# Onward to Portugal, Disaster then home.



## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

This is episode 2 of our winter trip to Spain/Portugal.


Onward to Portugal, Disaster then home.

We left Conil de la Frontera on the 19th February and went via Seville to Mazagon and stayed two nights on the Parador car park. The toilets on the adjacent picnic area were locked and the water had been turned off. We checked out El Rocio and it’s still possible to free park overnight in the area immediately past the lagoon.

Over night parking is also available at the Mazagon yacht club and around the harbour area.

We entered Portugal and put our clocks back one hour as Portugal is on GMT.

We checked a few of our old free parking areas and free parked for 11 nights mainly on the western Algarve..

Cabanas.
Water is still available from the tap in the dustbin area at the east end of the sea front. Parking is also allowed on the eastern end of the sea front.

Pedras del Rei.
The place was overwhelmed with motorhomes and one caravan (Dutch)

Fuzeta.
Parking tolerated on the car park next to the camp site. We checked the camp site and it was full. 

Alvor.
Follow signs for Zona Ribeirinha to sea front parking.

Boca do Rio
Parking tolerated on this lonely beach, usually a dozen or so motorhomes here. Walk to next village (30 min) for supermarkets and toilets. On this visit there were about 26 units and the place was very crowded. Many Brit full timers were parked here and were prepared to stay until moved on by the GNR. Unlike the old days generators were in use a lot of the time.

Sagres.
Parking tolerated in many places in the town and in the Fort car park. The town parking areas were very crowded and there were between 35 to 40 units on the fort parking area.

Praia de Amada.
Another area where free parking seems to be tolerated. On previous visits we have been the only ones parked there but this time there were about a dozen units parking well back from the beach.

If the trend of free parking continues at the rate it’s going at present I can see the Algarve becoming another “No Go” area free parking like the west coast of Morocco.
We like a few of our friends will not be over wintering on the Algarve again it’s just too crowded. 

The sites we checked Fuzeta and Olhao were very crowded and at Olhao only small pitches in the shade were available. 

We arranged to meet up at Serpa with some old friends but on the way from the Algarve disaster struck, we heard a horrible noise that turned out to be a wheel bearing rumbling for want of a better word. We limped into the camp site at Serpa and at 1730hrs on Sunday we contacted the RAC, we told them our tale of woe and they promised a recovery truck would be in attendance between 9 and 10 am on Monday morning. It arrived at 0950 and we could not believe our luck when we found out the driver was fluent in English.

The driver arranged for us to take the van to a local garage that was within walking distance of the site, another bit of good luck. The garage checked the bearing and confirmed it needed replacing, they ordered a new bearing and we were told to bring the van back to the garage at 9 am on the Tuesday morning. The job was completed and we had the van back by 1700 hrs on Tuesday all fit and raring to go. The speed and convenience were worth double the cost to us. 

Serpa is a very old town and is well worth a visit, the municipal camp site is very basic but clean and at €7 per night a very good bargain. There’s also free wifi and use of the internet at the town information centre.

We started to head home on Thursday 8th March going via :-

Evora
A very old town where we had our lunch break and the boss took herself round the old town to have a look see and take some photo’s.

Merida.
Merida Camping (€16.80 per night) is signed off the Autovia A5 at km 333 A basic site with clean facilities. Large outfits might have problems trying to get on to the pitches also there could be problems in the wet.

Valladolid,
Camping Cubillas signed at km 102 on the Autovia A62. The site at €20.06 is very expensive for what it offers, a very basic site but conveniently placed on the route to Spain or Portugal

There is about a 100 mile stretch of the A66 Autovia between Merida and Plasencia with only two refuelling/parking spots on the Autovia and they are close to Plasencia at Km 495 north bound/ Km 494 south bound and at Km 489 north bound/Km 488 south bound. This leaves a stretch of Autovia of about 85 miles with no stopping places on the road. There are petrol stations signed off the road some in small villages that could be a problem to large outfits or those towing trailers. We have come across the lack of fuel/rest stops on many of the new Autovia’s being opened in Spain at present. 

There is a very good picnic area/night stop on the Autovia A66 at Km 427 north bound follow the picnic sign. South bound it’s km 427 signed Banos de Montenayor, a large area with very good views.

St Jean de Luz.
We usually have a day off here and stay at Camping Bord de Mer (open 1March to 31 October) €19 per night. If the weather is kind it’s a very pleasant stroll into St Jean for a leisurely lunch before wandering back again. We have been very lucky at this site with wall to wall sunshine. Site is not suitable for large outfits (over 8 metres).

St Maure.
After a days drive (315 miles) in brilliant sunshine we are staying the night on the aire at St Maure which is about 25 miles south of Tours on the N10. We refuelled at the Champion supermarket which is about 15 miles south of St Maure for €0.99 per litre that’s an increase of €0.02 since mid January. Diesel prices have ranged from €1.13 per litre on the Autoroute to about €1.08 at filling stations on the main N roads.

