PORTUGAL – A MOTORHOME TOUR IN THE AUTUMN OF 2010

Bob & Sandra Lyons – September 2010

This evening (Monday 7 September 2010 at 1830 hrs) sees us 200 km south of Madrid and 400 km from home after a (hopefully successful) second diagnostic at Caravanas Cruz, Elche, Nr Alicante, where we purchased Mr C in 2004. It's actually hard to believe that we have yet again started this trip, as this is the fifth attempt at same, sometimes South-North but on this occasion, and because of the approaching Autumn/Winter, North-South. Hard to believe that last part though, as we sit here with temperatures in the upper 30's C. SCORCHIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To Set the Scene

Our first trip to Portugal was to be in September 2008, but then Sandra's Dad was admitted to Hospital 'in extremis'. Sandra returned to UK.

Then it was planned again in April 2010, when Sandra needed to return to UK on her own Medical Emergency. At this time we decided to effect the Portugal trip as we returned by road through Europe, but the friends who look after our cottage in our absence had a family emergency themselves in UK, and with their departure from Spain I needed to return 'tout de suite' albeit on my own.

One further glitch: a few weeks ago we developed an electrical fault, with a suspicion that the Primary Recreational Battery had failed or was failing. 'No' said David at Caravanas Cruz after a 2˝-hour diagnostic - thankfully free of charge (normal fee 44 Euros/hr +17% IVA/VAT). So we left Caravanas Cruz a week ago this lunchtime, only to have to abort the journey at Benevente, north of Madrid, when the batteries could no longer hold charge even overnight. We were unimpressed with the professionalism or customer service of an auto-electrician at Benevente and opted to return to CC, with a view to aborting the trip altogether should the fault not be found. On this occasion David removed the passenger cab seat covering the lead battery and discovered that one of the clamps attaching leads to a battery pillar had cracked. Clamp replaced and all else apparently AOK - and although David opined that it would be better if we remained locally overnight - here we are this evening 200 km short of Madrid. What the Hell, life's too short!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ABFTP (a blast from the past)

New Year's Eve 2007 and we spent all day swimming in the River Murray at Murray Bridge, South Australia, having arranged our New Year's Eve dinner in a local hostelry. On moving the Land Rover, the Fan Belt snapped taking with it the AC Belt and Clutch. RACQ Membership solved the replacement of the Fan Belt, especially as we carry spare belts, but the AC needed to wait until Adelaide.

WE WERE ROYALLY RIPPED OFF and, to add insult to injury, the enormous bill didn't cover the AC as they “didn't do those” (just the AC Clutch and Belt). Along to a brilliant guy in an AC Shop who checked everything (Free Of Charge) but then opined that it had to be electrical and we needed to see an autoelectrician. That turned out to be 2 brothers who, on the following Monday morning, gave the Discovery a cursory examination while a) answering their phone, b) ordering parts etc, c) giving prices and opinions to clients calling in, and d) as c) but on the phone. At the end of the hour they came up with a series of things it was not (as with the super AC guy) and informed us they didn't have a wiring diagram for the Discovery, so to leave it with them and they would get round to fixing it. I asked if they wanted me to leave my cheque book at the same time, paid over the $A50 that they felt was an honest fee for reiterating parrot-fashion that which I had initially told them an hour previously, and we drove away. The AC took 90 seconds to repair at Lincoln Landrover, Port Lincoln, South Australia about 3 weeks later, again FOC. The owner/mechanic replied, when we asked “how much?”, “Don't worry mate, you appear to need all the help you can get!!!!!!!!!” Ah, the people you meet in garages.

