Day 66, Saturday 19/5:

Today we started out by driving into Ferrol centre to do some shopping. We walked to the Herrero Gardens, which have good views over the Naval shipyards and surrounding area. I found a geocache. We then visited the San Felipe castle ruins. This is one of the two castles used to guard the narrow entrance to the Ferrol harbour. At some points in history, a large chain was strung between the two to bar access. The castle was very interesting to explore, mainly because of the numerous extensions made to it throughout history. We spent quite some time exploring it and Mary-Snow and I only became lost once. 

We then travelled back home on another scenic route. Once we got back home, after lunch, we decided to have an afternoon siesta, as we were all getting a bit past it with the numerous late nights. We awoke at 7:00pm to continue the day’s activities (as it doesn’t get dark until 10.30pm, we still had plenty of daylight left), setting out in Mary-Snow’s car to visit some of her favourite local sites along the coast including a lighthouse and a very small chapel perched on a small island off the coast. We then returned home for a 10pm dinner.

Day 65, Friday 18/5:

Today we stayed at home for the morning to catch up with washing, resting etc. and it was not until after lunch that we headed out. With Patsy at the wheel, Mary Snow guided us around the local coastline, including the San Andrés chapel.

 The legend goes (I think) that if one does not visit this chapel in person, one will be dragged there dead/as another creature in the night! Good thing we visited! We continued on stopping at various vantage points to look at the very pretty coastline.

 We also went to the point where the Cantabrian Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. We finished the tour at a bar in Cedeira, for the best squid in the world (according to P&Ph) and grilled local shark. Both were very good, of course! Then it was back to Mary-Snow’s for another excellent seafood dinner.

Day 64, Thursday 17/5:

The pilgrims were streaming past our hotel window when we awoke. 

Before we set off for the day we walked over to the cathedral to have a stickybeak inside. It was completely full (something I have not witnessed before) of pilgrims and other onlookers, awaiting the midday ceremony. We headed back to the hotel, passing a traditional folk band complete with dancers and bagpipes. Next it was off to the shipbuilding town of Ferrol, where we had arranged to meet one of Patsy and Philip’s friends’ sons, Alex, for a tapas lunch. Alex trained in Adelaide as an aeronautical engineer and gained employment at the ASC (Australian Submarine Corp) and is currently in Ferrol to oversee shipbuilding which had been contracted to the Spanish company, Navantia. After this brief catch up, we continued on a short distance to Mari-Neive’s (or Mary-Snow) house, another friend, where we would stay for four nights. Mary-Snow lives in a lovely little cottage in the countryside. We were greeted very enthusiastically and soon settled down for another, even later lunch. It was all very tasty of course, the highlight being the local speciality, empanadas. Soon we set off to another local house to celebrate the 89^th birthday of Mary-Snow’s auntie, Tia Lucita. In all there were twelve guests, all sisters or cousins of Mary-Snow, and it was quite a party! More food was placed on the table and by this stage we could only manage to nibble at it. After the dinner was over the musical instruments came out! Firstly José on his Galacian Bagpipes and then Vitugo on his guitar, with all the Spaniards singing along. 

Wild dancing broke out with people being thrown and spun in every which way (including me and more alarmingly Tia Luthita) across the dance floor. A most enjoyable evening was had and by 11:30 we were well and truly ready to hit the sack.

Day 63, Wednesday 16/5:

We set off north again today, destination Santiago de Compostela. In the first instance we drove to the coast to try and catch a ferry that would take us across a small gulf so we could take a scenic coastal road.

Unfortunately, with it still being the off-peak season, it was not running at frequent enough intervals, so we pressed on, stopping to watch some people haul in some very reasonable bream-like fish. We stopped for lunch at a seaside cafe and had a number of small dishes, including what we later found out to be turkey gizzards. We again followed the coast for some distance before rejoining the motorway to our destination. Once we had found car parking and set up in our hotel room, we set out to meet up with Patsy and Philip’s Australian friend James. James had just this day finished walking half of the Camino de Santiago walking trail. 

