Have you heard of the Moncoutant photographic exhibition.

Moncoutant sur Sevre is a beautiful village in Deax Servages and each year it hosts a amazing outdoor photographic exhibition.

I’ve been lucky to be to 4 exhibitions.

It’s not just the quality of the images but the curating in placement around the Village. I have tried to capture both aspects of the exhibition.

Near to Montoucant is the Fortified Farm B&B. A fantastic place to stop take a break when heading east across France toward the Alps or beyond.

The rain had started when I arrived in France. A friend suggested I might be made a saint for breaking the drought!

I was happy to have a bed rather that putting up a tent, thanks to my hosts.

It wasn’t all wet and Jazz the whippet enjoyed the sun.

And me a walk in the forest.

At cloudless night and the low light of rural France gave a clear view of the Milky Way.

A perfect way to finish a stay with the most hospitable hosts in France.

From Plymouth to Brittany is just a short ferry ride.

The Plymouth Hoe looks over the harbour the original lighthouse standing guard.

I was on my way back to Europe to slowly work my way to Italy for the 100th anniversary celebrations of Moto Guzzi at Mandello del Lario.

The ferry was coming in ready for the trip across to France the next day.

The sun was setting on a month back in England.

And the August full moon rising a true mark of the next phase of this adventure that commenced back in May as I headed to Morocco

It’s about a 7 hour ferry ride to Brittany from Plymouth. The coast of Brittany is just beautiful, the beaches, the rocky outcrops the racing tides of the cold North Atlantic.

I set up my camp at the municipal camp ground near Plouarzel.

And go for a swim in the cold ocean.

It was great to be back by the ocean.

The giant of gulls the Atlantic black backed gull skimming over the water.

And the moods of the cold ocean, clear blue skies one day and sea fog the next.

A schooner ghosts past the offshore islands in the fog.

Italy is a long way east and Brittany is at the western most point of France

So the cool weather meant time to make distance east.

The Ferry from Santander to Portsmouth

Santander is capital of the Spanish Provence of Cantabria and a major seaside city. Beaches and a ferry port all part of the the mix the city offers.

It was so different leaving Santander March 2 years ago when the pandemic and a lockdown drove me out of Spain. http://piecemealadventurer.com/2020/03/23/travelling-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-the-last-ferry-from-santander/

A beautiful summers day a yacht on the water sailing alongside the ferry.

As it left the harbour

Up on deck we spotted whales in the Bay of Biscay Abyss. Can you see the spout?

Agh how I missed the sight of the open sea when I was confined to cabin. At that time, like all of us, unaware how much time confined to hotel rooms, to our houses and neighbourhoods lay ahead.

How amazing to travelling internationally adventuring and watching the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean.

White cliffs up the Solent welcomed me back to Great Britain.

It’s a bit of a heatwave as I sit in my sister’s house in London. Covid 19 hasn’t gone away and being in a big city like London requires caution but life is an adventure to be lived so let’s live it.

Goodbye Portugal and Hello Spain

The Atlantic Coast of Portugal can be a bit crowded so a route east of Porto along the Duoro River into the Mountains then north to the spa city of Chaves was the best option

It was a great choice; clear windy roads and wonderful scenery.

It was a short ride to Chaves less than 150km but storms ahead dictated the length of the ride.

And the storm came casting an grey pall over the old centre of Chaves.

While Chaves is a Spa town the waters are used primarily for therapeutic use rather than leisure so lolling in a hot spa wasn’t an option. But drinking warm mineralised spa water straight from the spring was.

Cups are filled straight from the Spring.

The rain cleared over night and it was a clear run over the mountains into Spain

So it was goodbye Portugal

And hello Spain,

Confirmation I was in Spain came at Astorga and its Gaudi designed building.

The route headed around Leon and into the Picos de Europa.

I had travelled to the Picos in 2018 and it was a great opportunity to revisit.

The road to Riano to Potes is just beautiful.

From Potes in the town plaza there is a magnificent view of the central Massif of the Picos de Europa

Just 23km on from Potes is Fuene De in the heart of the Picos and one of the most beautiful camp grounds I have stayed at in all my travels

From Fuente De there is a Cable Car that ascents 753 Metres to a high plateau at about 1600 metres. There are number of walks in the mountains. One is an 11km return walk the ascends 770 metres to a refuge.

It’s a hard walk but the views spectacular.

Being up with the eagles.

Fuente De is a short ride back to the ferry port city of Santander. It was such very different circumstances arriving in Santander than it was in 2020.

Porto

It’s hard to know what to write about Porto I’m sure many many words have written about: the wine, the amazing River Douro gorge that the city is built around, the buildings and the churches.

Agh the churches. I think I’ve had enough of them. Another catholic evangelistic warlord going off and subduing and plunderingzx happy and peaceful first nations people all in god’s name.

But I did visit some churches. But I think too many European cities I am suffering Church Fatique. (Unreported visits to Barceona and Madrid laid the grounds for church fatigue!)

Luckily to conteract the Church Fatique there was a Banksy exhibition.

But as a boy born and bred in Melbourne, Australia. A city famous for its trams. A tram ride along the Douro River to the beach was a must.

The mouth of the river is quaint with a smallish beach and the Atlantic Ocean is still cold!

The tram ride is a scenic tour in itself along the river…

I have an observation developed over time. If you want to have something to eat with the view don’t expect anything to exciting food wise. The best food is most often without a view. This rule played out in Porto. The resturaunts with tables along the river offered the same blend of ‘traditional’ Portugese cuisine. But on the riverside in the in amongst the wine caves there is the little municipal market building. Here there are stalls of fresh produce and traditional and modern Porttugese food. But no view!

The best resturaunts are up the steep hills away from the river. The food fresh and fantastic.

But book if you want to go to a great place like Maria Rita or you will be queueing with locals and tourists alike waiting for a table to become free. Inside there is not a rush and a great selection of wines from.the Douro region and local produce.

So what is the must do thing to do in Porto?

Get your photo taken with the city as a backdrop. Lol