Too far (?), too much, too fast
A heavy dose of visitors, road trips, thermal pools, home renovations, and co-travelers
Too far (?)
Back in January, a nice couple from Meerkerk, Holland, Hans and Josien, contacted us through People Like Us and proposed a three-week home exchange for late summer. Video calls were made, plans were settled. We both planned to drive and meet for lunch somewhere in central France, but eventually they decided to fly instead. We kept our plans for an extended road trip.
The drive seemed like it would be a fun and challenging experience. It would be over 6k km of total driving, and since Feijão only has about 300 km of range, that would mean extensive public charging. I did some research on my EV charging apps, and felt confident that we could make the trip without too much effort. I also loaded a few more EV charging apps onto my phone and created accounts with payment details. Never hurts to be prepared.
I tend to be “organic”, only looking for charging about 30 minutes from when we need a charge, rather than mapping out an exacting plan and sticking to it. It makes for a more flexible trip, although it can lead to some stress for the navigator at times. We found that Tesla Superchargers fit our needs (inexpensive charging, clean bathrooms and interesting locations) the best, but we used many other charging networks as well.
Prior to departing, we had the pleasure of hosting Chris and Sandra, some friends from Oregon. We were able to introduce them to Porto and Coimbra, and then drove them to Salamanca, Spain where they hopped a train to Madrid. We met up with them later in Holland to explore Amsterdam, Zaandam and Haarlem, and caught a Champions League play-in match between PSV Eindhoven and Rangers. The bookend visit happened during a big swing in temperatures: it started during a heat-dome event in Portugal and Spain, with temperatures in the 40s, and ended with more typical rainy Dutch weather in the teens.
From our base in Meerkerk, we explored around Holland and Belgium, visiting Den Haag, Rotterdam, Tilburg, Dordrecht, and Antwerp in addition to other places mentioned above and below. By bike, we explored the Dutch countryside around Meerkerk via the spectacularly well-connected and maintained bike paths: Leerdam, Vianen, Gorinchem, Woudrichem, and Utrecht - where we enjoyed a kayak along the canals.
The bicycling in Holland definitely tops the list of highlights. The interconnected network of bike paths (bike roads, really) makes almost anywhere in Holland easily and pleasantly accessible by bike. Hans and Josien let us use their e-bikes, which made getting around a snap. Even the ferries and bridges are optimized for bicycle use. It’s bicycling heaven.
Other Dutch highlights included a visit to see our favorite Dutch painter, Marius van Dokkum and a Tesla V4 supercharger in Harderwijk, connecting with friends and family in Zoetermeer and Ridderkerk, a beach cleanup with an Indonesian group in Noordwijk which inspired this popular post, and the numerous Indonesian food supermarkets, open-air markets, and restaurants.
For the return trip, we drove back down south via the eastern edge of Belgium and France, passing through 5 countries on the first day of the trip. The day started in Meerkerk and ended up in Metz, passing through Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. There were some very pretty French cities along the way: Metz, Avignon, Montpellier, where we spent a weekend on a cat-sit, and Carcassonne were all memorable. Despite a desire to re-visit San Sebastian, a delightful Basque seaside city in Spain with a French flair, we decided instead to visit another Basque city, Bilbao, which we very much enjoyed. We will definitely make a return visit to Basque country.
Too much
Then it was home for a few days, where we did umpteen loads of laundry and made ready for a small kitchen remodel and installation of new windows. Somehow, we foolishly planned to get all this work done in the 10 days between our return from Holland and our trip to Açores. The windows happened, as did delivery of the new kitchen appliances, but the partial kitchen remodel was postponed for reasons of sanity.
The trip to Açores, however, happened as planned. We joined a couple friends who live in Luso on a trip to the lovely, warm island of Sao Miguel, part of the 9-island archipelago. The Açores are typically described as the Hawaii of the Atlantic. The islands are volcanic in origin, and have a number of hot springs for multiple soaking opportunities. We visited at least a half-dozen “thermals”, and enjoyed each, although most were crowded with tourists, despite the mid-October timing.
What I enjoyed most was the “natural pools”, which are swimming areas built into the ocean rocks, and are either replenished or are integral parts of the active ocean. We were able to snorkel in a couple, and all of them made for an engaging swim. The surf was extremely active due to some storms, such that our whale-watching plans were dashed, but it made for some fun swimming opportunities in the piscinas naturais.
Too fast
Upon our return from Açores, we had less than 24 hours to leave for another home exchange planned with a couple from Ourense, Spain. Ourense is known for its thermal springs and beautiful bridges. It is built on an ancient site of Roman baths which made use of the hot springs. We made the visit along with our friends from Carcavelos, and enjoyed dipping in the Spanish thermal hot springs, which were much hotter than the thermas on Sao Miguel. We followed the locals by making cooling dips into the Río Miño in between soaks.
The return home was tempered by the looming kitchen remodel, which actually went off without a hitch, capping a very busy two month stretch.
Aside from a rib injury to Rustam, picked up during the volunteer bridge cleaning event last weekend, we are none the worse for the wear. We will definitely not stack so many things back to back again. Our Portuguese friends were astounded at our overstuffed schedule: “you’re leaving again?!” We will endeavor to have a more relaxed schedule going forward. Ciao for now.
I got tired from just reading your itinerary LOL! You guys have a lot of energy, but wonderful to see you enjoying life and taking advantage of your geographical location! Portugal is a great springboard to other places. Thanks for sharing.
Like Bianca, I’m exhausted just reading about your travels. You have some great pictures as well. I like your imbedded links and have been reading about Dutch bike infrastructure for the last half hour.
When we get together for a coffee, I hope you can give some context for the group of paintings at your fav Dutch painter’s museum.
Thanks for the inspiration (s)