We’d parked strategically the previous night so we’d be in the shade in the morning. There was no internet coverage where we were in the little village, so we got the starlink out to research our route for the day, and also upload my blog.

Today was mostly a driving day. We took on another suspicious mountain pass. This road was steep and pot-holed, but there was a centre line. I wasn’t sure about it, but up we went anyway. 

Then we came across a village, built steep in the hills. This is always another source of anxiety, having to navigate their narrow cobblestoned streets. We haven’t seen any other campervans or motorhomes for days! They certainly don’t seem to take the same roads as us.

The village wasn’t too bad, but we still drove through it with a few expletives. It’s when you are on a narrow cobbled street and it is steep and going around a corner I get worried. And the way the locals stare at us!

Anyway, strangely enough on this mountain climb there were 3 villages we passed. The third was perched on the edge of the main road. And by main road, I mean enough room for two cars to pass without slowing or pulling over. It was still windy AF, just faster!

I also don’t like to stress Bertie out by running the A/C on the steep uphills, so we were also sweltering. But Google had told us it would be cooler at the top. He lied.

I’d researched that the town at the top was only at 29 degrees, rather than the 36 we were having below, but when we arrived it was still hot at 33 degrees. And that doesn’t sound like a lot, but for some reason it felt oppressive. I think it was the humidity.

So we hopped back in Bertie and headed downhill with the relief of the A/C blasting. We went through a town called Paul, which was exciting for a moment.

With this heat it was either find somewhere and suck it up for the afternoon, or drive until 9pm when the sun goes down. Then I thought, what if I find somewhere with a pool? I started searching for campsites and found one in the town of Fundao with a pool.

But when we arrived, the man on reception was very grumpy and I did not get a good vibe from him. We had a look at the campground and it all had a weird vibe. There seemed to be a lot of permanent people here. 

But it was 5pm and we were both tired, and the entire campground was in shade. And then I looked down and saw the sparkling blue pool below. It was either that or drive until late. So we decided to stay. And it was only 12 euros!

It was a tiered campground and most people were squeezed in up the top, but we chose a spot on the lower tier and we were all alone and it was quite pleasant. Apart from the tent people one tier above us. I wondered if they were living in the tent, an older couple, sitting there, no car.

She came over and was trying to communicate with us, but neither of us know a word of portuguese, except for Ola and Obrigado (thank you). It was weird.

Anyway, the first thing we did was put our togs and headed for the pool.

As I stepped in, it was freezing and I was convinced I heard a ssssss sound as I submerged. You know that sound when you pour cold water on a hot grill? Yeah, pretty sure I heard that.

We spent probably a good hour in and lazing beside the pool, enjoying being cool for a change. 

Then we went back to our camp and sat outside, enjoying being a bit cooler. Then the lady came back and wanted me to sniff her water bottle. I dunno what the heck that was about. Mike declined a sniff and she went away. Like I said, this place is weird.

Then we went for a walk around the camp to see who else was here. I quite like to see what nationalities are about. But they were all mostly Portuguese. We did meet one Englishman, but I think he is living here. 

Then a couple tried to leave in their car. We assumed the barrier would open automatically, but it didn’t. He looked a bit stressed, I tried to find a button to press, but there was none.

The grumpy man who checked us in pressed a remote control to let them out. Great. We’re locked in here! I put the thought out of my mind and we headed back to our camp.

For dinner, Mike had a salad and meat wrap, and I had some left over baguette and some cheese. It’s too hot to cook. Heck, it’s too hot to eat! Then we finished with Mango and yoghurt for desert. Yum Yum.

The other day I was bragging in my blog about stumbling upon a hidden medieval village that nobody knew about. I forgot to mention in yesterday’s blog that, as we were sitting there in the morning having a cup of coffee, Mike spotted five coaches driving up.

As we drove away, we saw they were from Emerald Cruises, the same cruise Lynda is doing with Chrissy! So people do know about it; we were just lucky enough to be there when nobody else was around.

Anyway, back to today.

There is a cycle trail near here that I want to do. It’s the one thing I actually researched before we arrived. But with temperatures forecast to hit 38 degrees, we figured we’d tackle it first thing in the morning.

