It was still cold and I
wanted to press on to warmer climes. I drove about 7 hours and made
it to Vitria Gasteiz in Spain before it got dark. As it was Sunday
there were few trucks on the road so the drive was very easy. One of
my worries was how far I would be able to drive alone in a day before
feeling tired but with occasional stops and the benefit of the cruise
control the driving was very easy. Having electric windows helped at
the 6 toll booths I had to stop at and climb over to the passenger
window to pay. After a quiet night at the free Aire I drove all day
on even emptier roads as it was a public holiday. Most of the day it
was -4.5C with freezing fog but visibility was ok. All the bushes on
the sides of the road were frozen white and I was getting ice
building up on the wing mirrors. Suddenly it cleared, the sun was out
and the temperature soared to 14C and I needed sunglasses for the
first time. From the free Aire in Caceres it was only a 10 minute
walk into the old Plaza Mayor which had a few pavement cafes open.
Next day was an easy 4
hour drive via Seville then west to Portugal. I stayed with 35 other
motorhomes at the free Aire just over the Portuguese border at Castro
Marim and before I had even taken my seat belt off I was sold a big
bag of oranges for 3 euros. Freshly squeezed orange juice everyday
for a week at least now. I managed an hours bike ride out to the
coast, it was great to stretch and move my legs again.
It was only a short
drive to my destination in Portugal, Camping Olhao, a large tree
filled site with many nationalities overwintering, even one or two in
tents. Its certainly much milder, 16-18c in the day and the lowest so
far 10c. I walked around the site twice to try to find a suitable
pitch then found one on the main road in where I can see lots going
on and there are always people passing to chat with. This was partly
why I decided to stay here, there is always company, there is a bar,
restaurant, social room and cafe. We had stayed here for 3 nights on
our last trip through Portugal and liked the place. There is a big
national park bordering the site with trails and a visitor centre and
the town is a big fishing port with a good fish and vegetable market
and numerous cafes & restaurants.
I have cycled twice to
Fuseta along the coast where part of the Algarve cycle route goes
through the salt pans in the National park where I have seen
Flamingoes feeding quite close up.
I have also cycled the other way
to Faro using the cycleway where possible. Its good to be able to
cycle everyday as so far the weather has been dry but sometimes
there's a bit of a head wind. There are lots of excellent local cakes
and breads to try so I need the exercise to work them off. I plan to
stay until mid January as long as I am enjoying it here. It's giving
me time to getting used to doing everything by myself and also I'm
finding out what I need where in the van and getting used to the
daily routines. There's all sorts of characters here including one
man aged 73 who cycles from England every year and stays in a tent.
Nearby are enormous 30 foot american rv's with just a couple and a
dog in them and of course there are many retired couples most of whom
come here every year for the winter. It's great to see the sun and
Blue skies and bushes with flowers still on them. The site has free
wi-fi which is slow but I can usually listen to the Today programme
on radio 4 using my laptop and read the main articles from the
Guardian, so I keep up with current affairs. I have watched some
Portuguese soaps but I still can't make much sense of the spoken
language but at least when its written down its quite similar to
Spanish.
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