There is a very good aire on the N10 (both sides) between junction 16 & 17 south of Bordeaux. There is a height barrier set at 3.3 metres to keep the trucks out. It’s a very large aire with plenty of space for over night stops.

We noticed that most of the aires/parking areas on the N10 between Bayonne and Poitiers were very crowded with trucks and some were even gridlocked. At times there was almost a continuous line of trucks on the N10 where for long stretches trucks over 12 tons are not allowed to overtake. 

Boulogne Port.
We had a night stop on the quay side at Boulogne after a 336 mile drive from St Maure mainly on the peage (€52.50) it was a bit slow through Rouen but other than that a very pleasant drive in the sun shine.

We had a panic in the morning just after first light, we thought somebody was trying to break into the van but it turned out to be a couple of sea gulls practising their dance routine on our van roof.

We have decided in future to do the trip from the channel port to St Jean de Luz in three days instead of two. I found it a bit tiring at times with the heavy volume of trucks on the roads. It will also mean we can use the N roads instead of the peage.

We had a ferry booked with Sea France for 1930 hrs so we can spend the day in Boulogne before getting the evening ferry and then hopefully driving home to East Yorkshire a trip of 275 miles. Hopefully in future we can go back to using North Sea ferries from Hull to Zeebrugge. The drive down and back to Dover is putting years on me. 

We caught an earlier ferry than planned from Calais and arrived home just before mid night.

Diesel in Spain was about €0.90 per litre and in Portugal about €1.01 per litre. In France it varied from Euro1.14 to Euro 0.99 per litre


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

Thanks Don for all the good useful info. Glad your wheel bearing was sorted out quickly.


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Thanks for posting that, Don. Glad to hear that the problems you had weren't terminal.

For what it's worth, I'm finding that driving too far and too fast is no fun any more, and we always plan to do fairly short hops each day. I think you're very sinsible to cut down the strain, especially driving long distances over here.

Gerald


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Portugal*

Don

An informative post, and even though in a part of the world I am neither familar with or particularly concerned with visiting, an interesting read - the seagull bit made me laugh.

It is amazing how small animals/birds etc seem to make a real racketon a motorhome roof.

Russell


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Welcome back Don. Bit of a buumer having a wheel bearing going on such a new vehicle. Was there any indication of the cause? How many miles had it done?

Our departure has been delayed due to family illness but hoping to get away soon.

See you have noted the winter problems, that is why I like to go about now when most are on their way home and it is still not too hot and the crowds are very much less. I don't mind the winter in England and quite enjoy a few winter breaks here. Its certainly not crowded!

I guess you will be going elsewhere next year?

peedee


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## eddied (May 9, 2005)

*Spain/Portugal trip.*

 
Thanks Don, very interesting and informative, since I will probably be visiting Andalucia and Portugal (Fatima) later in the year, albeit from a different direction.
The bit about long distances certainly strikes a chord. In a previous life I was able to drive Naples - Calais non-stop in 22 hours (Alfa Giulietta). Now with my Chausson helping me along I take at least 5 days!
saluti,
eddied


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## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

peedee said:


> Welcome back Don. Bit of a buumer having a wheel bearing going on such a new vehicle. Was there any indication of the cause? How many miles had it done?
> 
> Our departure has been delayed due to family illness but hoping to get away soon.
> 
> ...


Hi Pete,

Sorry to hear about the family ill health and hope you are soon on your way.

The van had done 46,000 miles and it was a shock when the bearing went.

I'm just about to replace the original tyres and brake pads before we venture forth again.

We are having a change of direction next year, we have booked a bungalow for three months at Conil de la Frontera, Camping Rosaleda. The bungalows are only about Euro100 a month more than a pitch.

We then plan to leave Spain at the end of March and travel to Turkey via the Balkans and return home via Rhodes, Crete and the Pelopennese. I've got to fit the whole trip into our 180 day insurance cover. Well that's the plan at present.

We are off to China on the 1st April for a three week tour of the highlights.

After that it will be the Warners shows until October when we might have a look at Scotland again.

If you get to the shows we must get together for a chat.

Don


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## 89767 (May 1, 2005)

*Spain & Portugal*

Ho Don
Glad to hear you are safely home. We are still at Conil & have also decided to book a bungalow for next year so may see you then.
Heading for Portugal next week but hopefully it will be quieter now. Your information as usual will be most useful on our trip back but we will not leave for a while yet.
Have a good one in China.

Keith & Jean (Four Winds)


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## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

*Re: Spain & Portugal*



Keith said:


> Ho Don
> Glad to hear you are safely home. We are still at Conil & have also decided to book a bungalow for next year so may see you then.
> Heading for Portugal next week but hopefully it will be quieter now. Your information as usual will be most useful on our trip back but we will not leave for a while yet.
> Have a good one in China.
> ...


Hi Keith,

Nice to hear from you again.

It should be quieter in Portugal when you get there. If your there over Easter make sure you get onto a site on the Wed/Thur as the locals will be out in force and the sites get very crowded and noisy.

