Margot's trip so far has taken in parts of France. Biarritz, one of her intended stopping points, 'simply for its glamour', had to be missed as bad weather made a fairly brisk trip to the south, a necessity. Following her planned route, staying in Aires she spent some time in Perpignan to arrange maintenance of an existing engine problem - one she had, in fact, had since leaving the UK! Onwards to Spain, Margot stops off at Barcelona, spending three days or so and becoming 'Gaudied' out. Following a route south towards Valencia a further stop at Benicassim allows the purchase of a bicycle. Margot was in Valencia to enjoy the Fallas, the biggest, noisiest, probably most spectacular fiesta of the Valencian region. Stopping at Denia, Murcia, and the spa town of Banos de Fortuna which is close to the original camp set up by Ferdinand and Isabella a few centuries ago, Margot then heads on to her next big city, Granada. Enjoying the Alhambra and its amazing history before escaping the landslides to meet up with friends in 'Driving Over Lemons' country, the Alpujarras. Passing the south west corner of Spain and a couple more stops Margot arrives in Portugal, where L'Escargot gets firmly wedged between houses in a tight village junction, escaping only with the assistance of 'helpful' others.
Overnight stops in Spain had been exclusively camp-sites although Margot now wishes she had been 'braver' and stayed at some of the 'aires' available along the route she took.Now in Portugal, Margot is enjoying the wild camping staying at 'Adam and Eve' before Altura and then Alvor before once again meeting up with us at Silves.
To date L'Escargot has clocked up 5000kms in the two months she has been on the road. Seven months still remaining of this trip means, if keeping up this rate that she and Margot could well add some 20 or so thousand to the clock. Not bad for a first trip abroad! Her possible itinerary back to the UK will in all likelihood take in more of Portugal. Lisbon, Porto and some of the famous 'barragems' are all possibilities before Spain's Santiago de Compostela, the end of the journey for the famous pilgrims, but not for the intrepid Margot who will visit San Sebastian and Bilbao before returning once more into France and the possibility of a little house hunting, Strasbourg to visit the Burstner factory and meet up with some friends and finally Italy - maybe?
Margot has a sensible budget for this marathon trip - enough for campsites if that makes her feel safer and not so frugal she has to scrimp. Following the initial outlay for L'Escargot which should bring a return on subsequent sale Margot feels that a rented property would have been money down the drain. On return to England she will have travelled a year, still have a very comfortable motorhome and an investment property in England. So all in all not a very costly experience.
We asked Margot where, if anywhere, would she like to revisit? 'Seville and the Alcazar Palace' came the reply. Her experience of Seville was restricted to a bus trip from Portugal as the camp-site at Seville had been full when she was there before. The trip, although a good taster, did not give her long enough hence the desire to return. She also missed out on Cabo de Gata so although not really a revisit, definitely somewhere she would like the opportunity to get to on a subsequent Spain trip.
We were interested to learn that there was only one time, when sick, that Margot wondered why on earth she had taken this on? When at a low ebb and feeling poorly it is understandable to feel alone and homesick and miss your loved ones. She had not really encountered the feeling of being bored, lonely or nervous. Although she says that France in the winter can make you feel quite alone!
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