Unfortunately, this morning we weren’t organised enough. Instead, we went to the library to upload a video, then headed to the midpoint of the trail. The plan was to ride one direction and backtrack, then ride the other direction the next day.

But when we arrived in Tondela, the midpoint, it was too fricking hot to even think about a short ride. So we sat in the shade for a while until the shade disappeared.

We didn’t really like the town we were in, so I navigated to a smaller village where we could also pick up the cycle trail.

The start of the trail was down a very steep hill, and I’m starting to get a bit nervous every time we head down one of these narrow, steep roads. What if there’s nowhere to turn around?

Thankfully, at the bottom there was a little grassy car park right beside the trail.

Then we made a decision we probably should never have made.

We were here, the cycle trail was there, so why not go for a bike ride in the middle of the day?

And it really was the hottest part of the day. The van was showing 40 degrees!

But off we went anyway.

Thankfully, the breeze you get on a bike certainly helps, and there were plenty of shaded sections. It was such a nice trail, extremely smooth, with beautiful views over the Dão River. We were cruising downhill at 18 km/h without even trying. I’d forgotten I much I love riding a bike.

But it was hot, and it would be uphill on the way back. So we turned around at the 6 km mark, not wanting to overdo it, and slogged our way back up.

By the time we got back to the van, we were properly heat-stressed. We dumped the bikes on the ground, climbed inside, and blasted the air conditioning until we’d cooled down enough to put the bikes back on the van.

Then we headed 2 km back to the village where we thought we could spend the night. It was a beautiful little spot with just a few houses, a church, and a river running through it.

There was a little bit of shade in the carpark, and a tap which I dunked my head under like a duck. 

It wasn’t an official place to stay overnight, but we thought we could probably get away with it, so we lay down for a while.

But then the sun shifted and the van was no longer in the shade. I couldn’t bear the heat any longer. Despite drinking plenty of water throughout the day, I had a terrible headache.

There was an official motorhome parking area in the next town, about 20 minutes away, complete with toilets. So we headed there, enjoying the air conditioning along the way.

But when we arrived, it was an ugly town and the toilets were locked. By this point it was already 8:30 pm.

So we headed back to the little village we’d just left. The sun would be gone soon, and hopefully it would start to cool down.

By 10 pm, the temperature had dropped to 27 degrees inside the van, cool enough to sleep.

It’s forecast to be even hotter tomorrow, so we might not get the big bike ride in after all.

Typical.

Today was… interesting.

It started off with a morning grocery shop where we couldn’t find anything, followed by a nice drive. But as we got into the hills, I started feeling claustrophobic. It’s hard to describe, but I just wanted to get out.

We were driving through a glacial valley with mountains surrounding us, and it was that closed-in feeling.

So we headed up. I was reluctant to go up the road as the map showed it was extremely twisty with extreme switchbacks. But Mike said, ‘Let’s go for it.’

And the road didn’t disappoint. It was ridiculously squiggly with steep drop-offs, but at least it was wider than the scary road we were on the other day. It was still a little scary.

At the top were amazing views over the town below, and I instantly felt better being up here. But then, the road I wanted to go on was a dirt track. I saw a couple of cars go up there and a hotel sign, so I thought maybe it was just for a short stretch. Mike didn’t want to go up there, but I didn’t want to backtrack.

So up we went. And it wasn’t just a dirt road. It was steep, twisty, potholed and simply terrifying. In places the surface was so rough we were bouncing along, hoping the bikes didn’t fall off.

Every time the road disappeared over a rise I wished I had’ve listened to Mike. But it was too late. We couldn’t have turned around if we wanted to.

It was so steep that if we’d stalled, we would have been stuck, as I doubt we’d have got started again. Mike was taking it in his stride though, i’m glad he’s a confident driver.

But after about 30 minutes of driving, we made it to the top, where there was indeed a hotel. And the road turned to tarmac. It looked like the road had been washed away and this was just a temporary road over the farmer’s paddock!

But the drive from here was incredible, through fields of giant rocks. I couldn’t stop taking photos of them balancing like they were about to tumble onto the road in front of us. It was freaky.

And the views out over the valley were amazing. But it was 7pm and time to find somewhere to sleep for the night. We deliberated over which way to go before finally choosing a town called Gouveia down in the valley where there was a free spot for campervans.

