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Hi we did our 1st trip abroad in Feb and stayed for a month, we loved it so much that we can't wait to do it all again...............if I can help at all just shout out.
We used the Euro Tunnel it was soooooooooo easy.........the dogs came too, and although we set off for Spain after hearing tales of how much safer Portugal was we ended up there, and were very pleased that we had done so.
Here is my story hope it gives you a taste of our holiday
We started out on our adventure on Weds the 13th Feb heading for Folkestone not even having booked the tunnel, we thought we would have a chance to decide whether to stay in Folkestone that night or go straight over to Calais both of us were shocked how quickly the tunnel is once leaving the motorway so as it was really didn't have much of a chance to make that decision, so there and then drove straight the pay booth and booked for the next but one crossing in roughly an hour.
This just gave me the chance to exercise the dogs and ring my Dad etc ( I hadn't even told him that we were going before as he creates) I noticed that there was a duty free shop but again time was too tight to visit it, it seemed no time at all before our designated slot and we drove the motorhome on with no probs at all, both of us couldn't believe how easy it all was.........no checks as such only that our domestic gas was switched off and no one even checked our passport...........the train struck up and we were on the way still happily in the comfort of the motorhome with the dogs at our feet, and in what seemed like minutes we were being waved off the other end at Calais.
We arrived to thick fog and freezing weather and joined the other motorhomers on the aire right on the sea front where the ferries arrive in Calais, struck up the heating and tv hmmn and got ripped off with what must have been the worst kebab takeaway from the little take away by the aires (be warned LOL) it was very expensive and greasy so much so that half of it went in the bin so we then settled down to watch the soaps.
All night long we were kept awake by the sound of fog horns we weren't sure if they were from the harbour or the ships but it seemed one of the longest nights I have ever had LOL the following morning again was cold and foggy but it was a sight to see the large ferries more or less sailing right by the motorhome windows so after a shower and breakfast we set off to travel through France, I think for a start Phil was a little apprehensive driving Bert/Bertie (which is what we call MH LOL) on the right hand side but soon got used to it and it seemed so easy on the lovely roads through France and also there were many stopping off and also fuel stations along the way, the miles or should I say kilometers seemed to fly by far easier and quicker than any of the UK roads. We travelled to a little farm in France owned by an English couple who had decided to quit the rat race in the UK and had also set up a little caravan site by the side of the farm, so had a lovely peaceful much needed night as we were the only ones on the site and next morning awoke to the sound of chickens rooting around Bertie, in no time at all the lady had supplied us with the most delicious freshly laid eggs and soon we had the bacon sizzling in the pan too.........the day was much more pleasant than the previous foggy one so we made the most of the leisurely cooked breakfast and left the farm around lunchtime having also watched ' This Morning' via the satellite dish that we had treated ourselves to and is fitted on Berties roof.
Travelling on we were thrilled to so quickly reach the border for Spain and again crossed easily with no checks etc and by late afternoon we had found the most lovely site just below San Sebastion in Northern Spain, we were so happy at how things had gone that Phil bought some San Miguel from the camp shop along with cheese, tomatoes and french bread and toasted how well we had done lol we ate so much bread and cheese that we didn't fancy a meal that night and whilst looking out across the lovely view I was so happy to have reached Spain that I started to text everyone to tell them.
We awoke to lovely sunshine and I walked the dogs down the hillside still I think in my head I couldn't believe that there we were with all our home comforts in the sunshine in Spain and less than three days from leaving home, I couldn't take it all in so said to Phil 'why don't we stay here again tonight' that idea appealed and we drove Bertie down to the harbour for a lunch of fresh fish and salad with olives etc I was just tucking in and people watching as you do, when the Spanish man on the next table decided to pick his nose and inspect every little partical, which really put me off
I needed to stock up with supplies in case we got anywhere remote with Bert so we asked where the best place to stock up with groceries was, and were told to go to the local Eroski supermarket on the way filling up with fuel, when I tried to pay with my HSBC card it was rejected not a nice moment but fortunately we had a Nationwide flexi card which we had put some cash into the account and that was accepted, we couldn't understand it as we knew funds were ok in our own bank, and I just assumed that the gargage didn't accept a Maestro card as the guy there couldn't speak much English..........wrong as when I tried to withdraw cash from the HSBC card again it was rejected and I spent 15 minutes on the mobile speaking to some very unhelpful guy in a call centre who would not tell me why this was as he kept saying I hadn't answered my security question, which I had in fact answered correctly in the end and after running up my bill (which I am still going to have a go at someone) I was put through to a supervisor who kindly informed me that a stop had been put on my card as it wasn't usually used to pay for fuel in France after some haggling she finally decided that I must be who I said I was and said my card would now be OK to use again.
