Tag 58-64: Back to the mountains

Day 58-64.

Our nerves are up and down like Lore's butt trying to crawl. It's just a phase, it's just a phase, we keep telling each other over and over again, and even though we've internalized this mantra since birth, it's currently more exhausting with her. Mornings start with screaming and evenings end with it. At least she can fall asleep on her own now, which is a huge progress from 2 weeks ago. We are sure that she will start crawling soon, so her frustration with the still missing muscles can somehow be understood. But what's the use of complaining, after all, we are on the most unique journey of our lives.

Alright, where were we…

Water slide camping fun! We leave behind the popular surf spots and stay 2 nights at the Vaga Splash campsite at Praia do Labrego, just a few steps away from the sea. The surroundings give more of a Dutch feeling, it's very flat and the sea hides behind large sand dunes. Eva is ready for another surf lesson, but the conditions are only moderate and the surf school has too few participants to start a course. So let's just relax on the beach, no problem. But Chris can't resist and jumps into the waves with his bodyboard and promptly gets pulled out again by the lifeguard. If you're going to bodyboard, please use fins. Ah, well…

At the beach, there is also a trendy bar where we enjoy a late lunch.

In the morning of our departure, we (mostly Chris) admire some fishermen pulling out one sea bream after another. It's time for us to catch our own fish again.

However, we are saying goodbye to beach holidays for now and heading back towards our beloved mountains. We are going to Gerês, a national park in the north of Portugal.

It's already 5 degrees colder there and it's raining 😩. The small mountain village Ermida is enchanting and it seems to be a perfect starting point for numerous hikes. We are not made of sugar, but hiking in the rain with a baby is rather stupid. So for now, we have to spend half of the day in the bus and wait for the rain to stop. Chris goes for a run in the meantime and Eva takes a short walk with a foggy view. We really like the small campsite, but every half hour the electronic (Big Ben) bell of the village chapel rings, so we flinch together from 8 pm onwards, making sure Lore doesn't wake up.

There's not much going on at the campsite, but the opening match of the European Championship is shown on a huge TV. Chris sits next to a Portuguese teenager, the only German there, and they watch the game together. At least the Portuguese also cheer for the German goals 😁

After 3.5 weeks, we are leaving Portugal now and heading towards northern Spain. The weather there is supposed to be just as cold and rainy, but the further east we go, the better it should get. We still want to enjoy some mountains. On the way to Asturias, we make two stops. 

The first one is in the tiny village of Sober, where we stay at a campervan experience spot. Our skepticism about the definition of "experience" quickly disappears when we arrive and we are happy about a great spot with a view.

We use the day for a short hike to the Cañon del Sil and encounter a few wild boars again on the deserted path 😱 So we quickly walk past the wild boar family singing "Im Frühtau zu Berge". Encounters like these are better avoided. But the viewpoint of the Rio Sil, deep in a valley, is worth it.

In the evening, when Lore is asleep, Chris gets a quick haircut, trimming the camping mat. Lore is mainly responsible for Eva's hairstyle, pulling and tugging on all the strands she can get her hands on. At least she also catches the gray hairs, so dyeing can be postponed for now.

We spend the next night near the Sil River, which has now turned into a stream. We arrive in Palacios de Sil and look at a completely empty campsite. Well, not completely empty. The village community celebrated the 2-year existence of the campsite last night and people keep coming to the campsite bar throughout the day. The village is situated in a mountain basin and everything feels a bit eerie and dark. But the people are friendly and Lore is showered with compliments.

We are going even higher into the mountains, where it's supposed to rain a lot in the next few days. So we hope for a better mood from the baby and that we can handle the upcoming days in the bus without getting too stressed. 🤞