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The Castle in Methoni, Greece Contents 17 May 2023 - Day Trip to Epidaurus 18 May 2023 - Nafplio to Monemvasia 19 May 2023 - Monemvasia 20 May 2023 - Monemvasia to Koroni, Greece 21 May 2023 - Rest day in Koroni 22 May 2023 - Day Trip to Koroni 23 May 2023 - Day Trip to Methoni and Pylos Links to My Other Blogs 17 May 2023 - Day Trip to Epidaurus, Greece Epidaurus is best known for it’s ancient theatre that dates back to 320 BC. The theatre could seat 14,000 people and has excellent acoustics. Epidaurus is a large site and also has a stadium and the remains of the medical and spa facilities it was renowned for. Epidaurus is only a half hour drive from Nafplio and we arrived there at 08.30. We went to the theatre first and there were only 2 other people there. Unfortunately the tranquility was ruined by someone noisily strimming the grass. We spent half an hour appreciating the impressive theatre. As we left the theatre at 09.15 we saw the first tour group and by the time we had walked to the rest of the site there were several more groups! Unfortunately most of the other buildings at Epidaurus were just ruins and we weren’t that impressed by them. Before leaving Epidaurus we returned to the theatre and now there were lots of tourists. Each group demonstrated the incredible acoustics by clapping and dropping stones on the middle of the stage. See my blog " Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide " for more information on visiting Epidaurus. Afterwards we drove from Epidaurus to the coastal village of Palea Epidhavros to visit the Ancient Theatre of Epidhavros. However, we couldn’t find it, even with the aid of Google maps and road signs. It seems that it is closed. The coastal village was very pleasant though. Palea Epidhavros We returned to our apartment for lunch and had a restful afternoon in Nafplio. 18 May 2023 - Nafplio to Monemvasia, Greece The 18th May is International Museums Day in Greece and there is free admission to both museums and archaeological sites. We had therefore decided to visit 3 archaeological sites on our drive from Nafplio to Monemvasia. This would save us Eur 48 in entrance fees. The first site was the Palamidi fortress above Nafplio which was mainly built by the Venetians in the early 18th century. It was a 15 minute drive from our apartment in Nafplio to the Palamidi Fortress, but it would have taken a lot longer if we had climbed up the 900 steps to it! We spent about an hour and a quarter wandering around the Palimidi fortress in warm and sunny weather. There are excellent views of Nafplio and the coast. There were very few people in Palimidi's upper fortress and although the lower fortress was busier it didn’t spoil our visit. The second archaeological site was Tiryns which isn’t very well known and isn't visited by groups. Tiryn's fortress is over 3,000 years old and inside are the remains of the settlement and a palace. The main feature of Tiryns are the impressive remains of the huge fortress walls. It only took about half an hour to walk around Tiryns. See my blog " Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide " for further information about visiting Tiryns. The third site was Mycenae which is about 3,500 years old. Unfortunately Mycenae is very well known and visited by tour groups. There is usually an entrance fee of Eur 12 and we wouldn’t have visited if it hadn’t been free, as there isn’t enough to see to justify the entrance fee. We arrived there at 12.15 and I hoped that a lot of groups would have left the site to have lunch. Some coaches had left, or were leaving, but there were still a significant number of coaches in the car park. We could see tourists snaking up Mycenae's hilly archeological site. Not my idea of fun, but luckily it was free! We mainly wanted to see the huge walls of the fortress and Mycenae's famous Lion Gate. Initially there were just too many people in front of the Lion Gate to be able to appreciate it, but fortunately the groups left after a while. We spent about an hour at the Mycenae. The highlights for me were actually off the main path. There were great views of Mycenae's fortress walls to the right of Lion Gate and no one else was there. Just below the walls were 2 large and impressive tombs and again we were the only people visiting them. For further information about visiting Mycenae see my blog " Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide ". Whilst we were driving from Mycenae to Monemvasia the engine malfunction light lit up on the dashboard. This had happened 9 months ago, whilst we were in Ireland, and we had been very concerned. After a few days the light had disappeared and it hadn’t lit up again until now. I checked the oil and as the engine seemed fine we decided to continue and hope for the best! We arrived at Monemvasia at 16.30 and were pleased with the apartment that we had booked. It was compact, but had everything we needed and the hostess had left us oranges, eggs, cake and jam. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " for further information on the apartment. 19 May 2023 - Monemvasia, Greece We had a leisurely start and only left our apartment at 11.00 for the short walk to old Monemvasia. It is on a small island and is now connected to the mainland by a causeway. Monemvasia was founded in the 6th century, but most of the buildings date from the 11th century onwards. The Causeway to Monemvasia We were pleased to find that there weren’t many tourists, or large groups, wandering around Monemvasia's old lower town. It was very pleasant wandering around the picturesque old streets and walls. The weather was sunny and the sea views were excellent as a result. After wandering around Monemvasia's lower town for an hour we started the climb up to the upper town and the citadel. There is an impressive entrance gate and tunnel between Monemvasia's lower and upper towns. Most of the population used to live in Monemvasia's upper town, but now the majority of the houses are in ruins. The main surviving buildings are the impressive Church of Hagia Sophia, which was built in the 12th century, and the Citadel. We had a picnic lunch at the Citadel and returned back to our apartment at 14.30. See my blog " Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide " for further information on visiting Monemvasia. We wanted to have a cheap dinner so we went to a restaurant that served gyros and souvlaki. I had a gyros, which is a pitta bread stuffed with slivers of chicken, salad and french fries. Lani had the souvlaki, which turned out to be the same, except there were chunks of chicken instead of slivers of chicken! They both cost Eur 3.50 each, but we made the mistake of also ordering one Greek salad for Eur 8 and we struggled to finish it. 20 May 2021 - Monemvasia to Koroni, Greece Our accommodation for the next 6 nights is a 3 bedroom house in Koroni. It’s only a 3 hour drive from Monemvasia to Koroni, but we wanted to go via the site of Mystras. Mystras is an abandoned Byzantine town dating back to 1249 and is fairly well preserved. We left Monemvasia at 09.00 so we could reach Koroni at a reasonable time. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes to drive to Mystras and we parked at the entrance to the lower section of Mystras. Mystras is on a steep hill with a lower town, upper town and a fortress at the top. This meant that we had a steep climb up to the fortress, but coming down would be easy. The alternative was to park at the entrance of Mystras's upper town, but we thought most groups would do this. We thoroughly explored Mystras in 3 hours. The houses and fortress of Mystras are in ruins, but there are several churches and a palace that are intact and in good condition. There were a few tour groups but we managed to avoid them. We were disappointed to find that the massive Depot’s Palace was closed for restoration. When I consulted my 2004 edition of the Rough Guide it stated that it was closed for restoration “that looks set to continue for a number of years ahead” . I am sure they didn’t think it would take over 19 years to restore it! See my blog " Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide " for further information about visiting Mystras. The Palace of the Depots at Mystras There are 2 routes from Mystras to Koroni. The old way is over the Langadha pass, but a new toll highway has been built which is longer in distance but shorter in time. I wanted to drive over the scenic Langadha pass and selected that route on Google maps. Unfortunately something went wrong and we ended up on the new highway. It was probably for the best as the engine malfunction light was still lit up on the dashboard and driving over the pass would have put the engine under more strain. We were also delighted to find that there were no toll charges because of the national elections. We stopped off at a Lidl’s on the way to stock up on groceries and reached the house at 16.30. It is a very nice 2 bedroom modern house set in olive trees and with good sea views. Just after we had unpacked it began to rain and the wind gusted strongly the whole evening. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " for further information about the house. 21 May 2023 - Rest day in Koroni, Greece Today was a rest day and we wanted to enjoy the setting of the house. The house is in an olive grove and on a hill overlooking the sea and the Mani peninsula. We woke up to sunshine, which was a surprise as the weather forecast predicted rain for most of the day. We had breakfast on the balcony and by mid morning had to move to a shaded area as it was too hot in the sun. I took advantage of the hosepipe at the house to wash a month of dirt off the car! The weather changed for the worse in the early afternoon and we spent the rest of the day inside relaxing. 22 May 2023 - Koroni, Greece It was meant to rain again this morning, but it was actually partially sunny when we woke up. We decided to look around the nearby town of Koroni in the morning as the revised forecast was for rain in the afternoon. The buildings of Koroni mainly date back to the period 1206 to 1500 when the Venetians occupied the town and used it as a fleet supply base. There is a fortress on the hill above Koroni and we started our visit by wandering around it. The interior of Koroni's fortress now contains several buildings including the nunnery of Timiou Prodhromou. We particularly liked the small church of Saint Sophia that dates back to the 8th century. We then walked down to the town of Koroni and wandered along the seafront. We were hoping to have an early lunch in one of Koroni's seafront restaurants, but decided not to as none of them displayed their prices. The main shopping street is one block inland from the seafront and we wandered along there looking for restaurants and bakeries. Koroni In the end we decided to go back to the house for lunch and on the way back bought a large bag of about 40 oranges for Eur 6.20. Our house has a juicer and we love fresh orange juice! 23 May 2023 - Day Trip to Methoni and Pylos We woke up to nice sunny weather and the forecast for the rest of the day was good. After a leisurely breakfast on the balcony we drove to Methoni, which is about a 40 minute drive west from Koroni. Methoni has a very impressive fort dating back to the 13th century and we stopped there first. My old edition of the Rough Guide stated that it was open every day, but to our disappointment we found it is now closed on a Tuesday. Luckily Methoni's fort is very impressive from the outside and it is possible to walk around about three quarters of the fort. We did manage to peer inside through the gate and the exterior does appear to be much better than the interior. Afterwards we drove a short distance north of Methoni to the town of Pylos. We found a parking at the harbour and it was free, like many of the car parks that we have used so far in Greece. A nice waitress persuaded us to eat at a waterfront restaurant and as they didn’t have calamari I joined Lani in ordering chicken souvlaki and fried potato. Both the setting and food were very nice. Afterwards we walked to Pylos's fort, but we found it was also closed on a Tuesday like at Methoni. We drove a bit further up the coast and then went back to Koroni on the inland route over the mountains. Initially the road was good but it soon became narrow and had many potholes. The scenery was nice but after a while the weather changed and it rained heavily. Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 The Peloponnese to the Greek Island - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide

Vilan Lighthouse on Stage 5 Contents Introduction The Official Lighthouse Way Website Maps & Signs for the Lighthouse Way Taxis & Buses Accommodation & Restaurants in Muxia Weather Organised Lighthouse Way Treks Stages of the Lighthouse Way & Shortening Options : 8.1. Stage 4 of the Lighthouse Way 8.2. Stage 5 of the Lighthouse Way 8.3. Stage 6 of the Lighthouse Way 8.4. Stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way 8.5. Stage 8 of the Lighthouse Way 9. Links to Other Blogs about our Road Trip 1. Introduction to the Lighthouse Way The Lighthouse Way is a hard 8 day trek along the Coast of Death on the tip of north-west Spain. It is called the Coast of Death because of t he numerous shipwrecks. The Lighthouse Way is n't busy or commercialised like the Camino Frances and the majority of the Lighthouse Way is on coastal paths rather than roads. We had never heard of the 8 day Lighthouse Way trek until a friend of Lani (my wife) mentioned it and suggested they do it while I was trekking in Nepal. They didn't do the Lighthouse Way trek and I think they would have struggled with the long and tiring sections. When I was planning our 10 week road trip from the UK to southern Morocco in 2024 I decided to spend a week in Muxia at the end of the journey. Our plan was to do the last 5 sections of the Lighthouse Way as day hikes from Muxia. Some of the advantages of doing day hikes on the Lighthouse Way from a comfortable base, rather than doing it as a continuous trek, are: It is easy to do it independently. You don't have to carry, or arrange transfers for, your bags. If the weather is bad you can postpone hiking on the Lighthouse Way to another day. Galicia isn't known for it's great weather! Road sections at the start and end of each daily stage of the Lighthouse Way can be cut out easily when using taxis. You can have rest days and do excursions. Most of the 8 stages of the Lighthouse Way trek are long. Unfortunately the excellent official website  for the Lighthouse Way doesn't provide any information on how the stages can be shortened. We wanted to do more relaxed hiking so I worked out how sections 4 to 8 of the Lighthouse Way hike could be shortened without missing out too much of the great scenery. My blog includes information on: How to shorten the daily sections of the Lighthouse Way. How to use buses and taxis to get to and from the daily sections. A review of sections 4 to 8 of the Lighthouse Way to help you decide which sections you want to hike. Route finding on the Lighthouse Way. See my trip report Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way for additional information about our hikes along the Lighthouse Way. 2. The Official Lighthouse Way Website The official website for the Lighthouse Way provides excellent information about the 8 day trek. It provides detailed information for each of the stages including downloads of the Lighthouse Way on Google Maps and Wikiloc. There is also information on taxis, accommodation and restaurants. Unfortunately the official Lighthouse Way website is designed to help hikers who want to do the Lighthouse Way in full and as one continuous trek. A hiker we met informed us that the officials don't want to encourage shortened sections and therefore don't provide any information on how it can be done. My blog provides information that isn't on the official website about hiking individual sections of the Lighthouse Way and shortening some of the long sections. 