For this year's Euro trip I decided to go to Spain again, I asked my fellow travellers for input and suggestions for alternatives, there was none 
The plan such as it was, was to get the Brittany Ferries crossing from Plymouth to Santander (fastest crossing to Spain currently) which would see us in Spain mid afternoon the day after departure from Plymoth and head South West for a couple of hours to our first overnight stop, from there we would be heading South West to Portugal and stay at a couple of different locations there, then we were heading to Galicia (another couple of overnight stops, on Asturias (couple more overnight stops) and spend the last night in The Picos at the Hotel Del Oso a favourite of mine and I know very popular with members here.
The cast of travellers and the steeds of awesomeness comprised; me -Ducati Multistrada V4S, Sean-BMW R1250GS HP, Dave BMW R1200GS Rallye, Oscar BMW R1200GSA, Luis Honda Africa Twin, Oscar is Spanish and Luis is from Portugal so we had a translator/fixer for each of the countries we were visiting, there shouldn't be any misunderstanding with menus then......you'd think
Day 00
We arranged to meet at Plymouth, Sean and I travelled down the M5 from South Wales and took a little detour over Dartmoor and Princetown
We arrived in time for a late lunch at the Dock Cafe, we had a table with a view on the veranda where we were joined 10 mins later by the others
Salcombe crab sandwich and all the trimmings.
Prior to checking in with Brittany Ferries our Covid jab status was checked by a member of staff walking up the lines of waiting vehicles on the quayside and a sticker attached to our passports which made check in quicker and easier for all.
Once boarded we abandoned the bikes to the crew to secure with ratchet straps, there were a lot of bikes on the ship and they were packed in tight wheel to wheel with barely enough room to get off the bike and retrieve your essentials for the overnight crossing, this is the worst aspect of a crossing to Spain by motorcycle
We had cabins for the overnight crossing these were available to us as soon as we boarded so we were able to get changed and meet in the bar, we endured the " on board entertainment" in the bar with a few beers
Day 01
Santander came into view and the weather looked favourable
As motorcyclists loaded into the ship's belly we were among the last disembark, we queued in the heat on the quayside for passport control but were clear of the port in around an hour and on our way. after a short motorway journey we were on smaller roads and stopped at Cabuerniga for a pic or 2
Oscar
Luis
We stopped for a coffee and a snack near La Lastra there was no hurry we only had around 130 miles to our first hotel.
We were soon at our hotel the grandly named Hotel Real Monasterio San Zoilo, after checking in and exploring some of the grounds and the building itself we enjoyed a good meal in the restaurant and enjoyed a few beers on the terrace
The hotel was reasonably priced as was the restaurant, the rooms were quiet and comfortable and the staff welcoming and friendly, we parked in the hotel car park although we were told later we could have parked somewhere more secure we didn't bother to move the bikes, as with most of the hotels on this trip I booked via booking dot com
Day 02
Today was going to be one of our longer days in the saddle at 270 ish miles to our next hotel, I saw this as something of a transit route and wasn't expecting dramatic scenery and twisty roads, the temperature was in the high 20's to low 30's which wasn't particularly comfortable but we managed a few pics, stopped off for coffee and enjoyed some good riding
Saw lots of hydro electric projects.......
Plenty of twisty roads
Stopped at a Mirador or 2
We arrived late afternoon at our next stop for the night Casa Lagar de Alagoa in Vale de Amoreira in the Sera de Estrela National Park in Portugal
It's an unusual spot, very quiet but with some interesting history as it is a former Olive farm and much of it's original line shaft and machinery is still present, it was originally powered by a water wheel which is till present but in a poor state.
Our hosts were welcoming and very hospitable, Jose's father still tends the land at 83 years of age (sorry no pics) but he still owns this Transit van, bought new in 1982 it's mostly original and has no corrosion to speak of, starts on the button too
There's not many like that in the U.K. these days.
Jose called his restaurateur friend in a neighbouring village and booked a table for dinner for us, he even drove us there and picked us up
Day 03
Our expected journey distance for today was around 190 miles to Chaves, Luis had not stayed with us the previous evening as he had gone to visit his parents as they weren't too far away so the four of us set off and we met Luis in Manteigas for a coffee.
That way....everything is that way <
Corners-lots of em
att's back garden
Coffee stop is down there somewhere........
Later in the day we crossed the Douro river
Our hotel for the night was the Forte de Sao Francisco in Chaves, Oscar and I have stayed here before and it didn't disapoint last time hence the return visit, a former fortress it's an impressive place, has comfortable rooms at a reasonable rate and has a great pool which some of us made use of to cool down
We opted to walk into town for dinner Luis found us a good restaurant and we ate well
More to follow..............
