There’s a park beside the river Tagus with a canal for the ducks
We found a beautiful place to stay on Sunday night last. It was a big surprise to realise we had been here before. If you’ve been reading for years you may remember the last time we stayed the police came to tell us the river was running high and there was a possibility it would break its banks and we should move from our river view.
The ducks
We did move but I have often thought about that time… in hindsight we didn’t move far enough away. Of course nothing bad happened it didn’t burst it’s banks and we didn’t get submerged. But it’s one of the biggest rivers in Portugal, the Tagus! It flows into Lisbon! I bet it would be a big flood!
I wish you could smell this field. And we had the quietest night’s sleep
One of the best things about this parking space on Sunday, was that it was in the overflow field. Not overflow for the river but overflow parking when the regular parking spaces are filled. And the best thing about the field… it had been a corn field and now it was cut… and the smell was absolutely magnificent. It reminded me of childhood summers in permanent sunshine.
There was a bus on the next street that served food!
Isn’t it funny how my mind was still playing with the thought of what might have happened years ago in this place? Nothing happened. But if I had realised we were coming back here I might have said, no I don’t want to go there, the river might flood. And I’d have missed the smell of that field and a return journey to childhood.
Love this quote and the freedom from worry it promises…
We stopped at the town of Mangualde to have lunch on Sunday. We didn’t know where to park so we parked at the Intermarche and unlike it’s sister supermarkets in France it was open all day!🥳 Opportunity for grocery shopping taken we went for a little walk around the town before lunch in the quiet car park.
This door was behind a locked gate and surrounded by a high stone wall. There’s a story here but I don’t know it…
The buildings are old and lovely and there was plenty of things to photograph even on our 30 minute walk. Including two cats and a door blistering in the heat. The temperatures have started to rise here but we are keeping cool with ice cream… And we’ve bought a weighing scales. Both things not related.
Blisteringly hot!
After Mangualde we drove to see the castle at Penela. At some point Denis noticed something strange in the rear camera. We had bought a new bicycle cover to keep the bike dry and it seemed to have come loose and was flapping wildly behind us. We would need to stop but there were very few places so we kept an eye on it and drove on.
Penela castle from the distance
The flapping was getting worse. Eventually we saw a fuel services and pulled in. Both of us got out to investigate… the cover was intact but there was a tiny leaf stuck to the camera. A tiny leaf flapping around looked enormous on the screen inside the van.
Can you see the tiny leaf stuck to the rear camera?
Sometimes little things seem huge and they’re just not.
On Saturday night we stayed in a car park in the town of Viseu. We arrived late and were tired so we decided to chill and go for a small walk to a little park. It was at that point that we remembered being here before. There’s an old town with narrow streets and a church but the town was at the top of the hill we were at the bottom… Don’t judge us – we didn’t revisit.
That’s the old town up there..
Next morning we were feeling a little more energetic and a walk uphill to a bakery/cafe one reviewer on Google Maps called – the best bakery in Portugal – seemed doable. It wasn’t a steep walk and we found the bakery – with coffee – easily.
Can you see the wild geese in the park?
Afterwards when we were almost back at the car park I realised I’d left my bag on the ground, under the table outside the bakery… My cash, cards and ID inside. We turned around and headed back uphill.
Completely forgot to take a picture of the cafe… it’s beyond the roundabout on the right🫢
If we had been anywhere other than Portugal I might have felt anxious that my bag would be gone. Previous trips had convinced me all was well. On our first trip we were in a supermarket and I noticed a handbag sitting all alone on top of a pallet of water. First thought, oh, someone has forgotten their bag. But no, it belonged to the woman who was nearby stacking the shelves, she had put her bag there in full view with no doubt it would be safe while she worked. Now, I had no doubt my bag would also be fine.
The best bakery in Portugal… probably
When we arrived back I couldn’t see my bag under the table but inside our waitress gave us the biggest smile and nodded a yes, she had my bag! I don’t know if anyone here realises that this is not normal everywhere. I’m very glad it’s normal here. The bakery is called Pastelaria D. João I (in English, Pastry John I) Oh and the coffee and natas were great too.
View of the Douro from the van travelling the narrow road…
On Saturday we continued our journey in the direction of Pinhão following the valley of the Douro river. This is a very steep valley with narrow roads. It was also very beautiful but very scary. Did I mention it was very steep? So steep you couldn’t see the river from up there.
