bottle of Port that was carried in one of the Ships of the Line that fought on that day and everyone had ‘sippers’.  I don’t remember the Port but have no reason to doubt my shipmates.  Walking back, we stopped off and enjoyed a delicious vegan lunch in a small ‘hippy’ enclave.  We also bought some organic cakes, some of which we enjoyed with a brew back at the van (and we still have some left over for tomorrow).

So today has been a personal high - visiting the area where the great Battle of Trafalgar took place.  Now, as we charge up ‘All the Things’ on our precious electric hook-up, we’re looking forward to moving into another country tomorrow (if we get that far), although putting our clocks back one hour (to match UK time) isn’t so great - we’ve become accustomed to late evening sunshine.

PS - today marks one month on the road. We’ve come a long way in 28 days and are looking forward to the next two months of this epic trip.  We’re loving our gap life!

Breakfast view

They don't like it up em Admiral Nelson!

Did they sit in these buildings and watch the Royal Navy create havoc!?

Absolutely delicious

Enjoying the light on the Costa De La Luz

Saturday 31 March 2018 - Day 27

There wasn’t much to write about yesterday as it rained mostly, so it was mainly an ‘in van’ day, spent tidying up.  We did manage a walk into town later, ducking under cover to avoid the heavy showers and buying some bread and another couple of delicious cakes!  The wind was up again in the night, the gusts shaking the van and this kept us awake into the early hours, when it suddenly dropped and allowed me to get some sleep (but not Cathy unfortunately).  

The day dawned still and sunny and we left Tarifa, heading west.  On the Campercontact app on my phone, I noticed a garage in town that had a motorhome service point, plus it appeared on the MyLPG app.  I filled up with LPG - 10 litres used in 12 days. The nozzle clearly didn’t connect well to the Spanish adaptor as when I when to unhook it after filling, there was a long streak of frozen gas down the side of the van.  With the loo emptied and tank brimming with fresh water, I thought I’d give the van a wash, as he’s looking decidedly grubby after almost a month on the road.  However, the hot soapy wash and cold rinse via the pressure hose (used at distance as they’re not good for campervan windows and fridge grilles) did little to remove the grime, so that was a couple of Euros wasted - lesson learned.

I’d dialled in the coordinates for an aire at Barbate up the coast, but on the way we noticed some lovely looking resorts along the way, so turned off to explore one of them - Zahara de los Atunes on the Costa de la Luz - which is were Nido’s parked up now, wild camping on the car park behind the dunes and beach.  Plonked in the middle of nothing except a broad 12km white sandy beach, this village is low-key and quiet at the moment, although it’s a fashionable resort with some great looking restaurants and beach bars that spring up in the summer, when the mainly Spanish holidaymakers arrive.  We had a good long walk on the beach, enjoying watching the wild Atlantic waves, great for the surfers out there but a bit too wild for swimming, although the water didn’t feel too cold.  After a lazy lunch we took our chairs and kindles back to the beach and spent the afternoon reading, walking and just chilling out.  This village reminds me a lot of some of the quieter, chic resorts in France, particularly along the Cotentin Peninsular in Normandy or the hamlets of Isle de Re.  Cathy cooked a delicious risotto, using some of the wild herbs we picked and the last of the scrumped lemons, the peel of which also made its way into her G&T - she’s enjoying the duty free litre of Tanqueray we bought in Gib!  It’s now 2030 and the sun is still shining over the dunes; I can see the outline of the wooden lifeguard tower silhouetted against the deepening sky.  This part of Spain certainly lives up to it name as the Coast of Light. It feels warm through the van windows, but the breeze is cool as I sit on the van step and brush the sand and shell fragments from my feet.  Between us and the dunes is a band of greenery, left alone due to the wooden boardwalks that take us to the beach. The skylarks must nest there as I can still hear them in the sky and it’s also full of insects, which the low-swooping swallows are enjoying.  It should be quiet tonight and, with just a gentle breeze now, I hope we’ll catch up on some sleep.

Dunes and wooden lifeguard tower

The Coast of Light 

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