Valdovino to Santiago de Compostela and Beyond

Sunday 7^th September

We drove down to the seafront to look at the waves, and it started raining on us. This continued and got worse. This was about 11.40am. We went looking for a large supermarket or similar – such as Carrefour, as we were getting low on toilet liquid, and thought that a larger supermarket might have it. ‘Carrefour five minutes from this roundabout’ the sign said. Fifteen minutes later we were still nowhere near. At least the satnav had given up by then and had adjusted the route to fit where we were going. We eventually saw the supermarket go past as we disappeared down the slip road to the motorway. We came close to getting there.

We wanted to get to Santiago de Compostela. We were heading for an aire there, fairly close to the town centre. We thought that we would stay for two nights to do the town justice. The aire was 3.50 Euros to park until 8.00pm, then 12 Euros to park overnight. We arrived at the aire about 1.45, and had some lunch. The weather had been atrocious all the way, with really heavy rain. We broke out the wet weather gear and decided to walk into town – about 30 minutes away – to the Cathedral.

As we walked away from the van the rain stopped. We even had an umbrella. We took the satnav, set to walking, as we knew that the place was a bit of a maze. Being a Sunday the roads were relatively quiet, and that was a bonus. We managed to mostly follow the satnav, and after a few dead ends (not really), and after about 30 minutes we ended up at the cathedral. We seemed to have come in the back way – but even from there we could see that the main towers were covered in scaffolding – bit of a let down – but maintenance must be done.

We went inside, following the multitude and skilfully avoiding the (surprisingly) lone beggar holding out his paper cup. He didn’t seem be particularly needy – being about 30, quite well dressed, and looking fairly fit.

Lots of people inside. Lots of people taking photos of everything – everything. We noticed the big thing that contains incense (humidor?), alongside an older version. To be honest – most things looked dowdy and worn with lots and lots of dust. I suppose with the level of faith that this place has thrown at it 24/7 it must be pretty wearing, and entropy will be having a good time with all that extra energy being bandied about.

I wandered amongst the throng – but not being Catholic, or even a person of faith, I felt a bit lost. I didn’t want to queue to embrace the apostle, or visit the sepulchre – nor did K – and she’s more religious than me. I particularly didn’t want to place a euro into a box to see the end of an electric candle come to life (seriously). If they had given us a chance light a real candle, then I would have done so for my Mum – who wasn’t a Catholic, but was definitely undecided about the whole God, Heaven thing.

We wandered around for a while, took a few photos, and then found our way outside to watch some Pilgrims arriving on bikes. It was good – they didn’t seem to be put off by the scaffolding. They had their sticks with gourds and shells, their ‘certificate’ duly stamped to say that they had followed the route. Other Pilgrims had obviously walked the route and we were surrounded by all sorts of people in many garbs. It made me in my shorts and walking boots feel right at home.

Leaving the front of the Cathedral we walked down a street of restaurants selling seafood, particularly octopus, and many large cuts of beef – all displayed proudly in their windows. Many also had tanks containing crabs and lobsters – all alive for the picking. There were hoards of tourists mingling about – many looking lost and consulting their maps for a hint of where they might be, for the town is basically a maze.

As far as the shops are concerned – a fair mixture to be found here. If I can just say “Gourds, Shells, Sticks, Celts, Witches, Galicia” – I need to look up the meanings of all of these in relation to Santiago – especially the Witches. We bought some gifts from one of the shops and took a heading on the sat nav back towards the van. It took us about 20 minutes to get back to where we had parked. Instead of two nights, we had ‘done’ Santiago de Compostela in about three hours. It was still fairly early, so we decided to head down the coast to an aire closer to Portugal. We set course for Pontevedra.

We arrived at Pontevedra at about seven o’clock. It was just a big open space off of a dual carriageway near the town, but it was fairly quiet, and free to stay. We parked up, and after we had eaten the belly of pork and potatoes that I cooked I went for a walk along the river and saw some cormorants. It was a quiet night, and next morning we emptied the tanks at the aire de service and headed for Portugal. 

Jurassic Park and on to Valdovino

Friday 5^th September

By the way – I’ve been deaf in my right ear now for about a week – ever since going swimming in St. Jean de Luz. All I have is a constant ‘static’ noise, which is a real pain. K has to shout at me sometimes to get my attention – not good in company!

We emptied the van and made ready to go. We are heading for an aire in Gijon, which apparently is popular, so we need to get there fairly early. We headed off by ten thirty, and went via a cave where you could see real prehistoric cave painting. We arrived and parked up by a leisure centre only to be told that they were fully booked, but had a cancellation for one person at two o’clock (it was 12.30 then). They then had no spaces until the 11^th! We moved on.

