Santa Luzia

 Saturday 17/07/21

We left Garvao on Thursday morning to try and find somewhere cooler to spend the day as we were only due at the house in the afternoon.  The forecast was for another scorcher so we headed to a nearby lake as there was some shade to shelter in.

Monte de Roche lake

The forecast was right and we nearly melted, swapping between Bokkie's interior and outside, under the trees when we got a bit claustrophobic.  The wind was very warm but, as long as we stuck to the shade, it was bearable. 

It was soon time for us to head off to the sit, an easy enough drive apart from the long farm driveway and entrance gate.  Bokkie managed but it was touch-and-go, always one of our biggest risks, even though we always check with owners to make sure access is ok.

The village of Santa Luzia in the distance

We've had the handover of the house and horses and have settled in quite well.  The heat is promising to break after today, at least for the next week.  The area is quite stunning, very similar to South Africa in terms of the climate, smells, plants and general appearance.  

Silke, Charmeur, Puppi, Branco & Galante

The horses are very friendly which is great (they are all rescue horses, so are just 'walking lawnmowers' and not to be ridden),  and they should be very little trouble as they are permanently outdoors and fairly self-sufficient.  

The house is a typical Portuguese white house (with blue trim), very basic inside but with lovely tilework in the bathroom and kitchen. Our room is actually separate from the main house, which is lovely.  The house is also quite remote, we can see one neighbour and the village in the distance but it is very quiet.

We're looking forward to our time here!

Bonus pic:

We told the horses we were in charge for the next six weeks and got the predictable response...

We don't speak Portuguese or 'horse' but we're sure we got some abuse as well as laughter

Garvao

 Wednesday 14/07/21

We had a good night's sleep in Evora in spite of motorhomes continuing to arrive late into the night. 

We left quite early to try and find a sheltered spot for the day. We didn't have too far to drive so were looking for a shady spot to hide Bokkie for the day.  We tried an aire near a lake but a combination of flies, a bad smell and dodgy campers nearby, as well as a lack of shade, forced us to move on.

Every available pole in the area has a stork nest on it

We're in a small parking area in Garvao, close to the house sit, and have been following the shade around the area trying to keep Bokkie as cool as possible. In spite of our best efforts the temperature inside Bokkie peaked at 33.5C and, at 20:00 is still hovering over 30C; it is quite draining.

Garvao is a pretty agricultural village

You can just make out Bokkie hiding under a tree in the centre of the photo

We'll spend most of the day here tomorrow as we are only due at the sit in the early afternoon so probably won't blog for a few days.  We're looking forward to seeing the house and meeting the owner (and horses that we will be looking after).

Back in Evora

 Tuesday 13/07/21

Every time we return to Portugal we wonder if we'll like it as much as we did last time and every time, we do!  We don't what it is, when you cross the border from Spain very little seems to change yet every time, we feel a strange feeling of coming home. We really love it here.

Some old street art

And some new - outside the library

We had a walk around Badajoz this morning; it was very quiet and, as the old city streets are so narrow, it is also difficult to get a feel for the place (or any good photos).  We walked back over the river and had a coffee overlooking the river watching the city come back to life.  We then got chatting to another Brit in the aire who was on his way back to France so we swapped travel stories before we headed off.  We topped up Bokkie's diesel tank as the fuel is significantly cheaper in Spain and managed to get it at less than a pound per litre.

We were in Portugal so quickly we didn't even have time to photograph the welcome sign, and popped into nearby Elvas for some food shopping.  We love seeing what local fare is on offer in each of the countries. 

We then headed off to Evora where we stayed a couple of nights last time we were here. We waited out the worst heat of the day and went for a stroll through the town in the evening, and enjoyed some local beer and snacks in the square.  It's lovely to be back here in the summertime, as we remember it being very cold last time.

Tomorrow we'll spend the last night in Bokkie before our 6-week house-sit.

Badajoz

 Monday 12/07/21

We both had a good night's sleep (no, we didn't stay up to watch the football, luckily) and set off early under grey skies.  It soon started drizzling but was only forecast to last until we got more inland and, as expected, when we stopped in Burgos to do some food shopping, it cleared up.  

The iconic Spanish landmarks along the route

We found we were making very good time on the open Spanish roads so decided that, rather than stop for the night where we had planned, we would push on through most of our Spanish leg.

Our lunch spot was a lovely tranquil spot next to a reservoir

We had a fantastic drive, the scenery is so similar to many regions in South Africa and the weather is wonderful - sunny and hot.  It really took us both back to childhood trips in summer, windows wound down and warm air blowing through Bokkie.