3. Maps & Signs for the Lighthouse Way The trail for the Lighthouse Way has been marked with green dots and arrows painted on to rocks and trees. Sometimes they aren't clear and the markings have been made for hikers going from north to south. Fortunately the official website provides information on each stage of the Lighthouse Way. This includes trails for the 8 stages which can be downloaded on to Google Maps or Wikiloc. You can then see your position in relation to the trail. We followed the trail on Google Maps and it worked very well. We would have gone the wrong way several times without Google Maps. We found that when hiking along a road or beach it is often not apparent when to turn off on to a path and Google Maps alerted us to the turn off. Mark for the Lighthouse Way 4. Taxis & Buses I had planned to use buses for 2 of the Lighthouse Way's sections in order to save money. In the end we used taxis for the 5 sections of the Lighthouse Way that we hiked as it was more convenient and the cost was reasonable. Google provides details of 9 taxi drivers in Muxia. One of these drivers is Mathew Smith (telephone 34 683 36 24 65) who is a Brit married to a Spanish lady. We used Mathew for all our hikes as he is a great guy and we could communicate with him in English. Lani is learning Spanish but she didn't relish phoning a Spanish taxi driver and trying to arrange a trip. Particularly since most of the time we were trying to shorten the stages and start hiking a few kilometres after the official starting points for the Lighthouse Way. When I first contacted Mathew I asked about the cost. After that I didn't bother as the Muxia taxi drivers have set rates for all the destinations and Mathew had them on a sheet of paper. The fares were reasonable and the official website provides details of many of the fares. There is a taxi office on Muxia's seafront but it is only manned when there are drivers waiting for rides. The taxi rank is shown as Parada de Taxis on Google Maps. Aviva Spain has a bus service between Fisterra, Muxia and Camarinas. There are 5 buses each day on weekdays and 1 daily bus at weekends. Single bus tickets currently cost Eur 2.60. This bus service is useful when doing stages 6 and 8 of the Lighthouse Way. If you are based in Muxia you can take a taxi to the start of stage 8 of the Lighthouse Way and then take the bus from Fisterra to Muxia at the end of the stage. For stage 6 of the Lighthouse Way hike the bus service provides a couple of options if you are based in Muxia. If you want to do the entire section 6 you can take a bus from Muxia to Camarinas. However, if you want to reduce the length of stage 6 you can take the same buses and alight at Cereixo. Mathew Smith - The best taxi driver in Muxia! 5. Accommodation & Restaurants in Muxia We booked an excellent 3 bedroom apartment in the centre of Muxia through Booking.com for Eur 474 in June. It had a very high approval rating of 9.6. If you intend to use Mathew Smith's taxi service it would be worth considering the accommodation he offers which is about a 5 minute drive from Muxia. His accommodation is: A 3 bedroom house which has an approval rating of 9.6 on Booking.com . A studio apartment for up to 4 people which has an approval rating of 9.4 on Booking.com . Mathew recommended several restaurants and we ate at O Porto and A Marina. Both the restaurants were good. In June the O Porto was frequented by locals and wasn't busy. A Marina was mainly frequented by visitors and was busy. The staff at A Marina were very welcoming. 6. Weather We were surprised that the weather forecasts for Muxia were very reliable. We were lucky that in June we had good weather and no rain at all. The only negative was a very strong northerly wind for about 4 days of our stay. Apparently this isn't unusual and Muxia is particularly affected by wind. It is important to take into account the wind direction when planning the Lighthouse Way hikes so that the wind is behind you. It makes walking much easier and more pleasant. We did stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way hike from the south to the north and left it until the end of our stay when the wind had died down. We found it very hot without the wind! 7. Organised Lighthouse Way Treks If you want someone to organise a self guided trek along the Lighthouse Way then On Foot Holidays seems to be the major operator. They offer packages for both the full trek and reduced stages. They also offer shortening options for each stage. The official website also offers packages for the Lighthouse Way through a Spanish travel agent. 8. Stages of the Lighthouse Way & Shortening Options We did day hikes on stages 4 to 8 of the Lighthouse Way hike. We really enjoyed stages 4, 5 and 8. The scenery on stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way wasn't as good as we expected and the second part of the trail was a bit overgrown. We only did the second half of the very long stage 6 and it was a good starting hike. When driving from Muxia to Camarinas we passed some of the first section of stage 6 of the Lighthouse Way. The trail along the busy road didn't look appealing as too much of the trail goes inland, and through forest. 8.1. Stage 4 of the Lighthouse Way Stage 4 of the Lighthouse Way goes from Laxe to Arou. It's the easiest stage of the Lighthouse Way as it is 18 kilometres long and there isn't much elevation. The official website estimates that stage 4 will take 7.5 hours and that allows enough time for photos and a picnic lunch. We enjoyed the hike and thought that the coastal scenery was excellent. One of the highlights of stage 4 is near the end when the trail for the Lighthouse Way goes through a spectacular area of large boulders. We shortened stage 4 by taking a taxi to Praia dos Cristais instead of to Laxe. This cut out the headland that has Laxe lighthouse on it. It reduced stage 4 by 2.8 kilometres and saved 1 hour. Our entire hike for stage 4 of the Lighthouse Way took 6 hours. Taxis can be taken to Praia dos Cristais to start stage 4 You could reduce the length of stage 4 by another 3.1 kilometres if a taxi collected you in Camelle instead of Arou. See my trip report Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way (28 June) for information about how we organised the taxi for stage 4 of the Lighthouse Way. Stage 4 could be ended at Camelle Castro Rock Traba Beach The Boulders between Traba & Camelle Approaching Arou at the end of the hike 8.2. Stage 5 of the Lighthouse Way Stage 5 is one of the best stages of the Lighthouse Way hike. It is 23.7 kilometres long and the official website estimates it will take 9 hours. We shortened stage 5 by taking a taxi to Lobeiras viewpoint instead of Arou. This reduced stage 5 by 1.7 kilometres and saved half an hour. We cut out the trail from Arou to Lobeiras Viewpoint which is circled in red We didn't walk up to Vilan lighthouse and that probably saved another half an hour. The northerly wind was ferocious and 2 hikers who went up to the lighthouse told us it was much worse there. We took the track circled in red to bypass Vilan lighthouse At the end of stage 5 of the Lighthouse Way we bypassed an uphill section to the Hermitage of Virxe do Monto. The road circled in red bypasses the Hermitage of Virxe do Monte It took us 6.25 hours to reach Camarinas when cutting out the 3 sections mentioned above. We didn't think the hike was particularly tiring as there wasn't much elevation. The scenery for stage 5 was excellent. Stage 5 of the Lighthouse Way could be reduced by an additional 3 kilometres by arranging for a taxi to collect you from Lago beach, instead of Camarinas. There is a reasonable road to Lago beach but only a tiny parking area. Taxis can access the Praia de Lago The English Cemetery is on stage 5 of the Lighthouse Way and it is worth quickly stopping to visit it. There is a reasonable road to the English cemetery and it continues westwards along the coast almost to the Vilan lighthouse. There is very little traffic on the road. The English Cemetery A View over to the Vilan Lighthouse Vilan Lighthouse 8.3. Stage 6 of the Lighthouse Way Stage 6 goes from Camarinas to Muxia and is the longest stage of the Lighthouse Way. The official website estimates that the 32.6 kilometres hike would take 10 hours. A lot of stage 6 isn't the sort of hiking we enjoy as the trail runs along roads and through forests. It's also too long. The hike from Camarinas to Cereixo can easily be avoided by starting in Cereixo instead. It isn't a particularly nice trail as too much of it is inland and along roads. It would reduce stage 6 of the Lighthouse Way by 14.5 kilometres (4 hours). Buses from Muxia could be used for stage 6 of the Lighthouse Way as there are 5 buses a day between Muxia, Cereixo and Camarinas. The section from Camarinas to Cereixo could be skipped We hiked from Leis Beach to Muxia and enjoyed it. The hike was 10 kilometres long and took 3 hours. Although the trail went along some country roads there was very little traffic. It also went through forest but much of it was very nice virgin forest. We started hiking on stage 6 by taking a taxi from Muxia to Camping Praia Barreira Leis . We started our hike at Camping Praia Barreira Leis on Leis beach The last 2.5 kilometres of stage 6 of the Lighthouse Way continues from the centre of Muxia to the tip of the headland and back to Muxia. This section isn't necessary in order to reach accommodation in Muxia. We walked around the headland on a day we had a break from hiking and enjoyed it as we could take our time and weren't tired. The trail circled in red can be cut out at the end of stage 6 Leis Beach A Granary (Horeos) The Forest near Negro River Mills 8.4. Stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way Stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way goes from Muxia to Nemina and is 25.3 kilometres (9.25 hours) long. It is a tough section as there are several hills that have to be climbed. In addition part of the last section of the trail was overgrown in places. We were a bit disappointed with the scenery at times on the southern section of stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way as the trail deviates from the coast. We did stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way from south to north as it was easier taking a taxi to the start of the trek than arranging for a taxi to meet us at the finish. At the end of our hike we just walked back to our apartment in Muxia. There are a few ways that stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way hike can be shortened: Our taxi driver dropped us off in the hamlet of Talon (called Heel on the official website), which is one kilometre north of Nemina beach, and it saved 15 minutes of walking. The trail from Nemina beach to Talon goes inland so the views are unlikely to be good. We took a taxi to Talon to start stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way The headland with the Tourinan lighthouse can be bypassed and this saves 3.5 kilometres (1 hour) of walking. The Tourinan lighthouse loop can be cut out on stage 7 Some hikers use the road to completely bypass the beautiful Punta Buitro headland. We were also going to do that but met someone whose wife had been attacked by a dog when doing so. As a result we decided to hike around the Punta Buitro headland and cross over to the other side at a narrow point. As we walked along the headland we could see that there was too much thorny ground vegetation to be able to cross over unless there was a path. We weren't disappointed in having to hike around Punta Buitro as the scenery was superb. Then halfway to the tip of the headland there was a dirt track crossing over to the north side. I am not sure how much time this dirt track saved but it was probably around half an hour. The red line indicated where there is a track across the Punta Buitra headland View from Mount Pedrouzo Punta Buitra Descending Mount Cachelmo with Muxia in the distance. 8.5. Stage 8 of the Lighthouse Way Stage 8 of the Lighthouse Way goes from Nemina to Fisterra lighthouse and it's 27 kilometres (8.75 hours) long. It is a beautiful hike but tiring due to the length and hilly terrain. We took 2 shortcuts on stage 8 which reduced the hiking time to 6 hours, including lunch and photo stops. We only saw 3 other hikers the entire hike! We started stage 8 of the Lighthouse Way by taking a taxi from Muxia to Area Grande. This cut out 7.3 kilometres (1.75 hours) of a mainly inland section of the hike from Nemina to Area Grande. At low tide it is also possible to wade across the Lires estuary from Praia de Lires on the north side to the south side. See the article on the Estuary of Lires in the official website. A taxi can be taken to Area Grande, instead of Nemina, to start stage 8 We ended our hike at the town of Fisterra where the taxi collected us. However, stage 8 of the Lighthouse Way ends at Fisterra lighthouse which is a further 5 kilometres and much of it is uphill! If I was doing the entire Lighthouse Way trek I would leave this final part to the next morning so I could enjoy it. As mentioned earlier in this blog there are are buses from Fisterra to Muxia and Camarinas. The section from Fisterra to Fisterra Lighthouse can be cut out A View between Lires & Rostro Beaches View of Nemina Rostro Beach 9. Links to Other Blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

Lukla Airport Most trekkers start and finish the Everest Base Camp trek in Lukla. Unfortunately the Lukla flights aren't reliable due to the weather and now most of the flights to Lukla don't land or take off from Kathmandu airport. This blog provides information about flying into, and out of Lukla, and the alternatives if the weather is bad. Click here  to read my other blogs about the Everest Base Camp and Everest 3 Passes treks. Contents Lukla Flights Ramechhap Accommodation & Transportation Accommodation at Lukla Drive/Hike between Kathmandu & Lukla in 2 Days Helicopter Links to my other Everest Base Camp Trek Blogs 1. Flights to Lukla for the Everest Base Camp Trek 1.1 Flights to Lukla from Kathmandu and Ramechhap Airports Most trekkers fly into Lukla to do the Everest Base Camp trek and until recently these flights all took off from Kathmandu. Congestion at Kathmandu airport has resulted in the flights to Lukla being transferred to Ramechhap airport during the peak trekking season. This is from about mid March to the end of May and during the months of October and November. Flying from Ramechhap to Lukla is inconvenient. It is about a 4 hour drive from Kathmandu to Ramechhap at night but longer during the day due to road congestion. There are some hotels near Ramechhap airport, so you can drive to Ramechhap the previous afternoon and stay overnight. The alternative is to depart Kathmandu for Ramechhap between 01.00 to 02.00 to get an early morning Lukla flight! It is very chaotic at Ramechhap airport, even when there are no delays. Unfortunately flights are frequently delayed due to bad weather at Lukla. The effect of these delays have more impact at Ramechhap than Kathmandu as there isn't enough accommodation in Ramechhap. 1.2 Flights from Lukla Flying to Ramechhap isn't as bad as departing, as you don't have to stay there or cope with the chaos at the check-in counters. The major drawback is the drive from Ramechhap to Kathmandu, which could take 6 hours due to road congestion during the daytime. Lukla flights are often delayed, although less frequently during the normally clear weather from about mid October to mid December. Luckily this also coincides with Nepal's peak trekking season. Always try to get on the earliest possible Lukla flight as the weather usually deteriorates as the day progresses. If there are seats available on a different airline it is possible to transfer your ticket. Go to the airline office and get them to put the relevant stamp on your ticket which you then hand to the other airline. We did this at Lukla airport in 2014 and it only took 5 minutes. 1.3 Flight Cost & Weight Limit Flights between Ramechhap and Lukla currently cost $191 each way and between Kathmandu and Lukla cost $238 each way. These flights can be booked online through Yeti Airlines , although it shouldn't cost any more to book it through a trekking agency. The weight limit for these Lukla flights is 10 kilograms but the charge for excess weight is only about NPR 250 per kilo. If you are travelling with a guide he would usually have less than 10 kilograms of luggage and you can use his surplus weight allowance. 1.4 Cancelled Flights and Rebooking If your Lukla flight is cancelled you will have to rebook on the next available flight. In peak season only the later Lukla flights, which are at greater risk of being cancelled due to weather, will normally have availability. Your chances of getting rebooked onto an early flight will often depend whether your agency, or hotel at Ramechhap or Lukla, has good connections with the airlines. 2. Ramechhap Accommodation & Transportation 2.1 Hotels near Ramechhap Airport Some of the hotels within walking distance of Ramechhap airport are: Freedom Resort - This hotel gets reasonable local Google reviews and is an 11 minute walk to the airport. Rooms cost NPR 3,500 and tents NPR 2,500. The tents can be hot. Rooms and tents can be booked online through the above link. Lalu Hotel - The local reviews are also reasonable but there is no online booking. Hotel Manakamana Airport View - It also gets reasonable local reviews but again there is no online booking. 