27th May. Parque Campismo Municipal.
The longest journey in one day so far, about 280Km, we first travelled north back to Salamanca as this keeps us on good roads and avoids driving over a mountain range where the roads are not suitable for our rig. We then turned west through Ciudad Rodrigo, we initially thought of staying at a site here but the “book” stated that it was a little run down and we felt fit to drive on, so having stopped for a 23 Euro lunch we decided to drive on. The lunch included a tuna salad each to start, a sirloin steak, (a good 8 ounce) and a huge portion of fish for Mary, we finished with a large portion of crème caramel. An excellent 1st taste of Portugal.
It’s difficult to understand why the scenery changed so markedly as we left Spain. What makes it so noticeable is the good dual carriageway suddenly becoming neglected, It’s as though the Spanish don’t want to rub motorway shoulders with the Portuguese, then suddenly you drive through the border and an up market shopping area appears with well kept verges and prestigious super stores on each side of a dual carriageway with ample parking behind tree lined service roads. From that point on the trees and vegetation differ and even the rocky outcrops change in character from being craggy on the Spanish side to softly rounded boulder like rocks on the Portuguese side. How nature performed this demarcation is a mystery to me. Apart from no mans land there was no sign of neglect on either side as we drove though beautiful scenery.
We soon arrived at Guarda, a municipal camp site.
This is the 1st Municipal site we have stayed at, not impressed. It could be fantastic as it was set in beautiful woodlands, but the toilets were of the aim and hope type! you know, two foot prints in a moulded porcelain tray and a hole in the “middle for diddle”. I did find a Crapper design in another building but opinions were set by then and Mary was not to be moved. If you now what I mean. There is a large football stadium adjacent to to camp site and a large open air swimming pool behind. Unfortunately know one plays football as the City can’t afford a team anymore, what a waste? The pool fares no better as it is dirty and promises all diseases known to man for anyone who ventures in. What looked like a sports hall was empty and being vandalised. The climate here may be sunny but the economy it is not.
For me It was a very important day, the 27th May as Man-U came up against Barcelona in the UEFA cup final. The girl in the reception told me of a cafe down the road which would be showing the match on a large television. Mary was so pleased see forgot about the short comings of the camp site! We arrived at the cafe full of expectation. The owners daughter Sophie who is 15 years old spoke very good English, she abandoned her homework and intervened as her Father struggled to explain that we had arrived 1 hour early. The clocks in Portugal are set the same as UK not an hour in front, as in Spain!!
As I look on, I Can’t believe the lack lustre performance.
To think, I suffered the dodgy bogs and Mary’s wrath so I could watch the miserable game, I then consoled myself as I realized that half Man-U’s team were made up of foreigners?………. what do we expect?
Eager to leave we were up at 6.30am and ready for off, but no, we had to wait until 8.30am before the gates were unlocked. They wanted us to get full value! 13.15 Euros per night, in comparison, Placencia is worth 50 Euros per night. I hope this is not a sample of Portuguese campsites.
Gaurda is the highest city in Portugal at 3000 Metres, you have to believe it as you leave on the A25. It’s all down hill motorway, huge sweeping bends takes you down 70 Km’s through the mountain range all the way to the coast. It is the most dangerous drive in Portugal with many deaths each year, we came through unscathed.
It’s impossible to convey the lurking dangers looking at these photos. Left unchecked we were up to 80 MPH without realising, as the road looks level. I quickly realised that a lower gear was needed and in fact top gear was not engaged again for the whole journey, even second gear was engaged a few times in order to spare the breaks, it seemed a very strange thing to have to do on a motorway. I can see how accidents happen here and why crashes take no prisoners, they happen at very high speeds.
