Galicia to the Limousin

Saturday 21 June

Our campsite (Camping Paisaxe) is located close to a bridge which takes to you to Illa de Arousa, a small island in the Ria de Arousa.   We went across to the island this morning had a walk around half of the coastline, passing through the main town (large village) on the island.  

Actually spotted another English couple, quite rare round here.  Again the coastline is lined with beaches of fine white sand beach.

Later in the day we ventured along the coast to the picturesque village of Cambados, much nicer that Villanova. In a Church garden a group of ladies were sat cutting up the heads of hydrangea flowers (we found out why later) and on the beach quite a number of people were raking in the sand collecting shellfish of some description.

On our way back we noticed the Chinese Bazaar to beat all Chinese Bazaars. Even the Hyper Chinese Bazaar. We had discovered the Alice Liu Commercial Bazaar. This huge emporium was spread across three warehouses. It was so large my camera lens was not wide enough to record the sheer size of it. It stocked everything from dancing flowers to corsets. Once again Sarah discovered things we hadn’t realised we needed. These included a fly swatter for 50 cents, a baking tray for 3 euros and an elasticated cargo net.

A number of weeks ago the elastic went in one of our recliner chairs and we have been looking for a replacement ever since. I haven’t been able to find anything suitable so I bought the elasticated cargo net. It took me three hours to unpick it but I finally have 3 feet of elastic which I have used to repair Sarah’s chair.  I have double stringed it as she thinks she has put on weight.

Sunday 22 June

Another lazy day on the very quiet beach.   Later in the day an English chap arrived at the site on a bicycle.   It turned out that he had a holiday home in Portugal and wanted a bike to ride whilst there.   On a whim he decided that to buy a bike in the UK and ride it to Portugal from his home in Macclesfield.   When he arrives at his final destination it will have taken 6 weeks – he is nearly there now.   I’m not too sure how much he saved on freight charges but I hope it was worth the effort.

All day we had been hearing loud bangs which sounded like fireworks but without the sparkles, these just had a flash of light.  At around 8.30pm we heard a brass band playing.  I asked Terry about it and he rattled of a lot of information we didn’t understand but managed to work several words, Florabunda, oompah, Villanova, tonight.   With that we jumped in the car and drove to Villanova.   Florabunda turned out to be a bit like Derbyshire Well Dressings but on the road. Patterns had been made on the roads in different coloured granules of some kind and in other roads there was a carpet of pine needles decorated with the cut up flowers of the hydrangeas.  It was obviously a religious ceremony of some kind, perhaps to do with the summer solstice.  A priest in white and gold robes and tatty trainers walked holding an icon of some kind.  He was under a canopy carried by 4 men and he walked along the decorated streets preceded by 2 boys and 2 girls with incense burners and followed by the local community who had dressed up for the occasion (especially the children who were very well dressed).  Every so often the procession would stop and the priest would say a few words followed by a tune from the local choir and then carry on until they reached the Church.  As the procession past it seemed that the children were then allowed to mess up the patterns which seemed a great shame.  (So now we know why the ladies were chopping up hydrangeas in Cambados yesterday.) Sadly there are no pictures as I left the camera in the car.

Monday 23 June

Drove to Pontevedra today.  An attractive town, not dissimilar to Santiago in style and feel, though finding the Tourist Office was somewhat of a challenge.  We eventually got there after much wandering and asking 3 people along the way.   We had an excellent tapas lunch.  Sarah ordered gambas (prawns) but they didn’t have any so they brought langoustines which were huge followed by  potato tortilla and croquettes with ham and cheese.

I also spotted this bike.

We came back to the site to find Terry on the roof of his kitchen hut sealing it and then he put up more shelves. I told him that he should take things easy and shouldn’t be on a roof at his age. He replied in Spanish and I nodded. I don’t think he understands a word I say.

Later in the day a Spanish caravan arrived.  A while later I noticed that they were trying to erect their awning frame first but before putting the awning canopy through the awning rail (caravanners will understand). I drew Terry’s attention to what was going on and we both agreed that they didn't know what they were doing. I suggested to Terry that he went across to help them as they wouldn't understand a word I said. He eventually got my drift and wandered across to assist. As he passed us on the way back to his van I gave him a thumbs up for a job well done and Terry gave a universally recognised sign that they must have had a screw loose!!

We noticed that there seemed to be either a widespread mist or several fires. We asked the site owner what was happening. After a lot of shouting and gesturing we discovered that today was the festival of San Juan. Traditionally people light bonfires on the beach and stay up late and drink. (Sounds like a typical day in Spain to me) Fortunately it didn't get too rowdy but we were awoken buy a group of youths nearby at about 4am.

Tip. If you do visit Spain be sure to watch where you are walking. They have a real problem with dog dirt and no one bothers to clean it up!