The drive down was also beautiful. We arrived in the town and drove through the narrow streets while everyone stared at us. This is normal. We wave, they continue to stare, but they never wave back.

We arrived at the freedom camp, and it was perfectly fine, near the centre of the town. But neither of us wanted to stay there. So we navigated to another one about 30 mins away. This one was even worse. It was just a huge unkempt car park on the outskirts of town. Both of us said no to this too.

So we found another place another 30 mins away. That would make it 8.30pm by the time we got there. We wanted to find somewhere before it got dark, and it gets dark at 9pm.

On the outskirts of town was a giant factory, which didn’t look promising. The town itself was ok, and we found the car park. There was a barrier and pay stations, and I didn’t realise we’d have to pay. But the barrier was up.

A local came over to us and told us it was free, so phew. It wasn’t the greatest spot, surrounded by apartment blocks. We were the only ones here, but it felt fine.

We decided on having an early night as we were both shattered. So at 10pm we crawled into bed and had just dropped off to sleep when a banging sound came from outside the van. 

I woke up and looked out the window. On the street above us some men were walking around with sticks. For a second I wondered if we’d chosen a terrible place to park for the night.

I had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Then the drums started.

‘Something’s going on out here,’ I said to Mike, who was softly snoring away.

‘Mumble, mumble, snort,’ he replied.

And then the music started.

‘Come look,’ I said.

So Mike crawled out of bed, rubbed his eyes and peered out the window.

By now, some women in traditional dress were dancing in the street.

I googled what was going on to see if anything special was happening. Turns out 10th June is a special day in Portugal. It’s their national day.

So we both got dressed and went outside to watch. It was a pretty cool way to end the day. I think we finally got to sleep around midnight.

Today I woke up and decided that, as it was such a beautiful spot, we would stay put. There was no shade, but the forecast was only 26°C, so it would be a cooler day.

At 8am we took a walk up through the old town of Castelo Rodrigo. It’s a really neat place: a preserved medieval village high on the hill. As we wandered the narrow streets, I heard snoring reverberating through the stone walls and had to giggle. The town was still asleep.

We climbed a narrow but steep street to the castle, only to find it didn’t open until 9:30am. It only cost €1 to visit, so we decided to come back later.

After exploring the village, we returned to the van and spent the day marvelling at the view while working on a video.

I cooked dinner that night: pizza. A tortilla wrap in the pan, topped with cheese, ham and pickled onion, then another tortilla on top. Toast, flip, and serve. Simple and tasty.

That evening we took another walk around the village in the hope of catching a nice sunset, and it was worth every step.

But first, we had to have a little argument. As we walked up the hill, the sky was already a deep orange, and we had to shade our eyes from the blinding sun.

I saw some amazing light through an archway leading up into the castle and said I wanted to go up there. But Mike was on a mission to walk around the town walls first.

‘But we might miss the sunset,’ I said.

‘Sunset isn’t for another hour,’ he replied and kept on walking. But the entrance to the castle was calling. So we went inside. It looked like the sun was very close to setting, even though Mike insisted it wouldn’t set for at least another 30 minutes. So I Googled it.

Sunset: 2 minutes.

So we grabbed a spot up by the castle to watch it go down, accompanied by a running commentary of ‘I told you so’, ‘we could have missed this’, and so on.

As the sun dipped lower, the sky caught fire and cast a warm glow across the landscape below, and the commentary was replaced with ‘wow’, ‘beautiful’, and ‘glad we didn’t miss this’.

We turned to look at the castle, and its stone walls had turned to gold in the last of the evening light. It was perfect.

We wandered around a little longer afterwards. The village reminded me of Mont Saint-Michel, but without all the tourists. In fact, I’m surprised there are so few visitors here at all. I suppose most people head for the cities and the coast instead.

On one street there were some very little doors, way smaller than Mike. They looked like little hobbit doors and I wondered how often people bonked their heads going into their houses. I decided there and then, I wanted a house with a hobbit door. In a town like this.

There was just some residual light left from the sun, and it cast an eerie glow on the streets. Only a couple of locals were out, going about their evening. The same two old men we’d said hello to that morning, still sitting in the same spot, and another guy calling his cat.

