Spring 2025 week 3: Reaching the Spanish-Portugese border

Things continued to be surreal as we headed southwest through Spain towards the Portugese border. 

For a rainy day (our first), we stayed at a little camping outside Salamanca. (Note to self: Visit this place someday —  a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating from the 11th century and university city.)

As we approached the Spanish- Portugese border, we saw one fortress after another and actually stayed right under the Castilo Rodrigo ruins, in Portugal now. Of unknown date, we were amazed by the STILL INHABITED town built up so high, around the ruins, with the tiniest streets, but also the tiniest houses collapsed between other houses. This raised the question of who would want to live here or keep living here? I suppose like other places: Because you grew up there, your parents grew up there before you, and so forth (or something like that). 

In case you’re thinking that we weren’t moving so fast anymore, we weren’t! We spent two nights in most places now — which is always nice. No need to plan routes, figure out where to stay, or pack things up for a change.

Our friends (and old neighbors) Ron and Karin were babysitting plants and animals up in the mountains, so we headed there next. What an unexpected and thrilling twist in our plans as we had to pass through the Serra da Estrela mountains to reach them! Beautiful and breathtaking views emerged at each bend in the road with, as Jacques observed, no two alike. One after the other village built either down in a valley by water or up on the side of a mountain. It’s the largest mountain range in Portugal and we’re glad  we didn’t miss it! (Last trip we came up from Lisbon along the coast and travelled up to Porto along the coast so we didn’t even know about the mountains!)

The fortified village of Almeida was much like Castilo Rodeigo (a village built up aound old ruins) except Almeida has Arabic Origins and was made into a 12-point star fortress in 1641. 

At the end of the afternoon of 23 March, Karin and Ronald were waiting with their (electric) mountain bikes at the (again free) camper place where we would spend the next three nights. Fun little town with a nice market and lots of hills: Villa Nova de Poines. (See view from camper below.)

Jacques and I tried to bike ride all the way up to the tiny mountain place where Ron and Karin were staying but didn’t quite make it. Ron and Karin came to our rescue (as you may know, e-bikes are heavy). And during lunch, Ron explained the “walking stand” that is on all the new e-bikes to give the bike a boost when… walking with it. What a God send. I use it all the time now (automatically turns off after 9 seconds on my Gazelle but can be extended by just pushing a button). Ron consoled us by relating how HE only discovered how to defrost the rear-view mirrors on their car after seven years. At the end of our lunch, we were treated to the juiciest and sweetest oranges I have ever tasted — fresh out of the homeowners’ garden. A few days later, I’d enjoy the simplest salad with crisp lettuce, oranges, apples, cheese bits, and a tart vingrette on the boulevard in Figueira da Foz (where  Ron and Karin live on the Atlantic coast).

Figueira da Foz was much bigger than I remembered from our previous visit. Lots of apartment buildings! I probably didn’t notice them as much because we hung out mostly in the older Buarcos neighborhood last time, just down the boulevard.  But EVERYTHING in Figueira da Foz  is still oh so quaint. And situated on one of the largest beaches in Portugal. Our camping is/was located WAY up on a hill overlooking the apartment complexes built into the side of the hill (see two views with lanky trees above). It has a lovely view of the the Atlantic Ocean when you walk out and a restaurant with great  Sangria, so I guess we’ll stay for awhile (also to hang out with our old friends, of course).