Today we booked another night in our campground and decided to explore the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had made a plan to go to a traditional stone village, but first Mike wanted to explore the castle in the nearby town. We followed the signs to the castila, and the next thing we knew, we were driving up a steep cobblestoned street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then Google tried to send us to a parking area through a narrow tunnel that Bertie would never fit through!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we had to turn around on this steep road, doing one hundred-point turns, followed by a terrible burning smell. I really hoped we hadn\u2019t just wrecked our clutch!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We parked down the bottom and walked up to the castle. Bragan\u00e7a Castle isn’t just a castle; it has an entire medieval town inside its walls, with people still living here. The castle walls are still intact, and we were able to walk around them, and then through the little village itself. There were mostly old people living here, going about their day. For the second time on this trip, I feel like I’m imposing on people’s lives here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then we tried to do some shopping. The first obstacle was finding parking. This town is not campervan-friendly, with tiny car parks. The first supermarket we tried didn\u2019t have anything we wanted. So we tried Lidl, but the queues at the checkouts were horrendous. I didn\u2019t want to spend the nice day queueing, so we escaped. Quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then we took a drive to one of the most unusual villages in Europe because it is split between Portugal and Spain. On the Portuguese side it’s called Rio de Onor; on the Spanish side it’s known as Rihonor de Castilla. The two halves are separated only by a small stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We followed the narrow lanes between traditional granite houses topped with slate roofs, peeking down quiet side streets while trying not to be too nosy, as there are a few elderly residents here. It’s not a tourist destination as such, just a little town on the border, which made it feel authentic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After that we followed the back roads to our camp. And this was almost a mistake. At one town, the streets were so narrow I thought we were going to scrape Bertie\u2019s sides. I was simultaneously holding my breath while swearing and barking orders at Mike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But we made it through and continued our drive through the Portuguese countryside of olive trees, cherry trees and wineries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back at camp, a couple had just driven in in their three-wheeler open-top car. A light blue Morgan. It was very cool; they had all their camping gear strapped on the back. There was barely enough room for the two of them to sit side by side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We saw the UK plate, so got chatting to them. They are from the Lake District, so I had to tell them about my sisters doing the Coast to Coast. Apparently, the walk goes right by their village of Bampton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That night we decided to eat in the camp restaurant as it had good reviews. We both ordered local dishes. Mike had the wild boar and I had the roast pork. Mike really enjoyed his, but mine was just OK. I guess I was imagining a roast from the roast shop. It was nothing like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s been another beautiful day and not too hot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today we booked another night in our campground and decided to explore the area. I had made a plan to go to a traditional stone village, but first Mike wanted to explore the castle in the nearby town. We followed … Continue reading