2017 - 2018

France>Spain>Portugal

November 29, 2017

This year we are driving by car and leaving our RV safely in the barn.

As planned we left our house in southwest rural France at 9:00 a.m.  It was -2C/28F and very misty. The mist finally dissipated two hours later and then the sun shone until around four o'clock when the rain came pouring down.

However, by the time we arrived at the hotel in Haro, Spain it was dry and windy. We had booked at Los-agustinos-hotel.  The 14th-century building had formerly been a convent, a military garrison, a military hospital, and a jail.  

After relaxing for an hour or so, around 7:00 we ventured out into the cold night in search of tapas bars only to discover they do not open till 8:30. So, back to the hotel where it was warm and welcoming. While Brian watched Foooootball in the cozy bar, I chilled on a soft couch in the glass-domed, huge inner courtyard, sipping a glass of the local Rioja, listening to Italian opera, and being completely seduced by the dynamics, and yet, the peacefulness of the space. I was surprised/tickled when bartender Fernando brought to me my very own bowl of bar snacks - I thought I was being quietly invisible in that dimly lit space. First-class and attentive service; it is rare these days. Later, Brian and I enjoyed omelets a little after 8:30, 'cos that is when the kitchen finally opened...The Spanish prefer to eat late - as late as 11:00. 

Massive lanterns

Everything about our stay at Hotel Los Agustinos was top notch - the staff, our room, the ambiance and the attention to detail; but mainly and especially, we have been touched by this building's soul - it lives on in its new role, accommodating and welcoming its guests in style and we hope we will have the opportunity to stay there again.

Interesting lights, Inner Courtyard

The next afternoon we arrived in  Evora, Portugal.  I had wanted to stay here as there is a very good replica of a Greek temple and other sites.

Wouldn't you know it - it is under repairs and under mesh sheeting.

It is a lovely little town with cobbled streets, churches, old houses, and street art! We stayed inside the old city walls in a very modern hotel called Moov. The breakfast room had a commercial orange juicer. The oranges dropped in at the top, traveled in a circle to a blade that halved them, and then they were squished into juice.  Delicious. We walked streets, most decorated for Christmas, stopped for a coffee, took in the sights. Highly enjoyable.

From there it was an easy jaunt to our destination. Well, it would have been if we hadn't missed a turn the GPS neglected to tell us about. We ended up in Cuba (who knew) but it was lovely scenery and we weren't pressed for time. Of course, Brian has a different take on 'getting lost'; he doesn't view it as an opportunity, he views it as a bloody nuisance.  

We had rented a small one-bedroom in Praia da Luz in the southwest of Portugal. We met the German owners who imparted information about our new digs and the idiosyncrasies of the electrical system. Unfortunately for me, we forgot, and one morning Brian had the kettle and microwave on at the same time as I was shampooing my hair in the shower - Darkness fell! Coldwater fell! Brian quickly flipped the fuses; we didn't make that mistake again!  The building was constructed in 1997 and the electrics have not been upgraded. We have come to learn: This is not unusual in Portugal.

Bedroom with Seaview

The view was amazing!  

Yes, there are buildings in the foreground but the eye naturally is drawn to the ocean and the horizon.

For the next two months, we enjoyed every sunrise and sunset and everything in between. 

Most times the sunset was reflected into the south, as in this photo. 

December 1st sunset

Salema beach

There are many small villages along the south coast. This one is the fishing village of Salema. As expected when free fish is to be found, there were many cats roaming the streets. What intrigued us most was the one cat that lay unconcerned, in the middle of the road, and the cars had to go around it! Obviously, the felines are well like and well-fed, and colored to blend in with the surrounding rocks.

We do enjoy going to the Saturday morning market in Lagos. All sorts of products and produce, fresh from the farms. Honey, eggs, cakes, olives, bread, chili peppers, flowers, and live chickens are just a few of the offerings besides the usual vegetables and citrus fruits.

                                                                  Not far down on the main street is the fish market.

Heads and all!

That's it for now, will write more later.

Até breve  (see you later)!

l

France > Spain >Portugal

February 12, 2017

It was 2C/35F when we left at 8 that morning. Our first stop – the village poubelle (trash can), then onto Spain. Much of the day was rainy.  

At end of the day, 4pm, we had traveled about 630 kms /390 miles to Burgos. Delighted by the restaurateur on our last stay at the campsite we were looking forward to a good pitch and a hot meal. 

It was still raining when Brian tried to connect to the electricity; it didn’t work. An Englishwoman told us that hers wasn’t working either, so being the nice guy he is; as campers arrived Brian used his tester on the outlets.  Not a good start. We subsequently moved to another pitch with working power.  We met an English couple at the bar and chatted with them before we went into the restaurant and had a very good dinner served by the same delightful older gentleman. As we were the only customers he was extremely attentive. After dinner, during our nightly Netflix binge, the electricity failed and so we had no heat during the night. This was a disappointing stay.