The plan such as it was, was to get the Brittany Ferries crossing from Plymouth to Santander (fastest crossing to Spain currently) which would see us in Spain mid afternoon the day after departure from Plymoth and head South West for a couple of hours to our first overnight stop, from there we would be heading South West to Portugal and stay at a couple of different locations there, then we were heading to Galicia (another couple of overnight stops, on Asturias (couple more overnight stops) and spend the last night in The Picos at the Hotel Del Oso a favourite of mine and I know very popular with members here.
The cast of travellers and the steeds of awesomeness comprised; me -Ducati Multistrada V4S, Sean-BMW R1250GS HP, Dave BMW R1200GS Rallye, Oscar BMW R1200GSA, Luis Honda Africa Twin, Oscar is Spanish and Luis is from Portugal so we had a translator/fixer for each of the countries we were visiting, there shouldn't be any misunderstanding with menus then......you'd think
Day 00
We arranged to meet at Plymouth, Sean and I travelled down the M5 from South Wales and took a little detour over Dartmoor and Princetown
We arrived in time for a late lunch at the Dock Cafe, we had a table with a view on the veranda where we were joined 10 mins later by the others
Salcombe crab sandwich and all the trimmings.
Prior to checking in with Brittany Ferries our Covid jab status was checked by a member of staff walking up the lines of waiting vehicles on the quayside and a sticker attached to our passports which made check in quicker and easier for all.
Once boarded we abandoned the bikes to the crew to secure with ratchet straps, there were a lot of bikes on the ship and they were packed in tight wheel to wheel with barely enough room to get off the bike and retrieve your essentials for the overnight crossing, this is the worst aspect of a crossing to Spain by motorcycle
We had cabins for the overnight crossing these were available to us as soon as we boarded so we were able to get changed and meet in the bar, we endured the " on board entertainment" in the bar with a few beers
Day 01
Santander came into view and the weather looked favourable
As motorcyclists loaded into the ship's belly we were among the last disembark, we queued in the heat on the quayside for passport control but were clear of the port in around an hour and on our way. after a short motorway journey we were on smaller roads and stopped at Cabuerniga for a pic or 2
Oscar
Luis
We stopped for a coffee and a snack near La Lastra there was no hurry we only had around 130 miles to our first hotel.
We were soon at our hotel the grandly named Hotel Real Monasterio San Zoilo, after checking in and exploring some of the grounds and the building itself we enjoyed a good meal in the restaurant and enjoyed a few beers on the terrace
The hotel was reasonably priced as was the restaurant, the rooms were quiet and comfortable and the staff welcoming and friendly, we parked in the hotel car park although we were told later we could have parked somewhere more secure we didn't bother to move the bikes, as with most of the hotels on this trip I booked via booking dot com
Day 02
Today was going to be one of our longer days in the saddle at 270 ish miles to our next hotel, I saw this as something of a transit route and wasn't expecting dramatic scenery and twisty roads, the temperature was in the high 20's to low 30's which wasn't particularly comfortable but we managed a few pics, stopped off for coffee and enjoyed some good riding
Saw lots of hydro electric projects.......
Plenty of twisty roads
Stopped at a Mirador or 2
We arrived late afternoon at our next stop for the night Casa Lagar de Alagoa in Vale de Amoreira in the Sera de Estrela National Park in Portugal
It's an unusual spot, very quiet but with some interesting history as it is a former Olive farm and much of it's original line shaft and machinery is still present, it was originally powered by a water wheel which is till present but in a poor state.
Our hosts were welcoming and very hospitable, Jose's father still tends the land at 83 years of age (sorry no pics) but he still owns this Transit van, bought new in 1982 it's mostly original and has no corrosion to speak of, starts on the button too
There's not many like that in the U.K. these days.
Jose called his restaurateur friend in a neighbouring village and booked a table for dinner for us, he even drove us there and picked us up
Day 03
Our expected journey distance for today was around 190 miles to Chaves, Luis had not stayed with us the previous evening as he had gone to visit his parents as they weren't too far away so the four of us set off and we met Luis in Manteigas for a coffee.
That way....everything is that way <
Corners-lots of em
att's back garden
Coffee stop is down there somewhere........
Later in the day we crossed the Douro river
Our hotel for the night was the Forte de Sao Francisco in Chaves, Oscar and I have stayed here before and it didn't disapoint last time hence the return visit, a former fortress it's an impressive place, has comfortable rooms at a reasonable rate and has a great pool which some of us made use of to cool down
We opted to walk into town for dinner Luis found us a good restaurant and we ate well
More to follow..............
but I could be mistaken. The hotel now has the 4 storey building across the road as well as the main site we are familiar with, when I was last there the building across the road looked unused but hotel Del Oso staff confirmed it is now operational so they have added to their capacity massively. 
the Ducati is the thirstiest but not by as much as press reports would have you believe, over the duration of the trip I saw the average reach high 40's to low 50's mpg overall, all bikes carried their riders and luggage well and none gave any cause for complaint, after 17 years on GS and GSA's I'm enjoying Ducati life 
