We have all the time in the world… Portugal Road Trip Part 1

We have all the time in the world…

…So Pete keeps reminding me and it is now really starting to feel like that. We have been away for just over a week and I am keen to catch up on our first week of our new adventure and a new phase of our lives. This entry is a quick overview of our journey to Portugal.

We left the UK and stayed at Aire Camping Saint Claire, in Neufchâtel-en-Bray, getting the last available pitch was a relief as this is a great place to stop, right next to the Green Way a dedicated cycle/walking path from Dieppe to Paris. Daisy looked a little lost being half the size of all the other vehicles. The rain didn’t worry us as we sat snuggled up with a book and a cup of tea. We had booked a Too Good to Go magic bag from the boulangerie and were keen to pick this up, so stretched our legs and then settled in so we could get an early start.

Arriving at Le Chant D'Oiseau by lunchtime the next day helped us to settle into our routine with Stu and Syb, the amazing owners of this cosy wonderful site in the countryside, only 25 minutes from Saumur. It feels like home to us as we have been so often, and it is also our place of refuge. We planned a visit to Chinon to celebrate our ‘mini retirement’ so that we could go to our favourite restaurant, L’Entrepotes, followed by a sunny walk by the Vienne. Having booked it all in French, I was relieved to know we did actually have a booking. Should you ever make it there you really have to try the Œufs de Meurette, (eggs à bourguignon)  they are delicious!

Œufs de Meurette

 Chinon Castle in the distance

It was freezing in this part of France and it felt like autumn had descended quickly; we had to wake at 3am to put on heating and whilst we wouldn’t have wanted to begin our adventure anywhere else, we were keen to head for sunnier climes.

The drive from France to Spain didn’t feel too long, although in total it was nearly 11 hours over two days. A quick overnight in a beautifully located site with spectacular mountain views (Camping el Roble Verde) seemed too good to be true. The facilities were perfect; however, as we sat congratulating ourselves on a great find and laying in the funshine relaxing, three big hired motorhomes rolled up and the occupants loudly announced ‘sorry to spoil your peace’…they were not kidding as they stayed up to the curfew time of midnight, singing along to music and drinking. Luckily the lady who checked us in suggested that as it was Sunday we really didn’t want to be up early, thank goodness we opted for the later start!

   

Taking the non toll roads on a Sunday seemed to make sense, not only saving some euros, but also allowing us to see more scenery. The landscape at first was flat with wide open plains, spotting some pilgrims on part of the Camino de Santiago reminded us to try and not look at major sites as we passed as this is the route we will hopefully walk next year. The remainder of the journey, after passing Leon, soon became more interesting. Lots of hill climbs and many wind turbines, dotted with the odd castle or church perched on hilltops. 

The sun was shining and we were super relaxed. Pete looked over at me, smiled and then declared that he could do this forever. It was lovely to see him so happy and relaxed, despite me trapping his hand in the door this morning! I think he was enjoying the fact that I was quiet for once and happily attempting to record our trip as he was driving to new places with his music on. School was starting to be a distant memory.

The long journey from Spain to Portugal didn’t turn out to be too arduous either. The roads on this route were quite bumpy, checking that Daisy had all her parts when we arrived, we discovered a part of her awning had shaken off, fortunately we didn’t need that part! As we came over a mountain pass we saw camino scallops everywhere, we were now into the top of Portugal.

First stop in Portugal was to the Peneda-Gères National Park, we are staying here for at least a week, with our first camping site at Lima Escape Camping. It is in an unbelievably gorgeous position right next to the Rio Lima, I feel so happy and relaxed and cannot believe our luck to be in Portugal, finally, and on this adventure.

Rio Lima at Lima Escape Camping