It’s been quite an eventful week. After saying goodbye to everyone in Artigues we set off towards Spain via Biarritz. Again we loved Biarritz, as we love most coastal towns, and spent the afternoon here, having a picnic and walking overlooking the ocean and cliffs. We are definitely getting used to laid back days walking around new towns, driving along the scenic route and stopping when we see something interesting.
Next stop was Spain. We had left Biarritz late in the afternoon but were sure we would have plenty of time to find a camping spot and have daylight to spare. We were wrong!
When navigating we have gotten used to picking a place to head for and looking for that place on signs. Very different to England where we were going by road numbers to get around. So we were heading for San Sebastian and when we got there we could get out.
There seemed to be a festival on as people were all dressed up. Little girls in princess costumes everywhere! Unfortunately this festival had caused quite a few road closures that meant we ended up driving around for about 2 hours, trying to avoid toll roads as usual, before finally deciding to bite the bullet and pay the toll. Pointless really.
We decided to stay on the toll road for quite a while and upon paying and leaving the tollgates we came across a partial road block and were ushered into it by the police. Into action with the only Spanish we know (that Colette taught us), “Hola, abla Inglis?” They spoke a little and asked for driver license, insurance and registration papers. While they were looking at them Mum and I could hear whispering from the back. After a few pardons Mikayla finally spoke loud enough for us to hear (she’s a long way away in the back of Vincent), “one of them has a REALLY big gun!” Fortunately everything was in order with our paper work so they didn’t see fit to use the gun and stopped all the traffic to send us on our way, after a bit of confusion about how to get out of the roadblock and which policeman we should be taking directions from.
We eventually found our first camping spot in Spain, also our first spot to ride out the huge storm that came through that night. Near Islares we came to a dead end leading to a beach. Off this little road was a small pull in although it wasn’t very level. Unable to go any further we tried to park on the flattest spot (actually on quite a steep lean), had a quick dinner and went to sleep. I didn’t sleep very much though; I was convinced that Vincent would tip over every time a gust of wind came along.
We survived the night and spent the morning trying to decide whether to head down towards Madrid first or continue along the north coast. Madrid won and first stop along the way was Burgos but along the way we stopped at a little picnic area, next to a bridge and river in the mountains and decided to stay here overnight. We were in need of a “home day” to watch some Game of Thrones, catch up on some writing and generally relax. We also had nice long walk in the mountains. Sometimes it’s nice to find a spot early and take the stress of finding a suitable place to sleep away.
In France most of our camping spots would be in small towns next to a church, cemetery, in a large car park or a designated camper area. In Spain picnic areas and parks seem to be the go. Rather than little towns, we are staying between little towns, which I like a lot more, although it does mean getting up in the morning takes longer as we don’t feel the need to move on quickly!
Another difference between France and Spain is the amount of Macdonald’s outlets. In France every major town has at least one Macdonald’s and sometimes we would pass five outlets in a day. In Spain we are lucky to find one a day and when we have we’ve jumped at the chance to use the free Wi-Fi.
Burgos is a beautiful place with more interesting buildings. Again there is a subtle difference in architecture between France and Spain so even just strolling through towns is interesting, the old parts of town that is, the new parts are much the same wherever you go. The main attraction here was the cathedral but we decided against going inside because of the entry fee and because it’s only the third largest in Spain. It was nice on the outside though.
Our path changed again after a bit more research and on the way to Valladolid we came across a small town called Sotillo de la Ribera where we stopped to tour around a castle situated at the top of a hill giving a great view over the town and across the wine region we’d just driven through. The tour was in Spanish so we didn’t understand any of it but it was the only way to gain access to the building.
When we got to Valladolid we our first stop was the officio de tourismo that was closed. Unfortunately for us because the map of the city in our guidebook is terrible and we ended up walking in the opposite direction to where we wanted to go. After about an hour of walking and still not finding the Museo Nacional de Escultura, at the Colegio de San Gregorio, we asked someone where we were (thankfully they spoke English) and another hour of walking meant we finally got there and luckily the museum was still open!
The Museo Nacional de Escultura is one of the oldest museums in Spain and the building in which it resides is of Iberian peninsular architecture from the end of the 15th century. It’s worth a visit just to see the refined decoration on the front façade of the building but the collection of sculptures inside is fantastic and different to anything we’ve seen. The sculptures are carved in wood and colourfully painted, from the 15th to 18th centuries, and there are a wide variety of styles.
The next day was Salamanca, a university town, full of historical sites and many little churches and cathedrals, all slightly different but made from the same yellow, red clay the reason people call is the golden town. Though we’re not religious, we always visit the churches to see the stunning and intricate detail decorating both the inside and the outside. The old university building, of the University of Salamanca, was my favourite place here. Founded in 1218 it is the oldest in Spain and a model for universities in Latin America. Mikayla’s favourite stop here was the Museo de Historia de la Automocion, a car museum where we saw cars that Nan and Granddad used to have, and that we wish they’d never parted with, as well as a few futuristic cars and the formula one cars that Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso drove.
While we were seeing all these sites our leisure battery was at the mechanics. It may not be charging when the car is on so the mechanic recharged it for us, free of charge, and we just have to wait and see what happen from now on. He and his son, who spoke English, were very helpful and gave us some great travel tips too, changing our plans again but definitely for the better. The other day I posted a travel quote on Instagram about not letting people tell you where to go when travelling, find places for yourself. Well I no longer agree totally with this, as some of our favourite places have been recommended to us and we may not have ventured there otherwise. Take recommendations, because locals know what’s best, but don’t be afraid to stop and look at other things along the way. Thank you Mario and father for the work you did for us and all your travel recommendations.
Yet another change of plan took us to Zamora next where the historical center contains Romanesque ruins, a castle with another great view and many cathedrals to look at on the walk to the plaza major where we had our first meal out in Spain, so good! We also walked along the wall surrounding this historical part of town and through the streets to see some newer architecture from the 1800’s.
The largest cathedral here was accompanied by a museum, worth the entrance fee to see the silversmith work on an altarpiece and Spanish tapestries. We’ve come to the conclusion that people must have had so much time on their hands in the old days. The intricate features on the buildings, the painting, sculptures, wood carvings and minute stitches making up tapestries that can cover whole walls would have taken a very long time.
Next stop Portugal but seeing as is was the end of the day we thought we’d stay one more night in Spain, right near the border between Spain and Portugal, in a parking area on the autovia, not our usual choice of spots but we were desperate. We slept soundly until 3:38am when we were woken by intense knocking on our window and blinding lights shining through the curtains. First instinct was to stay lying down and pretend we weren’t there but that wasn’t an option, the policeman was shouting in Spanish, so mum climbed out of bed and slid the door open a little, in her Care Bear PJs and hair a mess, she said, “Hello?”
The police officer outside lowered the torch he was holding and said, “It’s okay, it’s okay, where are you going?” And mum pointed the direction we had come from saying, “Portugal!” He pointed the right way and Mum said, “Yep.” Next he asked how many people were in the van and finished with, “okay, okay…sorry!” A little scary but they didn’t arrest us or ask us to move on so we slept again until morning.
Here We Come World 