Dearing Diaries

We had two nights at Blaye in the snow but on the third day the weather seemed a bit warmer & the roads were looking better so Paul suggested we drive on. Driving in the very cold weather was good for the van, preventing the engine from over-heating. Looking at the map we had the choice of driving along an ordinary main road but single carraigeway or using the toll motorway. Driving the van along the toll road was better than having to use the gears all the time driving along through villages & going round rounabouts etc so we chose the toll road. The weather was cold so Paul kept on driving stopping every now & then to give the van more of the water/anti-freeze mix & get fuel. For the whole of the day's journey the pump that works the water squirters remained frozen solid! We eventually stopped about 4pm in a service station. Stig had a great time in the snow & was glad to be out after a day in the cab! I couldn't empty our loo as the water in the toilets was frozen solid! The following day we continued our journey to Nantes on the toll road...it cost 60euros...ouch! Still a head gasket would cost a lot more than that! Once again the weather was cold, the temperature stayed low & Paul managed to get us all the way to Roscoff! There is a large open car-park on the top of the hill that leads down to the ferry so we parked in there & heaved a sigh of relief that we'd made it...we only had to drive down the hill to get on the ferry now! Of course we still had to get from Plymouth to Bude but help was at hand if we needed it!

The few days we spent at Roscoff were lovely! The weather was cold & bright & we found some lovely little beaches & hidden away areas where we could walk Stig. In & around Roscoff is very pretty & full of character...a shame the majority of people get of the ferry & drive south & miss it all! Our sailing was originally on the 13th March but we visited the terminal to see if we could change the date of our crossing. The terminal was unlocked but deserted except for a customs chap. He told us there was a boat going to Plymouth on Sat 9th at 10pm but that there wouldn't be anyone at the terminal until the saturday. Paul rang the company (that's the great thing about BF when you ring you do get to talk to someone more or les straight away!) to be told there werent any sailings until a week before our planned crossing. Armed with the information from the custom's man Paul was able to persuade the operator that we could be on the saturday night sailing & eventually it was all agreed! That left just Stig to be seen by a vet. That afternoon Paul & I went into St Pol on the scooter. As Paul got the scooter off the trailer he called me to show me the straps that hold the scooter on...one had snapped & gone completely & one other had frayed so badly it was a miracle it had held anything! We had come over an extremely steep 'sleeping policeman' in a French village the day before & the scooter had jumped up in the air which is what had caused the straps to snap! Paul also discovered that the bolts that hold the trailer together all needed tightening too!!!

In St Pol we went to the supermarket & then found the Veterinaire Kabinet & made an appointment for Stig the next day. The ruling surrounding the Pet Passport changed in January this year & now owners have 5days from animal treatment to get back into the Uk (it used to be 48hours) & animals no longer have to be treated for ticks & fleas, just worms! When Stig saw the vet the next day he reckoned she had fleas so she had to be treated for fleas anyway!! Lovely people in the vets there...fully recommend them if anyone needs a vet before leaving Roscoff...they're next to the Super U in St Pol!

So last evening we boarded the ferry at 7pm...Stig had to do her 'bedtime wee-wees' very early & Paul tucked her up in the cab & said good night & left her to it. We had a very calm & quiet crossing leaving at 10pm & arriving in Plymouth at 7.30am this morning! Of course when we got back to the van as we docked Stig was delighted to see us & when we stopped at Crapstone to let her out she did the longest wee ever!!! It was sad to have to cut our trip short but we're all quite happy to be home again! 3283 miles we've travelled, spent 1100 euros on fuel, been to some wonderful places & met some great people & now have some brilliant memories. We thank God that we have had the chance to go travelling but we are going to spend some time at home for now with family & friends....so until our next trip this will be the last blog. Hope you have enjoyed reading about our journey & hope maybe it has inspired some of you to have a go!! Take care & God Bless love Jane Paul & Stig !

 

On 2^nd Feb we began our day intending to drive up to the border between Portugal & Spain & stay the night ready to be off early the next day across Spain. As we began our drive Paul said he was feeling pretty good, the weather was fine & we wondered if we should just keep driving! In the end we decided to do just that. Before we left the mountainous region where we’d been staying we saw a sight that that quite un-nerved us both. As we drove along one of the minor roads we passed two army jeeps parked in a quiet lay-by. In each of the open-topped jeeps stood a soldier wearing full uniform with their faces covered by black scarves & they each held guns & looked as if they were ready for action....scary! Thankfully they didn’t follow us, that would’ve been REALLY frightening! Before we left the country we stopped at a garage to exchange our gaz bottle & fill up with diesel. We said our final farewell to sunny Portugal & crossed the border into Spain ready for the long drive up to France.