2.2 Transportation to Ramechhap Airport The first flights take off from Ramechhap airport at about 06.15. If you don't spend the night in Ramechhap you would have to leave Kathmandu around 01.15 to get there in time. This early start would probably be only a couple of days after a sleep disturbed international flight and when you are still suffering from jet lag. This isn't an ideal start for the Everest Base Camp trek. Mini buses and buses leave Kathmandu for Ramechhap around 02.00 each night and can be arranged through trekking agencies in Kathmandu. They cost about $35 per person, but you would not arrive in time for the earliest flight to Lukla. A private car arranged through a local trekking agency for the journey from Kathmandu to Ramechhap would cost from around $110 and a jeep about $160. Hiring a taxi yourself would be cheaper. 3. Accommodation at Lukla When flights are delayed for several days there isn't enough accommodation at Lukla for trekkers finishing the Everest Base Camp trek, even though there are many more hotels than at Ramechhap. Some hotels, like the very comfortable Lukla Numbur Hotel and the more basic Sunrise Lodge have connections with the airlines which makes a big difference. They can often arrange for you to get on an early flight from Lukla the next day and the early flights have a better chance of taking off. At the Lukla Numbur Hotel we didn't have to go to the airport until they told us that the incoming flights were proceeding. When we arrived at Lukla airport the hotel owner and guide had already got our boarding passes for us. 4. Drive/Hike between Kathmandu & Lukla in 2 Days The flights to Lukla for the Everest Base Camp trek are often grounded due to bad weather. It is often difficult to determine if the weather will clear or if the flights will be grounded for several days. The alternatives are taking a helicopter or doing a fairly gruelling drive and hike combination between Kathmandu and Lukla. The latter option is cheaper than flying when using shared jeeps or buses, but probably not when using a private jeep. In May 2022 we had a 06.00 flight from Lukla to Kathmandu but we woke up to rain. By 10.30 a.m. it looked like the weather wouldn't clear and an Australian at our lodge decided to hike and then take a jeep to Kathmandu. The weather suddenly cleared at 12.30 p.m. and our flight took off from Lukla at 1.30 p.m. We were surprised, and pleased, to see the Australian on the flight! He had luckily seen the weather improve and quickly hiked back up to Lukla! 4.1. Logistics The 2 day drive and hike from Kathmandu to Lukla could be split as follows: Drive on the tarred road between Kathmandu and Salleri. It could take 7 hours by private jeep, longer by shared jeep and almost 12 hours by bus (NPR 1,700 at March 2023). Stay in a lodge at Salleri. Phaplu is an alternative to Salleri but the lodges there aren't good. Drive 6 hours by jeep on the rough dirt track between Salleri and Tham Danda (just north of Bupsa). Click here to see a 16 minute video of the jeep ride. I wouldn't want to drive on this track after a lot of rain. The cost of a shared jeep was NPR 2,200 in March 2023. Then hike the same day between Tham Danda and Lukla, which takes about 5.5 hours. The hike from Tham Danda to Namche Bazaar can be done in 2 days with an overnight stop at Ghat or Phakding. The trail bypasses Lukla. 4.2. Approximate Costs of Getting from Kathmandu to Tham Danda Cost of a shared jeep from Kathmandu to Salleri was reported to be NPR 3,700 in April 2022. Cost of a bus from Kathmandu to Salleri was NPR 1,700 in March 2023. Cost of a shared jeep from Salleri to Tham Danda was reported to be NPR 2,200 in March 2023. A private jeep from Kathmandu to Tham Danda is about $420. These are ball park figures that depend on the fuel costs, road conditions, type of private jeep and your negotiating skills! 5. Use of Helicopters for the Everest Base Camp Trek The weather in Lukla can be too bad even for helicopters! It is the quickest option if flights have been grounded but not the cheapest! The normal cost is about $400 a person, but if a helicopter has spare seats you can sometimes be lucky to get a seat for as low as $150. The weather was terrible the day of our flight from Kathmandu to Lukla in May 2022. By mid morning we had given up on flying to Lukla and decided to pay $400 per person for a helicopter. However, the helicopter couldn't take off as the weather was too bad in Lukla. This proved to be lucky as at 12.30 we were told to board the plane as the weather in Lukla had cleared! We later met some young Swiss trekkers who had taken a helicopter that day from Kathmandu to Lukla and had only paid $150 each. As the weather was too bad for the helicopter to land at Lukla they were flow to Phakding instead, saving a few hours of the hike to Namche Bazaar. 6. Links to my other Everest Base Camp Trek Blogs My Daily Reports on the Everest 3 Passes Trek Day Hikes on the Everest Base Camp Trek Lodges and Tea Houses on the Everest Base Camp Trek When to trek to Everest Base Camp What to take for the Everest Base Camp Trek Forum Posts, Vlogs & Webcams for Everest Base Camp Trek Guides, Porters and Trekking Agencies

On the way to Ama Dablam Base Camp with our Guide & Porter This blog provides information on the selection of trekking agencies and the hiring of guides and porters. Click here  to read my other blogs about the Everest Base Camp and Everest 3 Passes treks. Contents TIMS Cards Nepalese Trekking Agencies Foreign Trekking Agencies Hiring Guides and Porters at Lukla Links to my Everest Base Camp Blogs 1. TIMS Cards The Nepal Tourist Board had announced that the provisions of the Trekker Information Management System (TIMS) were changing effective 1 April 2023. Prior to 1st April 2023 trekkers could buy their own TIMS Card for NPR 1,000 and trek without a guide. From 1st April 2023 the new announcement meant that only trekking agencies would be able to obtain the TIMS cards for trekkers, at the increased cost of NPR 2,000, and all trekkers had to be accompanied by a guide. There is a Tripadvisor forum topic on this subject. It has up to date information from trekkers about any enforcement of the Tourist Board's edict about guides. The reality is that it isn't being enforced and you can continue to trek without a guide except in the restricted areas of Nepal like before. The only difference is that independent trekkers can't buy a TIMs card. However, independent trekkers are no longer being required to have one. The Everest Base Camp trek is not in a restricted area but you need to buy 2 permits whilst trekking: The Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Permit costs NPR 2,000 and is bought at Lukla airport. The Sagarmatha National Conservation Area Permit costs NPR 3,000 and is bought in Monjo. 2. Nepalese Trekking Agencies There are numerous trekking agencies in Nepal and some of them are very good and others aren't! Some trekking agencies only sell packages that include food and accommodation. This enables trekking agencies to make higher profits as it is difficult for trekkers to ascertain the actual costs. It can also benefit the guides as they are given a lump sum to cover costs and anything left over is theirs to keep! Good agencies will always give enough to cover all potential costs. Bad agencies will give the minimum, which can cause a problem for the trekker towards the end of a trek. The accommodation provided will usually be for a basic room. If you want a room with an attached bathroom you will normally have to pay the difference to the guide. If you do take an all inclusive package it is important to determine beforehand what food and drink is included. For example: Can you have a starter and a main course? How many hot drinks per day are included? A far better approach is to only pay the trekking agency for the cost of porters, guides and transportation. The cost of the porters and guides should always include their food and lodging. Porters and guides can be hired through agencies from about $20 a day for a porter and $25 a day for a guide. The guide will often travel with you from Kathmandu and their airfare will be extra. Their airfare is far less than for a foreigner. Porters will usually join trekkers in Lukla and any transportation costs for them is for your account. Be aware that porter guides probably won't speak English very well. Some local trekking agencies will want a deposit for the Everest Base Camp trek. The deposit shouldn't be more than the cost of the flights. Don't pay more than necessary If you want to organise your own trek I can recommend 3 local trekking agencies: Enjoy Nepal Treks . I used them in 2023 for the Kanchenjunga and the Langtang/ Gosainkunda/Helambu treks. I paid $25 a day for a porter/guide but the cost has now increased to $30 a day. I paid for my own food and accommodation but they also offer all inclusive packages. They are an excellent agency. Nepal Sanctuary Treks . They are the local agents for The Mountain Company and I have used them 3 times. They are not be the cheapest as their packages include food and accommodation. However, they will be substantially cheaper than a foreign trekking company. Visit Himalaya Treks . I have never used them but recently met one of their small groups on the way to Makalu Base Camp. I have also read the blogs of 2 frequent trekkers to Nepal who highly recommend them. Again they are not be the cheapest as their packages include food and accommodation. However, they will be substantially cheaper than a foreign trekking company. 3. Foreign Trekking Agencies Legally foreign trekking companies have to employ a Nepalese trekking agency to organise their treks. As a result their treks to Everest Base Camp are far more expensive than those of a local agency as they make a healthy profit on top of the local agency's cost. Some foreign companies send a westerner to lead treks which increases the cost even more. I wouldn't want to trek with a group when the accommodation is in tea houses/lodges as for the Everest Base Camp trek. It is better, and cheaper, to organise one's own trek through a Nepalese agency. I like to select my own accommodation and try to avoid busy lodges. You can't do this with a group and usually have to share a room. I have trekked twice with groups in Lower and Upper Dolpo as they were camping treks. They would have been expensive to organise for one person. However, some people prefer to trek with a group and most foreign trekking companies offer group lodge treks to Everest Base Camp, as it is one of the world's most popular treks. I can recommend 2 foreign companies: The Mountain Company is a British company which arranges basic  and luxury  lodge treks for Everest Base Camp with Nepalese guides. It is a good company and I used them when trekking in Upper Dolpo. Kim Bannister of Kamzang Journeys personally leads one trek a year to Everest Base Camp. She knows the area and local people very well and she has an excellent reputation. I have never trekked with her but did briefly meet her while trekking in Lower Dolpo. 4. Hiring Guides and Porters at Lukla You can hire guides and porters at Lukla airport and there are usually several touting for business as you exit the airport. It is safer to recruit through a local hotel in case any problems arise during the trek. 5. Links to my Everest Base Camp Blogs My Daily Reports on the Everest 3 Passes Trek Day Hikes on the Everest Base Camp Trek Lodges and Tea Houses on the Everest Base Camp Trek When to trek to Everest Base Camp What to take for the Everest Base Camp Trek Kathmandu to Lukla and Back Forum Posts, Vlogs & Webcams for Everest Base Camp Trek

Cordoba Cathedral Contents 31 March & 1 April 2024 - Plymouth to Santander, Spain 2 April 2024 - Salamanca, Spain 3 April 2024 - Salamanca to Toledo, Spain 4 April 2024 - Toledo to Cordoba, Spain 5 April 2024 - Cordoba to Granada, Spain 6 April 2024 - Granada, Spain 7 April 2024 - The Alhambra at Granada, Spain 8 April 2024 - Granada, Spain Links to other blogs about our road trip 31 March & 1 April 2024 - Plymouth to Santander, Spain We live a 40 minute drive from Plymouth so Brittany Ferries' sailing from Plymouth to Santander is very convenient for us. The voyage takes about 22 hours and it saves 2 to 3 days of driving. I have driven from the UK to north west Spain twice before and the scenery isn't that great. We booked a 4 berth cabin with a window as all the 2 berth cabins had been reserved. It wasn't cheap as the cabin cost £160, but it was worth having a private space with a view and some daylight. The return voyage cost £1,000 so we may not be saving much by taking our own car instead of flying and renting cars. However, the ferry is much more pleasant than taking an early morning flight. It is also convenient having everything in our own car for the entire 10 week trip to Morocco. I just hope our 2013 Ford Focus doesn't have any mechanical problems! The voyage went well and although the weather wasn't bad the ship did sway a fair amount when crossing the Bay of Biscay. Brittany Ferries use their largest ship for the Plymouth to Santander crossing and it's more stable. Unfortunately Lani went to the bathroom in the night and fell into the shower. I am glad that we weren't on the previous sailing as there was a storm then. We arrived in Santander at 15.30 the next day. It didn't take long to disembark from the ferry and to get through Immigration and Customs. From there it was a 4 hour drive to Salamanca and we arrived at the Parador de Salamanca around 20.00. We haven't stayed in a Parador before and this is the only one I have booked for this trip. It is a modern Parador about a 20 minute walk to the centre of Salamanca. I booked a superior room as these rooms have a good view of the cathedral and it cost of £87.50 per night. We were very pleased with our room at it was quiet, spacious and had a good view. 2 April 2024 - Salamanca, Spain We booked 2 nights at the Parador de Salamanca so that we would have a whole day to visit Salamanca. Rain was forecast from mid afternoon so we had breakfast as soon as the restaurant opened at 07.30. As it was our first stay at a Parador we were given a voucher that gave us one free breakfast and that saved about Eur 40 for the two of us. It was a very good breakfast and we ate far more than we normally would. Usually we would just have a bowl of porridge but the food was too tempting. After breakfast we walked into the centre of Salamanca over the old Roman bridge. Unfortunately the weather was cloudy and dreary but good weather was forecast from tomorrow. The cathedral is the main sight in Salamanca. It is massive as it consists of 2 cathedrals joined together. The old cathedral wasn't demolished when they built the new one in 1513. For an additional fee we also climbed up the tower and onto the roof of the cathedrals. The views weren't great but it was interesting see how the 2 cathedrals were joined together. We also paid to enter the Universidad de Salamanca as its buildings date back to the 12th century. The library, chapel and one old classroom were the main things to see but we weren't that impressed. The other sights in Salamanca were the Casa de las Conchas (House of Shells) which is now a library and the Plaza Mayor. The Plaza Mayor is very elegant as it enclosed by a continuous 4 storey building and the town hall. We walked around Salamanca until 15.00 when it started to rain as had been forecast. By then we had seen everything in Salamanca that we had wanted to see. Soon after we got back to the hotel the weather cleared and the sun finally came out. That wasn't forecast! In the evening we walked back into Salamanca and had a seafood Paella for Eur 36. It would have been much more expensive to eat at the Parador. 