Mountains and Plains

This was the last location of our Spain and Portugal trip. With six nights in the same place, we were able to slow down and relax a bit more. Our accommodation is described in another blog, ‘Basque Paskua’, along with Easter celebrations. Between attending local festivities, we explored some of the countryside, towns and villages in the area.

The village of Meano, where we were staying, was small but had some interesting features and stunning views. Racheal particularly enjoyed the sound of the water running into the old laundry trough, then overflowing down the drain!

There were a number of Megolithic burial sites in the area. One was even wheelchair accessible! They were a bit off the beaten track, and the access road for one had some very deep ruts which had to be carefully negotiated.

On the Saturday of Easter weekend, we took the scenic route to Logroño. We needed to stock up on supplies having been caught out because on Maundy Thursday, as well as Good Friday, the supermarkets were closed, and they would be closed on Sunday and Monday too. On the way we explored the villages of Labraza and Moreda de Álava.

In Logroño, we had a picnic in the park, visited the market and walked past the cathedral, which unfortunately was closed, before doing the supermarket shopping.

On the final day, we returned briefly to Laguardia to visit the cellar under the tourist information centre, as we hadn’t had time previously. We arrived at noon, just as the town hall clock ‘performed’, which was a bonus.

The wine cellar housed some huge barrels which Summer helped Racheal to feel. As we were all concessions or free carers it only cost €6 for all of us, making it half price. There are cellars everywhere in the town, many of which are open to the public, but this was the only one with a lift. An interesting map (which I omitted to photograph) showed the placement of them in relation to the buildings.

From there we went on to San Vicente, another mountain town this time with a castle and views of Rio Ebro. On the way we found a picnic spot looking over the valley and a patchwork of vineyards.

A wonderful four weeks had come to an end. Time to drive back to Bilbao to catch the ferry to Portsmouth, dropping Dad at the bus station on the way. Sad to say goodbye, but more adventures ahead. The crossing was rough at times, but fortunately the worst was at night. Racheal discovered a new sound to make. A ‘whoa’ noise came from her berth a few times when the ship rocked too violently for her liking! We found enough to amuse ourselves for the 33 hour crossing and were well looked after by the crew. The sunset over the Isle of Wight was a nice welcome back to the UK, but with a four hour drive still ahead, we wouldn’t be home until 1am. Thankfully British passport control was better organised than the Spanish had been and we were on our way within 20 minutes of docking. I would happily take the ferry to Spain again, though it would be even better if they installed hoists in their accessible cabins.