Destination: Braga, Portugal
The first night with 2 of us in the TentBox was far better than I had imagined it would be. There was plenty of room and we were both so tired after our early start and busy day we were out like a light. We had left the door up in the TentBox so the bright sunshine and crashing waves woke us relatively early to get showered and ready for the day.
Then we were ready to go pick up our pre-ordered ‘jam and cheese’ pastries before heading off to the beach. I was quite excited, never having tried jam and cheese before, assuming it must be some kind of Spanish delicacy. However, upon closer inspection it seemed something had definitely been lost in translation. The croissants weren’t actually jam and cheese, they were ham and cheese. No wonder the campsite owner had been so surprised when I said I’d never tried ‘jam and cheese’ before!
No ‘jam’ for me, so Dan tucked into his 2 delicious pastries, while I made do with a pain au chocolate that had been left over from the ferry. As a consolation, I bought myself some more yummy olives before we packed down and left for the beach.
Praia de Llas
The beach at Praia de Llas was only a few hundred yards away. But as we were now on our way to our next location, we drove there and parked up in the handy little parking area next to the beach. It was a lovely day, quite windy but also warm and very bright, perfect beach weather.
As I paddled in the shallows, I found it incredible to think I was standing at the edge of the Bay of Biscay. The Bay that stretched all the way to the UK, and had taken almost 2 days to cross! I turned to share my thoughts with Dan, but couldn’t see him.
It seems the shallows weren’t enough for Dan, he was already wading out.
I had somehow forgotten that my eldest son had always been a water baby. So of course he wanted to swim in the sea! This would be quite a pattern throughout our trip and I have to say it was very good for me. Instead of racing around, trying to tick things off my spreadsheet, I did spend quite a lot of time just chilling out. And I think that helped me enjoy the activites more.
That was a valuable lesson. I will definitely be building ‘beach time’ into any future travel planning, and I can highly recommend doing that.
As you can see from the video and pictures, the beach was almost deserted and was absolutely stunning. The water was so clear, and the sand so fine and white, it felt almost like being on a desert island!
It was very difficult to tear ourselves away. But having dried off, it was soon time to get back in the car and head towards our next destination.
Lugo
From Foz, we had just around an hours drive to the walled city of Lugo. It has the distinction of being the only city in the world where the Roman walls surrounding the old city are completely intact. I had read quite a lot about Lugo online and had been intrigued. But if I am really honest, I don’t think the information available online actually does Lugo justice at all. I absolutely LOVED everything about this city.
It’s worth mentioning that there are 2 parts to the city. The old Roman city and the newer city that has grown up around the outside. Both parts are very lovely. The whole place has an incredibly chilled vibe and understated grandeur that I just wasn’t expecting.
I’d not pre-booked any parking but easily found some in the newer part of the city at Plaza Constitución, very close to the Roman walls. The parking was safe and there were conveniences available (accessed by scanning your ticket). It was then just a few minutes walk through a lovely shaded park to the Porta de Campo Costelo entrance to the old city.
Having found the closest steps that led up to the walls we raced up. It’s fair to say, that when we reached the top, we were both absolutely stunned by the sheer scale of what lay before us. The walls seem to go on forever and are over 12 metres high and 4 metres wide in places!
The walls give a great vantage point, and views over many other parts of the old and new city. Every now and then we had a peek through a gap in the buildings to the squares below, and had a great view of the rooftops. At one point, we could just see the tip of a really cool looking spire poking up from some unknown church. Following the sound of a some very haunting music, we walked the wall as far as the Praza Pio XII then decided to head into the old city.
Starting from the Museo Diocesano Catedralicio de Lugo, we walked up through the narrow little streets to the cathedral itself. The Catedral de Santa Maria is huge, and absolutely dominates the old city. Close by the cathedral is the Pazo Episcopal (Bishops Palace).
While it’s clear that religion has played a huge part in the old city of Lugo, the tiny little lanes all around are full of bars and restaurants. The atmosphere is exceptionally vibrant and relaxed, and the area is not at all solumn.
We carried on our wanderings through the quaint passageways, visiting a few of the artsy little shops for some souvenirs. But sadly, before too long it was time to leave. Though now I know what an absolute gem Lugo is, I will definitely stay longer next time!
As we walked back to the car park via the Praza Maior with it’s cute bandstand, we passed the very grand Casa do Concello (City Hall). And we were delighted to see the Iglesia de los Padres Franciscanos – to which the interesting spire we’d spotted from the walls belonged.
Santiago de Compostela
By now it was mid afternoon and we had well over an hour to drive to our next stop at Santiago de Compostela. The city gets it’s name from the relics of St James that are held in the Catedral Basílica de Santiago de Compostela. And because of these relics, the city is the destination for many pilgrim routes across Spain. These are collectively known as El Camino de Santiago (the Way of St James).
The city was absolutely heaving and the traffic was awful. I’d not planned my parking and I instantly regretted that when we entered the centre of the city. We eventually found some parking at a hotel on the Praza de Abastos. It was pretty decent and had the huge advantage that exiting from the car park and from the city could not have been easier. And from the parking it was just a 10 minute walk to the cathedral, so not a bad result in the end.
The square in front of the cathedral also hosts the Museo da Catedral de Santiago. On the day we visited it was full of groups of people who appeared to have just completed their pilgrimage. We could feel the excitement in the air, it was absolutely buzzing!
It was also super warm, so we decided to get out of the heat and have a wander through the lanes surrounding the cathedra. We didn’t really have a plan, we were just taking it all in. But it wasn’t long before we stumbled on a really cool fountain, the Fonte dos Cabalos in the Praza das Praterias.
It was now almost 6pm, and we still had another couple of hours in the car to reach our campsite. So we decided to make this a quick stop, get some food and get back on the road. But I am very keen to go back, learn more about the city and it’s history, and maybe even hike a section of the Camino myself.
Heading back to the car, we found a lovely grocery store in one of the lanes around the cathedral and bought some delicious oranges to eat on road.
Overnight: Quinta Viana, Perelhal
For our overnight camping, we’d be saying ‘adios’ to Spain for now and heading into Portugal. I had booked Quinta Viana in Perelhal near Braga via Pitchup, my ‘go to’ for European campsites.
On the way we visited the Mirador de San Simon. To be honest, we’d had a navigation meltdown when looking for El Mejor Banco Del Mundo de Redondela. But it was still lovely, and we know where we went wrong for next year!
As well as our navigation blip, the traffic had been steadily worsening due to some road closures. The 2.5 hour journey slowly dragged into a 4 hour trip and it was really late when we arrived at the campsite.
Thankfully the owner was really understanding and settled us into our pitch, suggesting we wait until morning for the admin. The site was as lovely and chilled as the owner. It is based on the outskirts of a village, at the edge of a huge pine forest, so it felt like we were totally immersed in nature. And there was a huge group of people sitting round the firepit laughing and singing. It was absolutely perfect, an genuine tonic after our traffic troubles.
It was hard to believe this was only our second day on dry land, we had done so much already! But now it was time to rest, with the smell of pine and the sound of happy campers to send us to sleep.