3 April 2024 - Drive from Salamanca to Toledo, Spain When we arrived in Spain we were lucky to have missed several days of wet weather that had spoiled many of the Easter religious processions in Spain. The weather forecast was for sunny and dry weather from today and it turned out that the forecast was right! We left Salamanca at midday and arrived in Toledo at 15.00, which was our check in time for our next apartment. We had booked a 2 bedroom apartment in Toledo for 1 night through Booking.com for Eur 90. We were pleased with the modern apartment and importantly we had a parking space for our car in the basement of the building. It was about a 15 minute walk in to Toledo's historic centre and we visited Toledo Cathedral first. It was constructed over 2 centuries and opened in 1493. We bought a ticket for Eur 12 that allowed entry into 7 of Toledo's historic buildings. We managed to visit the following ones before they closed at 18.30: 11th century church of Saint Tome. The main attraction here is another El Greco " The Burial of Count Orgaz" painted in 1586. Sinagoga de Santa María built in 13th century but converted to a church in 1411. There are 25 horseshoe arches and 32 columns, creating a sense of space. Real Colegio Doncellas Nobles founded in 1551, an educational institution promoting women. Monastery of San Juan de los Rey. Iglesia de los Jesuitas, We didn't visit Toledo's Alcazar (fort) as it is now an Army Museum and the Alcazar was rebuilt between 1939 and 1957 after the siege of the Alcazar during the Spanish Civil War. 4 April 2024 - Drive from Toledo to Cordoba, Spain It was sunny again today and we drove for 4 hours from Toledo to Cordoba. It seems that our car's air conditioning isn't working and we will have to try and get it fixed before we go on to Morocco. I had booked a 3 bedroom apartment in Cordoba for Eur 62 but unfortunately the sound proofing was poor and we could hear our neighbours very clearly. Fortunately they quietened down for the night and we managed to get 7 hours sleep. It was a 40 minute walk from the apartment to Cordoba's historic centre. As it was hot we took a bus in and walked back in the evening. We first visited the Mezquita as it is Cordoba's main attraction. The Mezquita is Córdoba's famous mosque which was completed in 787. In the 9th century it ranked third in sanctity in the Islamic world, behind Mecca and Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque. When the Christians conquered Cordoba in the 13th century it was converted into a cathedral. We then went to the Alcazar (fort), which is a Spanish fortress of Moorish origins, which was built in the 14th century. When we got to the entrance there was a long queue, probably about 70 people! We decided to wait and it turned out it was that busy because entry was free that day! The Alcazar housed the Inquisition (1428 to 1821) and it was then a prison until 1951. The buildings aren't very interesting but they contain some very fine Roman mosaics and a Roman sarcophagus. There are beautiful gardens surrounding the Alcazar. We finished the day by walking over the old Roman bridge and having dinner in the old Jewish quarter of Cordoba. 5 April 2024 - Drive from Cordoba to Granada, Spain It was a hot 3 hour drive from Cordoba to Granada. The car's air conditioner definitely wasn't working and needs to be fixed. I had rented a 2 bedroom apartment in Granada through Booking.com for 4 nights at a cost of Eur 488. The price included parking which can be very difficult in Granada. After the disappointment of the apartment in Cordoba I was relieved that the apartment in Granada was very good. It was on the 2nd floor of a modern apartment building and had a small balcony. The only drawback was that it faced onto a busy street and there was a lot of traffic noise. My priority was then to have the car's air conditioner fixed. I found a car repair chain called Feu Vert which had a workshop near us. I tried to book online and they an available slot at 17.00. Unfortunately booking online was impossible as they didn't accept British registration numbers and required a Spanish tax identification number. Luckily Lani has been learning Spanish and phoned them. We got the 17.00 appointment but it cost about 50% more as we hadn't booked online. Anyway the main thing was to fix the air conditioning as it wasn't pleasant driving in the heat. 6 April 2024 - Granada, Spain We explored Granada today and visited the cathedral first. We thought it was more impressive than the guide books said. By the time we left the cathedral the tour groups were in full swing and we had to queue to get into the Capilla Real. This is the Royal Chapel built as a mausoleum for Isabel and Fernando, the Catholic monarchs who liberated the city from the Arab rulers. Their coffins are in the crypt below and their figures, carved in marble from Carrara in Italy, lie behind a beautiful grille. Sadly photos are not allowed After that we visited the: Corral del Carbon dating back to the 14th century. Palaccio de la Madraza. It is now part of Granada university but it was originally an Arab university. It has a finely decorated Mihrab (prayer niche). Monasterio de San Jerónimo, The courtyard is filled with Orange trees and there is a beautiful church. Casa de los Tiros (the House of Shots) named for the muskets projecting from it's battlements. 7 April 2024 - The Alhambra at Granada, Spain I booked our tickets for the Alhambra in January as they often sell out way in advance. You have to select a time for visiting the Nasrid Palaces which is the main attraction of the Alhambra. I got tickets for 08.30 which is when the Alhambra opens in order to be able to see the palace before it became too busy. It was therefore an early start for us as the Alhambra was 45 minutes from our apartment. We arrived early at 08.00 and were first in the queue. That worked out well as when they let us in at 08.30 the people behind us had a problem with their tickets and we had the Nasrid Palaces to ourselves. We quickly walked through the Nasrid palaces to take photos before other visitors arrived. Then we went back to the start and spent an hour slowly walking through the beautiful palace that was built in the fourteenth century. The other 2 main sites in the Alhambra are the Alcazar and the Summer Palace. We went to the Alcazar first and climbed up 2 of the towers. It wasn't busy at all but unfortunately the weather was hazy and the views were spoiled. The Alhambra is a large site and it took about 15 minutes to walk to the Summer Palace. We stopped off at a church and hammam on the way. We found the summer palace to be a bit disappointing. The gardens weren't that impressive and nothing like the magnificent gardens at Cordoba's Alcazar. The buildings that we were allowed into weren't special and the views were spoiled by the haze. We spent 3.25 hours walking around the Alhambra and afterwards walked down to the historic centre of Granada. The owner of our apartment had recommend the Los Manueles restaurant for lunch. When we arrived at 12.00 the restaurant was empty but within half an hour it was completely full. It was an authentic Spanish restaurant mainly visited by Spaniards. The food was good and not expensive. In the afternoon we walked up to the Albaicin district of Granada. There is a mirador outside San Nicolas church with views over to the Alhambra. As it was Sunday it was busy and some guys were playing traditional Spanish music and a few girls were dancing to it. There was a nice atmosphere. 8 April 2024 - Granada, Spain This was our third full day in Granada and we took it easy in the morning. In the early afternoon we walked to El Ladrillo 11, a restaurant in the Albaicin neighbourhood, for a late lunch. We arrived at 14.30 and there were only 2 other people there. We were surprised that by 15.00 the restaurant was almost full. The restaurant had been recommended by the owner of our apartment and the food was very good. As often happens a street guitarist came and played a few traditional songs. After lunch we continued walking around the pretty streets of the hilly Albaicin area of Granada and then continued on to the nearby Sacromonte district. The Sacromonte area is also on a hill and is known for its cave dwellings but we didn't see any. There was a museum with several of these cave dwellings but we weren't interested in visiting a touristy version. Another attraction of Sacromento are the excellent views of the Alhambra. Yesterday our views were spoiled by haze but the weather was much clearer today. We could clearly see the snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains. We finished by walking back along the pretty Rio Darro to the centre of Granada. Links to other blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, U K

The Caprice in Comillas Contents 6 June 2024 - Muxia to Suances, Spain 7 June 2024 - Day Trip to Santillana del Mar 8 June 2024 - Day Trip to Comillas 9 June 2024 - Suances 10 & 11 June 2024 - Santander & Plymouth Links to other Blogs about our Road Trip 6 June 2024 - Drive from Muxia to Suances, Spain We were sad to leave Muxia this morning as it is a small friendly town with a relaxed atmosphere. We drove 5.5 hours eastwards from Muxia in Galacia to Suances in Cantabria. Suances is only a half an hour drive from Santander where we will be taking the ferry back to Plymouth. After driving for about two hours we encountered some very thick fog. The visibility was very poor and we followed a truck until the fog cleared after about 10 kilometres. That area must be prone to fog as they had special lights on both sides of the carriageway to guide us. The weather was pretty miserable the whole journey and clouds blocked the mountain scenery. Unfortunately the weather is meant to be bad until we return to the UK in 4 day's time. We were delighted with our very modern and bright 3 bedroom penthouse apartment in Suances. We had booked it through Booking.com for Eur 104 per night which was an absolute bargain for such a fantastic apartment. It was the best accommodation of our entire 10 week trip and I highly recommend it. Suances is a small town split into the upper town, where we're staying, and the lower beach area. Our apartment was in the centre of the upper town and after settling in we walked around Suances and did some grocery shopping. 7 June 2024 - Day Trip to Santillana del Mar We were pleased to wake up to a brighter day than had been forecast. We took advantage of it and visited Santillana del Mar which is only a 15 minute drive from Suances. Parking Publico is a very convenient car park by the tourist office and public toilets. There are ticket machines but there were signs stating it was free. Santillana del Mar is an exceptionally well preserved medieval town unspoiled by modern development. Unfortunately it can often be spoiled by a multitude of tourists as it is very popular with Spanish visitors. Santillana del Mar wasn't very busy when we visited though. Santillana del Mar has 2 main pedestrianised cobbled streets with well preserved medieval buildings. Unfortunately most of them are now shops and restaurants for tourists. The main square is the Plaza Mayor. The main sight to visit in Santillana del Mar is the Romanesque Collegiate church of Santa Juliana. It started as a monastery in the mid 12th century. A group of monks built it in an effort to contribute to the repopulation of the area and to house the relics of the martyr Juliana. It is worth paying the small fee to enter it. We had lunch in Santillana del Mar and then returned to our fantastic apartment. 8 June 2024 - Day Trip to Comillas In the morning we drove to Suance's lighthouse and walked on the headland around it. There were good views of the beaches at Suances. Unfortunately it was a gloomy and breezy morning but at least it was dry! We then drove for 30 minutes to the town of Comillas. We tried to park in the very central Aparcamiento Comillas but it isn't a large car park and was full. Parking is free and there are public toilets there. We ended up parking in the free Parking Municipal del Polideportivo which has plenty of spaces but it isn't quite as central. The tourist office provided us with a useful map of Comillas with information on all the historic buildings that can be visited. We saw the most important buildings in Comillas which were: The Palacio de Sobrellano. It was built as a summer palace in 1888 by the First Marquis of Comillas and was the first building in Spain to use electric light. The First Marquis fled to Cuba as a 14 year old and made his fortune there before returning to Spain. It is free to wander around the gardens which is what we did. The impressive University Pontificia de Comillas was founded in 1890 and is a private university. We only viewed it from the gardens of the Palacio de Sobrellano. The university was originally created as a seminary, sponsored by the First Marquis of Comillas. It is one of the most prestigious universities in Spain. The Caprice which was designed by Gaudi the famous Spanish architect. We decided not to pay to see the interior. El Duque is a 19th century English style building. It was closed for renovations. Near to El Duque is a statue of the First Marquis which was erected as homage to him for the great benefit he brought to Comillas. From the statue of the First Marquis we could see an impressive cemetery that is in the ruins of a gothic church overlooking the sea. The Iglesia de San Christobal dates back to 1617 and is next to the Corro Campios which is the main square in Comillas. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours wandering around Comillas and then returned to our apartment. 9 June 2024 - Suances We woke up to rain so we had a quiet morning in the apartment. In the afternoon the rain stopped for a while and we went for a walk along the seafront below Suances. We didn't do very much today but after 10 weeks of travelling we were happy to relax in our comfortable apartment. 10 & 11 June 2024 - Drive to Santander & Ferry to Plymouth We had to check out of the apartment at 11.00 and then drove 30 minutes to the ferry terminal in Santander. The ferry was only sailing to Plymouth at 18.30 but they checked us in and we were allowed to leave the car at the terminal while we walked around Santander. We were pleasantly surprised with Santander. A large part of it was destroyed by fire in 1941 and we expected a lot of ugly modern buildings. However, there were a number of elegant buildings and Santander is a pleasant town in a beautiful setting. As we walked along the waterfront we saw our ferry arrive so we walked back to our car. There is a shop at the port which sells booze and I bought 12 bottles of wine for about Eur 10 a bottle. Two of the assistants informed me that one of the wines I bought was served in the Vatican. A good sales pitch! The ferry sailed on time from Santanderand it was much fuller than when we came over to Spain in April. We had our own cabin again and it was a pleasant crossing as the sea wasn't rough. We arrived on time but for some reason they left us stuck in our cars for an hour before we could disembark. It has been a very good 10 week road trip. Overall we were very lucky with the weather as it wasn't too hot, cold or wet. Our 10 year old car behaved very well on the 5,500 miles trip and the only issue was that the air con needed re-gassing. Links to other Blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Day Hikes on Spain's Lighthouse Way