And then I realised we’d forgotten to explore the castle. Maybe tomorrow. We scurried back to the van before we got lost in the dark among the back streets.

Portugal wowed us today.

But to start with, my navigation was off. I navigated us to a town about an hour away, but Google kept trying to send us via this major road. It looked like we had no choice, so we figured we could handle it for 25 minutes. But as soon as we got on it, we had to get off. Too busy. Too fast.

So we ended up taking the squiggly back roads instead, passing lakes, fields of fruit trees, and eventually what looked like an entire field of rocks. Then we headed down another narrow, winding road to the Douro River, an almost 1,000 km river that runs between Spain and Portugal.

We found a wonderful recreational area with toilets and plenty of shade. It was a beautiful spot, with only a couple of other people around. We took a walk in the midday sun: singlets on, no sunscreen, no water. Not exactly our smartest decision. But it was a beautiful walk alongside the Douro. If I’d done that in New Zealand, I would’ve been burnt to a crisp. Here, somehow, it’s fine.

We spent most of the afternoon by the river because it was just so damn nice.

Around 5 pm, we decided it was getting too hot, so we backtracked up the steep road and continued higher to a viewpoint overlooking the Douro far below, along with a dam and power station. We were so high up that eagles were soaring beneath us. For such a spectacular viewpoint, I was surprised to find we were the only ones there.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay the night because it was in a national park, so I found another spot about an hour away.

And this is where things got interesting.

We drove through a village with tiny, narrow streets before turning onto the scariest road I have ever been on. It was narrow, winding, ridiculously steep, and had a sheer drop right beside us.

I was freaking out.

Mike couldn’t understand why, until he saw the drop-off for himself. From where we were, you could see the road zigzagging all the way down the mountainside below us. It was probably the craziest road we’ve ever driven.

If another vehicle had come the other way, we would’ve been in trouble. There were very few places, if any, where two vehicles could pass.

At some points Mike was crawling downhill in first gear. You could see the next corner ahead, and beyond it… nothing but a cliff edge. I was gripping my seat for dear life while simultaneously sticking my 360 camera out the window.

Priorities.

Thankfully, we made it to the bottom without seeing another soul on that road.

We rolled into a place called Barco de Alva, right on the Spanish border, and suddenly there were cruise ships everywhere.

Cruise ships?!

This is the first place we’ve been where there’s been any real sign of tourists. Yet there were no people around. So I’m still not entirely sure what was going on there.

From there we continued over another mountain, which turned out to be another beautiful drive. The afternoon light was perfect, and we spent most of it saying “wow” at whatever appeared around the next bend.

Then Mike spotted what looked like castle ruins high on a hill.

As we got closer, sure enough, it was a castle!

And then Google started directing us up towards it.

Turns out… that’s where we’re staying tonight.

Can this day get any better?

Well, yes, it can.

The place we’re staying has the most spectacular views. It’s a free camping area provided by the council, with nice flat parking spots overlooking the countryside and the castle above. And not only does it have dump points, it also has free electricity.

Not a bad way to end a lazy day.

Man, it’s gotten HOT again! We left our campground and headed for a town where there is supposedly a rail trail as we wanted to go for a bike ride.

It was a pleasant drive today, through fields of fruit trees, mainly olives and avocados. The olive trees looked like they were all having a bad hair day. It was only about 1.5 hours drive but by the time we got to the town, it was HOT! 

On the outskirts of town was the best Lidl I had ever been to. It looked like it was brand new and beautifully air conditioned and even had nice toilets. We grabbed a few bits and pieces then headed to the town of Mirandela and parked up in a camping car place for the night. It’s quite a nice spot, beside a park and the river.

But we had trouble finding where the bike ride started and it looked like we’d have to ride mainly on roads. So we lay down for a nap instead. At 5pm, I couldn’t stand the heat in the van any longer so we took a walk alongside the river into the town.

There was a student festival to celebrate the end of the school year, and the town had a great vibe.

We sat down at a bar and ordered some zero beer. I couldn’t believe the price. 3 euros for two beers! So cheap! At that price we decided we could afford two each! It was really tasty too, a Portuguese one. I can see now why so many people sit around outside drinking at bars. We couldn’t afford to do that at home.

