Fay
Monday, 28 June 2021
Saturday, 31 January 2015
Welcome Home
It is the early hours of the morning when we walk back up our garden path, feeling almost as we did when we left...as if we were away for a weekend! But is wasn't, we had been on a incredible adventure. Over the past six months we have driven Fay out to the Russian border and down to the Sahara, we have touched three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa. Not to mention our little dalliance in Pakistan. For all of that time we have been each other's constant companions, never more than a couple of meters apart, we have each been to the other what ever the other needed. Together we have seen so much, done so much and learnt so much. We have had a ball!! Indeed, much of the homeward leg of our journey has been spent discussing "where next?" There are so many places still to go, places that we missed, places we want to return to and places we have yet to discover. Fay has been brilliant, any future modifications will be mere tweeks.
As we open the door, home feels warm, a dear friend has cleaned so no six month layer of dust! There on the kitchen table, a welcome home card, bottles of wine and beer, a bouquet of flowers, fruit and chocolates! It is not just the central heating that makes us feel warm, it is the special feeling of knowing we were missed and that friends and family are pleased we are back.
We make a cup of tea, then take it and one of the bars of chocolate to bed. Hmmm, the last time we slept in a double bed with crisp white sheets was in the hotel in Istanbul. Sleep comes easily and we dream the dreams of weary travellers...coming home wasn't so bad, after all.
We would like to thank everyone we met along the way. Each of you were a part of our adventure.
78083k mileage when we left home.
98343k mileage upon return home.
20260k distance Fay covered from 09.08.2014 - 23.01.2015
Monday, 26 January 2015
The Rain in Spain!
With only the pigs in the field beside us for company, we open the curtains whilst drinking our morning cup of tea, in bed. Richard is chattering on about possible, future trips, plans and destinations. "Look!" I say, he doesn't instantly react, attempting to finish what he was saying. "Look!" I say again, once more cutting him off mid sentence. He turns his head to see what I am being so insistent about...large, white, fluffy snowflakes falling all about us!
When we landed in Spain from Morocco, we made the decision not to explore this country. It was too large and we didn't have time. Now we are back here from Portugal, Spain has decided to keep her treasures under wraps until we return to take a proper look. Today, Spain is hidden by dark skies, white snow and grey mists. With the weather closing in, we keep to the motorways and reach Bilbao just before nightfall.
Wed 21st - Thur 22nd Jan
The weather is truly awful today, we are glad we made the decision to reach Bilbao last night. Our ferry is due to leave at 3pm but we have fiddle through the day easily, without being bored. 3pm comes and goes. Finally, the ferry which turned out to be a small tub, rather than the large cruise liner type we had before, departs two hours late.
As soon as we leave the safety of the harbour, we are at the hands of the still angry Atlantic! Somewhat disconcertingly, the first thing that happens is a demonstration of how to put a life jacket on! For someone who fears drowning over any other death, this is not good!! Our thoughts of ending our trip with a celebratory meal in the Al a Carte restaurant are dashed. One, because this little tub doesn't have one and two, because it is soon clear that eating is not going to be on my list of things I want to do!
We meet a couple in the bar, who are about to embark on an overland trip to the Americas. Unfortunately, however, interesting their conversation maybe I have to excuse myself. A sick bag is calling me! Ugh!
All night the boat tosses and turns, rolling this way and that. The sound of the droning engine interspersed with unseen, far off, un identified things smashing. At some point during the night, the ship stops, effectively doing nothing other than tread water. By the time it is daylight we have been back underway for some time, long enough for another sick bag to write my name on it! Ugh, again and yes I have been taking travel sick pills!!
There is an announcement over the tannoy, we will be six hours late docking in Portsmouth. 5pm had seemed such a reasonable time to get in, now we won't be home till the early hours. It could have been worse, the ferry could have been cancelled. We try to look on the bright side.
Portugal's Parting Gift
Sun 18th Jan
The rest obviously did me good, as today we are ready to move on. Further up the coast we go, trying but not succeeding, to keep to the more major roads and so avoiding quiet so many side tracks. We will have to return to Portugal, there is so much to more for us to see and do here.
As if to underline this our night spot proves to be a case in point. We find ourselves on a small peninsula, we ended up heading this way for no other reason than that at the end is a place called Troia. This, of course, reminded us of Turkey and as such we took it as a good omen that this was the road to take. As it happened we didn't reach Troia. The land all about us was sand and pine forest, the pine made a change from the miles of cork trees we had seen earlier toady. How strange they looked, half stripped of their bark, which had been harvested in preparation for the day it would maybe "pop" in celebration, be sniffed by some connoisseur or simply discarded with no thought of how it made its way into the bottle, only the best way to get it out!
