MALTA IN DECEMBER

I have lived in Malta for a few years so each visit is full, connecting with people, dealing with my affairs and other commitments. This time was no exception, and twice I was in “the office” in Valletta,  - here the cleaned up Triton Fountain

once to Gozo to visit a massage client, to Vodafone to cancel a wifi contract etc. etc.

Gozo and ferry

Malta ferryport

I also recorded with co-host David Perry our 2018 Connect Africa Christmas Day 2 hour radio show for One Radio, with guest Lizzie Lowell which will be broadcast at 22.00 at 92.7 Fm, 25 December.

Some things are not expected like 11 hours on Saturday night in the Hospital A&E (Emergency) department waiting for someone to attend to Anita who had cut her hand while washing a glass, and needed stitches. Finally we went to the desk and spoke with an angel of a doctor who felt compassion for our long wait. She cleaned the wound, put in a stitch and sent Anita for an X-ray to make sure there was no damage to tendons or nerves as the cut was deep. Thank to her kindness we were finally able to go home. Anita herself was a nurse in Emergency in Krakow, and said that even when they are very busy, no-one is left waiting for more than four hours and will at least receive five minutes of attention.

The weather has been kind and we have enjoyed warm days as high as 19 degrees Celcius, and not much rain. We walked around St. Peter Pool area, where people were still swimming in 19 degrees water temperature,

 also Marsascala, and well as the interesting town of Zejtun. - typical old vehicle in Malta

Finally an early flight back to Porto, and lovely art in the airport, featuring Mosta Dome.

NORTH PORTUGAL – PORTO

We have just three nights before we fly to make Tantra massage work in Malta for a couple of weeks. We crossed the Minho River and entered Portugal by the “north door”.

I was expecting to see somewhere to register vehicle and credit card for the recently introduced toll road system, as we see when entering into the Algarve from Spain, but there was nothing. I am not a fan of taking toll roads when there are reasonable alternatives and knowing the Algarve I have avoided them. Of course there are some roads where paying a toll can save fuel costs. In Spain the camper is Class 1, as a car, but in Portugal (Italy too) it is in Class 2 and we can pay almost double.

I have struggled for a couple of week s to update our Tom Tom gps with latest road maps, as the 2012 version I have is not aware of the Portugese toll roads, so keeps trying to send me onto them. One error will cost me a large fine. The Tom Tom system has guided me through many countries, with a little necessary human intuition from me. Their software designers have created a system making each country separate from the next. So being English, and having bought the gps in England, I can’t upgrade the maps unless I use a credit card registered there which I don’t have. My card has a Maltese address and they don’t recognise Malta as a country. After many long discussions with their help line, they sent a link to pay in Poland as Anita has a card registered there. To cut a long story short we finally found a way round the problem, but for anyone spread over more than one country the system just does not work. More calls, from them finally guided me through the process of uploading the new maps it had taken two weeks and much stress to buy.

As we drove south on the A28 over mountains and down towards Viano do Costelo I could see the toll warning so we pulled off onto the old road, as without registration, I would be driving into a fine as most of these roads don’t have toll booths, just number plate recognition and automated card charging.

We slowly continued until we found our destination, a camp site 30 km north of Porto, when we serviced and rested over two nights. It was necessary. The last days were particularly stressful  thanks to the need to organise repair of the vehicle, update TomTom, family discussions about care of Anita’s mother etc.

On Saturday we arrived in Porto at a parking place by the river. 

We walked to the historic centre of this second City of Portugal famous for Port wine. The familiar names were everywhere, Sandemans, Dow, Taylors etc. Read more about Port wine and the Douro Valley at www.cellartours.com/blog/portugal/10-top-port-wines.

The steep sided slopes of the river make an attractive sight, painted buildings, bridges and water traffic (mostly touristic) and historic buildings.

It was late afternoon on Saturday, the traffic hardly moved, and the city was full of tourists. We stopped in a back street café for a drink and snack before heading to a pre-booked off airport parking, where we could sleep for the night and leave the vehicle while we go to Malta.

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, PORTONOVO, VIGO & A GUARDA

Our welcome to Santiago de Compostela, and I suppose that of pilgrims who passed through Lugo is an out of town shopping centre. Surely that brings the pilgrims quickly back into the modern material world? Actually for us it was ideal as we wanted to buy some things we like from both Mercadona, the best Spanish supermarket, and from Lidl. Next door was electronics shop Media Markt so we went in to ask how to charge the computer from the cigarette lighter socket when we are driving. We came out with a 300 watt DC to AC inverter and from that moment our life became easier. Power for the computer has been one of our biggest challenges so far on the trip, as it is also on our boat, but in the camper we have a diesel engine which when running can power the inverter.

We came to a parking place about 25 minutes’ walk from the historic centre, recommended in www.park4night.com. It would have been impossible in day time to find room for our large vehicle, but with most commuters gone for the night we park in a way so as not to be blocked in. We were just by tennis courts, and between two busy roads, but it was ok for the night.

We awoke to find all the car spaces taken, and we walked off to explore the centre and find the famous cathedral. Skies were grey so it was not ideal for photography, but we found the old streets fascinating, and with some difficulty found the cathedral, the final goal of many Comino pilgrims. 

We have been told that the true end of the Camino is Cape Finisterre, where traditionally shoes are cast into the ocean having served the feet for the duration of the Camino.

It is a city in which to linger, but we needed to move on, driving to the west coast of Galicia, finding a place on the street to spend the night at Portonovo, with the sounds of waves breaking against the rocks beneath us.  We walked by dark around the bay on the boardwalk above the sand and grass. It is a lovely location.

Next morning we drove on to Vigo to find the Laika motor caravan agent to try to sort out the body damage from the tyre blow out, also to replace the headlight bulbs. Days later Laika have still not responded with price or availability for the part we need, not only for the repair, but to be legal again to pass the annual vehicle inspection due in December.

The dealer is close to the coast and we enjoyed a walk alongside the beach and small forest. 

In the distance see the beautiful Islas Cies, where I had anchored in 2001. They protect the bay perfectly.

We continued south through Baiona, the small port into which I sailed our catamaran into after crossing the Bay of Biscay 2001. The wind was strong and waves were rolling up the exposed coastline.

In darkness we passed through A Guarda, the border town to a parking area at the banks of the River Minho which forms the natural border between Spain and Portugal. It was a wet and windy night, but next morning we enjoyed walking by the river before heading to Portugal, and of course topping up first with diesel as prices are about 20 cents per litre higher in Portugal.

We could have spent many days in this area, but we have a flight to catch.