Eroski was an experience Phil stayed in the motorhome with the dogs so there I was trying to work out what was what as everything was in Spanish LOL I wanted some steak but couldn't 100% make out what which it was..........you would have laughed at me as I asked a local if he spoke English, which he didn't and I made a moooooooooooooo LOL whilst trying to make myself look like a cow it must have worked as he nodded his head with a twinkle in his eye, he must have thought I was mad I think I did quite well and the only mistake I made in the foreign supermarkets like that was buying hair conditioner instead of shampoo and Phil swears the shower gel I bought was clothes wash, scottish whisky in Eroski was just over Ģ4 a litre and I had a trolley full of food and wine etc which in Tesco would have cost at least Ģ150 for around Ģ65 there is no wonder folk move out there.
On return to the camp site we were surprised to see what was Berties twin brother parked on the pitch next door to us, and I spent at least half an hour comparing notes with the two ladies that owned the motorhome as it was the first time in their 3 months travels that they had met anyone else with the same motorhome, at this point our intention was to travel to Spain probably heading for the Sitges area, but due to meeting these ladies the Algarve seemed to beckon as they told us about the unspoilt areas that they said were like Greece used to be and how you would have the beaches to yourselves at this time of year, one of the ladies worked for the NHS and she told us how she had decided to take a year out of work unpaid to travel in Berties brother, the other lady had just retired and they were on their way home to the UK to check the house etc after travelling around the Algarve for the previous 3 months, once they had done that they were off again but this time to Croatia how lucky were they.............I told them about MHF and I think they have since joined.
So after meeting these two ladies and hearing about the Algarve by now the idea was firmly planted in my head that that was the road to follow and I spent the Saturday night discussing this with Phil and us looking at the map etc etc Phil thought we could make Portugal in approx 12 hours drive so we settled down for the night only to be awoken by the wind howling around 2am in the morning whilst below I could hear the waves that only a few hours earlier had been so calm crashing on the rocks and beach below us, my worst fear then was that Bertie would be blown over and us and our dogs into the sea below, so again another restless night whilst Phil snored happily he said next day that I was silly to think we might be blown over, but by then the wind was getting worse and we decided it was indeed a good day to travel on, I thought as we travelled the wind would drop but in fact it was really rough and travelling through the mountains was quite scarey at times, we think we took the long way round LOL as we went up and down the little roads that we didn't see on the way back, we had downloaded Europe on the sat nav but at one point near Vitorria it seemed to get very confused with the roads and we ended up going round and round for the best part of an hour as the wind got rougher and rougher.
I was quite happy to be the other side of the mountains and onto some good roads although again it was quite scarey as the wind was so bad, in fact a bus in front of us very nearly seemed to blow over as he overtook at high speeds time was passing by so we headed for the town of Salamanca in Spain, which looked very pretty as we approached around tea time and the sun was by then setting over the sand stone coloured town, we found a camp site at the back of the hotel Rejio and settled down to watch some TV for the night (Dancing on Ice) and I was really fed up when the satellite dish that we had been assured would work through most of Europe wouldn't pick up any TV......................we later learned that as we got further south the LNB on the dish had to be altered to achieve this something no one had told us when it was installed.
