Travelling in a vintage Land Rover is not a good idea if you don't want to make friends. We had so many people come up and chat to us because of this old car, and found it a fantastic way to connect to people. In Peniche, we met a Dutch guy in an old T4 Volkswagen called Helga who was terribly impressed with our Series Land Rover. Over coffee, he got out the map of Galicia, where we were headed, and sent us a heap of pins on Whatsapp -- places to stay, to eat, to chill out. One recommendation was Restaurant O Cordobes at a place called Razo - Praia de Razo - beach, known for it's surfing.

Restaurant O Cordobes is the kind of place you want to find on your travels - authentic, traditional, full of locals, and cheap. When we arrived we were too late for lunch but the woman was so friendly and lovely she said she could make us a toasted roll, which sounded okay but ended up being amazing - cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion - and probably the best we'd had on the trip. WE had a few well deserved beers and people watched - old men playing cards, tourists, locals all enjoying their Saturday. Had we stayed for dinner, we would have likely had a delicious meal as well, but we had to find a spot for the night.

As we ate and drank, a few of the old boys were out admiring out Land Rover. They came in and spoke to us in Galician, which we didn't understand, but it was easy to see how much they appreciated the old beast. One guy wanted to show us his Defender 110, but we had to go and find a place to stay.

Don't worry, I haven't finished with Restaurante O Cordobes yet - but let's quickly check out this amazing camp, right near a church, with an amazing view. We watched the ocean til the sun went down, observing the boats that moved through the channel between the land and the island. It was such a quiet, lovely place to stay, interrupted only by pilgrims that walked through on their way to Santiago De Compostela and said hello in many languages.

Sometimes it takes a long, long time to find a place to stay. We found a lot of the caravan parks were shut and so it had to be free camping, which we preferred anyway.Thank god for Park4Night app, though three of the places we tried were a bit exposed to the wind and in site of houses which we find a bit cheeky.

In the morning, we went back to Restaurante O Cordobes for breakfast. The drive down to the village was lovely, though we took the wrong route and had to divert around. That would be annoying if we were in a hurry, but going for a drive was literally our trip so who could complain.

We watched the surf for a while but it was tiny and windy, so didn't bother, opting for a walk along the beach instead which was quite lovely.

Some of the same beer drinking card players were there having Sunday beers - it was 9 am, but hey, who are we to judge. We had a frittata or tortilla - basically egg and potato - plus some free tapas and a couple of expressos. It's the kind of place that gives you free tapas with a drink which is just extra special when a lot of tourist places you're charged through the nose. We hadn't eaten out a lot so it was so nice to have this food!

The big guy who said he wanted to show us his 110 was delighted to see us. He rushed off to get his beloved car and came back to park next to Buttercup to show it off. He had a little English and we managed to get by. It was actually his daughter's car but there's such a problem with theft in England she took it back to Galicia for her Dad, who was the original owner. She tells him never to get rid of it because she loves it so much. There's 7 seats in there so it fits the whole family. He was a perfect example of a guy who had a real emotional connection to his Defender, just like we do with our Series and our own Defender 130 back in Australia. It's a vibe.

After a while we had a little crowd around chatting to us, which was really lovely. The bar owner even came out and gave Jamie a t-shirt. All this fuss just for having an old car. People think we're mad for doing it, but this is why - all these gorgeous little experiences we just wouldn't have had if we'd been in an 'ordinary' car!

Side note: This tshirt is now one of my nighties. It's a little big for Jamie so I've pinched it, and it's always nice to wear it and think about how really, really hospitable and friendly people can be.

With Love,

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