I liked your four winds but I think I'll stay with the Timberland.

See you next year then?

Regards to Jean.

Don


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Winter*

Hello there,

"We like a few of our friends will not be over wintering on the Algarve again it's just too crowded"

So where do you intend to winter next year if you do not mind me asking?

I did a long detailed reply to a post recently regarding Portugal, really not to my tast. Just wondering where you might fancy next year?

I also note you said you would do a certain part of the journey in 3 days as opposed to 2. Do you mean to that part of France or do you intend to go back to Portugal at other times?

Trev


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## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

*Re: Winter*



teemyob said:


> Hello there,
> 
> "We like a few of our friends will not be over wintering on the Algarve again it's just too crowded"
> 
> ...


Hi Trev,

We are have booked a bungalow at Camping Rosaleda, Conil de la Frontera for three months then moving on to Turkey at the end of March.

We usually have one night stop in France between Zeebrugge/Calais and St Jean de Luz, we now intend to have two night stops on siutable aires. We have a day off in St Jean before having another two night stops to Conil de la Frontera.

We plan to return to Portugal in the future but not between late October and late March.

In the past we have spent three winters in Turkey but don't tell anybody as we don't want it to get over run like Spain/Portugal.

Don


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## Walmer (Mar 4, 2006)

Welcome back, Don, and thanks for all the valuable information. We had talked of Portugal next winter, but we won't bother now!!

What was your reason for booking a bungalow in Spain for next winter? More space, comfort etc?

Hilary


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## ruthiebabe (Aug 16, 2005)

Welcome back Don, glad all was well in the end. Your info is stored waiting for a chance to go that way...soon I hope, so thanks.

Hope you're both well, Ruth


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

46,000 miles is not much for a wheel bearing to go. Think you will enjoy China. I have a friend who has visited over 40 countries as a result of his job and for pleasure and he rated China the best!

Might make Lincoln Music Festival but it will be a last minute decision. I have commitments for all the other show dates.

Sounds as though your time will pretty full in the future. Enjoy China.

peedee


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## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

Walmer said:


> Welcome back, Don, and thanks for all the valuable information. We had talked of Portugal next winter, but we won't bother now!!
> 
> What was your reason for booking a bungalow in Spain for next winter? More space, comfort etc?
> 
> Hilary


Hi Hilary,

We have been toying with the idea of renting in the winter for three months for some time now and after the overcrowding in Spain and Portugal we thought this was a good time to try it out. The bungalows work out at about Euro100 a month more for us, a lot less if you have a large van and need a bigger pitch.

The bungalows are well equipt and can sleep four so we will have plenty of space. The site also has wifi (free at present) which is another bonus.

The bed making in a small van is a tiring chore at times and any rest from that is a bonus. Age is catching up fast with us and we are trying to go at a more leisurely pace in the future.

I think we have started a trend as two of our friends are planning to rent at Conil next winter.

Don


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## Wanderwagon3 (May 27, 2005)

*As Topic*

Good day to You Both

'tis green with envy I am! What a useful log of your trip.

I had a third hip operation in right hip on 30th Jan and was 19 nights in hospital. Just been to Surgeon for check. Continue taking things VERY easy and come back in another 6 weeks. Am not fit enough to drive!! Was shown the x-ray. The right thigh is basically meccano like steel work. I counted at least 6 screws looked like No6 countersunk and about 1¼ inches long! Leg still swollen and painful and I HATE sleeping on my back. However I'm hoping we'll get to France again in September ABW. There will not be a 4th hip replacement...'twill be a Long John Silver job!

Hope your trip plans go as you have planned.

All the very best and safe roads .

Ken......with Wanderwagon3


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

Hi Don

Good to have you back.
Sorry to read of your troubles but pleased they were resolved so easily. The heart misses a beat or two when experiencing mechanical problems when abroad.

Take care.


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

*Re: As Topic*



Wanderwagon3 said:


> .......... Leg still swollen and painful and I HATE sleeping on my back. However I'm hoping we'll get to France again in September ABW.
> 
> Ken......with Wanderwagon3


I can empathise with you, Ken
That sleeping on the back is awful

I went to Abbeville for a knee replacement mid Jan an I'm still sleeping on my back.
I have just started to drive again and have a ferry to France booked for 2nd April.
I have hedged our bets a little by booking a Freedom fare with SeaFrance so it is fully amendable if I don't feel ready.
It does give something to aim for.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.


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## Don_Madge (May 1, 2005)

*Re: As Topic*



Wanderwagon3 said:


> Good day to You Both
> 
> 'tis green with envy I am! What a useful log of your trip.
> 
> ...


Hi Ken,

Very sorry to hear your still off the road. I'm dreading the thought of having to give up my driving, it's about the only thing I'm any use at.

We are planning to spend the summer at home once we get back from China. I'm going to the List meet at Banbury and we will also be at the York show so if you are up and running we might see you at York.

Regards to Mary

Don


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