Arriving at the Jurassic Museum about 40 minutes later we parked and made our way up the hill to be confronted by about twenty large dinosaur models, all of which we could freely wander around and take pictures – so we did. That bit was so good that we didn’t feel the need to go into the museum itself, other than the gift shop, thus saving 15 Euros!

We got to Gijon in mid afternoon, and took one of the two remaining spaces on the aire – close to a busy main road, right next to the port. It was free, so who looks a gift horse……. The beach started at the edge of the aire, so we parked and went for a walk then sunbathe – for about two hours.

Returning to the van we ate the remainder of the pasta dish that I have prepared the previous day, and then loaded up the National Trust Wine Carrier with some Muscadet, and headed back to the beach. We sat for a while and enjoyed the ambience. The sun was, however, soon going down and we wended our way back to the van.

After listening to an audiobook for a while we retired. The road was OK for me – I just had to lie on my left side and I couldn’t hear a thing. K said that it was a bit noisy, especially when there seemed to be a lot of lorries going through in the early morning.

Saturday 6^th September

We awoke to a sunny morning, breakfasted, emptied the van and were on our way south by 10.00 – something of a record for us. We became distracted by a Lidl, however, and after I had decided how to park – K’s suggestion worked – side on in the parking bay – we decamped to the supermarket, knowing that we only had three smallish bags, therefore could not buy too much…..

We emerged weighed down with goods – surprising what you can fit in three small bags - and I was pleased to find that the van was still there, and didn’t have a parking ticket. We stowed the stuff, and K took over driving our way out of Gijon.

A hour and a halfish later we stopped for lunch at Ribadeo bridge at the Asturias border and went for a short walk under the bridge to the information office on the other side – we thought – but couldn’t get to it, so returned to the van. 

We ate, and then I took over driving for the longer stretch. After another stop at a ‘Hiper’ Market looking for the possibility of toilet goods – but having much more in the way of cider, sausage and wine goods, we arrived at Valdovino Camping nearly four hours later, having picked it from the ASCI book. It’s a smallish site on a hill (more of a slope really) with enough shrubbery to worry even us with a smallish van – if you were bigger, you could find yourself scrubbing against the foliage. The pitches were level but lumpy – even had cut off trees about two inches high in part.

I booked us in for one night. K seemed dubious, but cheered up when she saw that the (Gaudi themed) toilet block was really quite nice. We both had welcome showers (mine hotter than hers for some reason) after I had washed her hair in the baby bath section, and settled in for the evening. We had enough of the sun to cheer us up. After food we played around with free wifi and then went to bed. The bay just down the hill from the site was spectacular – and obviously good for surfing – we seemed to have a surf school at the site.

Comillas

Wednesday 3^rd September

We left the aire at about 10.30. K was driving, and did so all the way to around about Santander, where we stopped at a ‘mock’ service station (it was a small town with a petrol station and a restaurant), and I took over.  We saved about an hours driving by taking the toll motorway – which cost less than £10.00 – so quite good value I thought.

Lovely drive through the Cantabrian countryside – this is a very pretty place, and looks positively Scandinavian in part – the pine trees and the mountains. It’s a bit warmer though – about 28 degrees.

We were heading for a town named Comillas, which our guide book tells us has some lovely and unique buildings. We arrived about three o’clock and found the closest campsite to the town. Happens to be on a clifftop overlooking the main beach – not bad. Had to use both 25m leads to connect us to power – but managed it. We got the bikes down and went for a ride into town. Found the tourist office and got a map. Rode around a bit and found a supermarket. Bought some bits, and more wine, and headed back to the van. We decided to do the tourist bit the next day – armed with the map.

Back at the van we showered and sat outside for a bit until it started to rain, then we retired inside and listened to more Terry Pratchett for the evening (after I had made food).

Thursday 4^th September

After breakfast we decided to wash the bedding and towels, so I took a long walk down to the men’s toilet block where the machines were. Only cost three Euros each for a wash and tumble dry – so that was good. The weather was cloudy, but not wet, and clearing. By the time the washing was done, and I had wandered across the road to find the house to pay for our stay (that hurt a bit – 26.15 Euros a night!), it was near lunch time, so we had some soup and bread then set out on the bikes.

We went to the cemetery first – old and interesting with an angel guarding it. Then we found several of the other buildings listed on the tourist map, ending up at ‘Gaudi’s Caprice’ – which is the first building that he designed on commission. Very odd building. 

