WHat

Jen and Lee from Tourertechs in Somerset sent us on our way with our new gas system Monday morning and we headed for Dover to catch an early morning Eurotunnel Tuesday. A massive day of driving saw us detour into the centre of London to pick up some mail. 350 km and almost 6 hours of driving later, we parked up in the middle of Dover and ate our last UK pub meal. Bright and early Tuesday we were driving onto Le Shuttle and heading 100 m below the English Channel and popping out quite unceremoniously in Calais 35 minutes later. As we started so early, we decided to make tracks for Spain as the weather starts to turn across western Europe. We stopped for our first baguettes and croissants in the small village Montreuil-sur-mer (despite the fact it is definitely not by the sea) and continued on, trying to get as far as we could before dark.

At dusk we were searching for the nearest LIDL or ALDI for provisions for dinner and a place to park up for the night. We aimlessly wound our way through the picturesque cobbled lanes of Chateaudun in the Lior Valley to get to ALDI and found ourselves at the foot of an impressively imposing gothic castle (or chateau) from which the town got its moniker. After checking our trusty park4night app, we headed to a free spot in the village that had services. As we pulled up, it was at the foot of the enormous castle we had passed on our way in. In France, most local councils set up a free motorhome and camper van parking in the centre with access to amenities, drinking water and waste disposal to encourage tourists to spend time (and money) in the smaller villages and communes. This was a pleasant surprise after our time in the not-so-camper-friendly England where all parking is highly regulated and excessively expensive - to make matters trickier you’ll will be lucky to get a spot big enough for a van. However, not so in France - where they take liberté to campervan pretty seriously - bless them for that.

Wednesday morning we awoke to a bluebird day and we started by exploring the 12th Century castle and surrounding gardens with its view of the Lior Valley. We continued our journey south stopping at Tours to get some things from Ikea before free camping at another free motorhome service point just north of Pointers. Thursday we found ourselves in Bordeaux and can certainly say we will be going back. Our free camping spot was right on the eastern banks of the Garonne river overlooking the Place de la Bourse, arguably the most recognisable vista in Bordeaux. We spent all afternoon and evening exploring Bordeaux and can report that they do have wine, and it is so good.

Friday we crossed the border into Spain and due to a severe weather warning for the coast, we decided to head to Pamplona instead of San Sebastian which we are now very glad we did. Pamplona is a stunning, ancient walled city with cobbled lanes and tapas for days. After a sizeable night chasing the path of Hemingway (read more about that here) and dusty morning doing laundry and eating too many garroticos (local chocolate filled pastries), we started heading west towards Portugal. Before reaching the border we stopped in the Spanish town of Leon.

Lucky we stopped when we did as our blessed alternator started playing up just as we arrived in the city and by the time we pulled up, was making some delightful noises and alarming warnings lighting up the dash. Some frantic googling, a few diagnostic measures and a call home to dad confirmed that our alternator was indeed failing if not already dead. After googling in Spanish for auto electricians, we found a place with good reviews and emailed in very very broken Spanish our request on Saturday night. Spain takes the sabbath VERY seriously and very few places are open Sundays aside from tapas. Thankfully, the mechanic emailed back and we were booked in for Monday morning. This gave us an entire night of chasing Tapas, local wine, and street wandering for the Saturday night. And oh boy, did this experience deliver - read more about it here. In fact, while you’re at it, read our argument for visiting León here. I sit and write this now in a cafe called Lion Crep while our new best friend Angel Martinez replaces our alternator as the bearings had indeed failed. He patiently translated through an app with us while we made noises and tried to explain what was wrong. We are thanking our lucky stars that this happened here rather than on the side of a highway somewhere between here and Portugal.

BTW; Read our guide to Tapas culture in Spain here, and our guide to backpacking in León here.

Final note; we have arrived in Porto. Northern Spain has been hit by an unseasonal snow storm these past few days and 10 km North of Leon received a 1m dump of snow. The city only got a dusting but the highways we drove today were un-passable the last few days so in a way our failed alternator was an expensive blessing in disguise.

Week 6

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