Now the Trip

Although we always carry a 'Rough Guide' and 'Lonely Planet' on each and every trip, it is the 'Rough Guide' that we invariably prefer. At the front of every Rough Guide is a list of 'Must Sees' for that particular country or region and so it is with Portugal. Here are listed 40 things NOT TO MISS, although we calculate this actually reduces to 32. We are omitting: 1 Mountain Range, 1 National Park and 1 Natural Park (being more in the line of our sprightly friends, 'The Full Timers', Barry and Margaret), as well as 1 Hill Village, Football, Music of a particular type, Surfing (apologies to Darren) and Fishmongers Shops festooned with dried, smoked cod. Such shops are everywhere and of course we shall see them. So, in the 3 months we have allocated, what do we hope to see?

Ponte de Lima - Bridge and Town
Bom Jesus do Monte - Portugal's most photographed Church
Barcelos - Feria de Barcelos, the country's liveliest and most colourful market
Citania de Briteiros - Pre-Roman magnificent Celtic Hill Fort
Guimareis - The first capital of Portugal
Porto - 3 separate items: The Rio Douro Boat trip, The Museum of Contemporary Art and The Riverfront
Corgo Train Line - Spectacular gorges from Peso da Regua to Vila Real.
Coimbra - Oldest and most prestigious University
Conimbriga - The most important Roman site in Portugal
The Pinhal de Leiria Coastline – Wave-battered beaches
Alcobaca - Impressive 12th century Cistercian Monastery
Fatima - Pilgrimage for Roman Catholics
Tomar - Convento de Christo, former HQ for the Knights Templar
Monsanto - Ancient hilltop settlements
Obidos - Walled town, once the traditional bridal gift of Portuguese kings
Ericeira - World championship Surfing Beach
Mafra - Mosteiro Palacio National de Mafra, a lavish Palace convent which nearly bankrupted the country when it was built in the 18th century
Sintra - Scenic Hilltop Retreat near Lisbon
Lisbon - Wines of the Ribatejo (River Tejo) & Boat trip, Pasteis de Belem (custard tarts), Tram No 28 (best tram route winding through the historic districts), Alfama (village in heart of capital), Tiles, Bairro Alto (Nightclub area), and finally Museum Gulbenkian.
Evora - UNESCO protected University town
Lagos - coastline
Albufeira - Beach resort on the Algarve
Tavira - Sand Island

So, as you will agree, a daunting task especially when you consider all the little gems not allocated 'Must See' status, but gems just the same. So, for example as we start in the Minho Province we note there are 5 'Not to be Missed'. However in the Highlights Section of Minho Province there are 8 with the Costa Verde Beaches, Valenca do Minho (castle gazing across the River Minho to Spain on the other bank) and The Parc National, added. Can't wait.

Route from Home to Portuguese Border

Puerto Lumbreras-Murcia-Elche-Murcia-Albacete-Madrid-A6/N6/A6 and no really large towns/cities until Benavente-A52 West until Porrino, then south on the A55 crossing the river Minho at Tui and into Portugal at Valenca do Minho.

Points of Interest on the Way

Chinchilla de Monte Aragon – 13 km south-east of Albacete is a breezy hilltop village worth a look if you are passing by, though most of its grand mansions and churches are either decayed or locked up for restoration. The hilltop fortress, so impressive from the road below, is a windy ruin not really deserving of the climb, but the Convento de Santo Domingo, in the lower part of the village, has interesting 14th century Mudejar work. There is also a small nationally representative Museo de Ceramica.

Albacete - named after the Moorish 'al-Basit' meaning 'the plains'. A dull provincial city that expanded rapidly once Malarial swamps had been drained. There is a Cathedral of little interest apart from some Ionian columns. The Museum of Albacete is noteworthy only for 5 small Roman dolls and some local Roman mosaics.

Segobriga – 2 km south of the motorway N3 between Madrid and Albacete. These ruins may date back as far as the 5th century BC. The best-preserved structures are a Roman theatre and amphitheatre. Other remains include the outlines of a Visigothic basilica and a section of the aqueduct, which helped keep the city green in what is otherwise quite a barren desert.