We had a drink and then dinner, with James regaling many stories from his weeks of walking. It was not until 1am that we parted ways. However, many were just getting started! The town was still abuzz until well into the morning.

Day 62, Sunday 15/5:

Before we set off today, Patsy and I went to check out the Chapel of Bones at the San Franciscan Cathedral, drawn to our attention by a geocache we found the previous day. The aptly named chapel is lined was constructed by the San Franciscan monks in the 17^th century with the bones of some 5000 persons, along with the mummified corpses of a man and a baby, believed to be sourced from surrounding cemeteries. The idea was to reflect on the transient nature of human life. I believe that this was pulled off rather successfully. 

We then set off, travelling in a northerly direction. We stopped at the “Convento de Cristo”, a large convent of the Templar Knights. We spent several hours checking out the different rooms, the highlight being the circular chapel, which enabled the knights to line up on horseback around the central altar. 

We later reached our destination of Aveiro, the supposed Venice of Portugal, because of its small system of canals. After having a drink beside one of the canals, in the old part of town, we consulted the Lonely Planet Guide to decide on a place to eat. We thought that ‘Mare Cheia’ sounded pretty interesting, so we wandered over there.  We were greeted by an extremely friendly waiter who sat us down and guided us through the menu, set up to enable its patrons to select their seafood fresh, as though at a market. We decided to have a starter of small eels and followed by two types of fish that we selected, John Dory and Rock Cod. The fish was grilled over coals and was extremely delicious. After our meal, the chef came around to all the tables for a brief chat. It was also nice to see that the restaurant was filled with mainly local people.

Day 61, Saturday 14/5:

Today we set forth for the final new country in our travels, Portugal. Our first stop was the castle at Monsaraz, with the temperature now at 33˚C. Patsy and I explored the castle ruins and walked around the old town walls, where exceptional views abound. 

We joined Philip in a shady café for a drink. Having lost an hour at the border, we arrived at the hotel mid afternoon, meaning we had some time to spare. After polishing off the remains of Olga’s picnic lunch, Patsy and I went for a walk around the old town, taking in the properly ancient Roman Temple (c.2-3 century), two cathedrals and the public gardens (complete with peacocks), finding no less than four geocaches along the way. 

We later returned to the main square for pre-dinner drinks before having dinner at a nearby restaurant. We had traditional seafood dishes, all of which were excellent. We were a tad perturbed, however, when prior to receiving our ordered dishes, a plethora of small dishes were placed on the table. When we enquired, we were told that we indeed had to pay for whatever we ate. We each had a chicken pie, which may not have been the smartest of selections, considering that these things must move from table to table when not consumed (fortunately no ill effects ensued).

Day 60, Friday 13/5:

We set off for Extremadura today, with hearty breakfast in belly and packed lunch in hand. We drove to the Montefragüe National Park, passing through the very pretty Jerte Valley en route. After entering the park we pulled off into a car park to admire the view. As we went to drive off again, the unmistakable sound of a flat tyre was heard. It turned out to be on the front passenger’s side. Unloading our belongings from the boot, we set about replacing the tyre, which we were able to do quite successfully, no thanks to the rather lousy manual. Onward we went, next stopping at a lookout over the River Tajo – wannabe birdwatchers abounding, busily scanning the cliff tops. However, only the most experienced birdwatchers are able to spy the most endangered of species. Fortunately, ornithologist Patsy Fraser was up to the task, quickly spotting one half of the three Stork pairs known to reside in this reserve. A most impressive feat.

I then went to find a cache located near a small hilltop castle – without a doubt the best cache I found in Spain (of which there were only 6 out of 15!!) with excellent views and reasonably challenging to get to.

Then it was on to our final destination at Olivenza. We set up shop before heading out on the town, stopping to have a dinner of raciones (dishes the next size up from a tapa), street side.