The next morning we were off and running again at 8. We had stayed at the campsite in Caceres two times before and liked it very much as each pitch has its own private toilet facilities. We had intended to eat at the restaurant but we met another English couple in the bar/eating area and before we knew it it was 8:45 and we didn’t want to eat that late. The couple has owned, for 15 years, a pub in the center of Tamworth, England. They were so sweet and very kindly gave us a homemade frozen curry and a package of rice. Special people indeed.
Rainy most of the day but as we entered Seville the sun shone and it was glorious. It was a short-lived glory though, as we left the city the grey clouds were forming ahead of us.

Near Faro airport, in Portugal, we picked up a car. It is incredibly inexpensive to rent a car here – less than €7 /day.

When we arrived at our campsite in Lagos, we were told that the only available pitches were up the hill in the back but could move after the 23rd. So be it. However, we really like this area even though it is a good walk down to the store and the common areas.  There are super clean new washing up, toilet, shower (with heated towel rail), and chemical toilet disposal facilities very close by. Also, we have quite an open view from our front window, a place to park the rental car and the WIFI is excellent up here. We set up then went to the Lidl supermarket for supplies - gorgeous vegetables and fruits and so inexpensive.  

We had arrived on St. Valentine’s Day so celebrated with 4 former friends and two new ones.

Ann and Tina; Brian's Love Note: Crepe Station; Ann and Dave; Dessert choices

Wednesday was lunch with our good friends Anthony and Maureen at Chico Ze fish restaurant and on Friday a BBQ at Tina and Dave’s pitch. They actually booked in for one more week so we could meet up again. Fabulous. 

Last autumn, Maureen and Anthony bought a house not far from the campsite. It is a beautiful Mediterranean-styled 3 bedroom, open plan home with a pool. It reminds us of the houses in Florida. 

They, being the perfect hosts, gave us and 6 other fellow campers a Sunday afternoon of feasting, drinking, and relaxing.  Hilarious stories of camping, boating, world travel and winemaking were exchanged. It was a perfect way to start (or end) the week.

I remarked that it certainly was convenient to have ‘pre-made’ friends! We are being far more socially active here than in France.

View from Anthony and Maureen's new home

Back at the campsite:

Activities  - fitball, yoga, Nordic walking, Zumba, archery, petanque (bowling), dance, and for the more cerebral - Portuguese lessons. What a choice. My first time practicing yoga outside yesterday morning was - refreshing!

It is Monday, February 20^th and tomorrow Tina and Dave heading north back to their home in Spain.  This afternoon we are meeting them, Maureen and Anthony after their dogs have had an ocean swim and frolic on the beach. Coffee and custard tarts all around!  Farewell drinks in the clubhouse this evening. We will be sorry to see them go….

February 21st:
Coffee, tea and beer at the beach yesterday.

Dave, Anthony, Jo, Maureen, Tina, Anne, Bob, and Brian

So that is our first week in already!

Portugal to Spain to France and home

After reluctantly leaving Portugal we spent two nights in Spain.

The first night was in a campsite south of Salamanca and next day we left very early. I had forgotten to give Angus his 'sleepy' pill 40 minutes before take-off and he was agitated, so we hoped to soon find a place for coffee and a bit of breakfast

                     This shows how early we left. But how beautiful is that?

Unlike France, Spanish restaurants are open early and serve breakfast.

Not too far along we found one a little way off the highway. It was filled with coffee drinkers standing at the counter. Brian ordered a wedge of tortilla. As you can see it is nothing like a Mexican corn tortilla.  It is more of a potato and egg omelet and is served everywhere at any time.

                                    Image from Spanish-food.org

 It was already under glass at the counter and just had to be heated. 

      Croquetas, or croquettes, are a Spanish food staple (Photo: Roger F. Ibanez)

I ordered croquetas off the blackboard.  The order taker asked "Croquetas?"  "Si! Dos croquetas por favor", I replied. He said it would take five minutes to heat them up. Twenty minutes later we were still waiting. However, they finally arrived and were delicious. I love croquettes!

But it wasn't until later that evening, looking at a menu, that we realized croquetas are not a breakfast food, they are served as tapas at lunch or dinner. No wonder he questioned me about eating them so early in the morning!

While we were waiting we observed a middle-aged man with three late-teen females. They were hungry and ate rapidly. At first, I thought it was a father and his daughters but soon realized they were prostitutes. It is not unusual to see young women, mostly east European looking, sitting at the side of roads and at roundabouts. Some of these poor girls are lured here with promises of jobs as nannies, etc. only to be forced into sex slavery. With no knowledge of the language or laws, they are at the mercy of their captors. Not a pretty life.