Next morning saw heavy rain and grey skies greet us, but ever hopeful of sunshine in Portugal we once again set off and headed to the Atlantic coast it was a shame as we missed some lovely scenery as the clouds shrouded the mountains, I was suprised as we crossed the Portugese border to see it deserted and the booths etc which at one time must have been buzzing with activity empty and dusty like something from a long time ago when the borders must have been more important it seemed so odd to just drive from one country to another with no checks of our passport etc etc
The Atlantic coast was pretty with signs of Spring in the air and we camped for the night at a lovely little fishing village, ordering a chinese takeaway by guessing at the menu as he couldn't speak english and the menu was all foreign for us LOL next morning proved to be one that would worry me and niggle at the back of my mind for the rest of the holiday when a well intentioned lady on the site informed me that because Rolo had not had the yearly booster for his passport he would not be allowed back into the UK, I had researched this before leaving both on MHF and ringing DEFRA etc and was sure in my own mind that his two yearly expiry date on the passport was in fact perfectly ok but this lady more or less convinced me that she was right, and I ended up doubting my own research and that of my own vets back here in the UK, as it was I was in fact perfectly well informed whilst she was not, but only on departing at Calais on return did I truly believe that, how I wish I could contact her and tell her now that we were OK and Rolo is safely back in the UK.
After visiting Turkey etc etc and exchanging GBP with no problem we were quite surprised to find this quite a challenge in the village we were in and it took me quite a while to find a bank that was willing to exchange them for us, lesson learned in future take euros LOL.................so onto Albuferia with the sun by now shining in all its glory the site there however was packed with retired folk on long winter breaks with their motorhomes and tourers a little too crowded for our liking although there was a pool open etc and it really felt like being on a big hotel complex like a package holiday, I was fascinated however to learn that the couple in their 80s parked just opposite had been tugging their caravan to Portugal for the winter for the past 25 years every winter what an achievement and what changes they must have seen both on the roads and the camping grounds..............wandering around the site with the dogs I was amazed to see through a motorhome window Emmerdale on the TV hence the investigation and final achievement of being able to get ITV most days catching up on Corra etc it was funny though as in the morning you could watch ITV 3 with no probs at all whilst by 8pm the signal faded somewhat although we could always get channel 5 so with no internet access, we were able to settle down most evenings to catch up on the events back home etc etc as when you are away for a month you really don't want to be gadding out and about every evening, and with the evenings too dark yet to sit out for barbis etc this proved to be a worthwhile investment for us personally.
On the way down whilst in Salamanca a gentleman on his way home to Scotland recommended we try Alvor so next day with frozen sausages and english bacon from the Albuferia site tucked away in the freezer we headed off in that direction, we weren't disappointed and settled down for what we thought would be one night at camping Dourada on the outskirts of Alvor, entering the site I was surprised at the size and spacious feel of it so different from the site we had just left in Albuferia and when a gentleman popped out of his motorhome and pointed to a vacant pitch opposite him and said it got the sun most of the day we decided that was the place to pitch for the night and had a lovely meal in the on site restuarant which was virtually empty and we had the undivided attention of both the owner and his staff who proceeded to fuss round us bring bread, olives etc whilst we waited for our meal, also every time Phils lager was empty the owner thought he was being very comic when he asked if there was a problem with the glass and had it got a hole in the bottom...............a joke he continued to tell every time we went in there and he also seemed to think it was as funny as the first time he told it LOL he was very kind though and when I said I didn't want tourist type food every night he offered to cook us fresh chicken portugese style next night with potatoes and veg, so we decided then and there that we would then stay two nights and took him up on his offer.............which proved to be delicious the following evening.
Next morning we woke to blue skies and brilliant sunshine and met most of the motorhomers pitched around us all offered us advise on the area, shops etc etc and most of them were retired or semi retired over wintering out there, all told us that the site was so safe that we decided to unload our new electric bikes and have a ride down the road to Alvor on them, I was a little nervous on the right hand side when the local cars flew past me, but soon got into the habit of going round the roundabouts the other way etc the dogs happily stayed in Bert with the blinds down and the top skylights open it was really quite cool in there so I was happy to leave them for a couple of hours as I knew they were cool and safe.
