The Good Squad

Hi everyone, my human companion Emma asked me to contribute to her blog about our travels around Europe, and share what it's like from a dog's point of view, so here goes.... The three of us on our travels Firstly, this has been the longest walk ever! Me, Emma and Nick all got into the vehicle, after much to-ing and fro-ing back in September, like we usually do when going out for walk; only this vehicle, the bus, is much bigger than the old one, and we have been and in out of it ever since, and still not been back to the building we used to spend most of the time in. Not that I mind, walks are my favourite thing, alongside chasing cats and finding unusual things to eat. I enjoy being in the bus, I find it easy to fall asleep as we rumble along, and I get fed meals in here, when we stop moving. I have a special room of my own, with a comfy mat, which I can't get out of easily, though I have managed to, once or twice. I can see through the door and it's nice havin...

Alcoutim It feels like ages since my last blogpost, approximately three weeks ago, but so much happens when you are on the road; when it comes to writing it down, it's like meeting an old friend for the first time in years and not knowing what to say, because where do you start.... So, where do I start... let's go from where I finished off just after Nick's birthday at the beginning of December. For the most part, since then, we have been stationed in Alcoutim, an enforced stay due to waiting for post to arrive from England and also waiting for our new wing mirror, ordered online and coming from Bulgaria. It felt a little frustrating being confined to one place, but with no pressing commitments elsewhere we resigned ourselves to it and decided to make the most of it; Alcoutim is a pretty place and we found plenty to do and amuse ourselves with. Suzie, Me and Nick As mentioned in previous posts, Portugal is the most friendly and hospitable country we have visit...

This week we have spent the longest time in one place since we were in Bordeaux, France, for the grape picking, and I can think of fewer places better than Alcoutim to spend it, our current location, in southern Portugal, 35 kilometres from the Algarve coast. Spain, across the river We've had a very enjoyable and sociable time since arriving and I can totally vouch for this funny, quirky town as a good holiday destination. What brought us here was Suzie, an old friend of my mums, from Greece, who I had not met until now but heard lots about over the years. Suzie is a bit a bit of a Penelope Pitstop - eccentric, adventurous and independent. She spent a large part of her life exploring the world as a sailor and laterally travelling across Europe in a van and eventually settling in Alcoutim, where we caught up with her this week. Alcoutim is a small village on the banks of the Guardiana River. Opposite it is the village of Sanlucar  de Guardiana on the Spanish side which, wer...

Nina admiring some street art This week marks the tenth week of being away on our travels around Europe. Time-wise I can't say if it's passed quickly or slowly, what I do know is that by and large it has been time well spent. During our first week in Portugal we were based in one place, Penamacor, which we absolutely loved; since then we have experienced a lot more of the country as we travelled south through central Portugal, heading towards the Algarve. Last week's blog post left off with us in Castelo Branco on Saturday morning, getting a bulb changed in the bus headlight and then heading off to visit an old friend of Nicks, Sara, in a place called Pedrogao Grande. A bridge too far? We crossed it! The journey there was a little dicey! We thought we'd had our share of mountains, but that was not the case, and once again it was a hair raising journey not only upwards, but also over terrifying bridges. It wasn't possible to get to Sara's house it...

It's been a serendipitous week of ups and downs, but overall the most enjoyable week of our travels so far... view from Penamacor We arrived in Portugal on Monday afternoon, after narrowly avoiding getting stuck in the mountains, again, and headed straight to a place I had looked up in advance which we liked the sound of, called Penamacor. We weren't disappointed and instantly warmed to the pretty town, nestled in the hills with its friendly inhabitants. We parked up in a beautiful square with stunning, panoramic views and then set off to explore the surrounding area. Around 5.30 Nick popped to the shop just a hundred or so metres away to grab a few supplies, taking Nina and looping her lead over the bollard outside. Minutes later he returned frantic, bearing the sickening news that Nina was gone. Now, anyone that know us and knows Nina, is aware that she has a penchant for running off and we have lost her previously on a few occasions, most notably for a whole night ...

Amazing waves at Capbreton, France It's been an eventful and sometimes challenging week! Lots of travelling, a fair bit of problem solving and a total change of scenery as we headed in to Spain. Our route, which was loosely planned to say the least, took us from Capbreton where we spent our final night in France, parked near the beach, into Spain where we crossed the border at Irun and past some very low key border control - a couple of police cars, waving people through. We celebrated our departure with our first roast dinner cooked aboard the bus, which was delicious and a lot easier to rustle up than we thought it would be. Spain felt instantaneously different from France. Basque Country is remote and wild and unlike the Spain I know on the South East coast; the spelling of the places looked more foreign than I expected and totally unpronounceable. Coming from the relative prim and properness of its Gallic neighbours, it was a refreshing change and it felt exciting to ...