The town on the valley is called Pinhão
And busy. Lots of cars behind us, looking like they were ready to pass if only there was room. There were no places wide enough for us to stop and let them pass so we all had to wait. We drove on until we reached the river at the base of the valley, the Douro.
Train tracks and boat wash
This valley is where all the grapes to produce port are grown. And traditionally wooden boats (now repurposed for tourist river trips) took the grapes (or maybe it was the pressed grapes?) to Porto to be proceessed. Much like Champagne, only port with grapes grown in this valley can be called port. Imagine that!
The wooden boats formerly used to carry the grapes to Porto
Anyway we kept going down, down, down to the valley floor. All the time I was hopeful there was a nice wide road back up for later… and it was a bit wider and less busy. If you look at the map of Portugal and find the Douro, you will see the road hugging the river. Every turn, every bend all the way to the town of Peso da Régua, where we took a break for lunch.
Can you see Ruby’s parking space to the right of the big cruise boat?
As we were passing the Museum of the Duoro we took a look at their restaurant but it was set up for dinner but I just wanted a sandwich. We kept going just stopping long enough to take a picture. The back gate of the museum led out on to a side street and a nice man smiled at us and I don’t know how it happened but next thing we are sitting in his restaurant ordering lunch. Not sandwich lunch, no – pork chops, salad and chips lunch!
And the sun shone…
It was divine. I hadn’t realised how hungry fear of heights makes me. We probably would have had enough in one portion between two but on the other hand we left a few chips and we didn’t eat all the bread or the olives or the bowl of rice. Yes, must remember next time a nice man invitees us to his restaurant – just order one portion. And the cost €25 total, including water.
The train passes in front of that cute house every day. I suppose they get used to it?
By Thursday evening last we had arrived over the border in Portugal at a town called Mogadouro and booked into a great municipal campsite. Great means the toilets are clean and the showers are warm and there’s all the camper services.
There’s a Costa here somewhere…
After the rush and bustle of France and Spain, Portugal is a lovely change. Everything slows down and yes that includes the service but what’s your hurry? I spent 15 lovely minutes with the receptionist who was having a difficult time with the computer as she tried and tried again to check us in. But she still found time to marvel that we had come all the way from Ireland. And to ask us if we were enjoying our stay. And all this in English!
The castle
We slept very well that night and decided to stay the next day to wander the very hilly town. We visited the castle and the cafe and the supermarket where we found more Portuguese hospitality.
The post boxes are red…
I was making dinner that night and needed crème fraiche but I couldn’t find it. Denis suggested I ask someone… but he didn’t volunteer. While I was giving him the look – you know the one that says I don’t need your advice – the lady who was stocking the shelves nearby said something in Portuguese to me. She couldn’t be offering to help could she? She was!
And so are the fire engines
I mentioned the crème fraiche with an expression of you probably don’t have it, sure it’s French, what was I thinking, no worries, I’ll use cream or maybe yoghurt. But guess what? She found it! I was so grateful and this is the thing that keeps happening in Portugal… it doesn’t matter that we don’t speak the language, we get each other! She smiled and put a hand to my arm, like, it’s ok I got your back!
Mogadouro
Well I’m not ashamed to admit, there was a tear in my eye. It was not just crème fraiche, Denis!
Stop if you need to. You’ll know. (Or, if you’re driving, Yield)
Before we left I had decided to write to you every day and then I though of your inbox filling up so that another email would feel overwhelming… and so I decided to stop writing to you for the weekend but I’ve changed my mind!
Don’t judge us… the little buns were free but we didn’t know that until we had ordered the large ones! Plus they tasted like the queen cakes my mother used to make, yum! This was in the pretty town of Zamora, Spain not far from the border with Portugal last Thursday.
It’s been like stopping a big truck (or a motorhome) and then trying to push it forward again – not very pleasant. I’m not going to stop writing every day after all. Also, it’s so difficult to know if someone feels overwhelmed or excited to receive another email I would have to be able to see into their mind. Not possible. All I’m doing is reading my own mind and maybe I’m just overwhelming myself..? I really have to let that go.