                         On the road:  Blue sky and virtually no traffic

Our last night was spent the same as our first night at Gran Camping at the top of a winding road that overlooks the ocean and town. It was clear up top but the town was obscured by a light mist, most probably from the sea.

While Brian had a nap I chose to sit in the sun and read. To remain in the sun I had to move our lounger to another pitch. It was heavenly! I was serenaded by a fellow camper, quietly playing his guitar as I relaxed in the warmth. Gracias señor!

When we were here in December we happened upon this colorful, puffy little robin holding on tightly in the blustery wind.

And two months-plus later we were charmed by this little bird perched facing the sun, enjoying the good weather.

That evening we had dinner in the upstairs restaurant with great views.  We chatted with the Dutch couple, who were in the next pitch, who was at the start of their vacation on their way to southern Spain for three weeks.
As we finished our meal a magnificent sunset was just beginning 

                   The sky is in full bloom!  A picture-perfect last night scene.

In the morning we didn't leave too early but arrived home around one o'clock. We emptied the RV of food and toiletries and were thankful to be safely home.

 Thank you for traveling with us.  We will be sure to invite you along on our next outing, but before that, we will be posting on our old blog at http://ourlifeinfrench.blogspot.fr/

ps Reality was in the form of two owls that had taken up residency in our barn and made a huge mess over everything below their perches; white splotches and pellets the size of small rodents. Poor Brian had to pressure wash the floor and so many items will have to be thoroughly washed or thrown out!  
The good part? No mice in the house.  

A bientôt! (see you soon)

Leaving Portugal and Returning

What a boat ride this was! Eight of us decided to take the trip to the grottos around the coast of Lagos. 

 11 of us were in this boat. It has to be this small to allow it to go in and out of the grottos.  Photo by Dave M.

The expert boat handler guide gave us a running commentary and it seemed that each rock had a name. Too many to remember...  Here are a couple.

Titanic and Iceberg

The Elephant

Perspective: Do you see the fishermen at the top of this rock???

                                          Photo by Dave M.

It was a sad farewell but we eventually left Turiscampo on February 20th, three times we gave notice and three times we stayed for another week, or two; we just didn't want to leave. A few hours later we were in Seville (Sevilla), Spain. 

We had been told of an "aire" where we could camp on the river. It had WIFI, toilets and electricity and near a bus stop into the city. Another couple we met said they had just stayed there and gave us the co-ordinates. 

It was the most depressing place with a working dock across the river and we didn't find the bus stop so had to take a cab into the main area. We have subsequently discovered that there are TWO camping areas and we went to the undesirable one! The other is at a marina - much more civilized and will stay at that one when next in the area.

However, Sevilla itself is an amazing place. We were enchanted by the street performers, the architecture, the tiled designs on pedestrian areas and the sheer buzz of the city. 

                                

        

  The bar where we had a couple 

of tapas and drinks also had 

a ham counter at the front of the establishment.

So many kids out there performing - I wonder if they are students earning money for school or are they immigrants trying to make a living in a new country?

                             Flower Pot Man

                  

And lastly: New Meets Old. The juxtaposition of the tram and the old church exemplifies the ways, over the centuries, in which ancient cities have had to make changes to survive. Sevilla has achieved an edifying compromise.

We had planned to return in the morning because there was so much more to discover but overnight the weather had dramatically changed to cold, wet and nasty and since our Fiat Ducato clutch was acting up we drove straight south to Torre del Mar, where we had been last year, rather than down the coast and meeting up with friends from Canada. That was disappointing.

It was rainy and misty all morning.

Algeciras is written in Arabic as it is the port where the ferry plies back and forth from Moroccan docks.

But as we drove closer to the coast it warmed and brightened up.

When arrived at the campsite gate we were shocked and disappointed that it was full, as was the one further down the beach. Nothing to do but camp on the sandy area in front of the promenade stone wall. It couldn't have been better! There was an unlocked outside toilet at one of the restaurants and we could hear the ocean all night long.

99.9999% of the time Brian lets Angus out early in the morning, but on this occasion, I heard him first. So, fashionably decked out in my jammies, housecoat, and crocs I take him out and we are greeted by the start of an amazing sunrise.  So, of course, I excitedly ran back to the RV, after Angus was finished, and I  retrieved my camera. Thank you, Angus!! Good boy!

           Unretouched photos

           Then a little while later the fishermen brought in their illegal catch. 