Today we booked another night in our campground and decided to explore the area.

I had made a plan to go to a traditional stone village, but first Mike wanted to explore the castle in the nearby town. We followed the signs to the castila, and the next thing we knew, we were driving up a steep cobblestoned street.

Then Google tried to send us to a parking area through a narrow tunnel that Bertie would never fit through!

So we had to turn around on this steep road, doing one hundred-point turns, followed by a terrible burning smell. I really hoped we hadn’t just wrecked our clutch!

We parked down the bottom and walked up to the castle. Bragança Castle isn’t just a castle; it has an entire medieval town inside its walls, with people still living here. The castle walls are still intact, and we were able to walk around them, and then through the little village itself. There were mostly old people living here, going about their day. For the second time on this trip, I feel like I’m imposing on people’s lives here.

Then we tried to do some shopping. The first obstacle was finding parking. This town is not campervan-friendly, with tiny car parks. The first supermarket we tried didn’t have anything we wanted. So we tried Lidl, but the queues at the checkouts were horrendous. I didn’t want to spend the nice day queueing, so we escaped. Quickly.

And then we took a drive to one of the most unusual villages in Europe because it is split between Portugal and Spain. On the Portuguese side it’s called Rio de Onor; on the Spanish side it’s known as Rihonor de Castilla. The two halves are separated only by a small stream.

We followed the narrow lanes between traditional granite houses topped with slate roofs, peeking down quiet side streets while trying not to be too nosy, as there are a few elderly residents here. It’s not a tourist destination as such, just a little town on the border, which made it feel authentic.

After that we followed the back roads to our camp. And this was almost a mistake. At one town, the streets were so narrow I thought we were going to scrape Bertie’s sides. I was simultaneously holding my breath while swearing and barking orders at Mike.

But we made it through and continued our drive through the Portuguese countryside of olive trees, cherry trees and wineries.

Back at camp, a couple had just driven in in their three-wheeler open-top car. A light blue Morgan. It was very cool; they had all their camping gear strapped on the back. There was barely enough room for the two of them to sit side by side.

We saw the UK plate, so got chatting to them. They are from the Lake District, so I had to tell them about my sisters doing the Coast to Coast. Apparently, the walk goes right by their village of Bampton.

That night we decided to eat in the camp restaurant as it had good reviews. We both ordered local dishes. Mike had the wild boar and I had the roast pork. Mike really enjoyed his, but mine was just OK. I guess I was imagining a roast from the roast shop. It was nothing like that.

It’s been another beautiful day and not too hot.

It was COLD this morning when we woke up. We’ve been enjoying the cooler mornings, but it was only 6 degrees! So I actually had to put the heater on. How can it go from so hot to so cold all of a sudden? We’ll probably regret saying that later when it hits 30 degrees.

The drive through the mountains today was beautiful, and we kept stopping to take photos. But then we came into a town and it was time to get back to reality. We needed to stock up on supplies and also spend a while on the main roads. There were still nice views from the main roads, it just felt less of a vibe with the faster speed limits.

I kept trying to find other routes to get us back onto the little roads we like. Then we turned off, and the road just got narrower and narrower. It was supposed to be the road to Portugal, and I was really hoping it wasn’t the road to nowhere.

There were no safety barriers on this road, and nowhere to pull over or turn around if we met someone coming the other way. But we ploughed on through, thankfully seeing nobody. Then, just like that, a Portugal sign appeared. Obviously we had to stop and take a photo. And the old border crossing was still there!

And as always, when crossing an artificial line, things change. In Portugal, it suddenly opened up into farmland and loads of fruit trees. I have no idea what type of fruit trees, but I think that’s what they were.

After a bit more driving, we came to the town on Vinhais that had parking for campervans. There was quite a nice outlook, but all the parking spots were on a slope. So we decided to navigate to a camping ground instead.

The camp was really busy place with loads of international vans, mainly from the UK and the Netherlands. Had we just arrived at a tourist hotspot? Anyway, they had one spot left for a van our size, and it happened to be the best one, with a gorgeous view over the mountains. And it’s only 20 euros a night, with nice modern toilets that have toilet seats, paper, and hand soap. Oh, and there’s a pool, but it’s only marginally warm enough to use. But it was oh so nice to have a hot shower. We might spend a couple of nights and explore the area.