Day 59, Thursday 12/5:

Today we were picked up by Maruja and Jose-Luis to go for a walk in the Spanish countryside in the Sierra de la Peña de Francia. We left Philip and walked for nine kilometres through forests of pine, chestnut and oak. In places the landscape and, in particular, soil type were rather reminiscent of the Flinders Ranges. We met Philip at a café at the end and had a drink before continuing on with him for the last kilometre. Along this jaunt there were some interesting information panels about the different landscapes that one could see. All the while we were overlooked by the Peña de Francia sanctuary, perched atop a steep hillside, which we had visited on the previous trip in 2006.

 After this arduous walk, we went to a local restaurant for lunch and had some very interesting conversation about the similarities in the issues facing the Roma people (Gypsies) and the Australian Aboriginals.

We then returned home to Olga’s for an excellent fish dinner of seafood tartlets and sea bass.

Day 58, Friday 11/5:

After spending the bulk of the morning at home, we set off into the town to collect Patsy’s glasses before meeting Josefina for lunch at the Plaza Mayor. We had three courses for only €10, pretty good value! After lunch we wandered over to the University of Salamanca (one of the four oldest universities in the world) to have a looksee at their museum. Here they have one of the very few still in tact Verraco (looks like a cross between a pig and a wombat). These were a mythical Celtic god and are often seen at castles and other monuments, with the head missing, presumably fallen off due to the sheer age of these monuments. 

We then farewelled Josefina and moseyed over to the old and new cathedrals to check out their interiors. We also checked out the modern carvings found beside one of the side doorways, completed during recent maintenance. We had known of the astronaut and stalk (the bird variety), but not of a monkey eating an ice cream. It turned out to be more gargoyle-like than monkey, but we spotted it eventually. Patsy and I then went to try and find a geocache at the ‘Cave of Salamanca’, without success.

For dinner that night we met The Sisters (more of Philip’s Spanish friends), Adelaida, Manolita, Mari-Angeles and Mari-Tere, along with Isobel and Olga. It was a truly gourmet meal of no less than seven courses!

Day 57, Thursday 10/5:

Today we decided to go on an excursion to some of the surrounding towns, to the northeast of Salamanca. We set off, visiting the following towns:

-      Madgrigal: The birthplace of the influential Spanish Queen, Isabel la Catolica.

-      Arèvalo: We stopped here for a tapas lunch in the now quite warm, 30˚C temperature (especially coming from -3˚C temperatures not all that long ago).

-      Coca: This town is home to an extremely impressive castle, which is of brick construction (fairly unusual) in the Mudèjar Gothic style, from the 13^th century. This has been fully restored and now operates as a forestry school.

-      Segovia: This town is most well known for its Alcazar Castle, used by Walt Disney as a model in a number of films. As we approached the town we were able to get excellent views of the tower. 
We continued into the town to view its very impressive aqueduct. Constructed somewhere between the 1^st and 2^nd centuries, its stones are freestanding, held together with no mortar. Very impressive.

 We managed to find our way into the town’s Plaza Mayor, with the very imposing 14^th century Segovia Cathedral. We had a quick look inside the cathedral – equally impressive – before returning to the square for a coffee. We were also able to find a geocache near the base of the alcazar, very pleasing after not being able to find any of the three in Salamanca.

We then returned home, about 170km, to prepare for tonight’s dinner date at Jose- Louis and Maruja’s 8^th floor apartment. We arrived at the allotted time and were warmly greeted by our hosts, along with Pilar and their very handsome dog, Pancho. Their apartment is quite massive, with four bedrooms, study, lounge room, kitchen and large balconies on two sides of the house. The dinner conversation was riveting and Maruja cooked traditional dishes for dinner, all of which were delicious.   

Day 56, Wednesday 9/5:

We were able to sleep in today, which was very welcome. At 11 we walked into the city centre so Patsy and I could climb the stairs to the top of one of the bell towers of the Pontificia (Catholic University).  From here we were able to get an excellent view of the city. 

After this we returned to the Plaza Mayor to watch and listen to the Salamanca Municipal band while having a refreshment. Then it was back to Olga’s for a late lunch, and later that afternoon we headed out again, this time to Maria Jesus and Licesio’s, some of Philip’s friends from the time he spent here as a teacher. We talked politics and particularly about the ‘Crisis’. It seems to be the resounding opinion that Spain’s current financial situation is pretty dire. We had a nice selection of nibbles.

