Porto

Looked around Porto. Lots of interesting buildings, narrow lanes and an Islamic influence (Moorish) apparent within the architecture.
There were Germans everywhere (drinking beer) as FC Porto were playing Borussia (Cologne) in a Europa cup football match which we watched in a bar overlooking the Atlantic (Borussia won 1 -0).

                                                  Pre-match warm up

Torre de Hercules and Santiago de Compostela

Spanish architecture (my opinion).

The Architecture of Northern Spain, Santiago excepted, has been a disappointment. The houses are often not well maintained, colour schemes are novel, and designs frequently let down by ornamentation which is out of place.

Torre de Hercules (A Coruna) and Cathedral Santiago de Compostela

Busy day but with few photos due to being unaware my camera card was full. A Coruna was an extremely vertical, but apart from the beach, relatively uninspiring city. It did however have purportedly the oldest working lighthouse in the world being built by the Romans circa 100 AD. The construction and history were very well explained. We walked (climbed) to the top which must have worked off a few calories (intake still exceeding output!).

Santiago on the other hand was a great city to walk around – lots of alleyways and cobbled streets. The centre piece is an enormous cathedral where the remains of St James are supposedly buried. It is a bit ironic how the Romans came to end up with so many Disciples when they were responsible for Jesus' demise. 

The cathedral was very impressive, full of gold and vaulted ceilings. There were so many chapels within the cathedral that we got lost. Also making his presence felt was Eric Clapton – being played outside, on an electric guitar, by a man Gretel befriended.

                                                     Gretel having a chat with Eric

                                           Hercules dressed in a real lion skin (specially for Johan)

                                          The Torre de Hercules lighthouse (below).

      Gretel not impressed with the view of A Coruna from the top of the Torre de Hercules lighthouse

                                                       A model Spartan ship

                                 James' resting place in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

Northern Spain – Reflections so far.

Northern Spain – Reflections so far.

We have reached the northwestern corner of Spain. Northern Spain is very green, mountainous and has a rugged coastline interspersed with golden sand beaches. Most of the larger cities appear to have their main business area built around beautiful (but cold) beaches. The cities are very dense, covering little land area, but with numerous apartment blocks and significant industry.

The roading infrastructure is of high standard – a network of 4 or 6 lane motorways with numerous viaducts, bridges and tunnels, many of which are spectacular.

The farmland is split between eucalyptus and pine forests, and grazing – although there are relatively few animals to be seen (maybe in barns?).

The villages lack the quaintness of France, but along the coastline they are enjoy spectacular vistas.

In this corner of Spain we are encountering few other motorhomes, which makes finding a place to stay at night easy so far.On a clifftop aire overlooking the Atlantic we were parked next one other motorhome, had a chat with them and they turned out to be two other Kiwis - Vicki and Scott, who were coming to the end of 12 months touring. They were a font of useful information.

 Origuera - view from our aire

 Origuera new lighthouse

 Origuera - old lighthouse being painted

 Origuera

Typical street in Origuera

Wonderful Senorita Anita - Gracias

Thank you Anita for the language post. I hope we do not have to use the puncture words!
We think often of you at school - the students in your class are very lucky to have you.
All the schools here are on mid term break. The refugee crisis is big news in the media here - although popular opinion appears to be more of a hard line attitude. It is a very difficult problem  - a great topic for your students.

Regards
Tony and Gretel

Diet required

Flattie on the motorway

This is how it happened. We were belting along a 4 lane motorway on the way to Bordeaux when our back (driver's side as Gretel was quick to point out) blew. We pulled over onto a very skinny shoulder, got out - it was raining, 2 degrees and blowing. A procession of trucks were whizzing past at 110km/hr. It was a bit scary. Luckily we had orange vests and a warning triangle.

Fixing the problem was made more difficult by the Germans not including a spare wheel, instead they included a can of gooey stuff that is meant to seal the hole. We jacked the van up and connected the can to the wheel, turned on the pump, but to no avail. The gooey stuff did not seal our rather large hole. Bordeaux was still 60km away - too far for Gretel to push. Calling for a tow was our only option.

All is sorted now so the journey resumes. This afternoon (Wednesday) we will cross over into Spain. Spent last night on an aire looking out over the Bay of Biscay - a decent surf running, with the snow clad Pyrenees also in view. Our plan is to cross the top of Spain heading west.

 Look at the size of that fish - Bay of Isalnds, one week before we left.

 Missing school - Victorian classroom at Blists Hill

 Made a small purchase at Blists' Hill lolly shop.

 Typical Victorian street (nothing here is a replica) at Blists Hill

Bonjour from Francais.

Our motorhome works - sort of. Having trouble with Ben, our satnav. Spent 7 hours tacking south down france yesterday, and only reached the top of Normandy. At this rate it will take us over a week to reach Spain.

Apart from Ben, everything has gone pretty much to plan. Spent a night each in London and Ludlow - will be back to each when the temperature gets above 5 degrees, and two nights in Telford getting a new gas system put in.

Enjoyed England a lot. The only sour note was Olga, the her commandant manning the boarding of trains at Paddington. Nearly had to leave Gretel behind because she had inadvertently disposed of her underground ticket (after using the underground), thinking the ticket from Paddington to Crewe would get her on the train. Some tense moments for a while (Annika, you would have loved the confrontation!).

Highlights have been Ludlow castle (built in 1086) and a half day spent at Blists Hill Victorian Town, Telford.