Back on the peninsula, much of the sand is too deep to drive on. We laugh at this scenario having recently come from the Sahara! Then we see an accessible track. It leads through some woodland, just as we are reaching the edge of the wood two large, brown furry creatures run in a lumbering fashion across the track before us and on into the the next wood. We assume they were coypus? Although, they had fluffy tails with a sort of black Pom Pom on the end?? Until we have internet and time, we can identify them no further.
Out of the woods there is a clearing, with a single tree. It stands in front of a modern but abandoned row of little blue and white cottages. We stop and nose about. The cottages are completely empty. There are a couple of smashed windows and it appears that any bathroom fittings have all been removed. Other than that though, they are very sweet. Well, here will do us for the night! To the right of us are the woods, in front we have a view, over the fields of an old windmill and an attractive, modern railway bridge, it is pale green. To the left are further fields, then tall rushes before the estuary and the wooded landscape on the other side. A few fishing boats bob about. Behind us are the cottages, only in the distance behind them on the opposite side of the river is there sign of industry but there is so much nature about us, we don't even look in that direction. This place would delight any bird watcher. There are birds of all shapes, sizes and type: marsh harriers, storks, giant and little egrets, great flocks of black water fowl (not in our bird identification book) plus familiar water birds, there were also the birds who preferred the woodland, those whose preference was the marsh and so and so forth. This was a good place to sit and watch the world go by.
Mon 19th Jan
We dawdled about leaving here, today but knew we must. As we sat in bed, drinking tea and watching the birds, we daydreamed about the potential of the little cottages behind us. How good it would have been to have stayed here, walked the woods looking for clues as to the identity of our fluffy tailed coypus; walked down to the river, maybe done some fishing. How much we wanted to see what there was at this Portuguese Trioa. None of that would get us to the ferry on time though. We put this place on the slate, left an OIU a proper visit next time and went on our way. All night the wind had blown, strongly rocking Fay and disturbing any chance of a full nights sleep. Though, lessened in ferocity, it still blew and we were glad. Trying to leave had it been warm sunshine on a calm, clear day would have been so much harder.
When we were in Morocco, we thought we were ready to come home. Actually, we were just ready to leave Morocco! Camp fires and jacket potatoes proved that to us. We will be glad to see family and friends, though and don't regret having booked the ferry and definitely still know it was the right decision. After all, this trip has to end at sometime and is it not always better to leave, wanting more?
We are strict with ourselves for the rest of day and cover a lot of ground via the motorways. By nightfall we are camped up a lovers lane, outside of Cuidiad Rodrigo, Spain.
Sent from my iPad
The rest obviously did me good, as today we are ready to move on. Further up the coast we go, trying but not succeeding, to keep to the more major roads and so avoiding quiet so many side tracks. We will have to return to Portugal, there is so much to more for us to see and do here.
As if to underline this our night spot proves to be a case in point. We find ourselves on a small peninsula, we ended up heading this way for no other reason than that at the end is a place called Troia. This, of course, reminded us of Turkey and as such we took it as a good omen that this was the road to take. As it happened we didn't reach Troia. The land all about us was sand and pine forest, the pine made a change from the miles of cork trees we had seen earlier toady. How strange they looked, half stripped of their bark, which had been harvested in preparation for the day it would maybe "pop" in celebration, be sniffed by some connoisseur or simply discarded with no thought of how it made its way into the bottle, only the best way to get it out!
Back on the peninsula, much of the sand is too deep to drive on. We laugh at this scenario having recently come from the Sahara! Then we see an accessible track. It leads through some woodland, just as we are reaching the edge of the wood two large, brown furry creatures run in a lumbering fashion across the track before us and on into the the next wood. We assume they were coypus? Although, they had fluffy tails with a sort of black Pom Pom on the end?? Until we have internet and time, we can identify them no further.
Out of the woods there is a clearing, with a single tree. It stands in front of a modern but abandoned row of little blue and white cottages. We stop and nose about. The cottages are completely empty. There are a couple of smashed windows and it appears that any bathroom fittings have all been removed. Other than that though, they are very sweet. Well, here will do us for the night! To the right of us are the woods, in front we have a view, over the fields of an old windmill and an attractive, modern railway bridge, it is pale green. To the left are further fields, then tall rushes before the estuary and the wooded landscape on the other side. A few fishing boats bob about. Behind us are the cottages, only in the distance behind them on the opposite side of the river is there sign of industry but there is so much nature about us, we don't even look in that direction. This place would delight any bird watcher. There are birds of all shapes, sizes and type: marsh harriers, storks, giant and little egrets, great flocks of black water fowl (not in our bird identification book) plus familiar water birds, there were also the birds who preferred the woodland, those whose preference was the marsh and so and so forth. This was a good place to sit and watch the world go by.