The ancient bridge to the city is right behind our parking area

Although Bokkie's immediate view is a little bleak, she can see the ancient city in the distance

We've stopped in the medieval Spanish city of Badajos only a few kilometres from the Portuguese border.  We'll go and explore the old-town in the cooler morning air and then head over to Portugal tomorrow.

Bonus pic...

It's a little intimidating when you keep looking ahead to see a truck seemingly heading towards Bokkie on the highway.....luckily it was on a transporter so going the same way as us!

Nanclares de la Oca

 Sunday 11/07/21

Hola!  

Bokkie is back in Spain!  It's hard to believe we have been away for more then two years - time certainly flies. 

Strangely, it feels like we are now on holiday; we've become so Francophile that the UK and France both seem like home so it's weird to be outside our comfort zone again. We manage our way around France quite comfortably now even though we have not mastered the language by any means but here we are completely lost.  It's even worse in the Basque country where the alphabet even looks different.

We spotted this beauty on the road, a stretched version of a 2CV

We decided to take the toll road down from Bordeaux as it offers a massive time saving and were pleased that we did - the traffic was very heavy.  There are masses of holidaymakers heading for the coast and the French roads were very busy even though most of the trucks don't travel on Sundays.

We did quite well into Spain though, then filled up with very cheap Spanish diesel and promptly headed off in the wrong direction.  In fairness, we just missed one split in the highway and it would have take 10km before we could turn around so we simply made a new plan.  It turned out to be a lucky detour and we were treated to the most fantastic drive through the mountains.  

It is baking here: 30°C, which is wilting our soft UK bodies, but should cool down from tomorrow making it the perfect timing to cross the Spanish interior.  We've got all our screens up, fans running and are waiting for it to cool down before we go for a walk around the village.

Bokkie in the aire with the San Jose Apostolic college in the background

Roullet

Saturday 10/07/21

The French summer holidays have definitely started as the motorhomes piled into the aire last night; I counted 17 this morning.  The advantage of having arrived at a decent time is that we weren't caught in the scramble to squeeze into every available space for the night.

We slept well, motorhomers are usually quite a quiet lot and we were so tired we would probably have slept through anything.

A typical sleepy village on a Saturday morning

We set off at around 08:00 and were soon driving through the forecast rain which lasted most of the morning.  The first half of the day was village to village driving (we try and avoid the toll roads, the routes are usually more scenic but progress is much slower) but after we crossed the Loire, it was mostly motorway driving.

Just to prove there are some straight roads in France

Crossing the Loire - taken through the side window so not brilliant quality

Sunflowers as far as the eye can see

Giant turbine dwarfing the wheat 

We arrived at the aire at 15h30 so not a lot of distance (395km) for a day's driving but that's the nature of travelling the way we do.

The Saint-Cybard church in Roullet

We're keeping to our schedule quite well so far and should get into Spain tomorrow afternoon. Now it's time for a Bokkie-shower, some supper and then sleep!

Montagne-au-Perche

 Friday 09/07/21

Bokkie is on the road again!  

While we were in the Bealings sit, we were contacted by the Portugal house-sit owner to see if there was any way we could move our dates forward by a week.  Recent changed to the German rules meant he will have to quarantine before his holiday so he wanted to leave the property on the 16'th as opposed to the 23'rd.

Bokkie is amongst friends, nestled in a lovely aire

It's been a mad scramble to get bookings changed, Covid tests done and everything packed but we set off yesterday from Baldock in our bid to get onto the mainland.  Travel out of the UK is still technically not allowed but the French are happy to allow vaccinated and tested non-EU residents to enter so we gathered all our paperwork and tried our luck. 

Our route was a mix of good motorways and town driving so we made quite good time - for Bokkie!

We drove to Folkestone on Thursday afternoon and stayed in a nearby campsite, hoping to get a good night's sleep as we had to get up very early.  At 03:30 the alarm woke us up and we headed off to the Eurotunnel station.  All our paperwork was acceptable, in fact, most of it drew only a cursory glance from officials, so it wasn't too long before we were boarding.  Less than an hour later we were driving onto French roads, absolute bliss after the mania of the M25 yesterday.

Our lunchtime view - French meadow

With Brexit in full force, we aren't allowed to bring any dairy or animal products over so we had to stop along the way to do some shopping.  Buying French cheese isn't that much of a chore, luckily. (just a bit stinky in Bokkie's fridge!) 

We made our way along a fairly familiar route down to Rouen and then headed south as opposed to our usual way to Brittany.  it's lovely to drive through new areas and we have found a very pretty, quiet spot for the night. We've had a long day and are looking forward to a good, and longer, night's sleep.

The lovely fishing lake below our aire

We're planning on getting to the Beja district in Portugal by Thursday for a handover, so this will be a quick dash through France and Spain.