Portugal Potter 14 – 28 August 2012.

This particular trip had been planned, and then postponed later in the year due to expected work commitments for

the show season. This proved however not to be the case, due to the continuous bad weather in the UK most of the

summer shows had either been cancelled or attendance was so poor it did not warrant seeing the summer show

season through.

With that in mind it was decided to re instate the Portugal trip and join the rest of the group for a three week tour

through Spain and Northern Portugal.

The numbers were further reduced by other members of the group not being able to make it. Although for a very

good reason, the arrival of a new member of the family is reason enough to stay home, well done guys and

congratulations.

With the decision taken the rush was on we had 6 weeks to get our act together and ready the vehicle for the trip.

We had a MOT to organise a major service to book and had to work out the best configuration for the interior load

area, so we had minimum fuss finding stuff and it was readily to hand. Lessons learnt from the Pyrenees trip meant

we wanted to do things differently this time and eliminate the aspects of the previous trip that we found detracted

from the enjoyment of the travelling.

The main changes we felt we had to make were the accommodation, the kitchen/food storage and the frequency of

travel.

We opted for a pop up tent, this time around as opposed to a pole tent we used last time. We settled on the Quecha

family pop up, and it was a brilliant decision. Pitching the tent was a pleasure and taking it down just as good. I do

strongly advise practising folding it a few times before you depart this takes the pack away time from 10mins just for

the tent, down to about 3 mins or about 7 if you include packing the ground sheet and bagging it all.

The next big change was to find a better way of transporting and storing the food we were buying on route. Again

ideas were adapted from full time overland vehicles a freestanding self supporting MDF false floor was installed into

the Discovery with a plastic sliding box that would slide underneath it. This housed cups and plates, cleaning gear

and also served as a food store. There was a gap left on the side of the floor just wide enough to slide the folded tent

into. We sited a three way camping fridge from Go outdoors on top and this completed the Kitchen arrangement.

The lady of the house was the main user of this draw arrangement and declared it one of the best methods to date.

The final change was the duration of our stopovers, on the previous trip we were moving everyday and although we

covered vast distances we felt we had not experienced the local culture. We decided to have a mix of two day and

four day stopovers in order to see more of the areas we were staying in.( We have subsequently settled on a mix of

two and three day)

With everything finally sorted and the Land rover getting its MOT 48 hours before we travel (talk about living

dangerously) we got the animals into the kennels early in the morning and set off for Portsmouth. We had decided

to travel down a day early on Monday the 13th in case there was a hold up on the motorway network. True to form

we ran into trouble just outside Oxford due to a road traffic incident and rolled into our hotel six hours later. Upon

arriving in the car park we ended up parking alongside a overland prepared Toyota, we could not help wondering

where they were off too and for how long.

Tuesday 14/08/2012.

It was early up on Tuesday morning; the anticipation of finally starting the trip was too much, ended up pacing up

and down the car park waiting for the family to get ready. Heaven knows why the boat did not leave till 15:00

anyway. We had arranged to meet Mark that morning and wonder around Portsmouth until it was time to sail.

Obviously Mark was in the same position as me because when I phoned him to meet he told me he would be there

in 10 minutes. This is two grown men acting like a bunch of excited kids. Mark dually arrived and about the same

time the owner of the Toyota made an appearance, (we now had three grown men acting like a bunch of excited

kids).We got chatting and it turned out they were also going to Portugal and were on the same boat as ourselves.

We did the usual travelling dialogue exchange comparing routes and vehicle pros and cons. About 5 minutes later

the family appeared so we said our see you later’s and headed off into Portsmouth for a quick look around and then

onto the ferry port.

Brittany ferries were as efficient as ever and the boarding went without a hitch.

The good lady was quiet nervous about the crossing as she is not partial to ferries even more so if they involve

overnight crossing. We assured her it would be okay and got ourselves unpacked and headed up for dinner. (Little

did we know what was in store for us)

The crossing was quiet uneventful until about ten that evening as we started getting into the bay of Biscay. The wind

and swell picked up the boat started squealing and groaning like a wounded animal the one sound that one still

hears three weeks after the trip has ended, is the hollow metal drum sound of the boat bridging itself across two

peaks of a wave.

Weirdly it is quite a reassuring sound.

Wednesday 15/08/2012

Daybreak broke with no improvement in the weather so the boys went for breakfast then decided to go up on deck

and check out the weather. We ended up on deck 9 above the bridge and decided to have a quick look around then

get back indoors. Following a complimentary spray shower we decided this was quiet good fun, and had to catch this

on a picture as spray reaching over the bridge and deck 9 was quiet cool. With photograph obtained we formed a

orderly three man soaked and bedraggled contingent and made our way back to the lounge for some much needed

coffee. Suffice to say there were a lot of green passengers with paper bags doing the rounds. On docking in

Santander we met an elderly couple who informed us they have been doing this crossing twice a year for the last 5

years and it was the worst they had ever been on. (go figure)

Waves breaking over deck 9 on the ferry.