Tuesday 24 June

Went to O’ Grove today.  Called at the much easier to find Tourist Information Office.  The girl spoke excellent English.  It turned out that this because she had been sent to Coventry

Church

for 4 years (not sure what she’d done).  She was extremely helpful and gave us lot of info on walks and local sites.  O’Grove is a family resort where again the town buildings are not great but the scenery is beautiful.  We walked across to the island of A Toxa where the rich people stay.   There were Nannies out walking children.  The island also boasts a small church that is completely covered in scallop shells.   Later in the day we did a short walk.

Wednesday 25 June

Woke to a very dull and hazy morning.  Went across to the Illa de Arousa again and walked around the half we didn't do previously.   Most of this area is a protected nature park with yet more beaches.  Weather cleared as the morning progressed.

One thing we have noticed is that there are an awful lot of partially built residential and commercial properties. Presumably the result of Spain’s economic problems.

We have also seen lots of plots of land which have boundary walls and sometimes a gate but which have nothing on them. Occasionally you might see a barbecue pit and a few chars but that’s it. I'm not sure if this is because the owners have run out of cash of if they bought them before obtaining permission to build. Whatever the reason, they are a bit of a blot on the coastline.

Thursday 26 June

Very dull again this morning but working on the assumption that it would clear as it had done yesterday we drove Vigo which has a beautiful natural harbour and today a cruise ship moored in it.

We didn’t go into the town but walked along the beach promenade.  Great beach for kids if you could rely on the weather.   Along the prom there were several swimming and paddling pools, basketball courts, skateboard ramp and a large flat area for rollerblading or scooter riding.

When I came to pay the site fees the bank card machine wouldn't work so I went into town to get some cash, Having paid I was presented with two baseball caps and a car sticker.    Terry was on his roof again.

A bit of explanation about the semi permanent residents. All have a caravan with an awning on the front. In addition they all have either a stand alone awning or a shed which they use as a kitchen. All have a fridge freezer, a full height cooker and a kitchen sink. In front of the kitchen they have a canopy over their dining area.

Thoughts about Galicia: Due to the weather not being great we almost decided not to visit Galicia but Sarah suggested that we might regret it if we didn't... and she was right. If you want to see a very different Spain to that of Barcelona, Madrid and the Costas then you must come. The weather is changeable but the coast is stunning. Even when you drive a few miles inland the rolling hills are covered with vineyards and fruit orchards. Communication is difficult if you do not speak Spanish but we got by and generally found the locals very friendly.

Friday 27 June

Got up at 7am as we we are moving on today.  Terry was already up and about and came to see us off, shaking our hands as we left.   He was a lovely man. I only wish I knew more Spanish.

My brother recommended that we should visit Parado do Sil which he described as stunning and peaceful. Sadly, when I e mailed them a couple of days ago they replied that they do not open until 1^st July. So, we drove instead 278 miles to Llanes on the Spanish North coast.  We stopped for a coffee early on as I was having trouble staying awake (having been kept awake by the manager talking at her mother (June) in a loud voice for a long time and at 11.30 a camper van arrived and started pitching!).   Good job we did stop as we didn’t see another motorway service area for about 150 miles.  They were renovating the cafeteria so some of the walls were missing. A chap started to cut metal with a power grinder and sparks were going everywhere.   They don’t seem to worry about health and safety here. And of course, this was a petrol station.

The camp site (La Paz) was not signposted at all but found it eventually.   It is situated on a headland and the access if up a very steep slope.  You have to park at the bottom and leave the caravan.  It is collected by a man in a land rover who tows it to the pitch for you.  The pitches are in terraces up the hillside and I am sure the view is good but it is pouring down at present.  We are at the top of the site with a wall behind us then a field.   There are a herd of cows in the field all with bells on.

Went to the site restaurant as we had no food in and had ham, egg and chips again.  Once more we were the only people in there and they cleared weren't expecting many as a lot of the tables were piled high with tablecloths and bed linen.

Saturday 28 June

Visited Llanes this morning.  It is an appealing town with some very interesting buildings and many examples of galleried windows.  There are lots of restaurants so we will come back one evening.  Later in the day it got extremely windy, the caravan was rocking at one point.   I went out to zip next door’s awning as it was threaten to take off.  I made sure that Sarah stayed in our caravan to act as ballast.  

View from the caravan when the weather cleared

I feel I need to comment on the showers.  When you turn the shower tap on you only get cold water.  If want hot water you have to push what looks like a light switch on the wall.  There is a sign above the electric switch that I think warns users not to touch the switch with wet hands. Now work out how that one got past building control! You get a set amount and then you have to press the switch again.   If you are not quick enough it gets very refreshing.  There are only shower curtains, no doors, and the hooks for handing your towel and clothes on are outside the curtain!