Beautiful stone wall around a small vineyard on a hill, Villalcampo, just a few kilometers from the Portuguese border
This is my year of surrender so I better get surrendering. I read a book called The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer (maybe I already told you?) and it was life changing. Now, I say yes to opportunities. It’s how I was able to say yes to finishing the fiction book I started in 2020. And how I’ve decided to design a Permission Cards App. (These are not short term goals by the way, they are quests, a term I learned in Christy Lynch’s book, Explore your Life. I’m giving myself time to get these done.)
Goodbye Spain, see you in a few weeks
Saying yes does mean I get more projects in my To Do List but it also means I have to be comfortable with giving up a project. If it’s time to stop a project or change direction on a project I owe it to myself to trust my gut and support my inner knowing.
Hello Portugal! The road into the old Moorish town of Miranda do Douro
Back to today, I’ll keep writing the blogs every day and I’m going to trust you to read them or ignore them or even delete them as you support your inner knowing.
The week before we left on this journey to Portugal we went to the Burren in Co. Clare. We saw the beautiful barren rocky landscape and we never expected to see something similar in Spain but we did.
Along the path…
Following our trusty guide app we left Guernica and travelled in the direction of Burgos and came to Puerto de Orduña. The scenery was beautiful. We never guessed down in the valley that the amazing cliff rising up in the distance was where we were going next but it was.
Unfortunately, I have no photos of this because a series of hairpin bends meant I was hardly able to take a breath let alone take a photo. On and on, upward and upward we went reviewing where we had come from each time we turned the next bend. Not quite believing there could be more of them… but there were.
Little flower peeping out
Finally, we reached a plateau and were guided to a car park. Here we were to walk to a waterfall. Somewhere along the way there had been a place to stop and enjoy the view but it was not to be, the glimpses along the drive were all we had. No worries a walk was exactly what we needed, lots of processing of the museum of peace needed to be done.
Moss covered rocks
The sign in the car park said there was something in 3km. Maybe the waterfall? Sure even if it isn’t that’s a grand walk, so we set off. Almost immediately we saw similarities with the Burren. How could that be? No idea! We walked through a shady forest and saw tiny flowers, moss covered rocks and bare flat stones. There were markers on trees and sometimes on the rocks or small stakes to guide us along. When we had reached the 3km there was no sign of the waterfall and it was hot. We had walked enough today, we could be kind to ourselves… and go back.
Bare flat stones
Walking in that place was very peaceful, gentle peace, inner peace, making peace with ourselves.
The Guiding App For the first time ever on a trip we purchased a self guide to help us choose where to stop on our travels. Of course it’s also an app! Usually we just pick a parking spot that sounds interesting. And most of the time we find something interesting nearby. This time we are following a map and picking parking spots nearby. It makes for a different type of experience. The tour starts in the town of Gernika (Guernica is the English, I think) and I’m very excited. I can hardly believe we have passed this town many times travelling to Portugal via northern Spain.
Look at the beautiful red Geraniums!
History is more interesting now Something you may not know about me – my new interest in history. In school I thought history was too complicated, too much to read and too much to study. I wanted to get a good grade in my leaving certificate (end of school exam, Ireland) but the exam preparation was mainly learning things off by heart therefore any subject with high content was a risky choice. History had a lot of content and my decision to drop it was influenced by that. I am sorry now… and all because of a fiction book. Imagine a really easy to read fiction book being a way to learn about history? What a great idea. I found the book (really three books) by accident. It’s called, The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett and tells the story of the 20th Century from the perspective of fictitious families in Russia, Germany, Austria, America, England, Wales and Spain. It’s also interspersed with real characters like presidents and kings, etc. Hopefully Ken Follett does a lot of research, it seems he does. Now, because of him and his book I understand so much more about the conflicts during the 20th century, which includes World War 1 and 2, fascism, Spanish civil war…. The book has been like an intro for me and I’m ready for more so if you have any recommendations for easy to understand history books please let me know.
This is a photo of a copy of Picasso’s Guernica in the peace Museum
Art History, also interesting The second thing you may not know about me – in 2012 I attended an art course that included art history. It gave me an appreciation for art, including Picasso, who before that was a complete mystery to me. Anyway, one class included his art piece called Guernica. Picasso started painting Guernica the day after he read reports about a Spanish town that was decimated by German bombs. Men women and children were killed, they still don’t know how many, up to 2000. The actual painting is in a museum in Madrid.
