Sierra de Gredos

Sun 19^th

Sierra De Gredos looked appealing on the map, full of mountains and rivers, which is our kind of countryside. So after a morning stroll around the ramparts we headed SW. once off the plain that surrounds Avila the road rises and twists through some very nice terrain.  Quite a few motorbikes about and I could see why – perfect surface (EU money?) and lovely swooping bends. In the distance the Sierra De Gredos was looming above us. The road to Hoyos Del Espino was also bike heaven and still enjoyable in a 4.5 ton motorhome!

biking heaven

spot for the night - 346 spaces left?

The national park centre was open  so we asked for maps. The very nice lady spoke good English and drew us out a map with walks and suggested things to see. As the nearby campsite was now closed we parked up in the empty centre carpark (347 spaces). The views were great, it felt very alpine as we were at 1400m altitude and had the sound of cowbells  around us. We went for a short cycle along the river up to some amazing rocks and huge boulders. It was warm until 7pm then we enjoyed a great sunset. No streetlights so pitch black at night. The sky was crystal clear and the stars were all out. Brilliant.

it won't move!

Mon 20^th

Cold overnight so the heating came on for a short time to warm the van up in the morning. During the night we had heard the “sound of Spain”  i.e. barking dogs!  This was a phrase a fellow Brit used when we chatted with him in Santiago. He is absolutely correct in that it seems that no matter where you stay there will be at some time in the night the sound of barking dogs!  Absolutely true.

We drove up to Plataforma at 1790m. This is as far as the road goes and has lots of parking slots on the approach so must be very popular in the summer. Once parked up (with chocks on wheels!) we booted up and headed uphill on the Laguna Grande path. It resembled a giant cobbled path that rose up before us. The views were superb all around us. The granite appeared to be green due to the lichen covering it. It was very sunny and hot again so we huffed and puffed up to 2170m and our lunch stop. Wow – what a landscape and views. Spain is definitely not flat and sandy here.  We sat and took it all in as we munched our well deserved sandwiches.

Plataforma - 1790m alt.

path

don't miss it.....

worth the effort - 2170m

green granite

4 ½ hours after we started we returned tired but very happy with the walk. Well worth the effort.

We returned to the centre parking to find 2 other vans there, so company for the night.

Tues 21^st

First thing we did the nearby nature walk, about 3 km and fairly easy. We have never seen so many mushrooms growing wild. There were all sorts of species, some tiny, some huge. Tina was kicking herself for not bringing her book on mushrooms. I of course got the blame as I was concerned about bringing too many books / weight issue. So we looked but didn’t pick any.

After lunch we cycled along the river and up some local back roads. Very quiet and lush green valleys with lots of cows happily munching the grass.  The village school looked quite new as did the deposits a herd of cows had left right outside!

It was till very hot so we moved the van into some shade. Just before dinner we moved back to our slot and leveled it on the ramps as per normal. Later at 9.30 pm when we had finished eating I heard a van arrive outside. I looked outside – the Guardia Civil 4 X 4 was alongside us, engine running. Knock, knock on our door.  I went outside and after an initial exchange of hello, good evening he started talking very fast in Spanish.  No hablos was my reply. In reasonable English he told me “no camping”. I asked what he meant – “no leveling blocks allowed, this is camping. Big fine. No blocks ok.”  So we had to drive the van off them and move to a more level piece of tarmac!  The Dutchman across from us told us next morning that the Spanish consider the use of blocks, steadies, chairs outside and even screen covers as camping.  First 2 nights we had been left alone? 

Wet north to the hot centre

Weds 15^th

Rained all day. We drove to Lago de Sanabria which I am sure would have been very nice to walk around.  We only ventured out of the van to have a shower. Huge campsite right by the lake. Us and one other couple in a caravan on the entire site.  What a shame – we definitely will revisit.

lots of water

Thurs 16^th

Still raining so we drove straight to Salamanca. The wind on the autovia was very strong, buffeting the van about. The rain had stopped and it was warm again. The landscape changed to huge open plains with lots of agriculture.  The site was on the river Tormes 2 km out of town. Very neat and tidy plots. The wifi was possibly the best yet as we could watch UK tv on the laptop without any ‘loading” moments. Sad I know, but when we can, we catch up on some tv!  We enjoyed the evening sun and warmth which was very welcome after the rain and cool temperature of the last 2 days further north.

Fri 17^th

We cycled into Salamanca when it had warmed up a bit as it had been a mere 8 deg C when we woke up. The cycle path was very bitty and non existent in places. Still we enjoyed it and arrived below the most impressive old town. The Museum of Art was right above us with huge stained glass windows. 

fantastic stained glass

We pushed the bikes up through the narrow streets until we found a suitable place to lock them up. First impressions – what a beautiful place with very fine buildings. The renaissance architecture was magnificent and very well preserved / restored. The university is in the centre so there were all sorts of weird and wonderful students mingling with the tourists. Plaza Major is a rival for St Marks in Venice IMHO. The students plonk themselves down in the middle to chat and relax. Casa de la Concha was my favourite. 

Plaza Major

students at "work"

The cathedral was huge and made from grey, somber granite on the exterior. The interior however had the most amazing limestone arches. The gold factor was reasonably modest for once!  We thoroughly enjoyed wandering about and soaking up the atmosphere. We cycled back to a nice cup of tea and put our aching feet up for a rest.

convent

public library!

casa de la conchas 

university behind

cathedral door

roman bridge

Sat 18^th

Avila was our next stop as it has the best preserved ramparts and wall in Spain. When we arrived at the aire the circus was in town – all over the aire! So plan B – parking Rastra. This was right under the walls and very close to a gate into the town. Perfect – apart from the noise the cars made on the cobbled road directly below us. 6 other vans were there for the night.

view from our parking spot

vans behind trees

ceiling detail

dusk

like a film set at night

evening stroll

What a place, the walls and turrets look as if they are a film set. Lots and lots of character and atmosphere as we walked around the perimeter. The sunshine and continuing warm temperatures made it all the better.