Sunday 29 June

We had thought about staying at Santillana del Mar (which is not near the sea) so went to have a look at it today.  

It is an extremely pretty village whose only purpose is tourism.  There were shops galore all selling regional produce.  However, the Church was frequented by locals – it is a long time since I have seen that many people coming out of a Church at the end of a service.  They even had a guard on the door to stop you going in.

We went into a bar and had hot chocolate and churros - very good.

On the way back we stopped at the town of San Vincente de la Baroque which is still a working fishing port so not quite so pretty.  It had a great atmosphere though – all the locals seemed to be out eating at the fish restaurants or standing outside having a beer and some octopus rings.

At about 8.30pm two chaps appeared with paragliding kites.  They hopped over the wall into the field of cows and tried to take off.  One successfully took flight and glided about for a bit, the other one couldn't manage to take off.  The cows seemed a little alarmed to start with then just wandered off.

Monday 30 June

A Welsh couple in the van next to us left this morning and had recommended to us that we visit Ribadesella. 

This was a delightful town set around an estuary.  The town is set on one side with a small harbour and then you cross the road bridge and walking around the headland to a beautiful beach backed by some very attractive mansions.  There were information boards explaining how the mansions came about.   They all seemed to have been built by men who emigrated to Cuba, made a fortune out of tobacco and then came home and built large summer houses.

Whilst looking for somewhere to have lunch we passed a shoe shop. But these were not just shoes. These were chocolate shoes.

Sadly Sarah couldn’t find a pair that fitted.

Tuesday 1 July

Arrived back in France today at a site in Labenne which is not far from Biarritz.   Camping Sylvamar is a 5* site that we found in a brochure of glamping sites.   Not that impressed.   Huge pitches in a sandy pine forest, and loads of facilities (including a very expensive spa)  but no real feel to it.  The sanitary facilities were certainly not 5*.  They were no better than the last site and it wasn’t claiming to have any stars.   However the restaurant served reasonable food and was busy.

Wednesday 2 July

Went to Biarritz today.   As you can see it was very wet.

Many very expensive shops and it does have a sort of faded grandeur to it, but not as much as we expected.   The best bit was the beaches, it has two with great waves.   I have never seen so many surfers in the water at the same time.   They ranged from the quite young having lessons on standing up to the very experienced riding some big waves.    Is there etiquette for surfers?  Do those paddling out get out of the way of those riding the wave?

St Jean de Luz

Drove on to St Jean de Luz which had a different atmosphere altogether.   Nice sea front and harbour and the town had attractive buildings and squares.  The streets had shops that were open in an afternoon!!    It also boasted excellent ice cream.   The Church of St John the Baptist was very unusual.  Inside it was lined with 3 tiers of wooden galleries.  Apparently these were reserved for the men and the women had to sit in the pews at ground level. 

After dinner we have a walk to the bar to listen to tonight’s turn.  There was a long line of children queuing for candyfloss.   Is that a good idea at 10.30pm!

Thursday 3 July

As were not that keen on the site we moved on a day early to a site called Le Gorge du Chambon which is part of the Castels Chain.   It is situated near a small town called Montbron about 40 miles from Limoges.   It is the Limousin region where the cows come from.    What a difference from the last site.  The site was originally a farm.  The stables are now the restaurant, the piggery is now reception and what is termed the “bread oven” is now a gite.   The house is still the house.  The site is owned by a Dutch couple and we were very warmly greeted by the lady of the site.  We had a walk round the site which is fairly open parkland with some impressive trees for shade.  We selected a pitch near a large oak tree.  After lunch we went back to reception to let them know which pitch we are on and were given a lot of information including a welcome pack with some maps and leaflets in and a large bag for your recycling.

Observation - the Spanish are crap at recycling. On most of the campsites we stayed on I was told to put ALL rubbish into the same bin. I bet the Germans are horrified. Here in France it is a different story. 

They also have folders you can borrow which give a lot of information hiking, biking, canoeing, markets and suggested day trips telling you how far it is and how to get there.  You can borrow this for the duration of your stay.  Very impressive.  The receptionist in the afternoon was also Dutch but spoke English, French and German very fluently.

We decided to try the restaurant for dinner as it was a beautiful evening.  The food was excellent (hurray at last!).  Sarah had duck in a honey and rosemary sauce with caramelised vegetables which was beautifully present and she said was very good and I had a very good pizza.

Friday 4 July

During the night there was a very loud clap of thunder and the electricity went off.  Had to get up and switch the fridge over to gas and shut a few windows.  We also had very heavy rain which persisted through til lunchtime, though the electricity came back on after a couple of hours.   Seemed like a good time to go to the supermarket (if there is ever a good time). When we arrived at ‘Intermarche’ Sarah’s eyes lit up when she saw laundry machines in the car park. Sadly she had not brought her washing with her so guess what we’ll be doing next week.