Had coffee here near the peace museum
Visiting the Peace Museum, Gernika Now here I am in Gernika with a basic understanding of the Spanish Civil War and the art piece Guernica… this will be my simplified version of events which I hope will allow me to tell a close enough approximation of the story, simply and clearly. The Spanish Civil War started in July 1936 and lasted until the Second World War began in 1939.
The Background On one side there was the Republicans who supported the government of Spain and on the other side was the Nationalists who were military men including General Franco. Spain was a young republic at the start of the civil war. The government was inexperienced. There were many economic problems, poverty, unemployment and the general public were unhappy. Something similar to Germany after the First World War which led to the Second World War and there are similarities today…
Both sides had support from outside Spain. The Republicans were supported by Russia and the Nationalists (with General Franco) were supported by the Nazi government in Germany.
The fires following the bombing were so hot they melted coins
The Day of the Bombing Monday 26th April, 1937 was market day in Gernika, lots of people and animals on the streets. The planes arrived at 4pm, they dropped bombs and shot civilians until 8pm. The town was completely destroyed. The planes were German. The Nationalists won the civil war and General Franco ruled Spain until his death in November 1975. He was a dictator and until his death there was no investigation of the bombing. When asked, they had to say the planes bombed Gernika… but it was Franco who directed the planes to bomb Gernika.
A page from the information booklet
Hard Peace The peace museum is an attempt to examine peace, the hard peace. The kind that requires forgiveness. The kind that requires living with neighbours who were on the other side of the civil war. Some people who were Nationalist supporters knew there would be some kind of action in Gernika that day so they left the town. I cannot imagine being able to forgive that and lucky for me I don’t have to. But it inspires me to do my own forgiving, for my own version of civil war. I am inspired to know peace as more than a quiet seat by the river bank, or a meditation alone on a cushion. I am inspired to do my own peace work.
At the Peace Museum in Gernika there’s a informational handout in English. In it there’s a list titled, The Tools Used to Bring Peace. Among the tools are, Honouring Fellow Human Beings, Listening to Different Opinions, Admitting our Mistakes, Looking to the Future.
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” -Unknown (from the handout)
First stop in Spain – Getaria on the north coast. If you compare yesterday’s map with today’s above you might notice we travelled a lot. It took us ten hours – not ideal. On top of that the last hour was on winding roads. I don’t think anyone, including the anyone trying to get home but stuck behind an Irish motorhome, was happy with that. And then we arrived in this beautiful place.
Well, isn’t this nice… Getaria, north coast of Spain
It was 8.45pm but still bright and our parking spot had a view of the sea. Plus parking was free after 8pm, so maybe everything that happened on this day was in fact ideal. It took a lot of manoeuvring to get parked but eventually we nestled in beside – but not touching – a tree.
Can you see Ruby? Extreme left under the tree?
For a long time Denis has wanted a way to ensure our communication was effective… not all the time just when we arrive at a parking spot that requires two of the us to park safely. And he purchased a set of walkie-talkies. As a child I dreamed of having a walkie-talkie set but it was never to be. Now I have a half share in a set of blue ones. Be careful what you wish for.
Walkie and Talkie (mine’s Walkie)
Arriving at Getaria would be their inaugural outing. I had received the training in their usage ten hours earlier from Denis and it seemed straightforward. What could possibly go wrong? Ten hours of driving. It can test a person.
Narrow streets but not too narrow for a car!
I was tired and the adrenaline was making me a little shaky since the winding road but apart from my tendency to let go of the talk button when I thought the van was going to hit something (the precise moment you really need to be pressing the talk button and shouting STOP!) they worked grand. I’m wondering if they would be any use during a heated argument? If you have any ideas please let me know.
Love this street!❤️
As soon as the van was tucked in we went for a walk into the town of narrow streets and expensive restaurants. It was too late for us to eat dinner and a little early for the Spanish so for the third night in a row we had what was left in our fridge, yum…
Look there’s Denis!
Next morning we awoke to the sun shining and the waves crashing. What a beautiful view to wake up to! Next stop Gernika-Lumo, you might want to look that up because it’s a difficult one but I really want to write about it because it’s a place where peace gets real…
Travel stories 