The continued adventures ...

It is interesting to note that the south western corner of France looks more Spanish then French, but part of that may be owing to a border that splits the feisty Basque region into two different countries. I'm sure that climate and building materials may also play a role.

Christine and I have continued our adventures south, crossing the Spanish border, with nothing but a sign to indicate we did so. It's as easy crossing borders here as it is crossing provincial borders in Canada.

As soon as we crossed into Spain we noticed two things, the bread wasn't as good and the roads were the same speed but much windier. The windy roads of course can be attributed to the Pyrenees Mountain system we passed through, but the bread is anyone's guess. The people in Spain seem to have a feistier way about them, mixed with a very relaxed attitude ( an interesting mix to say the least). We think the Spanish culture is a good compromise for us, since Christine loves the siestas and taking a nap every afternoon and I enjoy being a night owl, which is Spain through and through. It's not unusual to see little kids staying up well past 10:00 at night.

After driving along the coast for a while, we decided it was time to pull over and find somewhere to stay for a while. We decided to alter our plans and not just blast through northern Spain, but to go a bit slower and enjoy our time. We basically got tired of being on the road at the same time and pulled over at the first campground we could find off the highway. Now I must confess it was only the very early afternoon, but Christine didn't want to miss her first Spanish siesta and I was tired of sitting in the car.

As it turns out, we happened to stop in a quaint little town called Islares on the Spanish coast, a tiny little hamlet. After getting our tent set up we decided to forgo the nap and head to the water. I don't have an accurate temperature check, but when the Spanish locals are sweating and telling us they think it's hot, you know it is. It turns out we found a campsite right next a glorious beach that stretched for kilometers. It seemed like paradise - a beautiful breeze, a gorgeous beach, lots of local Spaniards about from a small town and each other. The afternoon and evening were delightful, spent swimming, long walks on the beach and a tasty dinner of paella (man this sounds like a personal ad for a date). Paella is a Spanish dish that is a base of rice, vegetables and seafood flavoured in a frying pan with paprika for colouring. All in all it was a great day, and we were looking forward to spending another as beach bums. (Right - the beautiful beach of Islares, Left - Hovan with the Paella).

Waking the next morning and sensing rain (correctly), we packed our bags and headed south searching for more sunshine. Instead of whipping down to Portugal we decided to enjoy one more day in northern Spain. Christine had heard that Leon was supposed to be a beautiful place to visit, so we motored in that direction. Along the way we saw the Spanish landscape change to one of rolling hills to plains of wheat and other grains. Beautiful to see as we passed by. Every short distance seemed to hold another small town, centered around a towering church and steeple. The villages always looked different, but familiar, and it is amazing to see how centralized the Catholic church was in every Spanish village (this is not the same sight in Portugal). Along the way, we also enjoyed the sights of several hill-top castles and the promise of Roman ruins. The landscape reminded me very much of the movie Gladiator. Any fan who has seen the movie knows the part where he is racing home on horse to try and save his family, and the beautiful golden estate which Maximus owns (how can you get a cooler name than Maximus - if he was named Minimus the movie would have tanked).

Along the way we stopped for lunch in a tiny hamlet called Carrion, a place with three large cathedrals and a monastery converted to a hotel. It was a very quaint little town, with tiny streets and some of the tightest parking. I managed to make one of the best parallel parking jobs in my life, only to have Christine tell me that later she watched the other guy nail our bumper on his way out. I guess they use the bumper as a guide. But I digress, the town was beautiful. Christine and I debated staying there for the night, but Leon was close and beckoning. (Left - Hovan's great parking job - he's the black car)

As we drove into Leon I have to tell you that I thought Christine had picked a dud, what a crumby looking city. You never would know that it was the former medieval capital of Spain. Right around the time we were thinking that we had made a horrible mistake, our driving took us to the heart of the city, leaving crappy layer after layer of city behind us, into what was a stunning spectacle of old world development. Think of all those old books you have read of cobblestone streets, winding alleys leading in endless loops and charm over every square inch, and you have the centre of Leon. The squares seem to have been made for chivalrous dueling, and the main Cathedral is one of the most spectacular we've seen (and between the two of us, we have seen a lot). Our accommodations were pleasant and the afternoon and evening were spent discovering the inner city and inspecting several of the cathedrals. We enjoyed a lovely dinner dining in one of the main squares, people watching and soaking up the lively Spanish late night energy. Everyone should know that the Spaniards eat very late, and when I say late, I mean the early arrivers start at 9:00 in the evening. We knew this (thanks to Dave Hatherly!), acclimatized to this and managed to eat our dinner in the thick of the activity and not be the typical westerners who rush in, eat and leave right away. Now any of you who know Christine, knows it's an incredible feat to delay dinner until 9:30/10:00, but she managed it very well, given a few afternoon and early evening snacks. (Left - the beautiful Cathedral of Leon. Right - walking down the streets of Leon).

Early this morning we rose, crept out of the hostel as most late night revelers were still sawing logs, and started our journey to Portugal. The difference in the landscape and villages is more slight between Spain and Portugal, but still there. It took us a while to realize that many of the villages do not have towering churches in them, definitely a big difference. We have traveled through the north of Portugal and plan to work our way down the coast slowly. We were heading to Viana do Costelo, when I lead us astray down a country road that took much longer than anticipated. This diversion did allow us to see some amazing little mountain villages. We also took a detour through a town with a road so narrow we barely scraped through. We were seeking some Roman ruins the sign promised, but when the road got really really potty and the car started to bottom out, we decided to turn around and eat lunch on the river instead. We did get out and hike around a bit to see if we could find the ruins, but were alas, unsuccessful.

We have arrived at our destination and plan to stay here for a while and tour the surrounding area before heading south to be near Lisbon. The campground we have found is very cosy, 3 Stars and will allow us to relax in comfort. There are some beautiful sites in the area and we are going to also take a bit of break from driving, having crossed so much territory already.

The trip continues to go fabulously and we will touch base with you all soon.

Yours,

Christine and Hovan