Mon 19th Jan
We dawdled about leaving here, today but knew we must. As we sat in bed, drinking tea and watching the birds, we daydreamed about the potential of the little cottages behind us. How good it would have been to have stayed here, walked the woods looking for clues as to the identity of our fluffy tailed coypus; walked down to the river, maybe done some fishing. How much we wanted to see what there was at this Portuguese Trioa. None of that would get us to the ferry on time though. We put this place on the slate, left an OIU a proper visit next time and went on our way. All night the wind had blown, strongly rocking Fay and disturbing any chance of a full nights sleep. Though, lessened in ferocity, it still blew and we were glad. Trying to leave had it been warm sunshine on a calm, clear day would have been so much harder.
When we were in Morocco, we thought we were ready to come home. Actually, we were just ready to leave Morocco! Camp fires and jacket potatoes proved that to us. We will be glad to see family and friends, though and don't regret having booked the ferry and definitely still know it was the right decision. After all, this trip has to end at sometime and is it not always better to leave, wanting more?
We are strict with ourselves for the rest of day and cover a lot of ground via the motorways. By nightfall we are camped up a lovers lane, outside of Cuidiad Rodrigo, Spain.
Sent from my iPad
Sunday, 18 January 2015
Back on the Atlantic coast
Having left the carpark before breakfast, we decide to stop at San Vincent for coffee and toast. This place is the corner of Portugal, it is where the Med and the Atlantic meet. Today, that meeting is certainly not an amicable one! The waves crash high up the cliffs, then swirl round in every direction making more white foam than a packet of Fairy Snow. The wind howls and the rain lashes. Is this preparation for home?
We continue on, exploring as we go. We are liking Portugal, even if it is a bit crowded. Tonight will have to be a campsite night. Sometimes, practical things like the need to empty the loo, overcome our preference to wild camp.
Sat 17th Jan
Today, I was a big whimp. Having been feeling a bit under the weather since we were in Chefchouan, today I gave in and stopped arguing about staying put for a day to rest. Rest? It sounds ridiculous, I haven't worked for nearly six months, what is there to rest from? Richard has been lovely; nursing me well, with kindness and a degree of nagging, about not drinking enough! Are these hidden talents sign of a missed vocation?!!
I am cross with myself, though. I don't want to spoil our last week.
Enjoying Portugal
We have arranged to meet a fellow Hiace owner, we have been in contact with for some time. He tells us of a fort further up the coast where we can wild camp. We make our way along the pretty coastline, popping into little coves and quaint villages as we go. The houses are mostly white, with blue paintwork and pale peachy, terracotta roofs. All of which add to the calm feel of Portugal.
We reach our rendezvous by late afternoon, which has seen the thermometer show an outside temperature of 26C! The view is lovely, across a pretty blue sea. On the cliff top, beside the ruins of an old fort, we set up the BBQ and look forward to once again, being able to eat outside, watch the sun go down and relax. This is what we have missed since being in Morocco.
Chris arrives, with his dog Rio, a little terrier of some concoction. Rio was a foundling, adopted by Chris last year, he turned up in the middle of nowhere and stayed. Rio's eyes never leave Chris but it is clear that the bond is mutual! We spend a pleasant evening discussing the finer points of Hiaces and travelling. Lubricating the conversion with a glass or two local plonk. We chat easily until the campfire is down to its last embers.
Wed 14th Jan
Unbelievably, we have just one week left before we will board the ferry at Bilbao back to Portsmouth. We are determined to make the most of this last week, so stay put, just because we can! We rise late, have a lazy brunch, gather more firewood for tonight and then climb down the steep cliff to the sandy beach below. It goes without saying, that I had a much needed helping hand to manage the ascent when it was time to think about getting that BBQ going again!
Thurs 15th Jan
Today, we do move, not far though only to the village of Sagre. Here we treat ourselves to lunch in a typically Portuguese restaurant. The weather has become stormy, so we take shelter in a small carpark for the night.
Portugal
As with Greece, we do not have time to properly explore a country as big as Spain. So rather than just taking a peek, we head to the smaller Portugal. From overland adventurers to middle aged Brits on the Algarve! Oh the shame of it!? Not to worry, we can drown our sorrows in a bottle of 75p plonk!! Happy holidays!
Mon 12th Jan
We leave Monte Gordo, which is a nice place by the sea with a sandy beach and relaxed, calm atmosphere. Such a contrast to Morocco. We head along the coast, stopping here and there on the way. Portugal is very pretty. For the first time since leaving Sicily, tonight we wild camp! Quite a find in coastline so very, very popular with Motorhomes. A little bay that we have to ourselves, accessible only because we have Fay.
The bay is surrounded by sandstone cliffs of many colours. It reminds us of the intricate spice piles in the Istanbul Spice Bazaar. In places, amongst the scraggy surface of the cliffs, are lines of encrusted seashells. They shine out like a pearl necklace around the aged neck of a Granny.
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