It was cloudy, overcast and about 20°C when we left our apartment in Baia da Luz on 10 June for a 15-day driving holiday. This is ideal weather if you are going to be sitting in a car on a journey that will take in Linares and Zaragoza in Spain, Andorra La Vella and Le Cap D’Agde in France, and then home via Sitges, Denia, Malaga and Jerez.
We emigrated to the Algarve from Plymouth, in Devon, in 2016. Lindsay and I are in our 70s. I was a naval officer in the Supply Branch, and Lindsay had her own restaurant for 15 years before changing careers. She was also a director´s secretary for a leading national housing association. We have not had a holiday in over seven years since we came to Portugal (ah—poor loves, and they live just by the beach!!!).
The objective was to reach a small fishing village called Le Grau D´Agde in the Herault region of South West France by 13 June. We had holidayed in this area for many years and, for the last six years of our tenure in the UK, we spent the months of June and September in a villa called Capucine just 300 metres from the Med. It was to be Lindsay’s 74th birthday on 15 June, and she wanted to have just one last birthday in one of her favourite places.
We set off along the good old A22 at a steady 100 km with more luggage than Joan Collins takes for a weekend. Our first stop was Linares, some 325.5 miles from home. The motorway as you enter Spain is dreadful, so we played Elvis Presley’s ‘I´m All Shook Up’. The Seville motorway goes straight through the middle of the city, motorway lanes this way and that, tunnel after tunnel and HGVs surrounding us. Lindsay chose to do her driving during this part of the trip. As we used to say in the Navy, “never volunteer”! She did well, though.
After an early and hearty breakfast, we loaded up the car and set out for a hard day on the road. This leg of the journey had very desolate scenery; there was no habitation, just a dry, barren landscape. Hotel Goya (named after the artist) was located in a pedestrianised precinct and was our resting place for the night. After a couple of drinks in a beautiful courtyard, we explored “El Tubo” – full of life, tapas bars, music and so on. We chose a really great restaurant for a tapas dinner then strolled back to the hotel. 405.2 miles done today.
We were back on the road at 10 am on Wednesday for the highlight of our holiday: Andorra, a country full of high mountains of the ’peri peri chickens’ knees’ variety, as Lindsay calls the Pyrenees. On this little stretch of local motorway, we crossed the Meridian Way, which follows sections of the International Greenwich Meridian through some of the most spectacular parts of the French Pyrenees mountains. We had lunch in a lovely old market town called Ponts and as we tucked into our lunch, we saw chickens, pigs and lambs being transported to the market. We approached the Customs House on the border with Andorra and the heavens opened up. The wipers could hardly cope.
Andorra La Vella is a tax-free haven with nothing much to offer except shops selling things we didn’t want. After three circuits of the city centre, we eventually found our hotel. Hotel Magic really lived up to its name. Overlooking the River Valira and the famous Madrid Bridge, our room had a magnificent view of the city below and the high mountains above.
We left the hotel just after 10 am, our excitement almost off the scale. The journey through the high mountains to Le Pas de la Casa was probably the high point of our trip. This area is very famous for hosting climbing stages in the Tour de France. (See stage 15 of the 2024 Tour). The rain had stopped and the sun was shining. We continued to climb through the most fantastic scenery we have ever seen: up mountains, through mountains and around mountains. We eventually arrived at the bottom of Le Pas de La Casa and began the winding road upwards. Wow, what a drive. We stopped at a viewpoint and took photos. Then, it was on to the top, passing professional cyclists training on the road; we were driving at the same speed as them!
At the summit (2,408 metres), there were two petrol stations but no café or toilet. Up here, the temperature had plunged to 8°C and there was snow on the ground. Fantastic. We started our trip down and found the village of La Pas de La Casa, a tax-free haven which was full of French people coming over the border for their cigarettes and booze, etc. Then it was on towards France. We acquired a bottle of Havana Club for only €11 to save for a special occasion. After a slow and steady drive, we crossed the border into France.
We arrived in Le Grau d’Agde, a traditional fishing village at the mouth of the River Hérault, and checked into the hotel. Lindsay’s birthday arrived on Saturday, and after breakfast, we went to explore the local market. We strolled around at all the usual stalls, plus the fantastic fruit and veg sections.
We enjoyed a ride on the big wheel with fantastic views, followed by a lovely lunch of Caribbean tapas and Sangria Blanche in the marina. Later, Lindsey was delighted to enjoy a sumptuous birthday dinner on the promenade of Le Grau D´Agde overlooking the Mediterranean.
region, where a bay called Etange de Thau is famous for oysters. Unfortunately, our satnav sent us the wrong way and by the time we arrived in Meze, it was packed. We strolled round the market before trying to find a table at a quayside restaurant. We’d given up and were walking back to the car, when we came across a busy restaurant by the beach. Someone had just finished their meal and we got a table straight away.
Monday brought a rainy day, so we headed to Montpellier where we were pleased to find nothing had changed in a decade. A lovely stroll around the old town with its designer shops, and individual boutiques was marvellous. A lot of the buildings in Montpellier are decorated with Trompe L´oeil paintings which were amazingly realistic. I even waved to a boy who looked like he was hanging out of a window! We had a nice lunch and we found a great bar and the sun came out. We enjoyed a couple of glasses of the beautiful rosé that you get in this area and used the park-and-ride system, which is great in Montpellier: parking and all tram journeys for €5.60, which is a bargain.
We were glad we’d returned – and Lindsay’s birthday meal was a success. And our trip was a reminder to all that love the Algarve that the rest of Europe is on our doorstep!
Next moth we hear about Stewart and Lindsay´s return journey.
