Our journey through Spain to Portugal

The rugged coastline of Northern Spain 

Leaving France we headed into Spain following the winding up and down northern coast road heading west. This coastline is very hilly and very rugged so progress is slow, but at least it gives you time to admire the view - as a passenger that is, Keith is busy keeping an eye on the road!
Our first stop was in the car park of a Bird sanctuary with free water and waste facilities. Parked next to us was a lovely lady we got chatting to, she was travelling with her two young daughters who she was home schooling whilst they roamed all across Europe - what an experience for them!
We then headed along more narrow and winding roads into the Picos mountains where we stayed on a campsite for a change. The site was on the outskirts of the lovely traditional town of Potes which we explored on foot having decided to leave the bikes back at the campsite.

Medieval bridge in central Potes

We found a great place for a coffee overlooking the medieval bridge in the centre of town.
The scenery of the Picos mountains is spectacular, but my hiking in the hills days are over due to my dodgy knees, so we didn't stay in the area for long, after a couple of days we headed back out of the region on the narrow winding roads further south to a very Spanish town for another overnight stop - an Aire right on a Via Verde cycle trail! Sadly we discovered it was only 11 km long so it really wasn't worth taking the bikes off the back of the van. We did enjoy a walk around town and a cortardo coffee sitting in a cafe watching the world go by.

Zamora 

We had one more night in Spain in the large central Spanish town of Zamora where there is a large Aire for Motorhomes next to a park. In the evening all the families came down to the park with their children to let them play while they chatted, one of the pleasures of living in a warmer climate. We  discovered we were located right on the major EV1 cycle route from the north to southern Spain we pedalled out for a ride into the flat plains surrounding the city. On our ride we met a Belgian lady who was cycling solo from Biarritz all the way to South Africa, what a brave adventure for a single woman to undertake!

Zamora