A small museum is located on the site: €4 pp entry, with an English-speaking member of staff. There is a 10-miute introductory DVD with English subtitles which is quite informative and paints a picture of the area to be visited. Segobriga is one of the best-preserved Roman cities and the most important archaeological site of the Spanish Meseta. Since the first century AD it became a central node of the Spanish Roman routes and the administrative capital of a great agricultural and mining territory. It was later abandoned due to the Islamic conquest of Spain.

The route around the various aspects of the excavations is marked by excellent signage in Spanish and English. The walk around Segobriga takes 60-90 minutes, with part of it uphill as the city was built on and into a hill. Excavation was continuing on the day we visited. There are drinking fountains scattered in the grounds and a small cafe adjacent to the car-park. See www.visitclm.com/arte-cultura/segobriga-archaeology-park and www.picasaweb.google.com/jecovk/Segobriga

Madrid - last visited in 2006 when we were at the Australian HC for Visas. We passed round it at about midnight on Tuesday 31 August/Wednesday 1 September. Much better on the nerves, believe me, although diverting onto the N IV we found the road over the Sierra de Guadarrama both taxing and tortuous. Today, 7 September, we remained on the AP 6 traversing the Tunnels of Guadarrama and exiting at Villacastin (€6.25). This route takes you within sight of an IMMENSE Cross, reputedly the largest in the world, which stands above the entrance to the Valley of the Fallen (Valle de los Caidos).This lies 9 km north of Monastery de San Lorenzo del Escorial, from which a road runs 6 km to the underground basilica. (No stopping is allowed on this road). This is yet another megalomaniacal, yet far more chilling, monument. The basilica hewn under Franco's orders was allegedly a monument to the Civil War dead of both sides, though in reality it was a memorial to the Generalissimo and his regime.

Medina del Campo - Interestingly this is our second visit, as we visited the Moorish designed Castillo la Mota here in 2009 while on the 'Castle Route' going north and north-east from Segovia. It's Fiesta time in Medina and so nothing open. However, noticed that the flock of Little Kestrels that we saw last time didn't appear to be in residence. Probably too noisy! We visited the Plaza Mayor with its statue of Queen Isabel, Conqueror of Granada, who died in the Palacio Real: an unassuming edifice on the western side of the square. In the 15th and 16th Centuries, Medina del Campo (Market of the Field) was one of the most important market towns in the whole of Europe, with merchants converging from as far afield as Italy and Germany to attend its fairs. The largest sheep market in Spain is still held here. We just strolled the narrow streets and squares attempting to keep out of the way of the numerous drunken youths (albeit in good humour). The Band was setting up in the Plaza Mayor and a disco was running in the Plaza de Segovia. Just so typically Spanish.

Tordesillas - (OUR FIRST GEM) just north of Medina del Campo, Tordesillas can rightly boast a place in Spain's history. It was here, under the eye of the Borgia Pope Alexander VI, that the treaty of Tordesillas (1494) divided “all Lands Discovered, or Hereafter to be Discovered in the West, towards the Indies or the Ocean Seas” between Spain and Portugal, along a line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Brazil, allegedly discovered 6 years later, went to Portugal, though it was claimed that the Portuguese already knew of its existence but had kept silent to gain better terms. The rest of the New World, including Mexico and Peru, became Spanish. So we visited the exhibits in the Casas del Tratado (attached to the Tourist Information Office) and spent hours wandering the exhibits all related to this period in Spain's history.

Did you know that The Santa Maria was a veritable 'pig' of a ship? The slowest and least performing of Columbus' Fleet to the New World and the one with the greatest draught. In fact when she went aground, Columbus (Colon in Spanish) wrote to the Admiralty expressing his displeasure at the vessel he had been given. All the exhibits carried information in Spanish, Portuguese and English so we had a fascinating time, and FREE. See also www.wikipedia and www.newworldencyclopedia for Treaty of Tordecillas. Next door was the Museum de San Antolin, although nothing like as fascinating as the above. Similarly we thought the Plaza Mayor (colonnaded of course) was just grimy and tatty.