We spent quite a while there, then sought out the few remaining sights that we hadn’t seen. We returned to the camp, and stowed the bikes, had showers, and sat out for a while looking at the sea. It wasn’t too sunny – but it wasn’t raining. Then it started to drizzle, so we retired inside. I cooked a rather large pasta bake thingy, which we ate about half of. We listened to the end of an audiobook.

Into Spain - San Sebastian

Tuesday 2^nd September

We were moving on today, down into Spain, heading for an aire at San Sebastian, via a small town named Hondarribia, which K had read was very nice. We were up fairly early, but we knew that we weren’t going too far, so there wasn’t any rush. I had packed most things away the night before, and taken in the awning. The only thing left outside were my ‘crocs’, and the heavy dew made them look like they had been hosed down when I went for my shower.

We set off and filled up with diesel at a Carrefour. The traffic was bad, so we decided to take the toll motorway into Spain. As it was, we kind on snunk into Spain because we had to turn off to go to Hondarribia – so one minute everything was in French – next it was all Spanish. The sat nav took us to Hondarribia – but then tried to get us up a tiny street in the centre, so I turn it off and headed for the river – we parked, and K got rid of the recycling at a handy set of bins. We walked around for a bit, decided that it was probably a nice place, and headed for San Sebastian.

We found the aire, chose a space, paid the fee 6.55 Euros with a card at the second attempt, and got the bikes down. It was very warm – the fridge had to be put on gas, and the auto fan kept kicking in to cool it. We cycled into town, heading for the sea front. Excellent cycle lanes all the way, clearly marked and separated from the traffic. Well used and busy. This is a cycling town.

Beautiful sea front. Long promenade which could be cycled all the way – there was even a cycle lift at one point. Sweeping bay, lovely beaches, lots and lots of people. Interesting turn of the 19^th century buildings, an old town with narrow streets and lots of shops and bars. We cycled all the way around the bay, had an ice cream, then cycled back and sat on the beach for an hour, eating cake and having a drink and also having a paddle into the bargain. The tide was a way out, and quite a few stones were exposed – but the sea wasn’t bad, and quite a few people were swimming. There must have been thousands of people on the beaches – mind you, they are very big beaches!

I resisted the urge to have a beer from the beach café, and we got back to the van at about six. Time we put the bikes away etc. it was closer to 6.30. I did some drinks and set about cooking bacon, eggs, mushrooms and beans – just fancied it.

We are heading west tomorrow – a long drive of about four and a half hours.

Nearly Spain - But Not Quite

Friday 29^th August

Terrific thunderstorms during the night so we woke to a very wet campsite. After my shower and breakfast I paid the bill – a very reasonable fifty two Euros – we managed ASCI rates. We packed up and were on our way by 10.30am – not bad for us.

I drove for about three hours, then K took over for about an hour and a half, then I finished off, bringing us to the coast at Saint-Girons Plage. We stayed on a campsite aire at Les Tourterelles and went for a walk to the beach for a few hours. 

Lovely waves – a good surfers beach. The campsite is huge, so it may be as well that we are on the outskirts. We have to be away by two tomorrow, so we are hoping for good weather so we can perhaps get back to the beach. We plan to head south – maybe into Spain.

Saturday 30^th August

We arose, and spent a while getting ready to go. We left the site after twelve and a short spell later, a toll ride down the motorway, we found ourselves in St. Jean de Luz at a campsite named ‘International’ – a good site with spacious pitches, clean shower blocks, free hot showers and access almost directly to the beach, which was named ‘Erromardie’. The weather is very cloudy and quite damp.

We decided to stay for three nights. We chose our pitch, set up, and then explored the site and walked down to the beach for look around. It is a sand beach with quite a few rocks. Surfers seem prevalent again. There is a beachside restaurant which looks to be good. May try there. Back to the van for food and sleep.

Sunday 31^st August

Rose later than we had hoped and did a load of washing, which we had to put extra lines out to accommodate. After the usual ablutions etc. and waiting for the washing to be ready to be put out we went to the swimming pool and sat in the one o’clock sun without any kind of sun cream etc. We swam for a bit, and then went back to the van for lunch. After this we went to the beach and sat for a while, again, without sun protection for an hour and a bit, before succumbing to the overwhelming beat emerging from the seaside bar behind the beach (it had given me a headache), and returning to the site. Surprisingly I realised that I had become somewhat red in certain areas – more so than K, whose garden sitting adventures had prepared her somewhat more for the sun’s niceties. Sat around for a while watching the little gang of sparrows who were on the lookout for food and enjoying their dust baths.

Changing, we decided to visit the restaurant on site, as the beat from the seaside bar/restaurant hadn’t ceased. We order a starter to share of meats and cheeses from the Basque region, followed by mussels and frites for both. I had a beer, and K had a glass of rose. It was very good, and hard to finish, but we mostly managed.  It was a small celebration of K becoming free of the burden of employment after so many years. 

