Day 13 of the Spain/Portugal Trip

It has been 13 days since we’ve been on the road and we have covered A LOT of land and at the beginning barely stopped. We were staying somewhere different every night and driving 4-6 hours every day. That being said we have seen a lot. We’ve discovered hidden towns and beaches along the way and have gone through some large and famous cities such as Santiago de Compostela in Galacia in Spain and Porto in Portugal.

Here’s what the itinerary looks like so far:

Day 1: San Sebastian to Mundaka
Day 2: Mundaka; lunch in Bermeo; Sopelana
Day 3: Sopelana; lunch in San Vincente de Burques; Cudillero
Day 4: Cudillero to Fisterre
Day 5: Fisterre; lunch and walk in Santiago de Compostela; Viana do Castelo (Portugal)
Day 6: Viana do Castelo; lunch and walk in Porto; Figuera do Foz; Pedrogao
Day 7: Pedrogao to Peniche
Day 8: Visit to Ilhas de Berlenga (islands off of Peniche)
Day 9: Peniche
Day 10/11: Peniche to Ericeira
Day 12: Ericeira; lunch and walk in Sintra; Lisboa

I had been to Mundaka before so that wasn’t anything to exciting and Sopelana was really close by and just a beach and a modern town nearby, so again not that interesting. It was when we arrived in Cudillero that it got really exciting for me.

Cudillero is this small picturesque town that is described as being ‘airlifted out of Greek Island. ’ It hugs the cliffs as these incredibly small streets wind their way down to the coast. There the street turns and you can see a cascade of coloured houses coming down a steep hill. Unfortunately we didn’t stay long there at all as the guys were itching to get to the beach to surf and I only got one blurry photo as we drove through the town.


Fisterre is an ugly town that seems quite confused about what it is trying to look like. It has both modern and old parts but they don’t meld in any way. Translated it is called ‘the end of the world because when it was discovered the explorer walked to the end of a point and from the tip could not see any land on any side; this is the western most point of Spain. It was true, at the tip you couldn’t see any land straight ahead or to your right, but when there was no fog, you could see the beginning of Portugal on your left.



There is a trek/pilgrimage that starts as far north as Paris down the coast of Spain, almost to the top of Portugal. This passes through Santiago de Compostela in southern Spain which is filled with churches and religious icons. There is one very famous cathedral there which on the outside looks like it’s been standing there since the 1200 as it has a bit of a dark green tinge to it. Inside all there is really is the place in front of the pews which looks like it is made of solid gold.

After passing Santiago de Compostela the pilgrims trek to their last destination, Fisterre (the end of the world.) We did it in reverse and first went to Fisterre and then passed by Santiago de Compostela on the way down to Portugal. The pilgrims end their trek here and supposedly burn their clothes as a symbol of the termination. I didn’t see any burning clothes but instead clothes and shoes hung all over a metal radio tower.

Unfortunately I slept through the crossing between Spain and Portugal but about 20km south of the border I could already see the vast difference in the architecture and style of the Portuguese. We stopped at a small fishing town called Viana do Caminho. Again I fell in love with it, but again we didn’t stay long. Throughout Portugal, but moreso, it seems, in the North, the houses are decorated with a full wall of patterned tiles. This gives the towns a lot of colour and a stunning uniqueness. From there we went on to Viana do Castelo, which unfortunately was not as beautiful, but the guys got some waves which made them very happy.

Once again we were on the move the next day but I forced them to stop in Porto to have lunch and see the sights. At first they were not that interested, but as per usual they ended up liking walking around the small streets and taking photos. Besides from being surfers two are graphic designers and photographers; the other is a chef.

Porto was beautiful and I really wish that I could have spent a lot more time there, but it was time to move on to a very hidden and small resort town called Pedrogao. We thought that it was going to be a remote place on the beach, but when we came out from the woods there was quite an ugly ghost town standing in front of us. It had obviously been built in the last 10-15 years and it was obvious that it tended to only be inhabited during the summer. There was nobody around. And what was worse, there was no good surf. We left the next day for Peniche.

We stayed three nights in Peniche, which felt so good to do. Again, not the prettiest of cities, but it had some history and the beaches were nice. While the guys surfed I visited the old part, the beaches, and the local island, Ilha do Berlenga. The island had been turned into a protected park 15 years ago, but I’m not quite sure why. Perhaps if my sister were there she could tell me, but the only things that I saw were seagulls, lizards, and a LOT more seagulls. That being said the island had beautiful roughness to it and looked a bit like scorched earth. It had red rocks and cliffs which fell into a bright blue ocean.


From Peniche we moved on to Ericeira (which is the western most point of Europe) where we stayed for 2 nights. This was a beautiful town. It didn’t seem like it had much from the outside of the town, but once in the old town you found small shops, cobbled streets, and houses and churches painted white with blue trim. The guys found some great waves here and it was hard to get them to leave, but eventually we did, once again.



Yesterday we left Ericeira for a short drive inland to Sintra, which is an old medieval town that has a beautiful morrish influence on its architecture. We stopped there for lunch and walk around. As the guys sat in the car and either slept or read I paid to enter the palace grounds and see the architecture up front. It was incredible and I could have easily spent a whole day just walking around the trails looking at all the different ancient ruins.


Now we are in Lisboa. It supposed to be just a one night stay, but currently we have no plans on where we will be going next, so who knows.

Traveling with 3 guys is definitely a challenge on the patience and my slight OCD with organization. Either none of them want to make a decision or else they have one idea/desire and nothing else matters. They take absolutely ages in the grocery store trying to decide what to purchase, and usually return with just meat and beer if I don’t go along. The running joke now is that they wouldn’t be able to survive without me as they never know where they have put any of the food, utensils, etc, where they are going, or what things are essential to buy. Sometimes it’s like I’m traveling with a bunch of children, but honestly they are really good guys, and they go out of their way sometimes to make sure that I’m happy.