EmmJays Travel Journal

March 1969

With a new group of travel friends we are on our way to Zeebrugge, Belguim via Dover. The ferry docked in the morning in Belgium and after having cleared customs we headed for Paris. We had breakfast just outside Ostende.

Ostende to Paris

It was overcast the entire morning but cleared as we entered Paris. We had not planned on staying in Paris for more than a few hours so after having a bite to eat, which took about three hours, we left for Tours.

Tours, France

On leaving Paris the drive through the countryside was somewhat flat. Everything was under cultivation and there was hardly a building in sight. However, we did pass through some small villages. Most of the streets in the villages were cobbled and there were chickens, ducks, clock faced dogs and horses wondering lose all over the place, even on the main road. These were the mostly poor and out of the way villages. We also came across villages which were very well kept and appeared to be primarily middle class. We passed the Chatres Cathedral and many other beautiful churches coming into Tours. We camped at Tours and it rained all night. The next day we headed for Spain.

France to Spain

The scenery was very much unchanged for most of the drive. When we reached the Spanish border the officials thought we were student revolutionaries and they held our driver, Paul in custody. They asked him if he was carrying any guns or ammunition and then they searched our van. Paul talked his way out of the mess and we were allowed to continue.

We camped in the mountains way above San Sebastian and the view was fantastic. Later we drove into the town and found everything pretty inexpensive. Spain is known for its sunshine and blue skies but our stay was marred by overcast skies and cold biting winds. It was very dusty too and I found myself sneezing a lot. As the weather was not cooperating we decided to motor on to Madrid that day. The sun broke through every now and again but it was still chilly.

The van broke down not far from Madrid and we had to find a mechanic to fix it. The engine fan had come loose and driven one of its blades clean through the radiator. It took 3 hours to fix. We drove on after that and came across a giant bull standing on a hill in a field. It was not until we got closer that it turned out to be a large billboard for a whiskey company. It certainly got our attention.

Madrid, Spain

Oh, I liked Madrid very much. The shops close at 2:30pm for siesta and reopen at 5pm. I spent the entire day just wondering around looking into the shops and visiting the markets. They sell everything in the markets from clothes to sausages.

One afternoon I finished sightseeing at 4pm and as I was very tired I decided to catch the P5 bus back to camp Asuna. I got on the bus, stated my destination, paid 4 pesetas and ended up 20 miles outside Madrid. I can not speak a word of Spanish.

I spoke to one man who seemed awfully concerned and upset that I was lost but he couldn't understand me. It started to rain. Then a young Spaniard in a yellow sports car stopped and he could speak a little English. He drove me in the direction he thought I should be headed but it was not it and then he hailed a taxi for me, paid the fare and told the guy to take me to camp Asuna. I was stunned at such generosity. The taxi driver drove for half an hour and let me out at a bus stop and showed me which bus to get. I got on the bus ... it was the wrong bus. I had to cross the road and get the bus with P5 on it. I got on the bus rather cautiously and stated my destination... He dropped me right at the campsite gates. I was so relieved.

It rained very hard over night but I really didn't care because I had had a nice hot shower, washed my hair and had clean dry clothes on. That night we ventured into downtown Madrid and invaded a tiny restaurant on one of the back streets. Of course the menu was in Spanish and we just all chose something at random. Wine was included for a very small amount of money. I had a large bread roll, chicken salad, 2 glasses of wine and a slice of cream cake for about 5 shillings sterling. We sang along with the locals and had a wonderful time. The next night we stayed in the camp and went to the bar. The juke box played top 40 hits in Spanish. It was great. I got to bed at about 4am.

The next day we wanted to see a bull fight but we were too early. They were scheduled to open in a few days hence but we couldn't hang around that long so we packed up and headed for Lisbon.

Spain to Portugal

On the way to Lisbon we came across a 'Good Friday' procession. Spain is primarily Catholic so Good Friday is a special day for them. The people involved in the procession were clothed in black and had large pointed hats on their heads that cascaded down over the face, like a mask. They carried huge candles as they walked to the beat of six drums. They surrounded a statue of Christ which was being hauled along on the back of a wooden cart drawn by two small donkeys.

