September – 2023 | capetocarpe

6th. Finally got my gym space finished. I am very pleased with it. In addition to the rowing machine which I already had, I managed to pick up second hand, refurbished and gaurenteed static bike and treadmill from decthalon. The rower stands on its head and the treadmill folds flat against the wall so it is easy to create floor space for yoga etc.

7th. Set off in the direction of Northern Spain. First night stop at Andernos-les-Bains on the Arcachon Basin. It looks interesting but it is too hot to go exploring for now. We will venture out later.

Got up the courage to leave the shade of the pine trees in the very late afternoon. There are five channels cut ibto thre town area with seven quais alongside. These support 76 individual Oysterculture businesses, many of them with tasting facilities of various levels of grandure or querkyness. One Quai is dedicated to Restaraunts where the same adjectives can be applied and the level of prices varies accordingly. The tide was out leaving just vestiges of water in the muddy channels and on the bay itself vessels were high and dry.

There is even an Oyster vending machine, one dowen Oysters plus a lemon starting at & Euro!

8th. Driving out of town this morning I was impressed by how well ordered and afluent it looked. The road out was via the High Street which was abuzz with mnay businesses and not all holiday stuff by any imagination. Indipendant butchers, bakers and no sorry I did not spot any candlestick makers, lively non the less.

I passed through a bit of urban sprawl with one village bleeding into the next but I soon left that behind as I entered the “Landes” . This is a wild, almost uninhabited and highly forrested area. A lot of Pine trees and bracken but a good amount of deciduous too. I also noticed that ity was altogether more verdant than our rain staeved and parched Charente.

I took a detour to Gastes on the Biscarrosse and Parentis Lake in order to let Cassidy and I stretch our legs. Nicely treed, green and dotted with marinas, there was also a good Aire.

However it was the lake itself that gave me the biggest surprise. I counted 15, what looked like floating pontoons with structures on them but couldn’t for the life of me work out what they were.

Oil rigs, would you believe. Oil was discovered here in the 1950’s by ESSO . It exists between 2000 and 2500 meters deep and is in a subteranien basin created in the Cretacious period some 110 to 130 million years ago. There is a mixture of Petroleum oil, gas and water. It is pumped to Bordeaux where it is refined. Well what do you know!

Drove on to Moiliets-et-Mas where we parked in a large Aire under trees. There is electricity and toilets and it is 300m from the beach. All this for 15 euro a night! Later in the afyternoon we walked to the beach. Unusually dogs are not prohibited but it was still hot and Cassidy showed a distinct preference for sitting at a tapas bar to walking on hot sand!

9th. Went back down to the beach this morning but it is a totally unremarable vast stretch of sand backed by dunes and although the surfers seem to like it there was nothing there to engage me. And although Cassidy was off lead and free to run it was already too hot for his liking.

The only redeeming features were the Yukas planted on the dunes.

10th Drove through to San Sebastian and installed myself in the Aire to await Pippa. In the evening we walked through to a nearby bar and enjoyed wine and tapas.

11th. left the Aire about 9am and after many twists and turns and wrong routes taken and back tracking…. we eventually arrived, after a finally hair raising pass, in the environs of the Rio Erbo

Happily installed in the Aire adjascent to the delightfull village of Elciego we went for a wander ,

The most prominent feature, right opposite and visible from the Aire, is the church which looked particularly good lit up after dark.

There is obviously a rich history to the village as many of the buildings are embellished with balconies and feudal coats of arms.

Cats and Cafe’s…

Ally’s and Architecture at an extraordinary level…..

No less than an hotel designed by Frank Gehry, he of Guggenheim Museum fame’s archietect.

12th. We have booked a tasteing for 17.30 this evening at the adjascent Bodega’s and untill then are doing Admin and catching up with ourselves! We did try a walk up to the Posh hotel but they wont let you in the gaste unless you have a reservation! In the adjascent yard was evidence of the start of the grape harvest.