Day 55, Tuesday 8/5:

Today we drove the last stretch to Salamanca, where we would stay with Philip and Patsy’s friend Olga, with whom we stayed on my previous trip to Europe. However, before we left the town, Patsy and I set out into the now drizzly conditions to explore Calatañazor in a bit more detail before we left and take some photos. 

We shared one umbrella between the two of us – the other two were stolen – and it did last for about 10 minutes before turning inside out in the rather clement breeze.

We avoided the autoroutes for the bulk of our journey, stopping in a pine forest for lunch. We were warmly greeted by Olga and soon set out for the city centre by foot to organise a replacement set of glasses for Patsy and to have a drink in the Plaza Mayor, Salamanca’s spectacular main square. After this we returned home and Olga prepared a sumptuous seafood dinner.

Day 54, Monday 7/5:

Today we set out on the road again to tonight’s accommodation in a little village called Calatañazor. We had intended to drive on minor roads for most of the distance, however, when it took an hour to drive 26km, we realised that this was not going to be practical.

View along the way

We stopped along the way at a disused weighbridge amongst some almond groves to have lunch. We reached Calatañazor in the late afternoon, and were almost shocked by its prettiness. A medieval town of some 30 people, set atop a hill with spectacular views over the surrounding countryside. Our room was in a Casa du Rural, which is a cross between a hotel and a B&B/gîte. Our room was lovely, in one if the medieval buildings with views over the adjacent nature reserve. We had a brief walk around before going to a bar/restaurant that is affiliated with our accommodation. We first had a drink before dinner. For dinner we asked the waiter what he would recommend, as the menu was quite large. We ended up having three mushroom-based dishes for entrée, as this area is known for its superb mushrooms, followed by 3/8^th‘s of a delicious roast lamb, absolutely cooked to perfection, inside tender, outside crisp. 

Day 53, Sunday 6/5:

Today we left Loubens to travel across the border into Spain. As we climbed into the French Pyrenees, we stopped at the town of Tarascon-sur-Ariège for a coffee. The town was in the midst of market fever, with yesterday being the dog festival, today was the plant festival with many plants for sale in the main square, accompanied by a lively old gent dancing and spinning around while playing his piano accordion.

We pushed on to Llivia, a town on a little piece of Spanish land (~13km²), landlocked from the greater Spanish territory by France, only a few kilometers from the border. This occurred when, under the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees, Spain ceded 33 villages to France, but as Llivia was a town, it remained Spanish territory. The tiny nucleus of the old town is hard to spot, as it is surrounded by new developments, with only the church spire to give it away. A lovely old town it was too. We were able to go inside the church, which is unusual in that is has no large windows. We speculated that it was probably used as a fortress at some point in history. We ate our lunch before continuing on into greater Spain, to Tremp. When we arrived in this town we found that it too was in the midst of carnival fever, with many streets cordoned off with children’s rides, arts and crafts, agricultural machinery and cars on display. We wandered around and stopped at several bars for tapas. Later that evening we had a pretty average dinner at the hotel. I had fried kid while Patsy and Philip had ‘veal’.

Day 52, Saturday 5/5:

This morning we set off to the Revel Market, B&E. This is a superb, bustling covered market. We bought the seafood for tonight’s dinner and had a coffee, taking in the atmosphere. 