A stop at an Internet cafe and then a return to the Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas - and here's the story. Queen Joanna the Mad, aka Juana la Loca, spent 46 years in a windowless cell here (see also www.wikipedia). She had ruled Castile jointly with her husband Felipe I from 1504-1506 but was devastated by his early death and for 3 years toured the monasteries of Spain, keeping the coffin perpetually by her side, stopping from time to time to inspect the corpse. In 1509 she reached the Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas, where first Fernando (her father) and later Carlos V (her son) declared her insane, imprisoning her for half a century and assuming the throne of Castile for themselves. She was buried here for just 9 years and then moved to Granada, which had been her request.

The Convent which is known as the Alhambra of Castile overlooks the Duero and is renowned for its delightful Mudejar architecture. Built as a Royal Palace by Alfonso el Sabio (The Wise) in 1340, its prettiest features are the tiny 'Arab Patio' with horseshoe arches and Moorish decoration, and the superb Artesonado ceiling of the main chapel, described by Sacheverell Sitwell as 'a ceiling of indescribable splendour, as brilliant in effect as if it had panes or slats of mother-of-pearl in it'. Not quite sure why this was felt accurate, as the ceiling is gilded and golden, not silvery or pearl coloured at all.  Poetic licence we suppose. Anyway it was €7 for the both of us and the tour took an hour, although the delightful female guide needed to explain it first to the Spanish on the tour (about a dozen) and then to Sandra and me. Her English was not wonderful but she was absolutely charming and made such an effort. Unfortunately no photography was/is allowed which we think is so 'dog in a manger'.

And the afternoon - swimming below the town in the River Duero on the Town Beach. Nothing like as good as the River Murray (mentioned above) but very pleasant, with the geese, ducks, cormorants, lapwings and wagtails. The afternoon was brilliantly sunny and hot and we swam, sun bathed and read: all while watching the river and our fellow sloths.  
Puebla de Sanabria - a little town whose captivating web of medieval alleyways unfolds around the 15th century Castle.

Unfortunately we arrived smack in the middle of their 3 day fiesta and so the Castle, which had been the point of the visit, was closed, as was the Church. So a few atmospheric photos of the town and surrounding countryside and then back onto the A 52 and onwards towards Verin and Ourense. The weather, which had been relatively idyllic up until now, also deteriorated with showers.

Tui (pronounced Twee) - marks the border between Spain and Portugal with its neighbour Valenca do Minho facing it on the Portuguese Bank of the River Minho. The old town may be described as picturesque, sitting as it does on the banks of the majestic Minho. Unfortunately time and fortune have not dealt well with the old town, many of whose buildings are in dire need of repair. There are signs everywhere denoting huge EU grants to such purpose. Other 'signs of the times' are graffiti, litter and vandalism but we have never previously seen Crucifixions daubed with paint and the numbers 666 scrawled on the pillar. Similarly, the number of Nazi and other racist graffiti throughout the alleyways of the old town.

The fortress-like cathedral dominates Tui's small Old Town. Completed in 1287, it was much altered in the 15th century and the extra stone bracing was added after the Lisbon earthquake in 1755. The 13th century main portal is opulently sculpted in a style typical of many Galician churches. Unfortunately we visited at 3 pm and the place was closed, only allowing photographs of the exterior. It was one of the nearby 'cruceiros' that had been desecrated. Descending towards the river and a pleasant mirador, we passed the Iglesia de San Telmo (patron saint of sailors) which contains relics of the Saint.

We took the riverside walk and actually managed to get to the Eiffel Bridge opened on 25 March 1886 (between Spain and Portugal). We duly crossed on foot to enter Portugal, but that is the start of the Journey through Portugal which we shall continue in the next section.

(to be continued)