The tasteing in the evening at La Bodega Valdelana was very good. The young man who guided us through the process was knowledgable and graceous. After making our purchaces we returned to a self catered tapas in the van.

13th We set off for Laguardia at a liesurely pace and spent some time discovering this quaint medieval walled village with its Donjon and churches

and its narrow streets

hidden courtyards and casement windows

quirky decor including the “lost Property” department!

and its views across the valley

From here we drove on to Haro for another tasteing at a Bodega that Pippa particularly wanted to visit. In any event she was disapointed with the attention given to the experience and the wine.

We left Haro to drive to the Aire at Miranda but as it tuerned out to be a poo strewn public toilet decided to leave town and find a campsite. The one we ended up at was at the site or monuments to honour the shepharding community and featured HUGE sculptures and a fantastic view from our campsite.

and to give it perspective

14th. We said a sad goodbye to Pippa and headed off in our separate directions. A long drive on quite quiet duel carrageways was a blessing given the distance +/- 250K

And at Leon we were rewarded with a good and free Aire, close to the centra but also backing onto a dog friendly park and a river. Nice.

15th The drive to Ribadavia was spectacular, through high mountain passes with views into the Sil River valley belowm crisscrossing it s meanders by way of long curving viaducts. It was such a shame that there were no stops or view points till we were well into the descent. At last a stop, but such a disapointment!

However Ribadavia was anything but. Starting with a nice little Aire right on the edge of the old town with great views across the valley and large shadey trees.On walking into the town the first thing one encounters is the castlem which is firmly locked up but invites you to book tickets at the Tourist Information office (which is only open at the weekend!)

So I contented myself with its wall and gates

Ribadavia has a number of churches

and a grans square bordered by cafes and bodegas

But the most intreguing thing about it is its well preserved Jewish quarter. It was apparently the Jews who introduced wine making to the area in the middle ages. The narrow streets…

with symbols of their Jewish heritage tell their own story

As does the synagogue and two shops

This one gets sent to my friend Daniel, who will know why?

So is it Ribadavia or perhaps Rabi David?

16th. I crossed the river on leaving town and followed its souther banks. Another spectacular drive with no traffic for the first couple of hours. Crossing the border into Portugal I stopped at a winery in the hope of a tasteing and purchase of some of Portugals finest. At the direction of the garage owner opposite a rang the bell lusterly for several minutes to no avail – so after admirning their grapes I moved on.

Re-crossing into Spain at Valenca and heading out to A Guarda and the campsite of Santa Tecla.

The view from the camping area is out over the estuary of the Rio Monh to Portugal.

17th. After a rather noisy night; Fireworks at 1.30am, Campsite party till 3am and a change in the weather with rain laiden squalls blowing in off the Atlantic in quick succession, We went to climb the Santa Trega Mountain via a steep and winding road clinging to its sides through many tortourous hairpin bends. The wind was howling and the rain gusting in horrizontally. Although the speed limit was a low 30kph, the level of concentration needed precluded any appreciation of the view. I am afraid that I turned round in the car park at the top and drove back down again. The visibility was so bad that there was nothing to see.

Parking down by the port the rain lightened up enough for a walk around the port area and through the old town

The inner and outer harbours are protected by the sea walls. The ominously wild Atlantic awaits beyond them.

An overall view from the way up into the town.

The old town was disappointing apart from a piece of street art.

Leaving the town by the coast road I pulled off regularly to view the caostline. It had a certain dramatic impact with the lowering cloud but give me sunshine any day.

We stopped at a campsite just north of Baiona with views across the bay to Panxon.

The sun finally put in a brief appearance on our late afternoon walk.

18th. We set off along the coastline heading north with our first target Combarro as recommended by Kim, Pippa’s current travelling companion. We arrived at the port with the skys still heavy and bruised.

What Pippa had said about Combarro was that it was an old fishing village. It is mostly granite built and very quaint. However there is a conundrum because there is a prolifferation of Horreos. More than one would think could be justified in a little fishing village. At the end of the day one has to suspect some deviation from authentisity here. Perhaps in an effort to add a note of uniqueness to seduce the tourist, whatever the motive it has the effect of added cuteness in spades!

