Wednesday 1 April 2015

The dog eventually shut up and the noise from the nearby motorway, which we hadn't noticed until we went to bed, quietened down so a peaceful night and another lovely morning. Usual preliminaries then a phone call to Eurotunnel to get our homeward crossing put back a couple of days. Just as well we did because our preferred day was completely sold out and our next choice cost us an extra £21.

Setting an aire at Braganca as our destination, we once again programmed the satnav to avoid toll roads and it selected for us a lovely run through mixed countryside and into the hills – this is truly a fine part of Portugal although we've read that it has very cold winters, so perhaps not in January! 

The road winds through valleys

And if you're brakes fail help is at hand!

Guarda was a bit of a trial, it seemed that the only way out was on a toll road but we eventually trusted to TomTom and wound our way round some very minor roads before popping back out on the IP2, a fast non toll road heading north.

With the fuel gauge indicating that we really ought to get a refill we followed signs off the main road into a town to an Intermarche where they only took cash – but it was very cheap! A little later we turned off again and found a lay-by for a late lunch.

The Douro river

Realising by now that Braganca was again a bit of a stretch we consulted the books and found a barragem that allowed overnight parking at just about the right distance so reprogrammed the satnav. All we’ll say is that it was “interesting”, taking us round and through a fairly modern town, along the side of a motorway and then off into the hills. But eventually we came upon the reservoir at Azibo with a couple of car parks overlooking it and all but deserted. It felt quite safe so we settled in for the evening and enjoyed the view.

Spain tomorrow and with it being the Easter weekend we’ll have to be careful to avoid the more popular spots for overnighting.

Out of the windscreen at sunset