On reaching the Spanish Portuguese border we found that we had very little time left before it became dark so we made camp in Portugal in a service station on the border. The next day we reached Lisbon at about 11am.

Lisbon, Portugal

Magnificent! So many of the footpaths were decorated with ancient Portuguese tiles. We were told that it was from the 15^th century. In the harbour there were tiny fishing boats much like Japanese junks. In contrast, humongous ocean liners stood majestically alongside them. We drove down narrow streets just wide enough to accommodate the van. Most of these narrow streets were for two way traffic and of course we found one that was not, and yes we went the wrong way before having to have to turn around.

On a hill overlooking Lisbon we saw a fantastic castle. It was a fabulous view from the hill. Peacocks strutted their stuff around the castle and high up in the tree tops were white plumed storks. Our campsite was not far from yet another castle. We investigated and also found a statue in memory of Henry the Navigator. The Portuguese were outstanding seaman, having navigated much of the world in wooden boats. They circumnavigated South America and colonized Brazil.

In town we window shopped. Cakes were elaborately decorated, so much so that one might consider saving them rather than eat them. As it was Easter we got to see a lot of Easter eggs.

There was a huge statue of Christ overlooking the harbour. We could see this statue as we left Portugal for Spain, for the second time. On reaching the border we had a quarrel with the Spanish officials over the GB (Great Britain) sticker on our van.

Having finally been allowed to enter Spain we stopped a few miles on and pulled the GB sticker off the van and replaced it with an AUS (Australia) sticker, which we just happened to have. One of our fellow travellers, Mrs Lucas was very upset over this change, as she was from Devon in Cornwall and she felt that it was improper for us to have an AUS on the van as the vehicle had GB plates. We told her it would make our border crossings less stressful but she complained some more anyway.

Portugal to Spain

The road to Seville was lined on either side with purple and yellow blossoms. The hills were cultivated and every now and again a small village would appear on the horizon. All the houses were painted white and a good number of them surrounded a castle. Spain was once a feudal system, so this layout would be as it was in those days.

Seville, Spain

Seville is very picturesque. Some of the streets were lined with a variety of fruit trees all bearing fruit. Apparently when the fruit is ripe the children are allowed to pick it. We were surprised to see orange and fig trees growing along the side of the road.

That evening there was a spectacular Easter procession down the main street. The participants wore long white robes and huge pointed hats/hoods over their heads...only their eyes were visible. The candle lighters wore all black. The cross bearers, carrying silver crosses wore all white, but the cross bearers did not have peaks on their hoods. Behind the procession the Police carried a huge float covered with massive candles and goblets made of gold. In the centre of the float was a replica of the Virgin Mary in prayer. The army goose-stepped in front of the procession to the slow beat of 10 drums. I really enjoyed our short stay in Seville, as I had never seen anything like this before. We left Seville the next day headed for North Africa.

Spain to North Africa

High up in the mountains of Algeciras we could see the continent of Africa and the Mediterranean Sea. It was sunny over there and cloudy where we were. In our sites was Gibraltar. We set up camp in Algeciras and walked over to a cafe where we had calamari for supper. Hm-mm good. The next day we took a ferry to Gibraltar which took only 15 minutes.

Gibraltar, Spain/Great Britain

The rock isn't very big but it has a lot on it. On top of the rock at 1400' we came across a Moorish Castle built 458 years ago, a lot of cheeky Barberi Apes and St. Michael's Cave. The cave was used during the war as a British hospital and today it is used for concerts. The Apes originally came from North Africa with the Moores when they invaded to rock in 1711.

In the shopping centre there is a famous restaurant known as Smokey Joes, which we checked out. Gibraltar is a duty free port but it is more expensive than Spain itself. Both Spain and Britain lay claim to the rock and sometimes tensions rise. We spent the entire day in Gibraltar before returning to Agerciras. That night we had calamari at a Spanish restaurant and later we were off to an Arab restaurant for mint tea.

Our stay in Gibraltar had ended and we had another month of travel ahead of us.