Andorra, Spain and Portugal

We loved Spain and Portugal– the relaxed culture, the warmth and ease of the people, the fascinating blend of architectures, and the food. We added a quick jaunt to small Andorra just to add to our country sticker collection, but ended up enjoying its mountainous terrain.

Highlights:

Torla, Spain - beautiful Pyrenees mountain town

Cares Trail, Spain - hiking a scenic river gorge

Segovia, Spain - historic city with intricately renovated castle and Roman aqueduct

Monsanto, Portugal - wandering up through a charming village built into the rocks up to the top of the hill to scramble over castle ruins

Seville, Spain - lively cultural center

Alhambra, Grenada, Spain- iconic Islamic architecture and design

ANDORRA

*Wild camping spot at trailheads high above the capital*

Wild camping was simple throughout the region, with a multitude of remote spots available. We felt that we had definitely found a theme though. Our best Park4Night spots often seemed to be up corkscrew winding roads taking us slowly and painstakingly away and above urban centers (this was true at Lake Como, Monaco and in Andorra).

*Ran into a group of the biggest vultures we had ever seen*

After leaving Andorra with our 38th country sticker and two cases of duty free alcohol in preparation for a family Christmas in Morocco, we made our way into the mountains of Spain. Our first stop was the picturesque village of Benasque in the heart of the Pyrenees.

SPAIN

*Learning the Spanish rhythms - everything closed in the afternoon, time for a rest*

*Another high camping spot, sleeting rain, no problem with our warm duvet.*

Continuing in the Pyrenees, our next destination was re-visiting a place which held enormous romantic magic for us. Thirty-four years ago, with stars in our eyes we embarked on our first trip together (before we were married). We stopped briefly in a town called Torla and said to each other that some day we would come back and actually spend some time there.

The time had come and we were nervous. Sometimes you should leave those enchanted places of the past in the past. We were not sure it would be the same gorgeous stone village with a mountainous backdrop that we remembered. Luckily, Torla held up to the test of time and we spent a welcome rest evening in a cozy hotel with an excellent chef. Our first meal out in weeks was well worth it (even though we had to wait until 8pm after our hike, because, Spanish dining schedule . . )

*Once again, glad we are not in a full size, squeezing down the streets of Torla*

*Beautiful mountain hike in the nearby national park*

*And then squeezing our way back out of town*

Feeling like we were racing against winter, we continued our exploration of the Pyrenees, heading to Valles de Hecho and Anso for more spectacular views and hiking.

As it continued to get colder, we eventually made our way down in elevation, back to exploring history and architecture. We stopped off at Olite to see the “fairytale” castle. Impressive from a distance, we quickly realized it was more restored than original so after walking around the town and the castle, we declined to pay the entrance fee.

*Taking the “free exterior self-guided walking tour”*

Then for a more urban experience, we stopped off in Pamplona. A city with a blend of contemporary architecture and a historic feel, we couldn’t help but imagine the bulls running down the old cobbled streets.

*Pamplona, one of the streets the bulls run down*

*Citadel of Pamplona, military fortress built in the 16th and 17th centuries, now a huge city park*

There is something about the mystery of an island with an access path that only appears at low tide that always pulls us in. Lekeitio ‘s offshore island was equally enthralling as Holy Island in England or Parque Nacional Marino Ballena in Costa Rica.

*Low tide path rises out of the ocean providing a walking path to Lekeitio’s offshore preserve*

We found Spain and Portugal to be particularly fun grocery shopping places. It helped that excellent wine is $2 a bottle, bread is always fresh and cheap and meats, cheeses and vegetables flavorful with a dizzying array of varieties.

*The olive oil aisle in a Spanish supermarket*

We spent a pleasant afternoon wandering Bilbao, the capital of the Basque region. Although it is an industrial port city covered in skyscrapers, we still found a few architectural gems

And then back to the mountains! We meandered our way visiting scenic villages, hiking the Cares trail, visiting an epic cathedral in Burgos and then landed in Madrid.

*Found this awesome wild camping area outside of Bilbao*

*Beautiful village of Santillana del Mar*

*We liked this little guy hiding in his hole watching the people go by*

*Gorgeous hiking trail, our favorite in Spain, “The Cares” along a scenic river gorge*

In Madrid we found our favorite city solution, a campground at the end of a subway line. We used Camping Osuna as a base for a few days, making day trips into the city. Our favorite feature of European campgrounds is, hands down, the ability to order daily fresh bread for breakfast.

*First stop in Madrid - deep fried churros dipped in chocolate - the cafe also a great place to escape from the torrential rain*

*Every kind of empanada you can imagine*

*Tapas - we are in food heaven. I almost die for food, and let me have it!*

*Madrid’s old central market - filled with tapas*

*Stately, beautiful architecture everywhere*

*We found our favorite tapas dish - patatas bravas*

*Wine cheaper than soda and beer in a wine glass - so civilized*

*Standing in line at The Prado for free evening admission, fascinating museum, it felt like a cultural history tour provided through art*

Using Madrid as a base, we set out to explore three of Spains’s most iconic historic centers: Segovia, Avila and Toledo. They were a visual feast.

Alcázar de Segovia, despite being highly renovated we thought it was well worth the visit, magnificent views down the valley

*View from the Alcázar (Spanish palace or fortress) de Segovia*

*Streets of Segovia, still busy with tourists in early winter*

*Avila shopping street, ready for the holidays*

*We loved the unique cement and stone work common in the region*

*View down on Toledo from hill across the river*

*Our wet and wild camping spot - set up along the river, another quiet night. This late in the year, most other campers seem to have gone home.*

Next stop in our historic villages of Spain, Trujillo.

