Cascais 2012 - Inbound 2

The following day, we decided to stop in Miranda do Douro for coffee, a short ride to begin. The coffee was fine and we picked up a couple of bits of shopping, but the exit was to be another satnav disaster. First, it was a pedestrian precinct and then a dead end not on the map. Next, we hit road works and a diversion, then some more road works and a u-turn. Finally, we were rewarded with a very scenic descent into the Douro River gorge and crossed over an hydroelectric dam and crossed into Spain to climb onto the vast flat arable plains that would prevail for the rest of the day to Benavente.

Our Parador was on top of a hill, having been a castle until Napoleon destroyed most of it in 1808, but most of the tower is original and the restoration has been very well done both in terms of building and furnishing.

Our last stop was in the Parador Cervera de Pisuerga, again up a mountain in the Fuentes National Park. Unlike the other Paradors, this had been purpose built as a hotel and was themed in the style of a hunting lodge. The views were once more magnificent.

Our last stop was in the Parador Cervera de Pisuerga, again up a mountain in the Fuentes National Park. Unlike the other Paradors, this had been purpose built as a hotel and was themed in the style of a hunting lodge. The views were once more magnificent.

We enjoyed our evening here, but the wind got up during the night and some had a bad night with banging shutters and the flags outside thrashing against their poles.

In the morning, we had a short ride to Santander, but cloud and fog were to make some of this rather unpleasant. Our ferry sailed on time, but the Bay of Biscay chose to have one last shot at us because of the high winds.