We returned home to Loubens to have a very early (i.e. before noon) lunch of the previous day’s leftovers. We then had to rush out again to our 1:30pm tour of the Airbus factory in Toulouse. The tour took place at the Airbus facilities at the Toulouse airport and we had chosen to take the A380 tour. As it turned out, about 40 people showed up for this English tour. Initially we started in a mock control room, where we saw footage of some of the very first test flights of the aeroplane, with the pilot and co-pilot wearing parachutes, just in case. The A380 is the largest commercial airliner in the world – it really is of epic proportions. We then bussed over to the supersized hanger where the planes are assembled. Before coming here, the components are manufactured in Spain, Germany and Britain along with France. Up to four planes can be manufactured at once at this facility although, with it being a weekend, there was not too much activity. We were also able to spy their ‘Beluga’ aircraft in the distance. These are very oddly shaped things, used to transport aircraft components. Once the aircraft are assembled here, they are then flown to Germany to be painted and fitted out before being sold on. They currently produce three aircraft per month. The final part of the tour was to go inside a full-scale section of an aircraft, to get an idea of its size. Then, back to Loubens again so Philip and I could cook tonight’s pasta marinara. 

We had another good evening and exchanged gifts, with Mari-Mad and Louis giving me a coffee table style book of the garden Domaine du Rayol.

Day 51, Friday 4/5:

The weather had somewhat turned today, so we stayed home, as planned. We used this time to plan our upcoming travels in Spain and catch up with diaries etcetera… After lunch we farewelled Emmanuel, Martine and Co, who headed back to their home in Marseille. For dinner Patsy cooked an aubergine and potato bake, accompanied with Toulouse sausage, cooked outside on a charcoal barbecue. The Toulouse sausage is sold in a large spiral that is not separated into individual sausages. Louis then showed us some slides of when he and Mari-Mad were in Canada with their then young children, many years ago.

Day 50, Thursday 3/5:

We awoke (after a very good sleep) to another mostly clear, sunny day. Philip, Mari-Mad and I went to the Caraman market to stock up with  essentials. After a splendid lunch in the garden, we set out in the afternoon to visit the 13^th century castle as Saissac, a suggestion I had made several months ago. The castle is, as most castles are, in a state of disrepair. However, three rooms have been restored and more works are underway. During the initial renovations, in the 1970’s, over 2000 coins were uncovered and are now displayed in these rooms. On the way home we stopped at the Barrages of Cammarzes – it is from here that water is supplied to Loubens as well as the Canal du Midi (via the Rigole). We returned home and Philip cooked an excellent Chicken and Chorizo dish. 

Day 49, Wednesday 2/5:

We left Mari-Mad and Louis to sort out their locks and other stolen items to begin our drive to Loubens (a small village near Toulouse where Mari-Mad and Louis have a large old house), where we would meet them later in the evening. After replacing some of the stolen goods, we drove out of Marseille to the Camargue, a low-lying area of shallow salt lagoons. It is famed for its small white horses and pink flamingos, both of which we spotted on numerous occasions in the area. We stopped in the town of Le Port St Louis for a crepe lunch. Continuing on, we stopped beside the autoroute to view the walled medieval town of Carcassonne.

After doing some more shopping, we did not reach Loubens until 8pm. Here we met Mari-Mad and Louis’ son Emmanuel, his wife Martine and their sons Gabin, 6, and Liam, ~6 months. They were really nice people and we talked for several hours before Mari-Mad and Louis arrived. We had the local speciality of cassoulet for dinner, a delicious dish of beans, sausage and veg. I was able to sleep in the same room as I had in 2006, which overlooks the garden and has an extremely comfortable bed, almost rivalling the one I have at home.

Day 48, Tuesday 1/5 (May Day):

With today being a public holiday, it was not possible to get a locksmith to change the locks until tomorrow. The city had come to a standstill, with no public transport. Before we set out we locked all of our bags in Mari-Mad and Louis’ room, just in case. We set out in Mari-Mad and Louis’ car to the seaside town of La Lavandou, where Patsy worked as an au pair for a well-to-do family. Here we had a delicious three-course picnic lunch beside the seaside, on a rocky outcrop. 

We then went over to the ‘Jardin Domaine du Rayol’, a large botanic garden, displaying different Mediterranean plants and landscapes of the world, including settings of Australia, France, America (Florida) and South Africa. We spent the afternoon wandering around – it was most interesting to see the similarities and differences between the geographically isolated but climatically similar places. It also showcases the local aquatic plants, with a webcam placed off shore. A bloke called Gilles Clement, starting in the late 80’s, created the garden. 

