And over another border

Oh yes we are still here on the road and still having the time of our lives. Since the last time we blogged (I have decided that’s a verb but not sure if it is) we stayed in a city called Leon in the Central North West of Spain. Not really much to report here as neither of us thought much of the place....we are becoming pretty fussy about how a town or city stacks up to a couple of bench marks that we have set, and I am afraid that Leon does not score very high on the ohhhh &  ahhhh scale at all. However, the one notable event in Leon was that we gave the Trundle Bus a wash and shampoo at  a local garage in one of those jet spray places. We managed to find out how to operate the thing from a woman in the next washing bay, or at least Fang did. So we start off by putting the 1 EUR in the slot for a shampoo and jet spray, I am holding the jet spray gun thing and Fang is putting the money in.....’Ok to start’ she shouts, ‘Yes go for it’ I shout back. Now here’s a thing, what I didn’t realise is that the Spanish version jet spray gun thing just starts off on its own accord without one having to press the lever, with the result that I gave the Fang a good spray down before starting on the Trundle. Luckily I managed to get things back under control before the shampoo started coming through, so I didn’t waste any of the soap on her. The rest of the task was left entirely to me as Fang was flying round the garage forecourt like a Spanish headless chicken shouting obscenities. The local office workers looking out of their windows, were so impressed with the display, that they immediately declared the rest of the day a fiesta.  The 27^th of April is now officially designated Fiesta de Pollo Chirrido.......The Festival of the Screeching Chicken. Talking of the impression Fang has left on Spain, here she is with her Spanish boyfriend. 

The next stop was Lugo. Now here is a city worth visiting. It has the best preserved Roman wall in Europe. The wall is 2.5 km long, 15 m high, surrounds the whole city and includes some of the original Roman entry gates which are still in use today. As you can see from the photos it is possible to walk along the whole wall, which is something the locals do as their daily exercise and to see and be seen.....we of course just had to join in. There was something very exciting about walking on the same the walls Roman soldiers did all those centuries ago.....what chance is there of anything we build today lasting 1000 years?.



Cathedral at Lugo




The Roman Wall at Lugo

 

Locals walking the wall



Got to dry the washing somewhere eh?

Just outside Lugo is a place called Castro de Villadonga, a prehistoric settlement which has been excavated on a hill top. You can see from the pictures that the settlement is very clearly marked out with the remnants of the buildings. The museum at the site has some absolutely incredible finds of not just ordinary household items of the day, but the most beautifully crafted jewellery. After thousands of years this stuff looks as though it is sitting in a jeweller’s window in the high street of today.



The settlement at Viladonga

 

On our way out of Lugo we are driving down a busy road and come across an old bell tower right on the busy street. Up on top of the tower Fang spots this incredible site of two Storks. There were four nests in the tower and we think there was a chick in each nest.

Our next expedition was to head for the beautiful rugged North West coast. The Rias Atlas, as it is known, is a feast of dramatic scenery. Driving through forests will lead you suddenly to views of sheer sea cliffs, wide open sandy beaches or medieval fishing villages. At every turn in the road there is a breathtaking vista. This is truly a stunning part of the world. One of the’ must sees’ of this coast is Cabo Ortegal. This is the most north westerly point of Spain and where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Bay of Biscay.....the pictures say it all.

 As we were travelling along this wonderful coast line we spotted a nice white sandy beach that we could get the Trundle down to. This visit turned into a 3 day wild camp and we would still be there if we could. For those of you unfamiliar with the term ‘wild camp’, it has nothing to do with brown bears, tigers, lions, jungles or even getting annoyed, it simply means parking up without permission! The beach is a surfer’s spot and we spent 3 days chilling with the surf dudes and just hanging out man, and catching waves, if know what I mean man.....except in Spanish. We spent the days walking the cliff tops or sitting on the beautiful white sand and then went to sleep at night with just the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach.  For two of the nights there was just us on our private beach.....anyway this was a very special time for us and we have named the place Sublime Bay, which it truly is.



The back dots in the seea are the surfer dudes

 


The white and blue dot is the Fang dude

 

The rest of our adventure through the Rias Atlas is best shown with pictures.

Our last visit in Spain was to Santiago de Compostela, the destination for the pilgrims following the Comino de Santiago (the Way of St James). It is said that the bones of the apostle St James are held at the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrims walk from the French side of the Pyrenees on a 50 day hike!  This is the same path that the pilgrims have used for the last 900 years.

We arrived at the cathedral just as they were holding the daily mass for the pilgrims. The singing of the mass was led by a nun whose voice I can only describe as angelic. Sitting in the cathedral full of pilgrims, who had completed such an onerous and challenging journey to be there, was a very humbling experience....another very special time.

 Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela



Back on the road and heading for the mountains

From Santiago de Compostela we have trevelled south again and arrived at our first campsite in Portugal, our third country! News of Portugal, the Portuguese, sights, sounds and no doubt other adventures will follow shortly. Until then dear family and friends we bid you adeus.

One final note......this is for Evie & Matilda.....this is Jimmy and Jemima who followed Nini and Grandpops all round the shops one day until we bought them an ice cream, and then they went home. XXXXXXX