We finally got started and are finding our travel rhythm. As one may know from experience with plans of this kind, there is always at least a small delay in the end.
The last few days of preparation were stressful. Just a few days before our scheduled departure, we ran into a major issue with our vehicle. After solving the first issue, a second one occurred. Luckily, this happened while we were still in our home zone. The second problem was solved within half a day due to spare parts that came with the car. Thanks to friends’ help, we repaired the first issue in less than two days. However, this solution did not address the underlying issue, as it required a spare part that was difficult to organize. It results in a workaround that we need to perform regularly while on tour. We will come back to that topic in another post, but for now, we’ll move on.
These circumstances caused us to change our short-term plans completely. We spontaneously drove in the opposite direction, searching for sunny regions. Our setup is designed for camping in warmer weather, which is why we wanted to escape the winter in Central Europe as soon as possible. Temperatures in southern Spain are mild even in the winter, so that’s our short-term goal now. After driving through France for several days, including through regions with a lot of snow, we finally reached northern Spain. Our first night there was very satisfying, as it was the mildest one we had experienced thus far. Encouraged by this positive experience, we headed to central Portugal, traveling directly across northern Spain. We finally reached the Atlantic, where we spent the night on the beach. What we did not expect: The nights in between would likely be the coldest of the tour’s beginning. Anyway, the weather was mostly brilliant every day, and we always found ways to deal with the cold and windy times. For example, once, abandoned mines protected us from strong winds that powered turbines just meters above us while we were preparing breakfast.
Since reaching Portugal, we have followed the Atlantic coastline, taking advantage of the sea, which keeps temperatures above zero degree Celsius at night. After spending a day in Lisbon, we arrived in the Algarve region. Despite it being the off-season, we had trouble finding a campsite because it seemed like a lot of Europeans wanted to go to the same place as us. Luckily, we found a campsite close to a beach and stayed there for three nights to relax.
