- Sep 7, 2017
- 1,169
- 4,457
- Funster No
- 50,394
It felt steep to walk up!I remember that hill with the cars parked being much steeper than it looks in your photo.
Great place for a stop over.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
It felt steep to walk up!I remember that hill with the cars parked being much steeper than it looks in your photo.
Great place for a stop over.
We stayed there late January or early February several years ago and it was bitterly cold so I left the heating on low overnight. I was certain that the gas bottle was full but it was empty in the morning! We had a quiet couple of hours heading south with only 1 bottle left. We did find a small garage with all the fittings who filled the empty for me so good relations were resumed!We docked in Santander to light misty rain. A word of warning customs were randomly selecting and pulling over motorhomes. They had two large green wheelie bins and were throwing food into them, I assume after a fridge and cupboard search. Fortunately we were not selected, although all we had were two apples! I've never seen this happening before.
We decided to stop at a small Lupo supermarket we have used before near Santilana del Mar and were pleasantly surprised but both quality and price. Also for my lactose intolerance, lots of different milks 'sin lactosa'. We bought a couple assuming it might be harder to get in Portugal. Then we headed south up through the hills onto the plateau where the rain had stopped but there was still a lot of cloud with the odd burst of sunshine. The aire in Palencia we had planned on stopping at was full and did not really look our thing, so we decided to press on to another one not far away in Ampudia.
View attachment 948571
We were so glad we headed here the free aire is very good, with free services too. It is next to a small bullring and behind some trees is the most amazing castle from the C15th, no more than 200 yards away. The town is fabulous too and very old, with walkways covered by the first floor of all the buildings. It is a lovely town and not at all touristy. A great find and well worth visiting.
We decided not to eat out as we are both tired, instead we will get some bread and coffee tomorrow so that we put some money back into the town. Plus we need diesel .
View attachment 948572View attachment 948573View attachment 948574
The clouds are rolling away leaving a starry night. I stepped out of the van to get a night picture of the castle.
View attachment 948575
Setting off towards Porto Monday morning, stop on the way at Castelo de Castelo RodrigoI bet you got off before us Are you heading into Portugal later or staying in Spain.
Thanks Berni, read your post on that, looking favorite at moIt's been mentioned on here a few times. The biograhical park ( or something like that) at aventsis is a really good place to stay if you can get in. We stayed then moved to a campsite. Would have been better to stay and get the bus.
Avintis biologico park - you never would have found it with my original guess
Subscribers do not see these advertisements
Sounds like the nightmare scenarioWe stayed there late January or early February several years ago and it was bitterly cold so I left the heating on low overnight. I was certain that the gas bottle was full but it was empty in the morning! We had a quiet couple of hours heading south with only 1 bottle left. We did find a small garage with all the fittings who filled the empty for me so good relations were resumed!
I think you you were in front of the boat, and we had a quick chat?Setting off towards Porto Monday morning, stop on the way at Castelo de Castelo Rodrigo
Hopefully there by Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. Not sure where to stay in/around Porto yet
Ps. We were amongst the last 5/6 mh's on, down with the bikers, last few off the boat.
Sounds interesting I have marked it on the list. ThanksIt's been mentioned on here a few times. The biograhical park ( or something like that) at aventsis is a really good place to stay if you can get in. We stayed then moved to a campsite. Would have been better to stay and get the bus.
Avintis biologico park - you never would have found it with my original guess
We are wandering again tomorrow morning. I wasn’t sure where to put our blog this time as we plan to visit Portugal, but we love Spain so much we will probably dip in and out of both countries. Anyway, if Jim thinks it is in the wrong place he can always move it. We have four weeks, so to save time travelling through France we are catching the ferry to Santander from Plymouth, arriving lunchtime Thursday. The ferry is expensive (and a bit dull) but gets us there. Andrew retires at the end of February (although it is his third attempt at retiring so take it with a pinch of salt ) so it’s probably the last time we use the ferry as we will have more time to travel through France.
What does everyone do about fresh water, do you have a full tank on the ferry? I am inclined to fill up so we can stop anywhere, but for some reason worry about it the weight moving around on the ‘high seas’. I'm not sure I am being logical though since it moves around on the road.