So what exactly is a Horreo? It is a grain storage facility, built on stilts to keep the rodents out and aeroated to keep the grain dry. So you get my point about their proliferation being somewhat OTT for an ancient fishing village.

Many have been converted to restaurants or tourism shops, to great effect.

I stopped at the illustriously named Leucoina – Taberns Restaurante el Rustico for my lunch of Paella which was very good. I chose to sit under one of their Horreos in case the skys opened again!

Cunningly the bread came in a paper bag to disguise it from the seagulls. There was more than I could eat so they put the rest into a carton for me to take away and I am enjoying it as I write this.

There was evidence here and all along the route of small pockets of vineyard. I also passed a winery on the road and will look out for more tomorrow. Growing is opportunistic, whereever the slope is worable and facing the right direction.

The coastline here is very fragmented, to the degree that the bays that cut far in-land have a special name, Ria, which is the equivalent of the Norwiegen Fijord. They support many harbours and beaches secure from the ferocious Atlantic.

The Aire at my overnight stop at Boiro faces the sea across the road and backs onto a lovely park and river.

And the view got even better after dark

Unfortunately a groupe of hooligans came to the beach around midnight and proceeded to scream and shout till after 3am.

19th. It took a while to get out of the Aire this morning as the barrier and bourne had not been functioning on my arrival. The booms were up and I assumed that it was because there was not charge in low season. Not a bit of it! It was obviously temporarily out of order and now that it was functioning again I could not get out even though I had pain because the camera did not register my arrival so it did not think I should be trying to get out!!! Eventually……

Set off along the delightfully rugged coast in the general direction of Cabo Finisterre but took no short cuts and I was well rewarded.

Another feature of the drive was the kopjies of huge rounded (Matopos style!) granite boulders, and lots of gum trees.

Passed Pippa and Kim on the road but they didn’t see me. Got to Finisterre about 15.00 but found the Aire full. C & I took a walk down to the port area while I contemplated my next move.

Went we got back to the van, parked opposite the entrance to the Aire, a camper was leaving so we quickly pulled in. Initially I was told that there was no space and the space that had just been vacated was in fact reserved. In the end they found me somewhere. It is not ideal. Noisy guy next door with 2 large noisy dogs. But we will stick it out for the night.

Colourful fishing boats against an unbelievably blue sea on our evening walk.

20th. The morning started very overcast and threatening.

We started the day with a drive up to the Faro (lighthouse). It was very windy but had brightened up a bit.

From there we took the coast road heading for Camarinas. I was tempted there by the write up in the Eye Witness travel book on Spain that described it as a quaint gishing village where women sat on the roadwide making bobble lace. Well times have changed. Tourism has arrived. It is now a small town with a smart new promenade, lined with cafes and not a lace maker in sight. The fishing harbour is a proper working harbour with a rather industrial feel, so we had a coffee and moved on.

Finisterre got its name because it was thought to be the end (fin) of the earth (Terre) before navigation became global.

This coast is known as the Costa de Morte, or the coast of the dead, due to the tretcherous seas that have sunk many ships over the centuries and taken many lives. The coastline is hilly and forrested, mostly gum trees and some pine. The timber is cut and the forrest replanted. In the valleys and flatter spots there is lush agriculture and an appropreate proliferation of Horreos. We stopped at Restaurant San Martin at Cabana where I had a deliscious plate of Lagustino Tempura with bread and bottled water for 15 Euros.

Leaving the coast we headedinland to Carballo and on to A Coruna and the Aire at Praia de Riazor. There is a tiny port and beach and a restaurant next door. There is not a flat inch of parking in the Aire and I fear I might roll out of bed.