We had a bit of a scare with the van. The temperature gauge went a bit erratic indicating a problem somewhere. We pulled over  Paul filled put in almost 5ltrs of water then we hit the road again. As we drove it got colder & colder & then we drove through snow flurries & could see snow lying on the land. Had a sudden thought...we had no anti-freeze in the radiator! Hadn’t imagined that we would need to worry about that but pulled in at the next garage to buy some. In the end we stopped in the parking area there overnight. Paul managed to drain some water out of the radiator & put in the anti-freeze. It was freezing outside. Once indoors we lit the fire & settled as best we could. Even Stig wasn’t keen on going outdoors!

Next morning we woke to a covering of snow! Decided to get up & push on across Spain, keen to reach France asap! Paul was concerned about the van & felt it likely that the head gasket has gone. Hope to ‘nurse’ the van up through France to Roscoff for the ferry mid March & get the repair done at home. As we drove we discovered the water squirters were all frozen up so our visibility was a bit hit & miss. Horrible when great huge lorries pass you & leave the screen covered in slush & muck! The weather seemed to deteriorate but suddenly as we crossed the border into France the sun came out, the snow disappeared & the water squirters defrosted! We drove on north until we were just south of Bordeaux & parked at the lake at Lebouheyre where we’ve stayed before & know we can get water, reach a shop & we also knew there was plenty of wood available for the fire! We spent two nights there resting after our long old journey across Spain.

Sunday 5^th Feb. We woke to more snow, although it soon began to rain & the snow began to melt. Decided to push on so after breakfast Paul sawed up a load more wood, we drove to the shop for supplies & fuel & hit the road again! The motorways were clear of snow & driving was fine but as soon as we turned off the motorway heading for Blaye we realised the roads hadn’t been cleared & we had quite a tricky journey 12miles into Blaye. We arrived safely & parked up with a few other vans next to the Citadel, lit the fire & watched the children sledging down the hills from the van window! Poor Stig is very confused at playing snow balls & can’t understand why she can’t find the ball that is thrown for her!!!!

As I write we’re still in Blaye...waiting for the weather to improve before moving on. It’s a good place to be with access to supermarkets, post office, free wi-fi etc & we’re doing fine! The idea still remains to drive slowly up to St Pol de Leon where we know we can stay for weeks if necessary on the ‘aire’ there with English TV & the benefits of a small town then it’s literally a couple of km to the ferry port.

We’ve been in contact with some folk from home & it seems the weather there has been pretty rough so hope you’re all ok & keeping warm! Will blog again when I can but til then take care & God Bless. 

 

This will be a bit of a long episode as I haven’t found any wi-fi for ages so sorry if it’s a bit long winded!

 

On Jan. 10^th we left ‘van city’ at Silves & drove east. We were just entering a small place called Alte when we spied a couple of campers parked up by the cemetery. We went to investigate & ended up staying there for 4 nights! A fabulous position, we were parked on a kind of terrace overlooking miles & miles of countryside. Our neighbours were a lovely Scottish couple & Swiss man in the other van with his dog. All lovely folk. Later as I was walking Stig I took an extremely steep path that led down from the terrace & followed the river bank along a little way & then came upon a water-fall, the water cascading down into a pool so crystal clear & the whole place was sooo peaceful & quiet, a little oasis! Another day at Alte we went off on the scooter to explore. We discovered that Alte has fresh springs that come out from underground. The whole of the spring area has been designed for tourists & there’s even an amphi-theatre built into the hillside plus a covered (shaded) seating area where you can sit & rest your feet in the water. It also looks as if, in Summer, there’s a man-made swimming pool there! An incredible place! Back at the van, we enjoyed chatting to Vern, the Swiss man who was intrigued by & then impressed with our van. We were surprised to find out that in his van he had over 400 books on board..he had no TV so guess he’d get through them all eventually!

 

From Alte we drove west to Vila Real which is on the south coast but borders Spain & went across the bridge (although the sat nav directed us to a ferry port...maybe she didn’t know there’s a bridge!!) into Spain to fill up with fuel. Last time the fuel was much cheaper in Spain but this time there was little difference. It was from this point on that our journey began taking us north towards home!

 

Our next stop was near the village of Odeleite. Last time we stopped at the same place primarily to check out the converted articulated lorry we saw parked up. This time there was no artic but the same couple were there! The lady is English & the man French but this time they were travelling in a much smaller & more practical ‘plastic fantastic’! We had a great time catching up & enjoyed a meal together one of the days. They were kind enough to explain to us that the water tap in the village had been capped but if we went right through the village & out the other side we would find a water pump. We went off on the scooter with all our containers & found the pump quite easily. It was a small white building with two taps on one side & on another a big old rusty iron handle. Paul wound the handle & I turned on the tap & BINGO! You never think about water usually, just turn on the tap & there it is but it’s quite an adventure collecting water when you’re on the road! Another day at Odeleite it rained! We hadn’t seen rain since November! We have noticed that the reservoirs look very low & everywhere is so dry.