As usual there is in an outline plan of places we want to visit but experience tells us we will end up deviating from the plan pretty quickly. We will be chasing the sun and don't mind it hot, so a lot will be determined by the forecasts, fortunately they look quite good at the moment. We try to alternate between historic towns or cities, rural areas and the coast, but it is always variable. Andrew quite likes a spot of bird watching and is hoping to see a few species he can tick off on our annual list so we will head towards some places where birding is known to be good. We increasingly tend to avoid sites, except when we want some R&R around a pool. So it will be aires and camper stops, unless a place we particularly want to visit only has a campsite. Annoyingly we have an upgrade to lithium coming but we have dithered so long about what to do we have run out of time before we go. We do have 150kw solar and a 95ah lead acid battery though, so should be fine for a couple of days. The only thing booked is a site near Porto towards the end of the trip and we are already wondering if it was a good idea, we don't like the constraint of having somewhere to head for on a certain day.
The plan will be to drive for about 100 miles southwards in Spain, heading roughly towards Braganca in Portugal. Then get some fuel and do some shopping. After the shopping we will chill out at an aire, maybe in a nice town we can explore, we are think possibly Palencia, but who knows.
We encourage ideas, comments and suggestions and hope you enjoy the blog.
Glos Wanderers
Previous trips:
France 2024
Germany 2023
Subscribers do not see these advertisements
Thanks, enjoy your retirementJealous, but I plan to retire 31/3/25 and will take ferry to Bilbao or Santander. Saw a nice camping on the coast but nothing after that, maybe meander to the Med. Happy travels!
Tricky decision, we can recommend Salamanca for a couple of days stop. Bragança was very nice too.Following you....left Ampudia this morning, have now stopped in Tores Cannot decide whether to head into Portugal or a bit South to Salamanca next.
View attachment 950897
Subscribers do not see these advertisements
Thanks, we seem to have these events. We were in Iceland earlier this year and got out a few hours before the big eruption hit where we were!Great photos and well done for managing to turn, I’d imagine, a fairly stressful situation into an adventure. Hope all goes well from now on and thanks for posting. Looking forward to the next instalment. Be careful.
Subscribers do not see these advertisements
Please tell us your next planned destination so that we can be sure to avoid it!Thanks, we seem to have these events. We were in Iceland earlier this year and got out a few hours before the big eruption hit where we were!
Upload them to YouTube then post a link, you can only upload very small videos direct to the forum.No photos unfortunately only videos and I haven't got a clue how to upload those.
Subscribers do not see these advertisements
Happened to me too. I got lucky as the fella clearly could not be bothered with doing the paperwork and let me go.We docked in Santander to light misty rain. A word of warning customs were randomly selecting and pulling over motorhomes. They had two large green wheelie bins and were throwing food into them, I assume after a fridge and cupboard search. Fortunately we were not selected, although all we had were two apples! I've never seen this happening before.
This morning we decided to press on in Portugal following the border with Spain so that we leave the fires behind us in the north and west. We saw a few blue lights but it went smoothly with holdups and very little traffic. We are now at the most fabulous town called Mavao, genuinely one of the nicest places we have been. The aire is next to a monastery and perched on a cliff top, 2,500 above sea level with views across to Spain.
View attachment 951978
After lunch we walked into the town originally built by the Moors in the C8th. You can walk around the walls enclosing the white washed houses with views across Portugal and Spain. The castle at one end cost a shocking €1.50 each to go in and was lovely, with nice gardens and it is beautifully restored. After, we had a beer and looked at the view before returning to the free aire for dinner. It looked like there were some nice restaurants, but we had some steaks that were at their eat by dates. Loads of photos to follow I'm afraid and none of them do it justice. It really is worth a visit if you haven't been.
View attachment 951985View attachment 951982
View attachment 951987View attachment 951988View attachment 951990View attachment 951991
Can you spot our van in the last one, by the monastery?
By the way does anyone know how to set up a signature?
Will have a look thanks, good suggestions. We are still in Portugal just.If you do get back into Portugal, we enjoyed a relaxing time at the quiet dutch site here, just off the A2
And also free stop by the cemetery (and a hilltop cool breeze) at AlteHome - English - Camping Serro Da Bica
Portugal Camping Serro da Bica Peace, space and freedom ACSI… Read morewww.campingserrodabica.com
Perfect thanks. I wondered about the fenceWe were there some years ago. Two French motorhomes arrived. One hit that fence, not once, but twice and made a mess of the back of their motorhome, but they didn't seem bothered. That's maybe why one section is missing .
For the signature you need to go into your account. Click on your avatar and select signature and fill it in with what you want.
Subscribers do not see these advertisements