Cathedral beach to Lighthouse to Santiago Cathedral!

Fri 10^th

After a late breakfast we drove the very short distance to the As Catedrais  beach visitor centre. Low tide was at 11.40am and there was already a fair few cars and coaches there. Popular place even on a Friday in October. We walked down onto the beach and could at once see what the place was all about – fantastic rock formations created by the action of the sea over thousands and thousands of years. The arches that give the beach it’s name (cathedral) are huge. One of them has a very small top to the arch and looks very fragile. There were coach loads of folk swarming all over and through them. Great to see so many enjoying the sights.

impressive eh?

arch top looks fragile

4 arches visible

A Coruna was our next chosen destination, the route took us along the newly completed A8 autovia. Wow !  What a road and what brilliant scenery. It rose up and over the Sierra de Xistra and Cabro twisting its way to the west coast.

on top of the world - lots of wind turbines

Susie satnav then played a dirty trick on us and directed us through the centre of A Coruna. MISTAKE!!!! The drivers were ruthless  and ducked and dived around us. Then we had to drive through a tiny tunnel (10cm clearance on height – breathe in) and turn left inside it before exiting up a very steep ramp! Our bottom didn’t scrape so all was good. We didn’t like the feel of the town, the streets were narrow and the apartment blocks towered above you creating a very claustrophobic feeling.  We found the aire which was just out of town and overlooked a small port. it had a completely different feel to it. Unfortunately the only other van there was also on the only bit of the parking that allowed you to get remotely level. It also felt neglected; the service areas were overgrown and full of litter. There were several large potholes where the blocks were missing. The loose blocks however were very handy to use as wheel chocks! I cycled along the coast in both directions on a very nice cycle path. A Coruna looked rather nice from a distance with the Hercules Tower clearly visible. In the other direction the nuclear power station didn’t look so good.

looks nice, but.....

Hercules Tower on left

Sat 11^th

Ater a quiet night under some really bright floodlights, I washed the van. I have got this down to a t. ¾ bucket of water and then a wiper blade is all it takes.  It of course then started to rain L  The road to Fisterra to the SW on the rugged Galcian coast was excellent and the rain eased as we arrived at the lighthouse. This is supposedly the most westerly point in Spain but in fact it is not. Cabo de la Nave 5km to the north is geographically the closet to the USA! The lighthouse is where one of the Camino  de Santiago routes ends. Many of the pilgrims then riyually burn their socks / shoes / clothes / anything on the rocks just beyond the lighthouse. We found it a strange place as it felt like a cross between a rubbish tip and a funeral pyre!  It was not an attractive place with heaps of discarded clothes, shoes, bracelets and offerings hidden in the undergrowth or randomly littering the place. Definitely not an eco friendly pilgrim site.  Didn’t do anything for us at all as you can probably gather.

boot is bronze!

not so sure

We investigated 2 aires further down the coast – but they were not for us. If it doesn’t feel right we move on! So that evening we parked up at Camping A Vouga in Louro. It was rather cramped and the facilities tired . 4 other Brits on site.

Sun 12^th

Bit of rain am so we went for a short walk when it eased. I then went out for a road bike cycle along the coast to a lighthouse across the bay from the site. Nice roads with hardly any traffic. When I returned we were chatting to one of the Brits when I spotted a pod of dolphins close in to the beach! There were about 12 of them jumping out of the water as they cruised past us. Wonderful.

a man has to have a paddle!

Mon 13^th

Rain from noon which didn’t stop for the next 12 hours. We drove to Santiago De Compostela and found the campsite situated close to town and above a mega new shopping centre. Recession? What recession? We parked up in the soggy rain and after tea walked down to see all the shops. Very plush with mainly clothes and shoe shops – no electrical goods apart from the inevitable mobile phone shops. We of course headed for Primark where Tina spent all of €2.50. that evening we treated ourselves to dinner out in the site brasserie. Very, very tasty. We had the whole place to ourselves as we ate at 8pm. The Spanish eat from 10pm onwards !

yum, yum - octopus

modern Santiago skyline

Tues 14^th

The rain had stopped and the sun was out so we elected to walk into the town centre along the last 2Km of the Camino De Santiago. We were joined by several pilgrims who had I am sure walked a lot further than us – hats off to them. The pavements have brass shells embedded in them at intervals to guide them. The old part was very clam and relaxed with pilgrims and tourists mingling. The buildings are very grand, pity the main cathedral was covered in scaffolding. 

botafumerio

cathedral interior

inside of main altar - lots of gold

crypt of Santiago 

Inside the cathedral we saw the legendary 13^th century incense burner, the botafumeiro which is only used on religious holidays or if groups of pilgrims pay €300. It is suspended on a huge pulley system. It weighs 85 kg and takes 45 kg of incense and swings at 68 kmh whilst missing each side of the vaults by only 

51cm!

18th century Pazo de Raxoi - now the town hall

Many of the pilgrims were Irish and seemed to have arrived by the coach load. The altar was the only “golden part” of the interior the rest being rather sombre (for a church!) stone. A really nice town to stroll about in.