Oh well all part of the adventure.

We docked on time and made good time getting off the boat we ended up being one of the first vehicles off. We

headed straight for camping Cabo Mayor in Santander( www.cabomayor.com) as we were nervous about availability

as in true Spanish style it was a case of “you do not need to book we will have space”. Our fears were well founded

as we managed to secure the last two pitches on the site with a queue of vehicles behind us being turned away. We

had another British registered defender camped next to us and got chatting to them, it was their first shake down

trip in there defender and they were going to head north through France and make their way back to the UK .

Sounded like a really good trip and one I imagine would have been very enjoyable.

The pitches could best be described as cosy but it was only one night so we set up camp with what was soon to

become the world famous (you won’t b***y pop back down you can b***y stay here pop up tent) and headed

out. We headed for the Bambara Tavern (GPS co ordinates +43° 28' 36.78", -3° 52' 39.01", Address: Av Virgen del Mar s/n,

Bambara Tavern39012 San Roman de la Llanilla, Spain)

Bambara Tavern ( Do amazing G&T’s)

A great little restaurant on the coast where series Landrovers come onto the beach to collect the seaweed. We were

very boring and ordered pizza and had a drink then made our way back to camp for a goods nights rest.(Update

following the Morocco trip in April 2013, they do a killer G & T)

Thursday 16/08/2012

Woke fairly early for breakfast as we were to meet Andy and his family this morning as they were due on the next

boat . We were regaled with the tail of how Mark’s camping neighbours were almost afforded a sight not many

would want to see.

Advice for the novice camper when arriving late at night at a campsite avoid pitching on top of elderly overlanders,

as the following morning they will have no idea you are there, when they are descending the ladder of their roof

tent, naked posterior first for their morning shower. Nasty

Once we had finished breakfast and had finally “talked” the pop up tent back into its bag with most of the camp site

having formed a orderly semi circle around us we headed up to the lighthouse to take in the views across the bay.

We were quiet calmly sitting on the lighthouse wall drinking in the scenery when the lovely wife made a remark

about the “big boat” coming into Santander Harbour. Oh yeah exclaimed Mark that’s the Brittany ferry. We all sat

for another 3 seconds chilling and watching the ferry when simultaneously we all realised it was the ferry Andy was

on and they had made up some time so were arriving early.

The mad scramble then ensued with wife and child being taken totally by surprise by these two mad jabbering idiots

who were simultaneously trying to get off the wall, explain that this was the boat we were to meet and trying to run

back to the camp for the cars. ( it must be pointed out that individuals concerned were male and incapable of multi

tasking)

Panic over we arrived at the port with minutes to spare before Andy and family came trundling through passport

control. True to form they had, had the most amazingly smooth crossing with no rough weather what so ever. (Jerk)

A quick chat and catch up was followed by getting on the road onto Salamanca as we had a fair distance to cover.

The climb out of Santander was heavy on the vehicles, and quiet honestly was a surprise. I am used to climbing up to

the plateau in South Africa when going from the coast inland but for some crazy reason did not realise the same

scenario would exist in Europe. This climb out of Santander is always a consideration now in my planning, and if any

of the party have a modified vehicle this climb out of Santander will be there nemesis as it is the power sapping,

heat inducing road from hell for a modified vehicle.

Once we had crested the plateau we were back into territory we knew and loved so well, the undulating cement

roads of Spain that stretch forever with no traffic and that draw you endlessly into amazing unfolding scenery.

This is when relaxation really starts kicking in, with the vehicle pointed down the cement strip the tyres humming

over the road, accompanied by the heat and smells of Spain wafting through the open windows there is no better

scenario in life. We arrived in Salamanca late afternoon thoroughly relaxed and chilled.

Friday 17/08/2012.

We booked into camping Regio which provided a campsite, hotel as well as log cabins, there was a large pool

available that was well maintained and kept spotlessly clean. The site itself was well laid out with very decent size

pitches clearly marked out with sufficient space between you and your neighbours. This site appeared to be a

favourite with European travellers as there was a large collection of different nationalities present in a variety of

overland/camper style vehicles. The one thing which did catch us by surprise was that although temperatures were

sky high during the day once the early hours of the morning arrived the temperatures dropped to single figures. To

the point where we had to go out and buy a blanket each the next day. Ruffty , tuffty overlanders needing there

blankies.