View on the Lighthouse Way Trek Contents 30 May 2024 - Stage 6 of the Lighthouse Way 31 May 2024 - Stage 8 of the Lighthouse Way 1 June 2024 - Day Trip to A Coruña 2 June 2024 - Stage 5 of the Lighthouse Way 3 June 2024 - Muxia & outing to Muros 4 June 2024 - Stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way 5 June 2024 - Stage 4 of the Lighthouse Way Links to other Blogs about our Road Trip 30 May 2024 - Stage 6 of the Lighthouse Way Trek It was a short 2 hour drive northwards from Pontevedra to Muxia. When we arrived at midday it was only 17 degrees centigrade and there was a very strong and chilly wind. We had enjoyed temperatures of 27 degrees centigrade in Pontevedra yesterday. We rented a 3 bedroom apartment in Muxia through Booking.com for only Eur 474 for a week. We have a bit of a sea view and we were very pleased with the apartment. The first thing I did was put on the heating as Muxia was so cold! We were spending a week in Muxia to do several sections of the 8 day Lighthouse Way trek as day hikes. This afternoon we wanted to do part of stage 6 of the Lighthouse Way trek. It is the longest section of the trek and it takes about 10 hours. We certainly didn't have time to do the whole stage! Much of stage 6 of the Lighthouse Way trek is along main roads and through forests and towns which doesn't appeal to us. We like paths through open countryside so we can enjoy views. We therefore decided to do the last part of stage 6 which runs much closer to the sea than the first part. We needed to take a taxi to Leis beach and then walk about 10 kilometres back to Muxia. There are about 7 taxi drivers in Muxia and one of them is Mathew Smith who is a Brit living in Muxia. I gave Mathew a call as we were apprehensive about communicating with Spanish taxi drivers. He agreed to pick us up in the afternoon. The weather improved in the afternoon, although it was windy, and it was a very pleasant 2.5 hour walk. It did involve some walking along roads and forests. However, the roads were very quiet rural roads and the forests were natural rather than plantations. In the evening we had a meal at Bar O Porto on Muxia's seafront. Mathew had recommended it but had warned us that the young waitress rarely smiled. Mathew was right as the food was good and the waitress didn't smile! See my blog Day Hikes on the Lighthouse Way  for information on planning hikes on the Lighthouse Way. 31 May 2024 - Stage 8 of the Lighthouse Way Trek Last night I called Mathew to arrange for him to take us to Lires Beach in the morning and collect us from Finisterre in the late afternoon. This would enable us to do a lot of stage 8 of the Lighthouse Way trek. The entire stage 8 of the Lighthouse Way trek is 27 kilometres long and takes about 9 hours. We planned to do 17 kilometres of it. This meant cutting out the road section from Nemina to Lires Beach at the start and an uphill section to Finisterre lighthouse at the end. The coastal scenery was fantastic but it was a hard 6 hour hike with several hills to walk up and down. Fortunately the strong wind was behind us and the weather was sunny and warm. We were pleased that we hadn't attempted to do the complete section. The path was very quiet and we only passed one couple, and a woman walking on her own, coming the other way. That's the way I like it! Just before we reached Finisterre I called Mathew and he came to collect us. It cost Eur 57 for the taxi there and back which was worth it, enabling us to do a beautiful hike that wasn't excessively long. See my blog Day Hikes on the Lighthouse Way for information on planning hikes on the Lighthouse Way. 1 June 2024 - Day Trip to A Coruña The sunny and dry weather continued today and the weather forecast is good for our entire week in Muxia. If so we are really lucky as Galicia isn't renowned for good weather! We took a break from hiking today and drove one hour north to the large town of A Coruna to do some sightseeing. We parked at Aparcadoiro Palexco which has plenty of large parking spaces, toilets and is very close to A Coruna's historic centre. We had lunch and then spent an hour wandering around A Coruna's old town. It is very pleasant but there isn't an awful lot to see. Afterwards we drove over to the nearby Torre de Hercules. This is a Roman Lighthouse dating from the second century which was restored and re-clad in the late 18th century. It was closed when we got there but it is in a very nice position and there are good views from the base. There is a free car park at the Torre de Hercules and also free parking on the street. 2 June 2024 - Stage 5 of the Lighthouse Way Trek Mathew drove us to Arou in the morning so we could walk to Camarinas on stage 5 of the Lighthouse Way trek. This is the most scenic section of the 8 day trek. It is 24 kilometres long and has had the most shipwrecks. It is known as the Coast of Death (Costa de Al Muerta). We shortened the hike a bit by asking Mathew to drop us off at Lobeiras viewpoint which is 1.7 kilometres past Arou. It was then a beautiful 6 kilometre walk to the English Cemetery where 142 of the bodies recovered from the HMS Serpent were buried. The cemetery also commemorates the death of sailors from 2 other British vessels that ran aground in the 19th century. HMS Serpent reached this stretch of coast in November 1890 2 days after leaving Plymouth. It was carrying 176 crew members. Sadly the ship ran aground in thick fog and only 3 crew members survived. Shortly after the English cemetery the coastal path changed to a little used coastal road leading to the Vilan lighthouse. We followed it most of the way but cut out the final steep climb up to the lighthouse. By now the wind was ferocious and it would have been even worse at the lighthouse. We had intended to phone Mathew to have him pick us up from Lago Beach which is 2.5 kilometres before Camarinas. However, the walk took less time than we had anticipated and Mathew couldn't collect us before 16.30 as he was hosting a lunch party. We therefore walked to Camarinas and called him from there. The hike took about 6 hours in total and it wasn't too tiring as there weren't many hills. In the evening we tried another restaurant that Mathew had recommended. It is called the A Marina and is very popular. We had a good seafood dinner and the staff were very pleasant and smiled! See my blog Day Hikes on the Lighthouse Way  for information on planning hikes on the Lighthouse Way. 3 June 2024 - Muxia & outing to Muros The wind was much calmer so we explored Muxia in the morning. Muxia is an attractive small town on a headland and we really liked it. We walked to the end of the headland where there is a church and lighthouse. Just above the church there is a granite sculpture called A Ferida (The Wound). The sculpture was donated as a tribute to the volunteers who helped the Galician people when the Prestige Oil spill occurred in 2002. The MV Prestige was carrying 77,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil in a heavy storm when it sank and spilled an estimated 60,000 tonnes of oil. In the afternoon we drove south along the coast from Muxia to the small town of Muros. The drive wasn't as scenic as I hoped as we didn't have many views of the coast. It was very hot in Muros and if we had brought our swimming gear we would have gone to the beach. Instead we walked around Muros's small historic centre in the heat. The only sight is really the Church of Santa Maria which has a wooden ceiling is in the shape of an inverted ship's keel. 4 June 2024 - Stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way Trek Mathew drove us to the tiny coastal settlement of Talon near Nemina Beach so we could walk to Muxia on stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way trek. The Lighthouse Way trek goes from the north to the south but we reversed the direction of this stage so we could finish the walk at our apartment. There had been a very strong northerly wind for several days. As we hadn't wanted to walk into the wind we left this stage until the wind had calmed down. Stage 7 of the Lighthouse Way trek is 25.3 kilometres long and is meant to take about 9.25 hours. It involves ascending 750 metres in one section plus other hills. I decided to make it more enjoyable by taking a few short cuts where possible. This reduced the distance by about 8 kilometres. It turned out to be our least favourite section of the Lighthouse Way trek as there weren't good views of the coast for half the walk. Also there were boggy sections and a lot of the walk was on overgrown paths with gorse and brambles scratching us. On the way we met a young British guy walking towards us. He warned us that his wife had been attacked by a dog whilst taking a short cut to avoid walking around a headland. His trek had been organised by an agency and they had arranged for a taxi to take his wife to a doctor. We were very surprised that he hadn't gone with her! We are very nervous of dogs so we abandoned our plan to bypass the headland as the dog was running wild on the road. We could hear it barking in the distance. The scenery on the headland was beautiful so it was a good decision. The hike took us about 7.25 hours and we were very tired. It was a hot day and there was little wind. Sometimes the wind is beneficial! See my blog Day Hikes on the Lighthouse Way  for information on planning hikes on the Lighthouse Way. 5 June 2024 - Stage 4 of the Lighthouse Way Trek Fog was forecast f or today. It was fo ggy when we woke up but fortunately it soon cleared. I was planning to drive 23 kilometres to Arou, take a local taxi to Laxe and then walk back to Arou on stage 4 of the Lighthouse Way trek. However, there are very few taxi drivers in Laxe and Arou and we didn't relish communicating with them in Spanish. I therefore called Mathew again and arranged for Lani to travel in his car to Arou and for me to follow him in our car. Due to the local law Lani had to be in the taxi. I then parked our car in a free car park in Arou and Mathew drove both of us to Praia dos Cristais near Laxe. It turns out that it was Matthew who had taken the woman to the doctor yesterday. He told us that the dog was indeed very aggressive and the wife was badly shaken up by it all. He also found it bizarre the husband didn't stay with her! This was the last time we would be using Mathew and we were sad to say goodbye. He was very good company and very knowledgeable and informative. We had spent several hours chatting to him over the last week. If you go to Muxia I highly recommend him. His telephone number is 34 683 36 24 65. Stage 4 is the easiest section of the Lighthouse Way trek as it is only 18 kilometres long and there is very little elevation. We cut out the first 2.8 kilometres of the hike and in total the hike took us 5.25 hours. It was a much more scenic hike than yesterday's hike. The terrain was also easier except near the end when the trail goes through an interesting boulder field. See my blog Day Hikes on the Lighthouse Way  for information on planning hikes on the Lighthouse Way. Links to other Blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Day Hikes on the Lighthouse Way Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

Porto Contents 23 May 2024 - Porto 24 May 2024 - Porto 25 May 2024 - Porto 26 May 2024 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain 27 May 2024 - Pontevedra 28 May 2024 - 28 May 2024 - Day Trip to Santiago de Compostela 29 May 2024 - Day Trip to Vigo Links to Other Blogs on our Road Trip 23 May 2024 - Porto We took an Uber into Porto today and it cost Eur 7, which isn't much more than 2 tickets on the metro would have cost. We first visited the 12th century Porto Cathedral which the Rough Guide said wasn't very special. The entry fee was Eur 5 and it was worth it. There was a lot to see and there were good views from the tower. Our next stop was the Sao Bento train station! It is a tourist attraction as it has historic scenes made from 22,000 blue ceramic tiles. We had lunch at Cafe da Gina on the upper floor of the Mercado de Bolhao. The food was excellent and it was so much cheaper than restaurants in tourist areas. They have very good reviews on Tripadvisor . We walked over to Porto city hall and about 20 people were patiently waiting for their turn to pose in front of the Porto sign! The avenue leading down from the City hall was lined with interesting buildings. We paid a Eur 5 entrance fee to visit the interesting church of Carmo. It was built for monks and is very ornate. The entrance fee also covered the Carmelita nunnery which is now a museum. The Church and the Nunnery are separated by probably the narrowest house in Portugal, barely 1 metre wide. This house was built as churches couldn't share the same wall. As we had plenty more time in Porto we called it a day and took an Uber back to our apartment. We were impressed with Porto and preferred it to Lisbon. 24 May 2024 - Porto We took an Uber from our apartment to the beach area of Porto. From there we walked for about 1.5 hours to the centre of Porto along the Atlantic coast and the Douro river. It was a sunny day but there were only a few people on the beaches. We had a quick lunch and then continued walking along the river to the old Ribiera area on the waterfront of Porto. It was very lively and it is one of the most popular areas of Porto for visitors. We walked across the lower deck of the Ponte Luiz I bridge to the south side of the Douro which is known as Gaia. It is another busy and popular water front area as there are excellent views across the river to the historic centre of Porto. There is a cable car (Teleférico) which goes along Gaia's waterfront up to the upper deck of the Pont Luiz 1 bridge. We took the cable car despite the Eur 7 charge being a bit expensive for a 5 minute ride. 25 May 2024 - Porto We had a more relaxed day today and took an Uber to the Crystal Palace gardens in Porto. Porto's Crystal Palace was modelled on London's Crystal Palace but the original structure has been replaced by a modern dome shaped building. It is possible to walk on top of the dome but it costs an extortionate Eur 10. The Crystal Palace gardens are worth seeing. The views over the city and the river are the best feature. There were lots of peacocks, peahens and cockerels strutting their stuff. We walked into the historic centre of Porto from the Crystal Palace gardens and wandered around. A couple of days ago we had come across a long queue of people waiting to get into the Livraria Lello bookstore. We didn't know why at the time but this bookstore is said to have inspired JK Rowling when she lived in Porto before writing Harry Potter. Apparently she frequented the bookstore. Lonely Planet ranks it as the world's third most beautiful bookstore. I have seen photos of the Livraria Lello  bookstore and it is impressive. However, I wouldn't go to the hassle of buying an online ticket for Eur 8 and queuing to enter a bookstore crowded with Harry Potter fans. I'm not a fan! We later passed the Majestic Cafe which also had queues to enter. It turns out that it was a popular hangout for JK Rowling. 26 May 2024 - Drive from Porto to Pontevedra, Spain We drove 170 kilometres from Porto to Pontevedra in Spain. We visited Ponte de Lima and Valencia do Minho on the way to Pontevedra. Both towns were on our route and were worth visiting according to the Rough Guide book. We also couldn't check into our next apartment in Pontevedra until 17.00 and therefore needed something to fill in the time! Ponte de Lima is one of the oldest towns in Portugal and is on the River Lima. Ponte de Lima is an attractive town but doesn't have any real sights. There was plenty of safe and free parking at the " Parque Estacionamento - Expolima ". It was a Sunday and Ponte de Lima's centre was busy with Portuguese visitors and locals strolling around. We walked over the old 14th century bridge to the Parque do Arnada and then strolled around the town centre and the riverside. After lunch at Ponte de Lima we drove the short distance to Valenca do Minho. Its old town is within 13th century fortifications. We drove through several narrow gateways to park inside the walls at " Parking Fortaleza ". It wasn't free but it seemed secure which was important as we had our luggage in the car. The Rough Guide made out that Valenca do Minh would be swarming with tourists and being a Sunday I feared the worst. Fortunately there weren't many visitors and we spent a pleasant hour wandering around Valenca do Minh's historic centre. We reached Pontevedra at 17.00 and checked into a very modern 1 bedroom apartment that we had booked through Booking.com for Eur 71 per night. We will be staying 4 nights in Pontevedra. 27 May 2024 - Pontevedra The weather in Galacia isn't usually good but we woke to sun and the weather forecast is good for the next week. It was only a 10 minute walk along the river from our apartment to the historic centre of Pontevedra. It was surprisingly quiet in Pontevedra but that may have been because it was a Monday morning. The centre of Pontevedra is a very pleasant place to wander around but there aren't many sights. We visited t he convent of San Francisco, which was founded by St Frances of Asissi, and entry was free. We also visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Mayor, a 16th century Roman Catholic church. The interior was plain but beautiful. It was free to enter the church but we paid Eur 1 to climb up the bell tower We entered the Church of the Pilgrim (Igreja de la Peregrina) and again entry was free. The church's scallop shell shape is thought to indicate that it was intended for use by the pilgrims on the road to Santiago. We had problems finding any restaurants open for lunch and it seems that Mondays are a very quiet day. We had lunch at an Indian restaurant as we couldn't find any other open restaurants. However, on the way back to our apartment we saw that there were 2 or 3 restaurants open in the Plaza da Lena. We had spent about 4 hours walking around the centre of Pontevedra and had seen everything there was to see. 28 May 2024 - Day Trip to Santiago de Compostela We drove 40 minutes from Pontevedra to Santiago de Compostela today. I am very conscious that car parking in Spain can be very difficult. I therefore always research car parking beforehand and had found 2 car parks that were near the centre and had good reviews. We tried the cheaper " Parking Municipa Belvis " first but unfortunately it was full and after circling around a few times we gave up. Luckily there was plenty of space at the " Continental Aparcadoiro " and the parking spaces were reasonably wide. It didn't break the bank as 4 hours cost about Eur 8. The main site in Santiago de Compostela is the cathedral and we headed straight there. Four squares surround the cathedral and each square provides a different perspective of the cathedral. Obradoiro square is the largest of the four squares surrounding the cathedral. The Hostel of the Catholic Monarchs adjoins the square. It was founded in 1499 to house pilgrims and is now a Parador. Raxoi Palace is also on the square and was built in 1766. It was originally used as a seminary and is now the City Hall. The smallest of the 4 squares is Platerías Plaza which has the baroque Casa Cabildo, which was built in the 18th century. In the centre of the square is the Fountain of Horses. The Plaza da Quintana is flanked by the Monastery of San Martino. It was founded in the 10th century to house monks overseeing the relics of Santiago. It is the second largest monastery in Spain covering 20,000 square metres. Visitors aren't allowed to enter. We entered the cathedral to which entry is free. It was full of pilgrims, people who have hiked the Camino and other visitors. There was a long queue to see the bones of St James in the crypt and to go behind the high alter. We didn't do this as the queue was too long. We had lunch at the Mercado de Abastos as its sea food restaurants have a good reputation. Lani ordered octopus for Eur 20 and was given a whole one which was a very large portion. I ordered a dish of scallops costing Eur 20 and got ten very small ones! As I was still hungry and I ordered a octopus for myself! 