*Trujillo castle at the stop of the hill*

*Trujillo Castle, built in the 13th century on the site of an old Arab fort built in the 10th century. Always re-using and re-cycling.*

Somehow Spain brought back our prior interest in ancient architecture and our fatigue from blasting through five European countries in the previous blog faded away (we had been saturated with Habsburg empire buildings). We can always tell when we are excited about a place as we cannot stop taking pictures. Mérida, founded by the Romans in the 1st century BC was one of those places.

*And then leaving town we got to drive through a Roman aqueduct*

*Exploring the town square of Cáceres with its 12th century Moorish architecture*

*Driving over the Alcántara Roman Bridge*

*Spacious wild camping site outside of Alcántara*

PORTUGAL

Our first stop in Portugal delighted us and once again we could not stop taking photos. Monsanto was a charming village, built into and around huge boulders and topped by a castle that you could scramble around at will.

*Cobbled main street of Monsanto, weaving around the landscape of the mountain and the enormous boulders throughout the village.*

*Random colorful little doors along the way, a little short for Andy*

*Castle at the top of the hill in Monsanto*

*Intriguing architecture incorporating the natural granite features*

*No idea what the door goes to, definitely Hobbit-like*

Re-finding our interest in Roman ruins after Merida, our next stop was Conimbriga and the ruins of a Roman town.

Next, on to the coast and then to Lisbon where we would pick up our daughter, Claire, the first of the family group of eight who would join us for Christmas in Morocco.

*Nazare, home of the Big Wave, no surfing while we were there*

*Found a great spot to camp behind the dunes*

*But not before we accidentally drove into the deep sand and got stuck. No worries, aired down and made our way out. Stayed aired down until we hit the pavement, notice the smushed tire*

*Looming big for us, prepping for Africa. Topping off the propane tanks while we can.*

Adventures with the Truck

Now for another technical aside. One of our CV boots had come loose, despite being attached at a Toyota dealer 500 miles previously. We queried the Overlanding Europe site for an overlanding mechanic in Lisbon and were given the name Tuff Tracks. Rafael was super! He took care of the CV Boot and a whole host of other minor issues (cut off some stripped bolts on the flatbed so we could replace them, diagnosed an annoying squeak, cleaned the injectors from bad gas), everything we needed fixing before we set off for Africa.

*Excellent mechanics at Tuff Tracks in Lisbon*

*Cromeleque dos Almendres - mythical rocks*

So from here a temporary departure from living in the truck as we didn’t want to horrify our tall, adult daughter by making her sleep on our dinette a full 2 feet from her parents. The pleasure of her company was well worth the investment in a few Airbnb’s. Although it also brought home for us how much easier it truly is to live and travel out of our vehicle as opposed to moving in and out of city apartments and hotels.

So we hit the road to see a bit more of Portugal before dipping back into southern Spain.

*Activating the third seat - shortest person in the back (normally we have lightweight plywood shelves here to help keep our stuff organized - shoes, daypacks etc.)*

*Street where our Airbnb was, distinctive yellow and white color scheme throughout the town*

*Our first morning bakery run for breakfast in Evora*

*Clambering around the cliffs at Algar Seco*

SPAIN

Finally, our tour took us back into Spain to visit three iconic southern cities: Seville, Córdoba and Grenada. Seville was our favorite city of the three. It was incredibly lively and vibrant. That being said, parking was literally impossible and Andy ended up having to take the truck to a Park4Night camping spot to find a spot - it is not an easy vehicle to park in a historic city, especially when most of the parking is underground and height limited.

*December 17th at 10pm, it is almost impossible to walk the streets of Seville. That didn’t stop the marching bands from doing their best to play through the crowds.*

*The Giralda, Seville. Bell tower built with ramps so that the bell ringer could ride his donkey to the top.*

The architecture in Southern Spain beautifully reflects the Moorish aesthetic, the attention to artistic detail is amazing and it is fascinating to see the blend of Islam and Christian traditions. For us, the most notable example of this was the Córdoba Mosque-Cathedral, literally named after the fact that it flipped back and forth over time between being a Mosque and a Cathedral, but with significant respect of each tradition for the artisans who came before.

*Old bridge across the river in* *Córdoba*

*Inner courtyard of the Córdoba Mosque -Cathedral*

*And back to the realities of preparing for Africa. Balcony of our Airbnb with all our bedding hanging to dry. Last full washing machine wash for a while!*

Our final visit in Spain was the incredible Alhambra in Grenada. Built over time by a series of sultans starting in the 13th centures, the complex now lays claim to being one of the best preserved palaces of the historic Islamic world. Of course, it also features Christian and renaissance add ons by subsequent rulers, including Ferdinand and Isabella. It is enormous to visit, with buildings from each age and style telling the story of its human occupants.

*Nasrid Palace, so much artistic detail*

*Early morning departure from the Grenada Airbnb - Morocco ferry time!*

*At the Algeciras port, ready to board the ferry for Tanger-Med in Morocco*

In the near term we are eagerly anticipating spending some deep time with family, Christmas in Morocco! But we are equal parts apprehensive and excited about the journey after - heading down the West Coast of Africa where we don’t speak any of the languages and know some of the infrastructure we are used to will be missing. Definitely, adventures ahead. As always, thank you for reading!

Morocco

A Random Overland Tour Across Europe