Day 8 - Freixo de Numão (Portugal) to Zamora (Spain)

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We wake to a stormy morning in Freixo de Numão. It stops raining and we walk down to the village, about a mile and post Alan’s package to someone in Portugal who had purchased some items on E-Bid before we left the UK. The buyer who lives in Portugal agreed that delaying posting until we were actually in Portugal would save international postage costs. It also created a unique opportunity to experience the Portuguese postal services, the woman in the post office spoke really clear French making the transaction easy and smoothly done.

Back in the camper we consider our options. Things are moving fast now. Another (NL) camper arrives and the woman tells us that Spain has closed its borders, this is important news if we are to get out into France. Alan phones Brittany Ferries, after about 20 - 30 minutes we finally get through. The woman tells us that Santander authorities are meeting (now) to decide whether to close the ports and cancel all ferries from Santander and Bilboa (they do). She re-routes us and books a ferry from Caen, a long drive but we don't have a lot of options at this stage. We get a refund because the crossing is much shorter, even so we book a cabin so we can self-isolate.

We again consider our options. We decide to cross through the narrow mountain pass from Foz Coã in Portugal to Lumbrales in Spain, out thinking being that this narrow and tortuous road will not have a roadblock on it. We turn out to be correct.

We take the N222 up to the mountain village of Almendra, here we miss our turning (or take the wrong one), as we lose the Google signal and map. We end up at a dead end by the river and have to retrace our steps for about 2 miles. Back on the road - road being the name we use loosely to describe a rough track often too narrow and steep for a motorhome, but we manage somehow. Finally we cross the border from Portugal into Spain at La Frageneda… no one would know. There is nobody there to see us, only the quarry, a few mountain goats and wild mountainous tracks. Here the road becomes a dirt track but passable.

For about 8 miles we struggle along this ever-narrowing track, rutted with deep fissures cut across it by torrents of water that have flowed down the mountainside. Up and down, around switchbacks and hairpin bends we rock and roll. If willing the camper forward was enough we wouldn’t even need to drive. We sit on the edge of our seats waiting for the track to end. It doesn’t… it seems to go on and on. Finally, we see olive groves and a dwelling, we only have another mile to go to a metalled road. We say a prayer of thanks.

Back on Spanish roads and running on a full tank of adrenalin we take the CL-517 to Lumbrales and then a real road (A-66) to Salamanca and Zamora. Here we find a small Area de Autocaravanas by the river looking across to the old town of Zamora with its Roman bridge and fortifications. We park up… we have made it: across the mountains into Spain (like Maria in the Sound of Music… only pursued by thoughts of lockdown and, fortunately not by soldiers!). The first major step on our journey home.

Summary of motorhome journey