 

After saying ‘au revoir’ to our lovely neighbours we travelled on only a few km & parked in a viewpoint overlooking the Guadiana River...spectacular! That afternoon we were walking along the river bank when Paul managed to get stabbed by a huge cactus spine. We went back to the van & I got the spine out with tweezers...it must have been one & a half cm long. Some good old TCP & all was well again! That evening we had TV trouble. Paul couldn’t get the digital receiver system working for some reason. We even moved the van but it made no difference...all very frustrating!

 

The next day we drove to Alcoutim (where I celebrated my 50^th birthday last year) & parked at the top of the hill overlooking the town. Next morning I went to town to try & get some internet access. A big sign outside the library advertised FREE WI-FI so I went inside. The lady (who spoke good English) explained that the WI-FI wasn’t working but they did have a computer for the public to use....but that they were awaiting a repair man to come & fix it! Aargh...bang went any ideas of blogging!

 

From Alcoutim we went to Pomorao a sleepy little place on the banks of the Guadiana. We stayed there for 6days overlooking the river & chatting to a few people. Mr Swiss man was there with his 400 books & we also met a chap from the Isle of Man who we’d met during our last visit, complete with his HUGE Army style truck, converted to a motor-home plus a big green box trailer which housed his big green jeep! We enjoyed watching the old Portugese chaps as they went down the path near our van to tend their allotments on the river banks. Some of the most precise veg plots we’ve ever seen & to watch the old boys at work made us feel quite weary!

 

Whilst we were at Pomorao, with Jake’s help over the phone, Paul managed to restore the system on the digi-box so we had TV again...all be it most channels are in German still!  Paul spent a bit of time fishing but no luck! On our last day at Pomorao we took the scooter & rode the 12miles or so back to the town of Mertola to get some shopping & post some letters as there are no shops at all in the village! Every day about 11.30am a bread van comes to the village honking his horn to alert everyone to it’s arrival!

 

Another 10miles or so north & we stopped at the Mines of Sao Domingos where we’d stayed last year too.  We had a walk around the disused copper mine site & found it very strange to see all the old buildings slowly crumbling away & sad too. We met the Swiss man (400 books!) again! It tends to happen when folk are travelling in the same direction especially when you park at the designated ‘wild-camping’ spots! We also met a little old Portugese lady. She was a-wandering in the woodland area where we’d parked. Paul offered her a coffee & she came to sit with us. She was obviously pretty old, very wizened with no teeth that we could see, was dressed in clothes that had seen better days & was in need of a good bath. We tried our best to communicate with her but it’s so hard when you don’t speak the language. Paul gave her some euros & eventually signalled the offer to walk her home but she went off by herself only to reappear several more times during the day just to stand near our van. We moved the next day!

 

Looking at the map & planning the next stage of our journey we’d noticed a big reservoir on our route & thought it might be a good stopover. Barragem de Alqueva is the largest man-made lake/reservoir in Europe & is 83km long. The land was effectively drowned to create the reservoir so there are islands poking up here & there & roads that when you follow them just vanish into the water! 2000 properties were flooded including one whole village (Luz, which had to be re-housed) & cost in the region of 1.7billion euros! We found a spot next to the water away from the main car-park from where we could see a floating jetty with a few boats moored to it. On Saturday morning we noticed several cars park by the jetty & assumed that the folk would be off in a boat so imagine our surprise when the people all got out with their musical instruments & began a band practice! What a spot for band practice!

 

From one barragem to another (via the supermarket!) & our next stop was Barragem de Vigia, much smaller in size but so beautiful & not a soul to be seen! During Paul’s walk around the immediate area he found a tap that had been turned off but was permanently dribbling so we were able to collect water to enable me to get lots of washing done & hung out in the sun to dry. (Will be glad to see a washing machine again that’s for sure!) The following day we left the barragem as a van pulled in & a chap got out with his dog & as we talked Paul & I both felt he wasn’t going to be a great neighbour!

 

We continued north towards Portalgre & passed another ‘stork city’. This time not on telegraph poles but in trees. There must have been at least 50 stork’s nests in only a dozen trees!

 

We followed the sat nav’s directions to a supermarket & discovered that Portalegra was a large town, not somewhere we fancied stopping so we carried on travelling, feeling very hot by midday, very different to the temperatures being experienced in Northern Europe at the moment.

 

The landscape we travelled through at first was pretty flat & characterless, full of Cork Oaks, Olive trees & vineyards but then we noticed it became more mountainous with trees & rivers. We found a spot to park in eventually which was right off the road in a clearing in the woodland. A peaceful spot. We watched eagles hunting, circling high over the mountains (that’s what we thought they were anyway) & kept Stig indoors just in case! I spent my birthday there too & thanks to everyone who phoned or sent texts...it’s always so good to hear from ‘home’.

 

Soon we will be leaving lovely Portugal & motoring across Spain& into France where although we may be cold we can at least watch English TV J!

P.S We are currently in the south of the France waiting for the snow to thaw but we're all ok & hope that you are all ok too & not too cold...will blog the Spanish part of journey asap.