We loved Alvor and esp the little restaurant on the beach (Restalinga) this time enjoying a nice fresh salad with no mr picci nose I can recommend the fish soup if anyone ever goes there and also the tuna salad etc at this point I still couldn't believe that I wasn't on a 7 night package holiday and it seemed strange to think that for now the days stretched endless in front of us whilst still having all our home comforts with us not to mention Rolo and Megan.
For those of you that enjoy wild camping there was nice area down my the beach in Alvor filled with motorhomes, but every few days the police were moving them on.
On the Wednesday we drove to the gypsy market at a nearby town and I bought my baby Grandson four lovely summer outfits for 10 euros each and a huge basket of strawberries for 2 euros, followed by lunch on the beach parking Bertie right by the sand oh and also got a couple of lovely handbags for 5 euro one for a present and one for me............we had a delicious lunch down on the beach there and then wandered across the beach admiring the position that the wildcampers occupied there.
A change in the weather toward the end of the week proved to be something of a novelty for the locals as it rained and rained and rained and by the end of the week high winds too, by Saturday morning the rain was torrential so we decided to take Bert down into the town to park in a street where the tv signal wouldn't be broken up so much as the camp site was quite high up and relax whilst waiting for the rain to pass as there wasn't much else to do, big mistake somehow Phil managed to get Bertie up into the one way area in Alvor with little narrow streets and overhanging balconies not a good idea with a 23 foot motorhome, and it certainly was one of the scariest moments of the holiday how he ever got out I will never now and suddenly we were the focus of attention for those that had ventured out in the rain as they watched in astonishment whilst he moved inch by inch back and forth to get round each corner and past every parked car, at one point we did think we had scraped Berts roof with a overhanging balcony but so far to this day we can't see what possibly scraped what thank goodness.
That night the Algarve was beaten by winds and on driving down to the beach parking up in Bert we got hemmed in by sightseers as the land under two of the beach restaurants had been totally washed away leaving them hanging on the wooden supports that had previously been buried in the land, the local TV was there too and whilst they tried to bulldoze sand under to keep the sea back it proved too much and the sea was lapping even further inland apparently previous to this it came in at least 20 foot away from these restaurants, when we left they were still in the same position.
Somehow Camp Dourada seemed to hold us there for just one more day, as we got to know more and more people and felt totally at home there as one more day turned into a week and so on.................walking my dogs one day I met a lovely couple who we are going to keep in touch with both fell instantly in love with Rolo and Meg our Welshies as I have said before are like mini airedales and it was a very heartrending when they told us of the two airedales Max and Harry that they had lost at 12 years old last year, both within months of each other to this day they carry the two dogs ashes with them on their trips in the motorhome, so Meg and Rolo enjoyed lots of attention from them in the following days not to mention the odd walk or two and packet of chews..........I am sure if I had said they could have my dogs they wouldn't have hesitated.
We found life on the camp site very relaxing and made many friends sitting outside Bertie inviting them for a coffee or tea and also being invited round to theirs for the same, sometimes though folk can be quite territorial and in particular one Dutch lady who had placed plants logs and all manner of things around her motorhome to keep others from parking too close, as unlike the UK pitches are not marked out as such, anyway one day a couple from Newcastle dared to park quite near her motorhome and she clearly didn't like it...............although she probably had enough room for 3 motorhomes I walked Meg and Rolo past several times and always passed the time of day with the Newcastle lady (don't know her name) well one morning she shouted me over and was clearly upset as the Dutch lady had strung a washing line right alongside hers, one inch away and I kid you not there was less than an inch between the two lines I couldn't believe anyone would be so petty, the Newcastle lady was nearly in tears whilst her Husband sat in his deckchair saying 'we won the war' in a loud voice LOL esp as he was shouting 'we won the war' to a Dutch lady who in the end must have seen the error of her ways and eventually took down the second washing line, I think she was perhaps embarrased by the attention she was getting from the Brits LOL
On the other side of the coin one day a bright pink motorhome pulled up not far from us, occupied by a retired German couple Verna and Gertrude one lunch time in the harbour they happened to sit on the table next to us, and we all got chatting I thought they spoke very good english and we enjoyed a three hour lunch with them chatting about all sorts of things at one point I said we had been to Turkey quite a few times and Verna asked me if he could possibly check on his english I said ' of course' well we laughed and laughed when he asked if it would be OK to ask a man that came from Turkey 'if he was a Turkey' he couldn't understand how funny we found it but his Wife was giggling too, and three pints for Phil and three halves of lager later for me we ended up back at the camp site (we hadn't taken Bert) but we were on bikes when Verna shouted us over and said they had had such a lovely lunch time that they had picked cold champagne up on the way back and wanted us to join them outside their motorhome for drinks and biscuits how I forced that champange down I will never know I never could drink in the day and the lager was more than enough for me, but I didn't want to be rude LOL I did however manage to refuse the home made biscuits, but it is an afternoon that I feel I will remember for a long time and the phrase 'are you a Turkey' will always bring a smile to my lips bless Verna oh and another day Phil asked Gertrude what fish she was eating on her kebab she replied 'Monkey fish' she of course meant monk fish if ever you go to Alvor you must try the Lifeboat restuarant the fish there and piri piri chicken are excellent.
