December's Dash South

Boarding the ferry was slow but straightforward enough and whilst my cabin was large and comfortable it wasn't the bespoke luxury I remembered from the 2014 sailing - Brittany Ferries now just offer these slightly larger cabins with access to the Commodore Lounge that now has the spectacular forward facing views and provides a steady supply of drinks and snacks throughout the crossing - well worth the extra cost.

 

 

As always leaving Portsmouth was a fascinating experience with one of our two aircraft carriers at anchor with the usual 24 hour police presence alongside. The other is laid up in Rosyth with a propellor issue - so much money wasted on these projects whilst health and social care suffer. Similarly Portsmouth itself seemed to be making little effort to reduce it's energy consumption - surely this should go hand in hand with its Low Emission Zone, which incidentally ignores the damage caused by the ferries and naval vessels.

 Anyway I settled in for what would fortunately prove to be a very calm crossing, brief phone signal as we passed close to the Brittany coast allowed a quick catch up before I resumed my regular visits to the CL for delicious food and a glass of wine or three - last year's journey had been so unpleasant that I failed to make use of any of the onboard dining facilities.

 

A good evening meal was provided for in the fare (£500 one way which is a significant increase but avoids the lengthy drive through a chilly winter France) and I settled in for a comfortable second night before we docked in Santander at daybreak.

Disembarkation and border control were swift so before long the sat nav was guiding me out on to the motorway heading south, avoiding toll roads as usual as those charges can soon mount up.

With a good getaway and only a six hour journey time indicated I messaged Gary to say I would be arriving a day early and headed across the interior meseta on again largely empty roads.

At Casceres I filled up with supplies at the large Carrefour and stopped for cash at Valencia D'Alcantara where using the ATM conversion would have given £30 less on a withdrawal of 300 euros : always proceed 'without conversion' and in shops select pay in local currency, usually a numbered button on the device.

Camping Asseiceira looked as lovely as ever with heavy recent rains leaving the rivers and streams full with some standing water in the fields. I was soon tucked away in my usual spot and after offloading the bikes settled in for the night.

The following day I organised the van, caught up with Gary and took a walk in to the village via the country tracks to see what little had changed. Post Brexit our UK phone roaming is not only limited to 12G a month (despite my unlimited date package) but there is also, with '3' at least, a £2/day unlock charge for use which includes calls or texts - thank you the Brexiteers, yet again.

 

Anyway on the Friday Gary, Joao and myself went in to Portalegre for an excellent Chinese buffet - 9 euros for all you can eat and then to the local electronics store as Gary needed printer cartridges. Whilst there I decided to get a Lycamobile SIM for £8 with 20G of use valid for 30 days - my intended time in Portugal that also includes 12G of EU roaming should it still be valid when I move on to Spain. Back in the van I then put this SIM in my old unlocked Honor 8, turned on the wifi hotspot and then put my regular phone in to airplane mode and switched on the wifi. Thus I now have excellent coverage with no daily fee and whilst phonecalls, texts and OTPs won't arrive most people use Whatsapp or email and I can verify most transactions by fingerprint. If the SIM expires I will just buy another one for Spain and then eventually Morocco as whilst the initial bundle is a good deal ( to get you in) the top ups are less generous. An amusing byline to this process is that the number is obviously recycled so I have had (and ignored) erratic calls from India and Portugal and been part of various Whatsapp Groups including the Lisbon Flat Letters and the Olive Pickers - all blocked or deleted and now arriving less often.

 

 

Heavy rain that had encompassed my first few days (whilst the UK shivered

 in the first cold snap of winter) lifted on the Saturday so I enjoyed a 37 mile ride through Beira and its station to the Povoa e Meadas reservoir where the bankside mimosa has been heavily cut back. Staying overnight is now restricted to the official aire which after an expensive refurb now offers showers, water top up and electricity for a very reasonable 5 euros a night but of course parking up in the fenced compound loses some of the magic of pitching round the water's edge. Round at the dam excess water was roaring out in to the valley and a solitary stork had arrived early for the nesting season. New lambs in the field were enjoying the fresh grass - with an average temperature of 15-17 degrees it was growing well and hopefully all the reservoirs and aquifers will fill after a long summer drought.

 

 

 As it would be a few days until Gary sets off for the UK I decided on a week long excursion so stocked up in Portalegre where I also found Camping Gaz 907s at the Bricomarche for half the UK price - about £16 before heading north calling at Penela with its church contained within the castle walls and overnighting  in a park up occupied by a number of semi permanent Portuguese vans and a large MAN 4x4 expedition truck that looked unlikely to be crossing the Serenghetti any time soon.

The schist villages in the Serra De Lousa were fascinating as they clung on to the steep valley sides - the heavy rains had caused some slips and rockfalls and I found a lovely camping area up in the mountains for another visit.

HIgh mountain roads took me through stunning scenery - a large HGV was delivering part of a turbine tower and had reversed a long way up one of the access roads to negotiate a hairpin with its independently steered rear axle cluster : very impressive.

Thus the region has a thought provoking mix of old mills and new turbines - one cluster of twenty or so of the former had been refurbished to provide unique accommodation. However they and the adjacent restaurant were closed and could well have been a victim of the Covid related downturn in tourism. 

After a night in Poiares on a perfectly adequate, if barren looking, aire I arrived at the southern end of the Ecopiste de Dao cycle track. I had called at a smallholding that offered overnight parking but there was no one around and their parking area was, despite being gravel, super saturated and I nearly got bogged down - indeed on leaving I heard a thump as I crossed a rough bit and later discovered the grey water tap had taken a hit - fortunately no real damage as the spout was already crook so I can still seal it with a bottle stopper!

I cycled up to Tondela and back on a sunny afternoon and then moved up to Viseu for two nights to allow me to cycle from the northern point back to Tondela with a couple of welcome cafe stops in old repurposed station buildings. Viseu is a large city but has a compact old centre that I walked in to to enjoy the Christmas displays, brightly lit shops and decorated streets and alleys.

It was a quiet second night and before long I was away in to the mountains again with more remote villages including Piodao and lovely swooping roads. I stopped for lunch at the Santa Luzia barragem and would have stayed the night but with Monday forecast to be wet I decided to move on stopping briefly at the viewpoint for the dam. Here a spectacular waterfall over the spillway was visible from the top of the adjacent via ferrata. It looked a really good one and I was sorely tempted to give it a go. However soloing is not recommended so it will have to wait for another opportunity and I dropped down to the newly opened aire at Pampilhosa da Serra where I am enjoying good wifi, 16 amp hook up and an excellent facilities block for a very reasonable 6 euros a night. There was even a jet wash so the van looks clean and tidy after the the last couple of months of muddy mountains in Wales, Cumbria and Portugal.

I prefer wild camping but also feel that if local communities provide good, well cared for facilities it is only fair to support their initiative. The Campaign For Real Aires in the UK is trying to educate local authorities, National Parks and utility companies as to the benefits of welcoming the ever expanding van life community rather than adopting a default position of zero tolerance.

Many of those areas experiencing difficulties in recruiting seasonal workers due to a lack of affordable accommodation should look at this issue as it could well be a partial solution to the problem.

 Anyway I am warm and comfortable here and will return to Marvao tomorrow for my Christmas/New Year fortnight so until the next post I wish you all a Happy Festive Break - enjoy more pics  HERE