Just back from a 5 week road-trip, delayed 2 years due to COVID.
Left Royal Hillsborough, Co.Down and journeyed to Bilbao via Rosslare Port……stayed in some wonderful places, and occasionally ( but only occasionally ) got it wrong…… we were conservative with the number of miles (or should I say km) we drove every day and have learned that we can push on a bit ( to get somewhere we really want to), instead of spending a night in a “road-house”, unfailingly pleasant but miles from anywhere.
Travelled west from Bilbao to Santiago de Compostella, then due south to Porto, Coimbra & Sintra, heading for the Algarve.
Santillana del Mar is a lovely introduction to Cantabria and Gijón & Oviedo make Asturias memorable. And Galicia, or “Celtic Spain” is aptly named- indeed driving the whole of the “green coast” from Bilbao to Santiago de Compostella is somewhat bizarre in that the whole northern coast is very reminiscent of Ireland- the antithesis of what I imagined driving in Spain to be like. Wet and misty in the mornings- clearing in the afternoons. Santiago is very special…we stayed in a converted convent…… fabulous……and it felt a bit like cheating to mix with the Camino pilgrims arriving in the city square having walked many km to get there along the “path of St James”. Interestingly there are many “Camino trails” and some of the walkers send their luggage ahead ( the local post-office vans deliver it) to the accommodation they’ve booked…. others take their chances and try to get a room when they get there meaning they walk quickly to avoid the resultant queue!
Crossing the border- Porto is a special place and our host is a German-speaking Swiss chap, who allowed me to park the Mx5 in his garage, beside his 2015 Triumph Bonneville……. which he assured me was the last of the air-cooled variety-apparently the newer models are all water-cooled.
You get the picture!
Coimbra came next…… not new to us ……so starting to get more confident now, and then on to Sintra, near Lisbon, again an old friend.
Then a 200 km dash to Lagos in the Algarve and a weeks rest ( and a washing machine!) in our habitual apartments.
Then east to Tavira for 3 nights, before turning north to Beja, Évora and Castelo Branco. Guarda was the last Portuguese stop, then back into Spain to Salamanca….and the start of the return to Bilbao…….
Valladolid & Burgos also beautiful- and the road between Burgos & Bilbao takes you over (&through!) the mountains to the coastal strip of the “green coast”……… reminding us of when we started out and returning to Celtic Spain, from the dry, dusty, almost arid plains from whence we came.
Yes, we will do it again….different route this time, maybe Chunnel and down through France. I really want to see Seville in Spain and then it’s easy to travel on to Portugal!
2024 maybe?
Lessons……. stay at least 2 nights in each stop…… and maybe drive a little further between stops to make it worthwhile.
The 2010 NC Mx5 did well…… we were fully loaded, about 12kg in the boot and 10 kg on a boot rack. We used a “Revo-Rack”, which attaches with 3 vacuum suction pads…. similar to how some of the motoring journalists attach cameras to cars….This ensures no damage to the boot lid ( aluminium on the NC Mx5) and is rated up to 20kg @ 80 mph (from memory). One takes it off every day and I carried a little spray bottle of water to ensure good vacuum attachment the next day. It literally takes 2 minutes. And it never moved……
37 mpg average over approx 1800 miles….
Checked the oil in Sintra…… I thought it might be prudent; apart from that, nothing.
The car is a virtually standard base model 1.8……no LSD and no air-con……but that may be half the charm ! I fitted oem fog lights and both of the stalks at the steering column are changed. The one on the left operates the lights, and the new one incorporates the (now required) fog light switch , whilst the one on the right operates the wipers, is from an Rx8 and features the variable interval intermittent wipe. For some strange reason Mazda fitted the Mx5 with a single (fixed) interval intermittent wiper switch, whilst the Rx8 got the rheostat…but they’re “plug & play”, so an easy mod.
We also carried an “Enkei” alloy space-saver spare ( in bright yellow), from a 1994 (!) Rx7. Same central aperture & same bolt circle. Oh, and a torque wrench!
I’m a bit funny about wheel nut torque settings.
The best mod? Two 5/8 inch rubber walking-stick tips which fit over the rubber “stops” on which the hood rests when it’s in the down position. This restores the slight “bounce” upwards when you release the hood from the lock-down mechanism and makes for a more solid area behind your head.
The NC has been well cleaned…… ever try getting factor 50 off the door cards……?
Best wishes to all
DC
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