The journey back to Praia de Ancora from Santiago de Compostela was fairly uneventful, apart from a few minutes in the middle of Vigo where Mum drove up a bus lane by mistake – and, as it was in a one-way system, she just had to keep going…
…and a slight problem at the border, where she wanted to stop and show her passport and the official wanted her to drive straight through (just as she’d done on the journey north!).
Other than that, all went well and they were back in Praia de Ancora in time for an evening meal, followed by a quiet stroll along the promenade under a beautiful star-filled sky. Mum thought it promised good weather for the following day, which they planned to spend in the resort…
Instead of blue skies and sunshine, they woke up to a tremendous storm which had blown in from the Atlantic during the night. Mighty waves were crashing onto the beach opposite the hotel and rain was lashing against the windows. It was horrendous – and suddenly they were both glad they’d brought a couple of books a-piece from home.
They sat in the lounge and read for a while, then, as the weather showed no signs of improving and they were getting hungry, Mum decided to venture out and get some food as the hotel only did breakfasts
As she hadn’t expected it to rain while they were on holiday, she hadn’t thought to pack a raincoat or an umbrella. But luckily it was warm and so she put on her thinnest T-shirt and skirt, as they would dry quickly once she got back.
It didn’t take her long to find a small local supermarket and soon her basket was filled with bread rolls, butter, cheese, ham, jam, cake, biscuits, a couple of bottles of vinho verde, paper plates, plastic knives and forks, and plastic glasses. Perhaps not the healthiest of meals, but at least they wouldn’t starve!
They went back up to their room to eat and stayed there for the rest of the day, relaxing and making plans for their visit to the ancient settlement of Citania de Briteiros the following day. With enough food for at least two meals – and a travel-kettle, tea-bags and powdered milk – they’d no need to go out again and so it didn’t matter that the storm didn’t die down until early evening.
When they went down for breakfast the next morning, the sea was calm and the sun was shining and all looked good for their trip. There was just one warning from the receptionist and that was that they wouldn’t be able to leave the car in front of the hotel on their return as the president of Portugal was coming to the resort to make a speech nearby that evening and so no parking would be allowed on the promenade.
As there was a big car park a couple of streets away, Mum didn’t think that would be a problem and so they set out on the 55 miles/90 km journey to the south-east, through Viana de Castelo and Ponte de Lima.
A lot of the journey was through hilly country with small farms surrounded by wooded areas where the trees were mainly cork oak, which is native to Portugal, and eucalyptus which was introduced to Portugal in the late 18th century by the British botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, who’d found it growing in Australia.
Unfortunately the eucalyptus liked conditions in Portugal and soon started to flourish there, gradually taking over from some of the native trees. People also began to realise that it helped to spread wildfires as not only is its sap flammable, but also its burning bark can fly off and start new fires up to 100 yards/90 metres away.
By the time Mum and her partner reached Citania de Briteiros, however, the weather was changing again. Dark clouds were approaching and, although the sun was still shining, the day was turning uncomfortably warm and sultry.
But Mum was determined to see the Iron Age ruins, as research for her new book on the Celts, and so she parked the car as near to the entrance as possible, so she wouldn’t have so far to run back if it started to rain. As the site wasn’t wheelchair-friendly, however, she had to go round by herself, reading from her guide book as she went.
Halfway up the hill, she thought she heard a rumble of thunder but it sounded a long way off and, although she was very wary, she carried on upwards, wanting to see as much as possible.
But as she reached the last of the ruins at the top of the hill, a very loud crack of thunder made her realise that the storm wasn’t a long way off after all and, feeling very exposed on the open site, she turned and ran back to the car as fast as her legs would carry her.
Once the worst of it had passed, they set off again, this time heading towards Braga, then north to Ponte de Lima again, before turning west towards Viana do Castelo and the coast.
After a 115 mile/184 km round-trip they were back in Praia de Ancora a couple of hours before the president was due to arrive. The promenade was still open to traffic and so Mum parked the car there briefly (with her partner sitting in it) while she hurried up to the hotel to get their jackets in case the evening turned cool. It sounds so simple, but that’s when the biggest mishap of the holiday occurred…
I’ll have to tell you about that in my next post, however, as I’ve written enough for today, but meanwhile take care and stay safe and I’ll talk to you again soon.
Follow my next blog:170. MY MUM THE STORY-TELLER – PART SIXTY-THREE
04/11/2021
Wilf the bear-faced blogger 