21st A blustery old day with squalls moving in from the Atlantic with very short clear spells in between. Once I got out of A Coruna, which proved a bit of a mission, the coastal route just got better and better.The same rolling hills and gently winding roads but more sea scapes, beaches, small ports and villages, all in all a delight. The bad weather really meant that being inside the vehicle was the best place to be. That being the case I might as well be driving. I did make a few futile atempts to find a solution to my gas problem but since the French and Spanish bottles and fittings are not compatible I have decided to manage without. Stoped for an excellent coffee at Santa Cruz just outside A Coruna and had a late lunch at Origueira.

The Galacians share their roots with the Celts and one of the remaining cultural links is the bag pipes. There was a fine statue of a Piper at the port of Origueira.

I made three futile attempts at an earlier stop by following Park for night symbols which either no longer existed, were impossible to locate or were unsuitably remote. It did provide some more nice photos along the way.

But the views at Foz from the large open Aire right on the front were pretty spectcular also.

When I parked up I was one van away from a very large UK rig with a small car on a trailer attached. The owner was sitting out and the name “Anderson” was stencilled on the back of his chair. A lovely youg Rhodisian Ridgback pup was tethered nerby. So I went up to him and said “Hello Mr Anderson”, well the look of shock and horror on his face was something to see. Then we had a good laugh about how I knew his name and I met Rum the dog and Ingrid, John’s wife. We had a nice chat. It is very possible that we will end up in the same camp site tomorrow and that would be nice. I need plug in as I have work to do on Saturday, In the morning though, weather permitting, I will explore the village and do a little shop first.

22nd I didn’t get further than the first coffee shop next to the port as the weather was really dull.

Instead we packed up, said goodbye to John and Ingrid and set off in the direction of Luarca. It turned out to be a stunning little gem of a fishing village nestled in a steep river estuary with a protected harbour but totally impossibly narrow streets and small parking bays.

My next destination and I had hoped my last for the day was Cabo Vidio where my book indicated there was a campsite. I now know that the little tents in my map book do not necessarily mean there is a campsite, it may just be a place where wild camping is tolerated. Definately the case here.

The snatches of coastline visible from the road en route had suggested that it was getting more rugged.

But nothing prepared me for what it would be like at the point. The lighthouse was a squat affair but perched on such a visible prometory that height was not necessary.

The views to north and south of it were dramatic.

It was too windy and exposed for me to want to stay the night. I was concerned as to how the popped top would handle such strong gusts so moved on in search of the first available campsite.

Spent the night at Camping St Pedro, just off the beach in a very quiet and well sheltered nook.

23rd drove partly on the autoroute, (NB not a paying motorway but otherwise the same features) and partly on the back roads. Unfortuately I passed along the edge of the Picos mountains while on the autoroute and was dissappointed not to have been able to take any photos but I would not have been any better off on the back roads because they are so steep, windy and narrow that it would have been equally impossible to pull off.

This was taken at a small un-named village while off the autoroute

Then on another detour that turned out to be a dead end and was so small that it is not even on the map, I had the reason why burried as opposed to overhead, power loines are always better!

But the views were uninterupted

I stopped at Colunga for lunch. A small town up in the hills and you could almost imagine you were in switzerland but for the Bouganvilia, plumbago and pampas.

A fair amount of the infrstructure dates back to the era when Spain was still a manarchy, like this lamp post. In this case it was Ferdando VII.

I passed through the lively seaside resort of Ssn Vincente de la Barquera in the late afternoon which was a pity. Had it been any earliy I might have stopped but as it was satisfied myself with overview photos.

There is a wetland area just beyond the town. And then at Comillas a bit further along the coast this extraordinary cemetary!

24th. I was attracted to walk to whatever this was, viewed from the campsite on our evening walk, thinking some remote monastry?

