We left Portugal today with fond memories and reflections. As we drove away we wondered how the people of Portugal that we experienced could be so different from their dominant neighbours that Spanish. We have the impression that they are the underdogs in this part of the world (being the poorest of the EU countries) and therefore don’t have the arrogance of some of their neighbours. What ever the reason, we have enjoyed the hospitality and warmth of the Portuguese people.
With regard to Porto, we were a little disappointed with the Port tasting. It is a little too commercial and catering to the tourists we felt. All of the Port houses along the river front offer the same service, four euro and you get to visit their museum and to taste two of their ports. We would have rather skipped the museum and sat down with someone knowledgeable to taste a variety of ports from that particular maker, and be educated on the merits and differences in the ports that they make. Even if it did cost more, we were there to learn, and no one offers that service. Now there’s an opening for someone.
Now back to the subject in hand, the trip north was rather mundane. The first part of the trip was shrouded in smoke with the evidence of numerous fires. We thought at first that this may have been a deliberate ‘burning off’, but then saw the helicopters with monsoon buckets doing their best to bring some of them under control.
With the countryside as dry as it is, these fires are a recipe for disaster. Whoever said that ‘the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain’ wasn’t here today, because currently there is no rain to be had. All there is long, dry, straight roads. Roads that go in a straight line disappearing as a pin prick on the horizon. It makes you wonder if some sections of these roads have been designed as runways.
The highlight of this drive was a wreckers yard that we passed. It was huge and covered hectares upon hectares of tractors, farm machinery, and combine harvesters. A bit like ‘Smash Palace’ on an agricultural level. Sitting in the middle of nowhere you wonder who comes here, and for what.
We traveled 650 kms today in 7.5 hrs and we spent much of that time talking about where to from here. Our driving days are nearing an end, what are we going to do in the UK, and shall we just skip the UK and head northwards instead. What about Paris? What shall we do there?
We finally arrived in Madrid, or more accurately where we were staying which was in Navalcarnero, a town which is a 30 minute bus ride out of the city. We knew as soon as we had arrived that we were now back in Spain. Our host in Porto had been so helpful, bending over backwards to overcome the separation of language to help us with everything that we should require. Our new host, well he was just rude. Despite advertising the accommodation as including parking, we were to find out that he only had one parking space and that was full. It was up to us to find a place in town, a town that is full with no parking signs and signs that offer all sorts of conditions that we could neither read nor understand.
We then spent the next two hours trudging through the town to find some dinner and when we did find somewhere, we discovered that their processes hadn’t improved since the last time we were in this country. On the plus side we do have a bed to sleep in.
With regard to Porto, we were a little disappointed with the Port tasting. It is a little too commercial and catering to the tourists we felt. All of the Port houses along the river front offer the same service, four euro and you get to visit their museum and to taste two of their ports. We would have rather skipped the museum and sat down with someone knowledgeable to taste a variety of ports from that particular maker, and be educated on the merits and differences in the ports that they make. Even if it did cost more, we were there to learn, and no one offers that service. Now there’s an opening for someone.
Now back to the subject in hand, the trip north was rather mundane. The first part of the trip was shrouded in smoke with the evidence of numerous fires. We thought at first that this may have been a deliberate ‘burning off’, but then saw the helicopters with monsoon buckets doing their best to bring some of them under control.
With the countryside as dry as it is, these fires are a recipe for disaster. Whoever said that ‘the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain’ wasn’t here today, because currently there is no rain to be had. All there is long, dry, straight roads. Roads that go in a straight line disappearing as a pin prick on the horizon. It makes you wonder if some sections of these roads have been designed as runways.
The highlight of this drive was a wreckers yard that we passed. It was huge and covered hectares upon hectares of tractors, farm machinery, and combine harvesters. A bit like ‘Smash Palace’ on an agricultural level. Sitting in the middle of nowhere you wonder who comes here, and for what.
We traveled 650 kms today in 7.5 hrs and we spent much of that time talking about where to from here. Our driving days are nearing an end, what are we going to do in the UK, and shall we just skip the UK and head northwards instead. What about Paris? What shall we do there?
We finally arrived in Madrid, or more accurately where we were staying which was in Navalcarnero, a town which is a 30 minute bus ride out of the city. We knew as soon as we had arrived that we were now back in Spain. Our host in Porto had been so helpful, bending over backwards to overcome the separation of language to help us with everything that we should require. Our new host, well he was just rude. Despite advertising the accommodation as including parking, we were to find out that he only had one parking space and that was full. It was up to us to find a place in town, a town that is full with no parking signs and signs that offer all sorts of conditions that we could neither read nor understand.
We then spent the next two hours trudging through the town to find some dinner and when we did find somewhere, we discovered that their processes hadn’t improved since the last time we were in this country. On the plus side we do have a bed to sleep in.
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