                         In the palm trees just outside the campground

In the morning we were able to obtain a pitch and our campground stay lasted eight days. Our appointment with the Fiat mechanic was not until the following Monday. So what to do for a week?

We visited the weekly huge market. I never cease to be amazed by the shoes Spanish vendors have on sale. Who buys these? I have to say I have not noticed any women wearing them. The French markets, in our area anyway, only have flat shoes for sale. Hmmm...
 We bought the usual fresh edibles - avocados, mangoes, and petite pois, which we had for dinner one night. 

Speaking of tootsies:

Brian's first but, he is sure, not his last pedicure!

He loved it - especially when it tickled his soles!   I opted for a purple color, surprisingly though, Brian said - NO color thank you! He is just not that adventurous....maybe next time   /blush

As we would have to drive a distance to the mechanic and be without transportation for an undetermined amount of time, we rented a car.

                   On a couple of occasions, we drove into the mountains. 

What a bizarre tree and if I had to name it I would call it The Rhino Tree. Those sticky-outy pointy thingies are very sharp indeedy.

February 28th is Dia de Andalucia or Andalucia Day which commemorates the day in 1980 when Andalucians voted to become an autonomous state. Almost all shops were closed but the restaurants were open.  We stopped at a mountain village cafe and had lunch. The food was not memorable but Victoria is a regional brew from Malaga, founded in 1928 and it was Tasty! 

San Miguel is a national brand

                                       

Our appointment with the mechanic was at 10:30 and 32 km/20 miles away and it took us an hour to get there. I drove in front setting the pace so Brian would not have to stop for pedestrians or roundabout traffic. We had driven the route the day before and knew exactly where we were going. Hats off to Brian for changing gears without a clutch!  Our contact was there to meet us and after the paperwork was completed we went about finding a hotel.

On Tripadvisor, I found a "boutique" hotel (the definition of such is vague), El Tiburon hotel. It is close to the beach on the outskirts of Torremolinos and it accepts small dogs but not children. What a find!  It is modern and comfortable, completely redone in 2012, and retains exceptional staff. It was a two-minute walk to the beachfront, the promenade, and the pedestrian shopping area. 

At check-in, I realized we had left our passports in the RV and my driver's license as well. It is the law in Europe that you must present your passport in exchange for a room key. The manager sympathetically agreed that we could check in with the proviso that we would bring them the next day. He very kindly also offered a sleeping blanket for Angus. Having no suitcases with us we had to transfer from our rent a car our packed clothes, etc. in recyclable grocery bags (oh the shame as we entered the hotel).

                              The pedestrian way -it is so clean and well kept.

We stayed two nights but Angus would have liked to have stopped longer in the bigger space with a balcony; but, our chariot was ready to go.

Instead of following our original plan to continue east up the coast, Brian suggested we return to Turiscampo to visit our new friends Maureen and Anthony. I had tears in my eyes at this suggestion.  I may have mentioned that Maureen fell off a Carnival float dislocating her shoulder and fracturing her arm in three places. She had had a couple of operations to insert titanium plates and pins and had since returned to camp. So, I was certainly on board for the change of direction to see them.  

This also meant a shorter distance home, another plus. Angus, the dog who has traveled on a plane, boat, and ferry, ridden in cars and the RV without a qualm had suddenly turned into a trembling, terrified traveler. During our two-day stay, we went to the vet - they know us quite well there - and he generously gave us tablets to tranquilize Angus. They worked like a charm.

As guests of Maureen and Anthony, we lunched at an extraordinary place on Alvor's beach - excellent fish and service enhanced by the sea and rock views. It was regrettably too cold and windy to eat al fresco but nonetheless, it was a superb time.

                             And then it was time to say goodbye.

Dr. Anthony saying - Hold your arm this way

Maureen asked - Like this dahling??

The last images of our friends! We left them to work it out...

And we will leave you with this:

                                      

The Moorish Legend of the Almond Blossom  

According to this delightful story, during the time when Al Garb still belonged to the Moors, there reigned a young Caliph in Silves called Ibn-Almundim, who fell in love and married Gilda, the daughter of a great lord from the North, who had been defeated in battle by the Moorish king. 

Their love was mutual, and the marriage was celebrated in grand style. However, the beautiful princess grew sadder day by day, with the Caliph unable to make her smile.  They consulted magicians and wise men from all over the world, but none could find a cure for her sadness…

Until one day when an old Nordic man told the king that Gilda was longing for the white snow-covered fields of her homeland.   Ibn-Almundim then ordered thousands of almond trees to be planted outside the windows of the palace, which, when they were in blossom, covered the land with white petals.  The illusion took away her longing and she became joyful once more.

And this is why, since that spring so long ago, the Algarve relives each year the magic of the almond blossom

Until next time...