Monday 1^st September

Despite good intentions we didn’t get away from the van until 12.40, on the bikes, heading for St. Jean de Luz. We took lunch with us, and were looking for a nice spot to eat it. The ride was a bit up and down, some of it on gravel paths, which were a little dodgy. The promenade at St. Jean de Luz was pedestrians only, so we walked the bikes around a bit. The place was very pretty, with a sweeping bay of calm blue water. We found a slope down to the beach, and so sat and had lunch whilst watching people splashing in the water and looking in rockpools.

After about an hour or so we headed back to the site, which took about fifteen minutes. We decided to go to the pool to cool down – it was very warm at this point. A cooling swim and a little cautious sunbathing later we returned to the van. I went for a shower whilst K sat outside. I made a kind of long drink thing out of the not-very-nice ‘framboise’ wine the K had bought. It was cool (with ice), and went down quite well on a warm evening. I cooked lamb chops, potatoes and French petit pois – with a shallot and mushroom sauce. We both enjoyed this whilst listening to ‘The Last Elephant’ by Terry Pratchett.

Still in The Dordogne - Troglodytes and Stuff

Tuesday 26^th August

Woken up by rain drumming on the roof. That’s the story for the day. We decide to have a ‘day off’ and stay around the site. I find that I can pick up the free WiFi from where we are by using my big USB aerial stuck on the side of the van. K updates her blog. I do some washing. We put the awning out so that we can put up the portable washing line. It rains pretty much all day. We don’t get to use the bikes.

Lots of birds to watch when the rain does stop for a bit. They come out from the bushes and flit in and out of the trees. I even saw a Nuthatch climbing the tree closest to the van – just looked out the open door, and there it was.

We plan where we are going next. It seems that we are off to look at the caves at Lascaux II tomorrow, before heading south west.

Wednesday 27^th August

Grand sunny morning. Up and off after breakfast, heading for Lascaux II. Very windy road all the way to Montignac – passing a goose farm on the way. Arriving at Montignac the sat nav decided to be silly and direct us to a side street. We found our own way to Lascaux – only to find out that the only place that you can buy tickets is in the town centre!! Back to town and found the aire – which, I must say, is fab – complete with free electricity. We walked around – it was market day – and found the ticket place. Looked at the queues and thought ‘It’s only a replica’. Went back to the van and headed for ‘Le Thot’ – the companion to Lascaux.

We stopped off at a large Intermarche on the way and did a fairly large shop. Also filled up with diesel at their fairly cheap prices.

After snagging the bike cover on some barbed wire I parked at Le Thot and we gained entrance for the sum of seven seventy Euros each. Was it worth it? No. We walked around the animal part in about twenty minutes (going very slowly), and then sat and waited for the ‘animation’ at 4.30pm. The exhibition of primitive skills in stone and bone carving were interesting, and the guide showed us the many animals depicted on the exhibition walls through the use of UV light – when only a few seemed present in natural light.

Aurochs

An Extremely Sad looking Mammoth

We lost the crowd, and then realised that we were missing the augmented reality workshop. Following the sound of applause, K found a door and we entered to a large screen with a backwards facing camera and a projector which seemed to place prehistoric animals close to the audience, and some brave child volunteers. Interesting, but not that interesting, or long. We came in on the last animal of three that had been shown – a woolly rhino.

We left and headed for ‘St. Christopher’s Rock’. This is a natural limestone wall which has been occupied by humans for over 55,000 years. It has been a fort, and a city in the middle ages. We spent nearly an hour having a good look round, and then headed back.

We had promised ourselves a barbecue. I got the bucket out and started it up. We had ‘brochettes du porc’ and sausages, breast of lamb slices and with salad, I did a baguette some serious harm. We didn’t eat until quite late, but it was clear and warm and very nice.

Thursday 28^th August                                                    

The weather is still good. We  decided to stay one more night and visit some more things. We tried the Grotte de Gaume – but that had limited entry and all tickets had gone by the time that we got there. So on to the ‘Maison Fort de Reignac’ – a kind of cliff castle which still has all of its period furniture fixtures and fittings. It has been occupied for over 20,000 years.

We spent quite a while going around. It ends with a ‘Torture Exhibition’ which is internationally renowned, and which has toured Europe. It was horrific to see what torments we have devised for each other over the years – some of which are still carried out today.

Back to the van for lunch and then, after a quick stop at a goose farm, to the camp site to plan the trip down south tomorrow. I prepared a chicken dish for the evening meal, and it started raining again – (don’t think the two were connected).