Unfortunately BBQ’s are banned on this particular site and it is a decision apparently taken by the city, we suspect

this could be due to the high fire risks at this particular time of year this was evident throughout our travels.

Especially so in Portugal where it was level red for fires. We however settled for amazing Lemon chicken done on

the camping stove.

Not a happy camper , Mr Bushpig using gas, sacrilege.

Salamanca city is easily accessible via a bus that stops directly outside the campsite hotel and only takes about

fifteen minutes to complete the trip. The architecture of this city is absolutely amazing and one could spend days

wondering around admiring it. It is reported to be the best city in the whole of Spain for having tappas.

After having spent a good few hours walking around the decision was taken to go and have a bite to eat, it was this

moment in time that the god of misunderstanding and in comprehension chose to strike his blow. Albeit only at me

as everybody else got exactly what they wanted and had ordered.

Unfortunately our experience was not that good but that was entirely due to not having enough local knowledge and

ignorance of how the menu system worked, still very good though, and the endless hours wondering around the

ancient streets (coupled with the comical meal) will remain a very fond memory for a long time to come.

Saturday 18/08/2012.

On the road to Portugal and the excitement was palatable as we packed up and headed north west for Oliviera do

Hospital in Portugal. The toll road confusion with varying reports on how tolls were to be paid affected our decision

on the route we were going to take so we opted for the mountain roads over the Serra De Estrela .We arrived at

Toca Da Raposa (GPS: N 40 23 57 / W7 49 34 ) later in the afternoon and our apprehensions about the camp site

were quashed the moment we pulled up in front of reception. It was everything we had hoped for and more.

A small very rustic site with a good mix of nationalities. Accommodation was a mix of campsite pitches, wooden

cabins ( sheds) and retro caravans circa 1970 era. Mark ended up going for the camping pitch as he was staying in his

roof tent we opted for the retro caravans and Andy had decided to go for the wooden cabin (shed). T he next hour

was spent listening and crying with laughter at Andy exclaiming in disbelieve that he could not believe he was

sleeping in a shed, we decided it was divine justice for having a smooth crossing and he should accept his

punishment like a man, at which point we all fell around laughing again, except Andy.... funny that?

Toca da Raposa camp site.

Dinner that evening was served at the bar and consisted of traditional Portuguese chicken flatties done over a open

fire......... absolute heaven. We all retired later in the evening, Mark to his roof tent, us to our caravan and Andy to

his shed, all very full and slightly tipsy.

The next few days were spent relaxing and lazing by the pool, Andy, Liam and myself decided to scoot off with Mark

and do a few of the dirt tracks around and in the mountain range. Some awesome tracks were driven and fantastic

scenery discovered.

Mark then headed on out for the next couple of days as he wanted to see the cork forests further south, he had

also met Felipe the previous evening who having a vast local knowledge of the area pointed him in the direction of

Monsanto and Idanha-a-Velha villages real rustic Portuguese villages. ( Really sorry we missed these as they sounded

absolutely amazing when recounted by mark)

We decided to spend one of the days down at the local river and the kids big and small had an absolute ball

swimming in the river and trying out the monkey swing. All too soon Wednesday Morning arrived and it was time to

pack up the vehicles and head for Porto.

Wednesday 22/08/2012

We had been getting conflicting stories on the toll roads in Portugal and how one was to pay their toll. There are no

manned stations and one needs a credit machine attached to the window. We decided it was best to stick to the

back roads and take a nice slow meander across to Porto.

The drive was truly amazing with lots of small villages and stunning mountain passes to drive. We arrived at camping

orbitur that afternoon and set up camp in preparation for wandering into Porto.

This however was not to be as I had unknowingly been bitten by some creature and spent the evening huddled up

in a blanket shivering and feeling sorry for myself.

Thursday 23/08/2012

We headed into Porto and what a fantastic city, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves walking around the old city and

through all the narrow little alleyways. We stopped and had a bite to eat at the river front cafe and did the

obligatory Port tour, leaving with a few bottles which were sampled that evening, well it would be rude not too.

Friday 24/08/2013

Awoke to a grey overcast day and the rain that had started on the 23rd, we made a decision to leave Porto and head

for Salamanca. The rest of the group decided they would tough it for another day and see if the weather improved.

We were going to chase the sun, we packed up camp at lightning speed (no puns intended) and headed for

Salamanca. We ended up the motorway and although we saw signs for the toll and the charge we had no toll device

and no way of paying we suspected there would be a final toll booth at the Spanish border but this was not be, we

blasted over into Spain and were set up in camp in Salamanca by the afternoon.

We enjoyed another fantastic two days wondering around the city and chilling out around the pool. All too soon it

was over and we were heading for Bilbao and the ferry home.