Tapp's Travels

As we left Spain, we saw one of the thousands of deer warning signs.  This one showed a very energetic deer.  Capable of jumping 5 km!

To be fair we have now seen quite a few deer about.  We spotted fifteen one day.  So the signs are probably a good idea.  But as there are so many, there’s a real risk that no one takes any notice of them.  It should be noted that there were predicted to be 74,000 deer related car accidents in the UK last year alone!  According to Mr Google, Spain has recorded 4,500 such accidents – over the last 10 years.  That’s a rate some 164 times lower than ours.  So I think we need to get some of these signs put up at home.  They obviously do work!  (Those are a “true” statistics by the way, not my sort of slightly exaggerated ones!)

We were followed out of the country by the compulsory Griffon Vultures!

Now, it’s true to say that there was a good deal of discussion about our route into Portugal.  And it’s possible that the vultures knew something we didn’t!  Glenda tried to persuade me to take the safe, long and easy route.  ROUND the mountains!  Boring!  I had spotted the short, “direct” route avoiding motorways.  And I had decided!

The route starts with a very nice, Spanish dual carriageway that took us right back past the Monfragüe site.  It heads beautifully in the direction of Portugal.  However, a bit like the high-speed Madrid to Lisbon rail link which is still under construction (but ONLY in Spain!), it just stops a few miles short of the border.  There’s a roundabout and then a tiny road heading Westward.  Sensible people (according to the navigator) would turn North here and head for the motorway from Salamanca which does connect with proper Portuguese roads!  Boring, boring (if sensible)!

So West we go and bump into “UK time” on back roads and donkey tracks.  I have to say that, as we got closer, the Serra da Estrela did look a bit – well, mountainous I suppose!  And steep!

Undaunted, well outwardly undaunted, we boldly go straight on over the motorway and into Covilha.  This alone is quite an uphill struggle on cobbles and tiny streets through what is the biggest city we’ve been anywhere near since… well, since we left Plymouth!

Our route was clearly marked “To the ski station”!  So we couldn’t get lost.  There is only one road after you leave the city.  It’s a “little” bendy and more than a little steep!  Fortunately, not much traffic going our way – and, worryingly, none coming down the mountain.  Great views back over to Spain though – and is that the Pyrenees in the far distance?!!  Probably not!

Towards the top (or so we thought) we got to cloud level!

Which got thicker…

… and thicker…

… until we couldn’t see more than three metres in front of the car.  And we were still miles from the actual top.  Glenda was watching for white lines and I was watching the sat nav for advance warning of hairpin bends!  It went on like this for about an hour at no more than 5 mph!  Now we know why there was no traffic coming the other way!  The road was superb – I think.  And the views over the glacier and the surrounding countryside are said to be spectacular!  Somewhere along the road we passed a sign which said 2,000 metres above something!  Not sure what that meant!!!

Anyway, as Glenda will tell you, we made it with “no problem”!  Enough said!!

As we were coming into Oliveira do Hospital from an “unexpected” direction (out of the mountains – apparently nobody comes that way!), the instuctions as to how to find our site were pretty useless.   We ended up approaching one tiny village with a big sign saying “no lorries” so the navigator did a recce on foot and we ended up reversing out and doing an about turn to try a different route.  When we got to Toca da Reposa we discovered it was a lovely, very friendly little site but with very narrow paths, lots of rocky outcrops and overhanging trees.  A great site for cyclists and motor cyclists – not necessarily for seven-plus metre long caravans.  After Glenda had a brief altercation with a Dutch campervan driver who arrived after us but wanted to pitch on the place we had chosen, we proceeded into a lovely flat piece of ground.  The only problem was that it was down a steep path with a right angle bend at the top!

Going in was OK…  Let’s worry about getting out later!  The Dutchman had scarpered fortunately.   He was definitely a NOT!  Thank you James for helping us get in!  According to Mieke (the site owner) the last caravan which got onto “our” pitch had to be towed off by the bombeiros – the fire fighters!

Whatever!  Surprisingly it appears we have 5G internet connection here!  Huawei or not!

The area had been really badly burnt out in the forest fires two years ago.  While a lot of the dead trees had been felled and cleared, lots remain in place with the new growth coming up amongst them.  Spooky at sunset …

The eucalypts (of which there are far too many) are rapidly re-establishing themselves.  As they do!

The fire had swept through the campsite taking out lots of trees and four caravans.  Apparently the flames actually reached the buildings but did no significant damage.  The owners were trapped on the property with just a few hose pipes and a swimming pool as a refuge of last resort!

The night we arrived a couple of “locals” (he was Dutch and she was Italian!) came to the site and made pizzas.  Just as well as we were not in the mood for cooking after the trials and tribulations of our (my) mountaineering expedition.

And they were really delicious.  Second best only to those Chris and my sister made for us back in February in Australia.

And we were serenaded by flute …

We celebrated my birthday here.  The local villagers decorated their main street with flowers for me.

… for well over a kilometre!

What a nice thoughtful gesture!  We had a brilliant birthday meal at a local restaurant (Da Carvalha) in the local village, Lagares de Beira.  We were able to dine here because the place we had booked the day before was closed – for a week!  We never found out why but it worked out really well.  Steaks with pepper sauce.  Yummy.

We visited yet more Roman remains, in Bobadela, a tiny village nearby.

That same village is home to the regional olive oil museum.  A privately funded initiative tracing the history of oil production since Roman times.  Lots of old milling paraphernalia collected into a custom built museum.  And very good it was too.

On the Friday night there was a fête in the local village Lagares.  Lots of loud music till late.  I mention this because the following morning at about 7 am we were woken by a massive amount of gunfire.  Possibly 500 rounds in five minutes!  Far too much to be anything to do with hunting or clay pigeon shooting.  Apparently, it’s the local custom to make as much noise as possible in the morning to make sure all the villagers are up in time for work after a festively alcoholic night!  And that’s an exceedingly good idea – except, for me, 9 o’clock would be a better time for “reveille”!

By the way, I suspect that the flowers in town had more to do with Corpus Christi Day and the fête than my birthday!  Maybe!

Talking of birthdays, on the Sunday I had booked lunch at a rather fine hotel.  Last year we found the place just after they had finished their buffet-style Sunday lunch.  The puddings looked delicious.

The only problem is that the hotel is in Freixinho and we aren’t really very close.  In fact, we were an exhilarating 90 minutes away – and that’s if you take the correct road!  Some 80 minutes into our journey I clocked the fact that there are two places called Freixinho and we were closing in on the wrong one!  Good old sat nav!  Anyway, once we put that right it was just a matter of getting back over the mountains to the right one

No worries.  I’d allowed time for a pleasant trip with a coffee stop (which, in the event we didn’t get!).  We arrived at the Hotel Rural Convento Nossa Señora do Carmo in plenty of time.  Early even.

The buffet was truly amazing.  All you could possibly eat for €12.50!

Back at base – which we got to by the quick (90 minute) route! – time for the first swim of the trip.

We had a great week here.  Lots of walking.  Lots of lovely meals (especially at O Gouveia) and a rather long trip to the Mata Nacional do Buçacao.  Another old palacey sort of place with a hugely over-priced hotel and restaurant.

OK.  So now it’s time to worry about extracting our home from it’s shelf-like location.  Our two biker friends, Tony and Jon …

… had offered to lend a couple more litres of BMW power, James and Paul were also going to assist.  But when push came to shove it was just Glenda and me.  The boys had left for Spain.  James had an appointment in town and Paul was mysteriously absent!

To find out if we escaped you will have to read the next exciting instalment!