The days were fast rolling by now and I must admit I missed my family esp on Mothers Day.
In between chilling and eating and drinking we visited Monchique and Sagres and also passed through De Luz I couldn't help having a funny feeling there and thinking of Maddie and wondering where she might be in the vast countryside there was little sign of posters etc now just the odd faded one in a shop window it felt very sad.
Last Sunday we decided that we really ought to be making tracks homeward and got up both with a heavy heart at the thought of leaving everything behind as by that time we really felt part of the little British community as we left we were waved off by between 16-18 people promising to see them next year and them saying the same my eyes filled with tears as did Phils they all waved until we were out of sight...............one light hearted moment though was the lady in her 70s again another who's partner still tows a caravan there for the winter she lived in Hull and as I left whispered in my ear that she would be coming to our rock shop in the summer to buy a rock willie..............I promised her that it would be on the house and I would make sure it would be a big one LOL.
So heading north and back to Salamanca for Sunday night it seemed only yesterday that we were last there but in other ways a lifetime if that makes sense, Monday back to San Sebastian again popping into Eroski for supplies and some whisky to bring home well you couldn't not at that price LOL although I felt I would have loved to have had a few days there.
Tues we headed for Le Manns and were getting a bit worried by dusk when we still hadn't found a place to camp, someone must have been looking after us as we drove down a dark lane we happened to see a site brand new and open, so stayed there the night we had visions that we would have to camp at the back of Lidl LOL we did have a full supply of water etc on board but wild camping isn't our 1st option.
By this time I knew I had to be looking to book the vets for the dogs passport conditions the requirements are you visit not less than 24 hour before your return to the UK and not more than 48 hours I had taken with me a list of vets in the Calais and surrounding areas and we decided that the one in Les Forges France sounded a good option, it proved to be a good decision with an english speaking vet who was a true gentleman and reasurred me that the info I had been told by that lady earlier in the holiday was totally wrong and I would have no problems as both passports were valid etc....................Phil had parked a street away whilst I took the dogs and had been to the shop to buy bread and chicken, what a shock when the said cooked chicken was pulled from the bag in the motorhome complete with a cooked head YUK.
We spent our last night in France happy but sad that the month was over..............happy to be coming home to the family but sad that our adventure was nearly over..................Calais was again a doddle 1st time our passports were checked etc in all that time no search of Bertie etc so we could have bought anything back.
In all that time we hardly saw a police car or speed camera and loved the roads etc but my did we know once back in the UK traffic delays, road works, speed cameras oh well heres to the next time Bertie is now all clean just the bed to remake and who knows where he will take us next time.
If I can help anyone else esp those doing it for the 1st time please shout out as I know how scarey it feels...................we met some lovely people and truly enjoyed our 1st trip abroad.
Thanks to those of you that helped before the trip esp the address for the vet in Les Forges for the doggies return journey,
.
PS I meant to say if anyone fancies Camping Dourada prices in winter were approx Ģ50 a week including electric if you stay 7 nights or more.
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'A motorhome is for life, not just for Summer'
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Topic: First trip overseas
