Will the last one out turn off the lights

Three days driving into Portugal so a bit to catch up on. Weymouth to St Malo went without a hitch. Valerie had to put her car with the lorries as it had the bikes on top, but we managed to find each other in the lounge. St Malo to Saint Valerien was little fraught as most of the three hour drive was in the dark but Valerie did a fantastic job following me, particularly though Nantes. So we arrived at La Landerie a little frazzled. Annie cooked us a wonderful meal and everything was ok with the world again. Tuesday and we dropped Valeries car, our bikes and other worldly goods (that would fit in to the Mazda) off at La Grange. Our holiday really started at that point. Drive down to Dax and a pleasant hotel. Parking in the street though. Why is it I only kerb my alloys in France. Last time was Antibes! Lack of hot water in the hotel which the owner was most apologetic about. He had forgoten to turn the valve! Sorted for the morning though. Then two days driving though Spain into Portugal with a stop at Tudela de Duero, which included a two hour tour of the local vineyard with wine tasting of course! The title of this piece isnt really descriptive of Spain but it isn't far off. We travelled from the North East to west central and the amount of ghost towns and enclaves is frightening. The roads are fantastic, some lorries, very little business or private cars outside the major cities. Scenery is stunning and such a pleasure to drive through. Our base for the next four days is Marvao, the highest village in Portugal, currently in the clouds with minimal visibility. Sprint race round the place on Sunday could be fun. The hotel we booked is being renovated and wasn't finished in time for our arrival. The owners are most apologetic and have put us up in another hotel nearby which is fine and we get dinner on the house tonight - result. Well that's the update. Will try and write more often so there isn't so much for you to digest. Gavin and Valerie.