Labs on the Road

Three and a half weeks were not long enough…

The last few days were spent taking the dogs on local walks, helping my mother with things around the house and desperately trying to do some translating.

Lelo finally decided that Thai was okay, but not Goa. I gather from my mother that Lelo really misses my two now that they’ve gone. Sadly, it is not a reciprocal feeling and they’re happy to be back with Yankz, their brother.

The last visit to friends and the view of the Abberley Hills from Structon’s Heath Farm, where I spent so much time growing up. This is the field where our Bonfire Nights were held:

Then all too soon it was time to leave for Portsmouth and the ferry to Bilbao. I though the traffic would be better on a Sunday. Wrong. The motorways were busy with caravans and holiday traffic. It seemed there were roadworks with traffic lights every other mile. The M27 was still as scary.

36 hours later (takes longer on the way back) and we landed in Bilbao. It is a long, long journey for the dogs and I was lucky that the crossing was very smooth each way. I am not sure how well the dogs would deal with the dog deck if the sea was rougher. Next summer I plan to drive back through France and do the shorter crossing from Caen.

I was happy to be back to Spanish motorways and dual carriageways, with good signs (names not just road numbers) and hardly any traffic.

Six hours later we reached Valdesolar. A small town with another dog-friendly discovery. A small hotel with 8 rooms around a courtyard. There is a bar/shop next door run by the same people. I plan to go back and stay there in spring and explore Cáceres as I was so struck by the province on my drive through.

Three and a bit hours later we were back in El Puerto. Back to heat, dryness, but at least the tourists had mostly gone.

The trip to the UK was a great success (except for the Internet and getting behind with work). I am really proud at how well Goa and Thai behaved and coped with travelling. It will only be day trips for a while, but they are off to stay on a farm and explore the mountains of Huelva in late November. I plan to carry on posting photos here.