Campervan Therapy

We’re sad to say goodbye to Covas, so the night before we leave we treat ourselves to a local bust-a-gut meal at Flôr Fontela, 500 metres from Parque Campismo de Covas. The area is rightly known for the quality of its chargrilled steak, along with mountain cheese, succulent olives and the freshest salad. We both…

We drive 21 kilometres along the sinuous N301, from Covas to Caminha, a small seaside border town between northern Portugal and Spain. Finally crossing out of the defensive ring of mountains which surround Covas, we’re assaulted by busier roads than we’ve seen for a week. The bustle of Caminha is also a shock as we’ve…

We follow the signs from Covas Village, cross the ancient bridge and follow the walking signs along the road that runs above the Couro’s dramatic gorge. There’s times I can’t make out the river snaking so far below. A sudden cooling on a bend in the sun-drenched road and a tributary tumbles down into the…

So, we follow the red and yellow signed circular trail around Covas. We walk under huge ancient oak trees, cork oak and Portuguese laurel. Willows and poplars line the Coura River. Eventually we cross the bridge and take the forestry track across the hillside to the old dam’s ruins. The sandstone track weaves through shrubs…

We’re on the AP9 motorway south in Galicia, having failed to find a campsite as there’s literally no room at the inn, because the rest of Spain and Portugal are experiencing inferno temperatures, so many campers have had exactly the same idea as us. When we get an answer to our enquiry from a campsite…