The sun dappled syvan glade did not prepare me for the delights that lay ahead

rounding the corner I came across my first charming example of local architecture

And soon arrived on the cobbled street of a village

All honey gold stone and mocha woodwork

of narrow cobbled streets leading to a grand main square…

where I was afforded a glymps into the library

A cheese shop and an old curiosity shop…

Many of the grander buildings sported coats of arms, one would love to know the history

In another square there was an attractive lavoir

All along this tour of northern Spain I have criss crossed various routes on the Caminos of the pilgrims trails to Santiago de Compostela and water fountains have been a feature of the routes, placed for the benefit of the pilgrims.

The monuments I could see from up the hill turned out to be an enormous church and a grand museum

and museim….

One of the huge benefits of the happenstance that comes to the free ranging traveller. Such a lovely hidden gem that the guide books only gave a passing mention too?

I decided to by pass Bilbao. Not even the glory of the Guggenhiem and Frank Gehry architecture could lure me into the urban madness, especially after my disappointment with the Gehry designed hotel of earlier in the trip. So I took the motorway to Getxo then resumed the coastal road. A bit of a misnoma here because the mountains come right down to the sea and the roads between the enchanting bays and beaches were typically high passes along the mountainside from where good, if distant views could be had.

I arrived at the end of a long day at a good campsite overlooking the town of Lekeitio

25th. I decided to continue along the coast raod, stop for lunch somewhere, joun the N634 which would suposedly take me through San Sebastian and out the other side on the way to the French border. Being gas independant again being the main goal.

I chose Zumaia for the lunch stop which also gave us a good walk to the end of the enclosed harbour and back. There is a big secure harbour, a couple of sand beaches and a lighthouse. The water was very clean and clear, so much so that I could clearly see the fish.

Well after lunch things got a little bit out of hand. First of all the illusion that I could just follow the N634 through San Sebastian and out the other side, was just that, an illusion. After having gotten thouroly lost I gave up and put the town of Hendaye into the satnavm the first town across the French border. Oh joy of joys, arrived in France. Now for the next task, to swap out my empty gas bottle, easy you might think!

Well let me tell you something about gas bottles and sovrienty. We are in the European Union BUT it is impossible to exchange gas bottles from one country to the next. The fittings are different from one State to another an so are the regulators. What on earth was all the fuss about Sovrienty for in the Brexit debate??? This is why I had to wait till I got back to France to get another gas bottle. You hand in your empty one and get a full one – easy – NO. Plenty of outlets in France stock gas. Supermarkets, garages, hardwear stores etc BUT there are many different brands and you cannot exchange your empty brand A bottle for a full brand B bottle. So two hours, two towns and three outlets later I finally found a garage that not only stocked my brand but also had stock, niverna!

So I limped, exhausted back into Hendaye, pulled into the Aire, anf not even the adjacent train line could stop me from sleeping.

26th. Decided that today was going to be a sub 100k day and headed towards Dax. Once I got off the road that ran paralelle with the coast throught St Jean de Lux, Biaeritz and Bayonne, which was a zoo by the way, the undulating , tree lined country roads became a pleasure.

I stopped just short of Dax at an interesting looking roadside Restaurant for lunch. The food was exceptional, the decore interesting and the proprietor is a drummer.

From the Qire it was a short walk to the Bullring

The Bullring is set in a park with a number of bull fighting schulptures.

The Bullring here is apparently World renouned and although one commonly associates Bull Fighting with Spain I suspect it has its origins in the Basque culture and we are of cource in the Basque region of France.

They also practice the less bloody version of the sport both here and in Mont -de-Marsan ( known as the bullfighting mecca ) called course landaise where the object is to vault over the back and horns of a cow. You can see the more realistic size comparrason between man and beast in the sculpture below and note also the protective covers on the cows horns.

So is it all Bull in Dax?

Apart from the Thermal Spas that is. This fountain in one of the main squares is the source of La Nene and comes out of the ground at a mineral laden 64 degrees.