Today was a bit of a trip down memory lane. We left our busy park-up and took the back roads. It’s amazing how there were about 20-30 campervans and motorhomes parked there, but we didn’t see one on the road today.

As usual, we took the squiggly roads while they probably took the nearby motorway. But the back roads didn’t disappoint. We saw so many storks high up in their nests, hanging out with their giant babies. I am just so obsessed with these birds. Poor Mike having to stop all the time so I could get photos.

Then we came into Sarria, where the last 100 km of the Camino starts. I don’t remember it being such an ugly city, but thankfully we only touched on the outskirts due to my expert navigation.

We saw the pilgrims walking in looking a bit worn out. And then we started recognising places. In Samos, a couple of carved wooden pilgrims that I remember taking photos with. And up and up and up we went until we arrived at the proper Fonfria this time. I stopped and took a photo of the round-shaped building where we had a pilgrim meal, and the albergue up above.

It’s amazing, having spent 2 weeks driving here, to imagine we walked all this way. At the time it didn’t seem like a big deal, just one foot in front of the other, making our way between towns. But when you’ve driven here in the comfort of a van, it kinda does seem like it was a big deal. And strangely enough, we’ve spent almost as much time driving it as we did walking!

And then further up was the bit I always remember from my Camino: the outlook at the top of a steep climb. I remember climbing that never-ending hill that just went up and up, and it was one of my favourite parts of the Camino, reaching the top where the view was incredible.

And today, we stood trying to see that same view, but it was covered in clouds. There were still glimpses of the farmland below, though. We took a short walk down and watched the pilgrims struggling to walk up, thinking how glad we are that we’re not doing that again!

Then we continued on, turning back onto the back roads. It was another beautiful drive, a narrow road hugging the cliffside and a sheer drop below. There was a guard rail, but it probably wouldn’t help much in a slip or an earthquake. Or a car coming fast the other way. But we put those thoughts aside and just enjoyed the wonderful drive.

And then, in the middle of nowhere, I saw a camping car place surrounded by the hills. It was only 3pm, but we pulled in and had a little nap. We woke up at 5pm and decided we’d stay as it was a gorgeous spot. And we were all alone there.

There was a path leading up through the trees, so we followed it to see where it went. After about ten minutes we came to a tiny little village. Just a few stone houses built into the hills.

We wandered up and down the little lanes, not really sure where we were going. I felt a bit awkward, like we were peering into people’s everyday lives. One man was pottering around in his garden, another was sitting on his deck, and there we were wandering through with a camera.

Only the cats seemed bothered by us, eyeing us suspiciously as we walked past before darting off into the bushes. Everyone else just carried on with whatever they were doing.

By the time we wandered back it was 8pm and time to settle down for a game of Monopoly Deal. No one else had joined us here, and we were all alone.

We woke up tired and decided to stay put. The car park we’re in is actually really good, with free power, water and a dump station. It’s also much cooler here, so we can sit outside without sweltering in the full sun.

We really are off the tourist trail. Every other campervan here is Spanish, although last night there were a couple of French ones too.

We took a short walk along the river, then came back to the van to do our exercises. By then, the sun had come out and it was hot. Typical. The van step, however, is the perfect height for step-ups. I’ll be sore tomorrow!

A couple of things I’ve noticed in Spain (and France) are that you can’t buy simple things like paracetamol in the supermarket; you have to go to a pharmacy. So that’s what we did today. The pharmacist brought out the 1000mg stuff (the strong stuff), and I tried to ask for 500mg instead.

That’s another thing about Spain: nobody seems to speak English. I tried saying “demi”, squeezed my fingers together to show I wanted a smaller dose, while Mike kept saying, “Just write it on your phone.”

So I spent ages connecting to my mobile data and trying to translate “500mg” into Spanish. When I finally managed it, I discovered it was exactly the same as in English. Geez, I’m thick.

Anyway, that was pretty much our day. It’s not the nicest town, but it looks like they’re trying to improve it, and encouraging motorhomes to stop here is probably a good start.