29 May 2024 - Day Trip to Vigo We drove along the coast to Donon which is south west of Pontevedra. Most of the coast around Pontevedra has been spoiled by development. However, there is very little development on the very scenic headland at Donon. There was free parking on the coast at Donon and signs showing walks in the area. We decided to walk south to the two lighthouses near Praia de Melide. We initially walked south along a narrow road and after ten minutes turned off onto the coastal path. There was a sign saying "Senda da Costeira" at the turn off. The path went all the way to the lighthouses and it took about an hour. It was a very scenic walk and there are two nice beaches just past the light houses. On the way back we took a quicker dirt track that didn't follow the coast and joined up with the road near the car park. The signboards at the car park showed that there was another interesting coastal walk northwards to an iron age fort. Unfortunately we didn't have time to do it. We then drove to nearby Cangas. We parked the car and took a 20 minute passenger ferry ride across the estuary to Vigo. It was a very modern ferry which runs every half an hour and only costs Eur 2.80 each way There isn't that much to see in Vigo. We had lunch first and then wandered around the older part of Vigo. We were intrigued that there are a series of covered escalators from the lower part of Vigo to the upper town. Links to other Blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

Sintra, Portugal Contents 16 May 2024 - Seville to Caceres 17 May 2024 - Caceres & Trujillo 18 May 2024 - Caceres to Lisbon 19 May 2024 - Lisbon 20 May 2024 - Lisbon 21 May 2024 - Lisbon 22 May 2024 - Lisbon to Porto Links to other Blogs about our Road Trip 16 May 2024 - Drive from Seville to Caceres It was a lovely sunny morning when we left Seville but the temperature dropped to 14 degrees centigrade as we drove north towards Cáceres. It was a big change from the 31 centigrade that greeted us on Sunday when we arrived in Seville! We stopped off at Merida to visit the Roman Colony that Augustus founded in 25 BC to resettle soldiers who had been honourably discharged from the Roman Army. The main sites at Merida are a Roman amphitheatre and a very impressive Roman theatre. We had bought a combined entry ticket for Eur 8 that covered the theatre, amphitheatre and a few other Roman sites at Merida. The Roman House of Anfiteatro was included in the ticket and we visited it as it was nearby The Roman house was thought to belong to an important family and there were some impressive mosaics. The most famous ones are a mosaic showing three men treading grapes and a mosaic of fish, a symbol of good luck for the house. We drove on to Cáceres. After checking in to the excellent Barceló Cáceres V Centenario hotel we had a pleasant walk around the historic centre of Cáceres. It was founded by the ancient Romans. Cáceres is encircled by 12th century Moorish walls and has a mix of Gothic and Renaissance architecture with cobbled streets. 17 May 2024 - Trujillo We drove 30 minutes from Caceres to visit nearby Trujillo which is the birthplace of Francisco Pizarro who conquered the Inca empire. Trujillo is an unspoilt small historic town with numerous attractive old stone buildings. We parked in an underground car park that had good parking spaces and was cheap. We expected there would be a lot of other visitors at Trujillo but there were very few and fortunately only one group. We spent a very pleasant morning wandering around Trujillo and then drove to Caceres for lunch. We preferred Trujillo to Caceres and it was easier to find our way. 18 May 2024 - Drive from Caceres to Lisbon We drove from Caceres to Lisbon today. We had driven in Spain for 3.5 weeks without paying a single toll for using their good highways. Unfortunately Portugal charges for the use of their highways and it cost Eur 18 to drive 190 kilometres from the border with Spain to Lisbon. We arrived at our apartment in the outskirts of Lisbon at 15.00. That was the earliest we could check in and we were met by the very friendly owner of the apartment. He spent an hour chatting to us and explaining everything about the apartment. We were very happy with the one bedroom apartment that we had booked through Booking.com for Eur 123 per night. It is only a minute's walk away from the metro station and then a 15 minute ride to Lisbon's historic centre. As we had 4 nights in Lisbon we decided not to go into the centre until tomorrow. We did some shopping at the nearby supermarket and bought some delicious chicken from a restaurant for dinner. 19 May 2024 - Lisbon We took the Metro into the centre of Lisbon. We started by walking around Lisbon's main downtown area which is known as the Baixia. This area was built in grid formation after the earthquake in 1755. First we visited Rossio which is one of three squares forming a triangle around the old Baixa area. From there we walked to Arco da Rúa Augusta which is a huge arch adorned with statues of historical figures and acts as a gateway to Lisbon. It was built to celebrate Lisbon's reconstruction after the earthquake. There are hills on both the western and eastern sides of the Baixia. The area on the eastern side is known as the Alfama and we walked up to it after seeing the Baixia area. It was a Sunday and there were quite a number of Portuguese and foreign tourists. The Castle is the top tourist attraction in the Alfama and when we reached the castle there was a long line up at the ticket office. Tickets cost a whopping Eur 15 and we decided not to enter! There isn't much to see at the castle anyway and it is mainly visited for the views of Lisbon and to wander around the grounds. We went back to Baixia for lunch. As we were walking I felt someone touch my back pack and immediately turned around. There were two guys behind me and I think they had tried to open the top zipper as I found it partially open. Luckily my back pack is very old and the zip often jams. We had lunch at a restaurant in one of the more touristy streets in Lisbon. When I asked for the bill they asked me to go inside to pay. They then told me that their credit card machine wasn't working and I had to pay cash. Instead of giving me a printed bill I was shown the bill on a mobile phone. The amount was much more than I expected. Upon close examination it was because they charged an extra Eur 3 for each of our main courses and had also added an Eur 5 service charge. I got them to reduce the bill by Eur 11 for these items. I am sure they tried to scam us and the waiter deliberately didn't want us to pay by credit card so he could keep the amount over charged. This is the first time we have had such an issue on our road trip. 20 May 2024 - Lisbon We took the metro into Lisbon and explored the Biarro Alto area. We wanted to go up the hill on the Elevador de Bica, a funicular railway built in 1892, but it wasn't working so we walked instead. We then wanted to visit the Church of Sao Roque but that was closed! The Convent and Archaeological museum do Carmo was open! It was once Lisbon's greatest church and was built in the 14th century. It was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1755 and never rebuilt. Among the items displayed in the museum were an Egyptian sarcophagus dating back to 3rd century BC and 2 Peruvian mummies. Afterwards we took a 40 minute train ride along the coast to Cascais where we had a good lunch of seafood. We walked back to Estoril along the esplanade before catching the train back to Lisbon. 21 May 2024 - Sintra We went on a day trip from Lisbon to Sintra today. We would have driven the half an hour there but I had read on the internet that cars often get broken into in Sintra. I thought our UK registered car would be particularly vulnerable. We therefore went by train and it took about an hour. Sintra has Unesco World Heritage status and it's famous for its Moorish Castle, palaces and country estates. I had pre-booked tickets on the internet for two of the palaces and the castle. We first visited the Palacio Nacional which is in the actual town of Sintra. The palace dates back to the 14th century and has some very impressive rooms. The exterior is less impressive except for the 2 chimneys that provided ventilation for the kitchen. It wasn't too busy but we did keep bumping into 2 noisy groups. The next 2 sites were high up on a hill above Sintra so we had lunch in Sintra before visiting them. We could have taken a bus up the hill but it is slow and expensive. We also could have walked up but it would have been a 40 minute uphill slog with hardly any views. We ended up taking a taxi for only Eur 7 more than the bus would have cost. We had bought tickets for the gardens and terraces of the Palacio de Pena which was built in the 1840's. We didn't buy tickets for the interior as Tripadvisor reviews stated it was very crowded and there was little to see. The Palacio de Pena looks as if it should be in a Disney Park. It is the top attraction in Sintra and there were crowds of tourists there. The park was disappointing as it consisted of woodland. However, the views of the Palace and the views from the wrap around terraces made the visit worthwhile. Afterwards we walked 20 minutes down to the Castelo dos Mouros ( Castle of the Moors). It was built in the 9th century and captured from the Moors in 1147. It was much quieter than Pena Palace and we walked along, and up, the ramparts to 2 towers. We could have also visited the Quinta da Regaleira estate, the Monserrate Palace and the Convento dos Capuchos in Sintra. However, we had seen enough for one day. We walked half an hour down to Sintra and took the train back to Lisbon. 22 May 2024 - Drive from Lisbon to Porto We drove 3.5 hours from Lisbon to Porto and paid Eur 23 in toll fees. It seemed very expensive after driving on the free highways in Spain. Petrol also costs more in Portugal than in Spain and the UK. We had booked a 3 bedroom apartment in the suburbs of Porto for Eur 102 through Booking.com . We were met by the owner who was was very helpful. He spent an hour going through the apartment with us and telling us what to see in Porto. We decided to leave visiting the historic centre of Porto until tomorrow. Links to my Blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

The fantastic scenery near Telouet Contents 24 April 2024 - Marrakesh 25 April 2024 - Marrakesh 26 April 2024 - Marrakesh to Ait Benhaddou 27 April 2024 - Ait Benhaddou to Zagora 28 April 2024 - Zagora to Skoura 29 April 2024 - Skoura to Todra Gorge 30 April 2024 - Todra Gorge Links to other blogs about our Road Trip 24 April 2024 - Marrakesh We had a quiet morning doing laundry and other chores after our long drive from Taradouant yesterday. We took a taxi into the old part of Marrakesh at around 13.00. It felt pretty hot and the driver thought it was 35 degrees centigrade! We explored Marrakesh's souks for a while. The souks were a maze of numerous alleys lined with stalls selling all sorts of things: spices, pottery, carved wooden objects, leather bags and babouches (traditional Moroccan slippers), carpets, fabrics, clothes, dried fruits, antiques etc. We wanted to find specific souks that specialised in items like leather, metal, dyed wool etc. However, it was difficult locating them and we ended up just wandering around. It is quite possible that these specialised souks no longer exist. We then went to the Almoravid Dome which was built in 1106 and it is thought to be the oldest building in Marrakesh. It was part of a richly decorated mosque that was destroyed in 1156 by the Almohad dynasty. However, we didn't enter as the fee was excessive. Our next stop was the Ben Yousef Medersa, one of the oldest and largest Islamic schools founded in the 14th century. It's a beautiful building and probably the best sight in Marrakesh. We wanted to see the Mouassine Fountain which dates back to the 16th century . Sadly it was badly affected by the earthquake in late 2023 and was closed. The surrounding buildings have been supported by scaffolding to prevent them from collapsing. It was hot and tiring walking around Marrakesh so we stopped for a drink at a roof top cafe. Afterwards we went to the Djemaa el-Fna square but it was too hot and the evening street entertainment hadn't started. We had a meal at one of the roof top restaurants overlooking the Djemaa el-Fna square. The evening entertainment still hadn't commenced by 18.30. We therefore walked over to the nearby Koutoubia mosque that dates back to the 12th century. Non moslems can't enter so we just walked around the exterior. At dusk we returned to the Djemaa el-Fna square. It was fun walking around the numerous fruit juice and food stalls. All the vendors were very friendly and tried to entice us to buy from them. However, we had already eaten. There was some very limited entertainment in the Djemaa el-Fna square. It was mainly for Moroccans and we were expecting a lot more and a lot better. We will return a bit later tomorrow evening to see if it improves. 25 April 2024 - Marrakesh We spent most of the day relaxing in the apartment and then took a taxi into the centre of Marrakesh in the late afternoon. We visited the Jewish Mellah district. T he majority of the Jewish population left when the French pulled out of Morocco in the 1950's and there are no longer any Jews living there. Moroccans took over their houses but recently the offspring of the Jews who vacated the houses have returned and are trying to reclaim them. Afterwards we wandered around Marrakesh's souks and had dinner at a roof top restaurant. Before heading back to the apartment we went to Djemaa el-Fna square to see if it was any more entertaining than yesterday. It was absolutely buzzing in Djemaa el-Fna square at 22.00 but all the entertainment was for Moroccans like yesterday. There were many groups of men, surrounded by spectators, playing their music loudly. There were also snake charmers and storytellers. I don't think that Djemaa el-Fna square is of much interest for foreigners. 26 April 2024 - Drive from Marrakesh to Ait Benhaddou We drove south from Marrakesh over the 2,260 metre high Tizi n Tichka mountain pass. Google maps said it would take about 3.5 hours but it took 6 hours even though the road was very good. The scenery was very beautiful, particularly on the section of the road via Telouet, and we frequently stopped to take photos. We stopped off to see an old Kasbah at Telouet. Unfortunately it was affected by the earthquake and has been closed. We arrived in Ait Ben Haddou at 17.00 and then walked up to the top of the hill to explore the Kasbah and the fortified village. The buildings are made of mud and straw. It is now very commercialised and there were quite a few other independent tourists there. Luckily there were no tour groups but we were told that there are plenty during the day! 27 April 2024 - Drive from Ait Benhaddou to Zagora We drove south from Ait Benhaddou to Zagora today. It is a very scenic route along the Draa river valley with views of the Atlas mountains, oases and old kasbahs. The mountain scenery on the road north of the town of Agdz was very impressive. The Draa River is Morocco's longest river at 1,100 kilometres long, flowing from the High Atlas Mountains to the Atlantic. Zagora is in the Draa River Valley which is described as being green and lush. Sadly Morocco has been struggling with drought conditions the past few years and many of the palm trees were turning brown. We saw the impressive Kasbah Tifoultoute soon after leaving Ouarzazate. It appeared to be a hotel and we didn't visit it. After passing the town of Agdz we stopped at two Kasbah's. The first one was Kasbah Cheikh Arabi and we each paid Eur 2 to enter and look around. The second one was Kasbah Oulad Othmane and we only walked around the exterior as it was closed. We stayed in a small guest house in Zagora that had very good reviews on Booking.com . The guest house was good but the owner was a bit strange. It was the first hotel in Morocco where no one spoke English and I used my limited French. 