Spain and Portugal, December 2017 / January 2018 - Portugal 1: Christmas 2017

From Santiago de Compostela we drove South and after crossing the border into Portugal drove south along the coast road.

Our first lunch stop in Portugal.

Our first stop in Portugal was at Vila Cha campsite. We stayed for 3 nights as it was only 11 euros a night. We spent one day in Porto and then had a quiet day at the campsite.

A lovely afternoon so we were able to braai.

It was a short walk to the beach.

We decided not to drive into Porto but instead got a taxi to the station and then took the train.

The old iron bridge over the River Douro.

Looking downstream from below the bridge.

Glad for a rest after lots of uphill steps from the riverside.

Porto City Hall.

As the weather was still fine and sunny rather than drive directly south we decided to detour via the Douro valley. The road must be a nightmare in the summer as it twists and turns alongside the river for many kilometres but in December there was very little traffic.

We passed several villages alongside the river.

After crossing the river near its confluence with the Tamega River we stopped at a car park by the river in Escamareo.

Escamerao car park

Bitetos, across the river.

There was a very cold wind blowing along the river so after lunch we headed west back towards the coast to find somewhere to park up for a couple of nights over Christmas. We drove to Torreira, a small town on a peninsula between the huge Aveiro lagoon and the sea. We had a look at the campsite in the town but decided we'd prefer somewhere with a view and ended up at a car park at the harbour where we stayed for 3 of nights. During the day a few cars parked up, mostly local fishermen, but overnight we were on our own - fantastic!

Colourful fishing boats in the harbour.

Sunrise.

Just to the north of the car park were a few shop and a cafe which was open every day.

At low tide the lagoon level dropped and sandbars and mudflats appeared. We saw thousands of seabirds, in particular gulls and cormorants. We saw several feeding frenzies in the harbour where you could see the gulls diving into shoals of small fish.

On boxing day we drove south to Coimbra which was, once, the capital of Portugal. The weather gradually changed and by the time we'd arrived and had lunch it was overcast and looking like rain but we did walk into the town. Just as we got there it did start to rain so we had a coffee and waited for it to clear - there were a couple of cafes open. We tried to find our way up to the buildings at the top of the hill that we'd seen as we walked into the town but got lost amongst the maze of narrow back streets and ended up in an area with lots of graffiti. Back down near the shops we did see signs to the cathedral and other buildings but couldn't be bothered to walk all th way up the hill again!

Coimbra from the pedestrian bridge we crossed to walk into the town.

A maze of narrow streets and alleyways.

The next morning it was raining so we headed south again and ended up at the Motorhome Parking in Foz de Arelho which was next to the Obidos lagoon. It was only 6 euros a night for parking with electric and we managed to get a site right next to the lagoon so as the weather was cloudy and quite cold we stayed for 3 nights.

We often saw fishermen and kite surfers on the lagoon.

One day we walked to the shops and passed the town's Christmas display of village life. There were over a dozen different scenes.

Nativity scene with shepherds.

Washerwomen scene.

On Friday January 29th we intended to drive further south but when Kevin started the van an engine warning light came on. He tried driving a short distance but there was no power so we went back to the Motorhome Park and phoned Nationwide (out travel and breakdown insurance). Within an hour a big truck arrived, however he couldn't do anything so we ended up following him, slowly, to the nearest Peugeot dealership which was a bout 5km away in Caldas da Rainha. We arrived just before they closed for lunch so sat and had our lunch in the van until they opened in the afternoon. After an hour and a half of diagnostics testing we were told that they needed to order parts but as it was the New Year weekend they were closed until Tuesday. We had no option but to leave the van there, hire a car and find a hotel.

The garage staff were very helpful with organizing car hire and a local hotel. We were only able to book 2 nights at the hotel in Caldas da Rainha as they were fully booked for New Years' Eve.

The bag man! We packed up what we thought we needed for 4 days and one of the garage guys drove us to the car hire place.

On Saturday we drove to Sao Martinho do Porto on the coast. We had a nice long walk beside the lagoon and back through the town but couldn't find a decent restaurant for some lunch.

North West Spain

Portugal 1 - Christmas 2017

Portugal 2 - 2018

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Throughout Portugal we saw tiled town and street signs.