We then returned home (relieved to find the apartment was untouched), to have flambéed prawns (Mari-Mad nearly set the kitchen ablaze cooling these) and delicious veggies. 

Day 47, Monday 30/4:

Toady we awoke to find that it was raining. We caught the metro into the city centre. Philip showed us his old digs, where he lived for a year when he did a teacher exchange in the 70’s. We had coffee at a café run by an extremely eccentric man, telling his staff and us on numerous occasions that we would have to clear out as there were not enough people coming for lunch. We walked back to the main station through the Marchè de Capucinus, a very vibrant Arab market, eating some very delicious street food as we went. 

Once back at the Metro station the weather’s inclemency had somewhat increased. We decided to catch two trams that would take us through various areas of the city, meaning we could stay relatively dry. We got off the tram in the docks area and wandered towards the Docks Museum which, being Monday, was unfortunately closed. We did some shopping and then caught a ferryboat to Pointe Rouge, a journey of only 30 minutes as the sea was surprisingly calm. We had a drink in a bar while we waited for Mari-Mad and Louis to pick us up. Louis then took us for a short drive along a short section of the Callanques coastline. This limestone coast is particularly picturesque. We drove through several very pretty fishing villages before stopping at a vantage point to admire the view, near Cap Croisset. We walked along a path to get an excellent view back along the coastline.

All was well and we hopped back into the car when Philip noticed that his shoulder bag was missing! We all jumped out and opened the boot to find that my and Patsy’s backpacks were also missing, along with Mari-Mad’s handbag with her identity papers, car keys (clearly they were not aware of this at the time, or the car could have been taken as well) and house keys inside. Fortunately we didn’t lose any important documents or expensive equipment and what we had lost was covered by insurance and could be replaced. I was very relieved that I had removed my now extensive coin collection before we left earlier that day. We swiftly returned home with the thought that the thieves could potentially burgle the house as they had the keys and address. When we entered the house it was full of smoke as Mari-Mad was cooking some pork and the timer had not turned the oven off. Other than this, the house was untouched. Mari-Mad and Louis had invited their friends Dominique and Moye to dinner that night. Moye is an American jazz musician who has travelled the world extensively to perform with his band. Shortly after their arrival, Mari-Mad and Philip went to the police station to obtain the necessary paperwork relating to the theft. We continued on with the evening and it was not until 10:30pm that they returned, well in need of refreshment – the police were very difficult as they too would be on holiday tomorrow! However, all things considered, a most enjoyable evening was had, well into the morning hours.

Day 46, Sunday 29/4:

Off to Marseille today to stay with Patsy and Philip’s friends, Mari-Mad and Louis. We left Noli after an excellent breakfast and observing the local fisherman haul their boats onto the beach and selling their catch fresh to the passers by. We rejoined the autoroute and headed along the coast towards the Principality of Monaco. Once we weaved our way into Monte Carlo, the search was on for a car park – not an easy task! Eventually we spied one next to the esplanade and Patsy again had to put her driving skills to the test to fit the car into the constricted space. We had a coffee at a nearby café and then ate our lunch, admiring the artificial, highly built up (and somewhat ugly, in my opinion) coast. On to Marseille we headed, where all of our navigational skills were put to the test. Our car’s GPS, Ken, made a major error. We were sent off through a tunnel for several kilometers in the opposite direction to that in which we needed to head. After an hour’s navigational aberration, we arrived at Mari-Mad and Louis’ 15^th floor apartment. Mari-Mad informed us that Marseille is to become Europe’s ‘Culture Capital’ next year and, as such, half of the city is under repair/construction. Once settled in, we set out to have our aperitif at Batterie de Malmousque, a point between the two bays that make up Marseille’s foreshore. To get there we walked through a very hidden little fishing port, a microcosm of what would have been a much more common sight along the coast in past times. 

I also showed Mari-Mad and Lois what geocaching is. We drove home through the docks and Louis drove up and onto the Parc du Pharo to show us the surrounding view. We then returned home for a most excellent meal.