28 April 2024 - Drive from Zagora to Skoura We drove about 30 minutes south of Zagora to the Tinfou Dunes. They are part of the Agafay Desert which borders on to the Sahara. It is popular with tourists and we were lucky to arrive 15 minutes before the day's first bus load of tourists. We then drove back towards Zagora and stopped to see the old Islamic library at Tamegroute. It has old manuscripts and books on a variety of topics apart from religion, such as poetry, science, mathematics, medicine etc. Sadly Tamegroute's library was closed as it was the weekend but we could still visit the ancient Kasbah next to it. There were several guides milling about, offering to show us around Tamegroute's Kasbah which is still lived in, the pottery making and the pottery shop. They all denied that they were guides! We walked with a "guide" around the Kasbah and followed him through dark and gloomy covered alleyways and houses to the pottery area. Tamegroute's Kasbah was very atmospheric and we enjoyed it. The pottery was also very interesting. They use the branches of the palm trees to fire up the old brick ovens. They showed us the modern metal ovens that Germany had donated. Unfortunately they aren't used as they are heated by gas which is too expensive. We walked around Tamegroute's Kasbah for over an hour with our guide and he gave us a good tour. We didn't buy any pottery at the shop but gave him Eur 5 for his efforts. It wa s probably too much as he seemed happy. We then returned northwards to Skoura along the Draa River valley we had driven down yesterday. We visited the Kasbah Amerdihl in Skoura. It was passed down to two brothers who have fallen out. They have split Kasbah Amerdihl and there are two separate entrances and 2 separate entrance fees! We were told that the right section of the Kasbah was the more interesting part and just visited that section. 29 April 2024 - Drive from Skoura to Todra Gorge We drove north-east from Skoura to Todra Gorge. On the way we visited the Valley of the Roses where 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of rose petals are harvested every spring. It took us over an hour to drive up the Valley of the Roses to the village of Bou Thrarar. The road to Bou Thrarar was tarred the entire way but was narrow. We expected to see masses of rose bushes in the Valley of Roses but they were very sparse. The roses may have been affected by the drought that has affected Morocco over the past 7 years. We have even seen dying cacti! The scenery was great. Unfortunately as we drove along the sky got darker. As we reached Bou Thrarar it started to rain and even hail at times. The temperature dropped to 10 centigrade and I was cold in my shorts! We reached our hotel at Todra Gorge at about 17.00. We were very pleased with our choice of hotel which cost Eur 67 a night through Booking.com . The hotel was only one year old and we had a very nice and spacious room overlooking the oasis and the mountains. The weather soon cleared up so we walked 15 minutes through the oasis to Todra Gorge. It was cold and there weren't many other people there. Todra gorge was very spectacular and its walls rise very steeply above it. It was windy and cold and we didn't linger. 30 April 2024 - Todra Gorge Hike & Drive to Tamattouchte We left our hotel at 09.00 to drive through Todra Gorge. It was fairly quiet with not too many cars on the road. The vendors were beginning to set up their stalls along Todra gorge. We continued driving on to the village of Tamattouchte which my 2004 Lonely Planet guidebook said was a stunning Berber village. The road was tarred but was narrow except for a section near an empty new dam. We turned around just after Tamattouchte which unfortunately is no longer a stunning village! The drive to Tamattouchte was very scenic though. We got back to Todra Gorge at 11.00 and the tour groups had arrived! Todra gorge was now full of tourists and cars. We returned to our hotel and then quickly set off for a hike up into the mountains above Todra gorge. The trail was about 12 kilometres long and we ascended about 400 metres above Todra Gorge. It took us four and a half hours with lots of stops for photos! It is the most popular trail in Todra gorge and we saw about 12 other hikers. Links to other blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

Seville's Cathedral Contents 8 May 2024 - Chefchaouen, Morocco to Cadiz, Spain 9 May 2024 - Cadiz 10 May 2024 - Cadiz 11 May 2024 - Outing to Jerez de la Frontera 12 May 2024 - Cadiz to Seville 13 May 2024 - Seville 14 May 2024 - Seville 15 May 2024 - Seville Links to other blogs about our Road Trip 8 May 2024 - Chefchaouen, Morocco to Cadiz, Spain I had a very bad night's sleep due to my cold. I didn't want to get up but we had to leave the hotel at 08.30 to ensure we reached the port of Tangier Med in time for our ferry to Spain. It was sunny when we left Chefchaouen but it was very windy and cloudy as we drove through Tetouan an hour later. The countryside was very green and we passed several dams that were fairly full. The nearby Rif mountains must provide a good rain catchment area as the southern part of Morocco is suffering from drought. The ferry sailing time was 13.30 but the ferries are often very late. We arrived at the port of Tangier Med at 11.00 and were pleased to see our vessel in the port. There were several passport, ticket and customs checks as well as the process of having the car X-rayed! We drove onto the ferry at 12.00 and they announced that the ferry would leave at 13.00, which would have been 30 minutes early! However, the ferry only departed Tangier at 14.00. This could have been because a lot of trucks were loaded onto the ferry after we had boarded. We were relieved to leave Morocco without being caught by one of the numerous police roadblocks! We are also very relieved that there were no mechanical issues with the car in Morocco. We finally reached our apartment in Cadiz at 17.45. It had been a long day and I had been very unwell. The owner of the apartment met us and directed us into the underground garage. He said it was easy to park but it wasn't! The entrance was very tight and the parking space even tighter. Unfortunately this is often the case in Spain. It was very windy in Cadiz and unfortunately it was forecast to continue for several days. 9 May 2024 - Cadiz We had a relaxing morning and did our laundry. I was feeling a lot better but still a bit tired. Unfortunately Lani had caught my cold and she didn't have a good night's sleep. At midday we drove 30 minutes to the historic centre of Cadiz. We were shocked to see 3 huge cruise ships in the port and a lot of passengers walking around. Cruise ships are another of our dislikes as it crowds out places of interest. We had a good meal at a restaurant and then walked around the coastline of the historic centre of Cadiz visiting 2 forts, 2 cathedrals and a park. By the end Lani wasn't feeling well so we walked back to the car park through Cadiz's historic centre. When we got back to the apartment I parked on the street instead of in the garage! 10 May 2024 - Cadiz Lani was feeling very unwell today so we just relaxed in the apartment. 11 May 2024 - Outing to Jerez de la Frontera Lani felt a little better today so we set off for Jerez de la Frontera which was a 30 minute drive away from our apartment. The Rough Guide Book said it was an elegant and prosperous town and famous for sherry and brandy. I researched car parks in Jerez de la Frontera before leaving as parking can be a nightmare in some Spanish towns. I found a car park in the centre ( Parking APK2 Plaza del Arenal ) that had good reviews and the parking spaces didn't seem to be too tight. It turned out to be very central, cheap and the parking spaces were okay for Spain. Jerez de la Frontera is certainly an elegant and very pleasant town. We couldn't participate in sherry tasting as I was driving and Lani was sick. The main thing to do was to visit the Alcazar (fort). It was built in the 11th century and formed part of the Jerez de la Frontera's defences. The entry price to the Alcazar was Eur 5 but as we are over 65 we only had to pay Eur 1.80! It turned out to be a real bargain as there was much more to see than we had thought. We spent more than an hour wandering around and really enjoyed our visit. Lani was still feeling ill so we had a late lunch in the Plaza del Arenal and drove back to our apartment. This cold has badly affected us for a few days but luckily it wasn't at a crucial stage of our itinerary. There is a lot more to do at our next stop in Seville and it would have been a shame not to be able to enjoy it. 12 May 2024 - Drive from Cadiz to Seville There have been high winds in Cadiz since we arrived 4 days ago but thankfully this morning the wind finally died down. Unfortunately Cadiz often has high winds between May and October and it is known as the Levante wind. We left Cadiz at 12.30 as it was only a 1 hour 40 minute drive to Seville. It was a hot day and as we drove the temperature reached 31 centigrade. It was a good highway to Seville and free like all the other highways we have so far used in Spain. We had booked a 2 bedroom apartment in Seville for 4 nights through Booking.com and it cost Eur 150 a night. It had free parking which is a big bonus in Seville. Accommodation in Seville is expensive and parking is difficult. We couldn't find a decent hotel room for less than Eur 150 a night in Seville when including parking and breakfast. It is always more of a hassle checking into an apartment than a hotel. The hassles began when the owner of the apartment in Seville wanted us to use an App to record our passport details before giving us the apartment address. We have been required to do this for some of our other bookings in Spain. Sometimes the Apps are easy to use and sometimes they aren't! This App was in Spanish and was complicated. We therefore emailed our passports to the owner and he entered the details for us. When we arrived in Seville we had to collect the apartment keys from a bar, then park the car in an underground car park and afterwards walk 5 minutes to the apartment. It was a bit complicated but it worked out alright in the end. The apartment was very nice. Lani was still feeling off from her cold and as we had 4 nights in Seville we just did some grocery shopping and relaxed for the rest of the day. 13 May 2024 - Seville There is a lot to see in Seville. The 2 main sites are Seville Cathedral and the Royal Alcazar and I had booked tickets online for both of them to save queuing for tickets. For today we had tickets for the Cathedral and its tower (La Giralda). The tickets usually cost Eur 17 but we paid Eur 11 as we got an over 65 discount. The cathedral only opens at 10.45 each morning and we had tickets for 10.50. We arrived a bit early and were dismayed to see so many tour groups in the vicinity. If you have read any of my other posts you will know that we don't like tour groups and mass tourism. Although we didn't like the sight of the tour groups the sight of the cathedral was very impressive. The construction of the cathedral commenced in 1402 and it took just over a century to complete. It was built on the huge rectangular base of an old Almohad mosque. The total area of Seville's cathedral covers 11,520 square metres, making it the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. La Giralda was originally the minaret of the mosque but it was converted into the cathedral's bell tower. The Moors wanted to destroy it before the Christians' reconquest of Seville but the Moors were threatened with death if they removed a single stone. The impressive tomb of Christopher Columbus is in the cathedral. His remains were transferred here in the early 1900's when Cuba gained independence. We spent about 2.5 hours in Seville's very impressive and opulent cathedral. Afterwards we had lunch in a nearby restaurant and then walked to the Plaza de Toros which is Seville's historic bull fighting arena dating back to the 18th century. Luckily we got a reduced rate for being over 65 as there wasn't much to see. From there we walked over to the Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold) which was built in the 13th century as a defensive lookout tower. It used to have a companion tower on the opposite bank, with a metal chain stretched between them, to prevent hostile ships from sailing upriver. 14 May 2024 - Seville In the morning we walked via the Murillo gardens to the 17th century Hospital de la Caridad. It has an excellent chapel and several paintings by famous artists. The hospital obviously didn't lack funding! Afterwards we wandered around Seville and its old Jewish area until lunch time. Seville is an exceptionally pleasant city and unfortunately many tourists like it! For lunch we had tapas at a bar called Casa Pepe Hillo which had good reviews on the internet. The food was good. For the afternoon we had tickets for the Royal Alcazar and the tickets included a guided tour of the Royal apartments. The normal cost was Eur 20 but we again benefited from being over 65 by getting a reduced rate of Eur 13.50! Our tour of the Royal Apartments was at 15.30 and we had to be there at least 15 minutes before that. They have strict security as the apartments are still used by the Royal family at times. It was only a 25 minute tour but it was very interesting. Unfortunately it was forbidden to take photos. We then continued around Seville's Royal Alcazar (the Royal Palace). It was originally built as a citadel in 10th century by the Moors. The Almohads developed it into a larger palace complex in the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1364 Pedro 1 of Spain (Pedro the Cruel) ordered the construction of a Royal Residence within the Almohad palaces. We thought that the Royal Alcazar was probably more impressive than the Alhambra in Granada. 15 May 2024 - Seville This was our last day in beautiful Seville. We walked to the Plaza de la Encarnacion where a 150 metre long by 30 metre high wooden structure was completed in 2011. It is claimed to be the world's largest timber structure and it was very impressive. It's officially called the Metropol Parasol but everyone refers to it as Las Setas (The Mushrooms). It is possible to walk on the top of it but we didn't as the admission fee was Eur 10. On the way to Las Setas we were surprised to pass the Pilate's House which hadn't been mentioned in our guide books. Tour groups were visiting it but we didn't enter as we knew nothing about it and the entry fee was Eur 10. I later researched the Pilate's House and it is a very beautiful mansion constructed in the 15th century. After seeing Las Setas we walked over to the Archivo de las Indias for which there is free admission. The Archivo de Las Indias was set up in 1785 at the request of King Charles III to keep all the documents relating to the administration of the Spanish Overseas territories. The main features of the Archivo de Las Indias are a beautiful staircase and two enormous rooms housing some 43,000 files, books and maps. After lunch we walked to the Triana area of Seville and then onto Maria Luisa Park. This is a public park that stretches along the Guadalquivir river. The impressive Plaza de España was built in the park for the Ibero-American Expo that was held in Seville in 1929. ; Links to other blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