27th. Having discovered that I had probably killed off my smartphone by overheating th battry I set off in search of a replacement. There was a “Darty” in town, the same outlet where I had purchased my original and as I have been very pleased with it , I went there in search of the replacement. No such luck. It seems that Google has withdrawn its service availability from all future Huawei smartphones. Since without Google access they will be hard to sell, they are no longer being stocked. However one can get Xiaomi and Honor, two other Chinese brands. This is all about the charges, I believe fal;se, that Huawei are spying on people’s personal data. Now think about it please. What possible interest could the Chinese government have in your personal crap. Such nonsense, sadly bought into by a lot of gulable, mostly American, folk. As these other brands arem for the time being, still available I suspect this has more to do with the failure of the US govt to extradite Hauwei executive Meng Wanzhou from Canada where the court dismissed the charges that the USA had led in its plea for her extradition.

So I bought an Honor. Well as with any new technology there are set up proceedures etc. BORING.

All this ment I was late getting started. I stopped for a snack on Mont de marsan but it was hot and I just couldn’t face the City so headed straight out to the Aire.

28.09.23

A pleaant drive on gently undulating roads through small villages and a mix of deciduous woodland an agriculture. I have managed to avoid the bulk of the pine plantation monotony that is Les Landes. However we shouldn’t knock it. The Pine trees have stabilised the sand, consumed the swamp and provided some much needed economic acctivity to the area. This had sadly been at the expence of the iteinerant shephearding community who moved arround the area on stilts to avoid the morass.

At Langdon the vineyards started.

From there I turned onto the D10 headed for Cadillac but was distracted by a sign to “Cahteau Toulouse-Lautrec”. Irrisistable! So I spent good hour vititing the exhibition, tasteing and buy wine. The Chateaux was the property of Henri’s mother the Countess and was a “summer residence”. The profits from the vineyard provided the money that his mother gave him to stustain his rather debauched life in Paris but one cannot question the value of the work he produced while there.

After a little tasteing I bought lots of lovely wine that I am looking forward to sharing with friends.

On to Cadillac, lunch and retiring to the van till the worst of the heat passed. Then off to explore the town. Lunch at La Cave was pleasant but what intreagued me was the offer of Bobote on the evening menu. I explined its origins to the lovely waitress and said that I would be back in the evening.

Later Cassidy and I, he somewhat reluctanlt, went to explore tthe town. There was a big covered market and some archaded shops. Many handsome houses and considerable city wall remains including two handsome gates.

In the evening I returned to La Cave and had the Bobote. I had a couple of glasses of South African Pinotage with it which was really nice. Just before the food arrived one of the staff, an Englishman, came to tell me that I had all the kitchen staff dancing on hot coals at the thouht that there was someone who knew what Bobote was and how it was supposed to taste. We got chatting and it transpired that he had had an Hotel Boat business based in Auxone just down the way from St Jean de Losne where I had my boat. Small world.

The Bobote wasn’t the best but it was still a good evening.

29th. I headed off to Lussac today. It is my intention to stay at this really good Aire for two nights to catch up and work and contacting friends, then head home on Sunday when there are no trucks on the road. The drive was lovely, vinyards and chateaux nd tiny quaint medieval hamlets. A lot of the drive was along the mighty Garrone.

Arriving at the Aire I found that there were field mushrooms in the adjacent playing field, picked a couple and took them to the pharmacy to have them verified. Looking forward to a meal of bacon, mushrooms and fried potatoes tomorrow.

30th. A productive day. Lots of work and catching up with friends on whatsapp which gives me a head start on the month and quarter end work. In addition I enjoyed the mushrooms for lunch and took a long walk with Cassidy in the surrounding vineyards. A nice gentle wind down to the return home tomorrow.

1st October. I know, I’m cheating and sneaking the first day on October into the September month but it is the last day of this tour. On my way home. One slight detour via the village of Marcennais that boasts a C12 Templar chapel. These sites are of particular interest to my friend Sandi so had to take some pics to send to her. As you can see the Catholic Church added embellishments to the basic structure when they took it over.

However having read the blurb, knowing that the Templars were very active all over this area and realising that the basic structure would have been added to over the centuraries I am pretty sure that I pass three others along the way!