Rialto Bridge in Venice Contents 1. Cornwall to Dover 2. Dover to Troyes, France 3. Troyes to Bern, Switzerland 4. Bern to Vicenza, Italy 5. Verona Day Trip 6. Vicenza and Padua Day Trips 7. Venice Day Trip - Day 1 8. Venice Day Trip - Day 2 9. Links to My Other Blogs 18 April 2023 - Cornwall to Dover Today is the start of our 3 month road trip to the Greek Islands. We are driving down to Greece through France, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia and Macedonia. Then we return to the UK on the coastal route through Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy and northern Europe. We will be having a lot of stop offs on the way so that we can see some of the most interesting places in these countries. We will have just over one month in Greece and the rest of the time will be spent driving there and back. We wanted to do a road trip with our own car as flying is so much hassle and at the moment car rental costs are very high. It is also very convenient having everything in our car for the whole trip rather than lugging it on and off planes, trains, buses and rental cars. The other determining factor was that it seemed more exciting to do it this way. We have never been to Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro before and driving down enables us to visit these countries. The drawback of this road trip is that our Ford Focus is almost 10 years old and I am not very mechanically minded. Two months ago our car broke down due to the clutch. Then when we had a major car service we were advised to change the cambelt and auxiliary belts. Altogether this work cost GBP 2,300 and hopefully it will mean that nothing goes wrong with the car during our trip! Today we drove from our home in Cornwall to Dover and it took about 6 hours. We are staying at the Premier Inn near the Eastern Ferry Terminal. The cost of the room was GBP 45, which is a good rate these days. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " for further details. Once we reached Dover we drove over to the nearby National Trust car park (GBP 5) for the white cliffs of Dover. We did a nice 1.5 hour walk along the top of the cliffs. The views of the cliffs weren't that great and I expect that we will see the cliffs better from the ferry tomorrow morning. For supper we had a takeaway from Tony's Fish and Chips on the London Road. Tony is quite a character. The portions were massive and the quality excellent. Hopefully the cliff walk will have burnt off a lot of calories! 19 April 2023 - Dover to Troyes, France The departure time of our ferry to Calais was 09.10, but we had to be there at 08.10. We got up at 06.30 and got to the docks at 07.50. It didn't take us long to get through French passport control. We were then surprised that our car was searched and we even had to open up the hood of the engine. We were pleased to discover that the passenger areas in the ferry were empty and it was therefore very peaceful. As the ferry pulled away we went out on the deck to see the white cliffs of Dover. Unfortunately it was a bit of a grey day and the white cliffs didn't look their best. It was only a 1.5 hour ferry journey and before we disembarked at Calais I turned on our new TomTom sat navigation device. I selected the route from Dover to Troyes in France that I had set up before leaving home. In the past we have used the inbuilt sat navigation system in our car, but this only covers the UK. Our inexperience with the TomTom soon caused problems! After a short while the TomTom directed us to a payment booth that we thought was for the motorway. We were very puzzled when the machine asked us for a reservation number and therefore decided to go to another machine instead. I suddenly realised that we were queuing up for the channel train back to Dover! I had to ask the driver behind us to reverse back so we could get out of the queue. We managed with a lot of difficulty to get back to the main road and then the TomTom kept directing us back to the channel tunnel! Our confidence in the TomTom was sinking. I decided to delete the route and just enter Troyes as a destination and it was to our great relief that it resolved things. My mistake was starting the route on the TomTom in Calais rather than Dover. I thought that the TomTom would realise we had already completed the Dover to Calais portion of the route. It hadn't and had been taking us back to Dover so we could start the pre-set route from there. We lost 35 minutes due to this issue. After that the journey went well on excellent toll autoroutes that cost us Euro 37.60. We could drive at 130 kilometres an hour most of the way and it took 6 hours to reach Troyes. Luckily we filled up with petrol at Dover as we later discovered that petrol is more expensive in France. At Troyes we are staying at a Kyriad Hotel for Euro 84 a night. It is very nice and hopefully it will stay quiet so we can have a good night's sleep. It is only a 10 minute walk to the old centre of the town. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " for further details. Troyes (pronounced like trois) doesn't seem to be a very well known tourist attraction. However, it has a fantastic, and sizeable, medieval centre of timbered houses. Better than anything I have seen in the UK. We spent a couple of hours wandering around and looking for cheap eating places at the same time. We found a popular small Thai restaurant called Koboon and our dinner cost Euro 26. I had my favourite Thai dish of Pad Thai and Lani had something a bit more adventurous. Tomorrow we are going to Bern in Switzerland for 1 night and it should be about a 5 to 6 hour drive there. 20 April 2023 - Troyes, France to Bern, Switzerland We both had a very good night's sleep as the hotel was very quiet and the bed extremely comfortable. I really dislike thick duvets and this hotel had a nice light one and the pillows were great. We could also open the window which is no longer possible at many hotels. We left Troyes at 09.00 in sunshine and were hoping to stop for lunch at one of the good service stations along the auto route. Unfortunately we had to leave the auto route before midday. A bit later we stopped at a large Intermarche supermarket and ate in their restaurant. It was really busy and we ordered the plat du jour of roast chicken for Euro 9. We could have had the 3 course set meal for Euro 13, but we didn't need the extra calories and thought it might take too long. The scenery had been mainly flat across France, but as we got close to the Swiss border it became hilly. As we got onto higher terrain the temperature dropped from about 15 centigrade to 3 centigrade and it lightly snowed. There was no one manning the French/Swiss border, but there was an unfriendly man selling the Vignettes for the Swiss motorways. They should cost CHF 40, but it cost a bit more as we paid in Euro and lost on the exchange rate. The motorways in Switzerland were so much busier than in France. Bern was the first city we had driven through since leaving the UK and it was also busy and congested. It didn't help that our TomTom sat nav took us to a factory rather than to our hotel! We had to use Google maps to find our hotel. We are staying at the new Los Lorentes Residences hotel on the outskirts of Bern. The rooms are very good and have small kitchenettes. I was a bit worried as there is a huge skate park behind the hotel. Luckily no one was using it which may have been due to the rain. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " for further details. There is an Aldi next door to the hotel so we bought some food for an early supper. It soon stopped raining and we took the nearby tram into Bern at 18.00. All hotels in Bern give their guests a Bern pass which allows free transport on the trams. I came to Bern on business in 1990, and really liked it, but Lani has never been to Bern before. I therefore thought it would be a good stop off on our way down to Greece. It wasn't as special as I remembered it but it could be because the weather wasn't great and I was tired. We spent 2 hours walking along the 4 main streets in the historical centre. Luckily it now stays light quite late and it was getting dark just as we returned to our hotel at 20.30. 21st April 2023 - Bern, Switzerland to Vicenza, Italy I had intended that on the way to Vicenza we would stop off for a few hours at Sirmione, which is a town on the southern shore of Lake Garda. Unfortunately the weather forecast for Lake Garda showed rain until 17.00 and we decided not to do a stop over there. The journey from Bern to Vicenza is meant to take less than 6 hours. As we weren't allowed to check in to our accommodation at Vicenza until after 17.30 we decided not to leave our hotel in Bern until 11.00. I therefore informed our host at our apartment at Vicenza that we would probably arrive between 17.30 and 18.30. That turned out to be widely optimistic and we didn't arrive at the apartment until 20.30. We had a 45 minute hold up at the Gothard tunnel and then another 45 minute delay at the Swiss/Italian border. We have no idea why we were held up at the border as we couldn't see any cars being stopped. Due to these delays in Switzerland we ended up on the motorway at Milan around the evening rush hour and the traffic was horrendous. After that we experienced some dangerous driving well above the 130 km speed limit. We therefore weren't too surprised when there was a serious accident near Verona which delayed us by at least another 30 minutes. We were exhausted by the time we reached the apartment in Vicenza. Luckily we found the apartment easily and the owner of the apartment was very pleasant. We went to a Pizzeria restaurant just a minute's walk away from the apartment. The pizza was very good and cheap (Euro 7 each) but I had a couple of beers to relieve the stress and they cost more than my pizza! As our car was parked on the street we unpacked it completely and only went to sleep at midnight. 22 April 2023 - Day Trip to Verona We slept until 07.45, which is late for us, and after a relaxed breakfast we went to a small supermarket just a 5 minute walk from our apartment. As a result we didn't set out for our day trip to Verona until 10.30 a.m. We decided to drive to Verona as it was easier than taking a bus from our apartment to the train station in Vicenza and then taking a train to Verona. It was only a 40 minute drive to Verona and we parked in a large multi storey car park just outside the old city. Several travel blogs had recommended buying the Verona pass for Euro 20. So we went to buy them at the tourist office next to the Roman amphitheatre. It turned out not to be a good decision as the amphitheatre was closed for a few days and it would have been cheaper just to pay the entrance fees at the remaining attractions. We were surprised and disappointed there were so many tourists in Verona considering it was only April. The majority were Italians and it was probably a combination of nice sunny weather, a Saturday and the following Tuesday being a public holiday for Liberation day. We spent about 5 hours wandering around Verona, but we were feeling a bit tired and jaded from the previous days' long drive. We decided to climb the 368 steps up to the top of the Torre dei Lamberti to avoid the charge for the elevator. We were rewarded with good views of the city from the top of the tower. We also visited the Duomo Cathedral, Castelvecchio (castle) and the Basilica di Santa Anastasia. We skipped Juliet's balcony as it was just too crowded with tourists trying to get their Instagram or Facebook photo of it. Any way in reality it is only a 13th century inn! 23 April 2023 - Day Trip to Vicenza and Padua We both woke up feeling a lot better and well rested. We took a short bus ride into Vicenza and wandered around the historic centre for a couple of hours. Fortunately it was far less busy and less touristy than Verona . As it was a Sunday we didn't go inside any churches. Like yesterday the weather was sunny and a very pleasant 23 centigrade. I would have liked to have seen inside the Teatro Olimpico, which is Europe's oldest surviving indoor theatre, but tickets cost Euro 11. There were museums open, but we aren't very interested in visiting museums and it is also expensive. We enjoy just wandering around and admiring the architecture of the town from the outside. We bought some sandwiches for lunch and ate them at a park. Then we took a 20 minute train ride to Padua (Padova) on a very nice and modern train. Padua is another very historic town and is lively as it is a university town. I really liked Padua and although it was lively it wasn't overly touristy like Verona. The main attraction is the Cappella Degli Scrovegni chapel which is famous for its' art work. However, you have to book in advance and it is expensive. We spent a couple of hours wandering around Padua and then returned to our apartment by train and bus. 24 April 2023 - Day Trip to Venice After having had 2 very good days of weather we woke up to rain and it lasted until mid morning. As soon the rain stopped we drove to Venice and arrived there at 12.00 after a 50 minute drive. We parked at the Tronchetto multi storey car park which costs Euro 25 per day. We had thought about taking the train to Venice, but we would have had to first take a bus to the Vicenza train station and the train only runs once an hour. Going by car was therefore more convenient but more costly. It is possible to take a water taxi from the Tronchetto car park to St Mark's Square but it costs Euro 9. We decided instead to do the hour's walk there in order to save money, but also to see a bit of Venice on the way. The route was reasonably well marked and there were also many other people on the route. When we got to the Rialto Bridge it was really crowded and it continued like that to St Mark's Square. I dislike being in places with so many tourists but Venice is so special. We had brought sandwiches for lunch as we had been told that food was really expensive. I am sure the restaurants are expensive, but slices of pizza could be bought for Euro 2.50 which didn't seem bad. We had booked tickets online for the Doge's Palace in order to avoid queuing and the tickets cost Euro 15 each. Our reserved entrance time was 16.00 but they allowed us to enter at 15.30. I am not a big admirer of paintings after being dragged around Florence's art galleries as a teenager. However, I found the Doge's Palace to be very spectacular due to the opulence of the art work on the walls and ceilings of all the rooms. The prison cells were the exception! We took 2 hours to wander through the Doge's Palace. Afterwards we walked over to the ponte dell'accademia which has good views along the Grand Canal. We didn't feel like walking back to the car park so we bought 24 hour water bus passes for Euro 25 each. We can then use these passes when we come back to Venice tomorrow. It took us 45 minutes on the water bus to return to the car park. The views were great from the standing area at the front of the boat and it was easier than walking! 25 April 2023 - Day Trip to Venice We woke up to rain and thunder and the rain soon became very heavy. We therefore relaxed in our apartment until the rain stopped at 10.30. The weather forecast was for rain until mid afternoon but we decided to start driving to Venice and hope for the best. Unfortunately we soon drove into very heavy rain on the autoroute to Venice and unlike some other drivers we kept our speed well below the 130 km per hour speed limit. We reached Venice at about 11.30 and sheltered in the multi storey car park! We had an early lunch in the car and when the rain eased off at midday we walked to the nearby pier for the water bus. It was a 45 minute ride to the cathedral at San Giorgio Maggiore along the wide Guidecca Canal. Initially we sat inside the boat and sheltered from the wind and damp, but there were no views as all the windows were misted up. After a while we moved to the open area at the back of the boat to take advantage of the views. Luckily the weather was really improving. There was no entrance fee for the cathedral and we decided not to pay Euro 8 each to go up the tower. All these entrance fees really add up, particularly when you are on a 3 month trip! The interior was very impressive and from the outside there are excellent views across the lagoon to St Mark's Square. We took the short water bus ride over to St Marks Square and had another look around. It was just as busy as yesterday! Then another short water bus ride over to the church of Santa Maria della Salute. Entry to the church was free, but there would have been a charge to go up the bell tower if it had been open. We spent a couple of hours walking around the nearby area of Dorsoduru. The weather was now sunny and warm so we treated ourselves to gelato. Thankfully this area is far less busy than the areas around St Marks Square and the Rialto Bridge. At 16.00 we decided to call it a day and took a 30 minute water bus ride back to the car park. The water bus route back was along the very spectacular Grand Canal with ancient buildings on both sides. Links to My Other Blogs Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 The Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites