After a fair night except for barking dogs we continued up to the main road passing through roadworks for a massive motorway viaduct then headed west on the busiest road we had encountered in Portugal. Possibly a pleasant drive across the hills once the motorway is completed but after being cut up too many times by speeding coaches and lorries we were glad to turn off to the town of Amarante where we had a look at the houses overhanging the river, the church and a large market selling lots of cheap clothes. We decided to continue northward and drove the short distance to Celorico de Basto and a new municipal campsite where we were virtually on our own.

Another night was spoilt by barking dogs. Unable to leave until the warden had driven up from the town to disconnect our mains lead from the locked box we mentioned the noisy dogs the reply being "that's nature!" We should have driven across the valley to Mondim de Basto where we discovered later they had just opened a new motorhome aire. We headed across country passing traditional haystacks and bypassed the industrial town of Fafe to reach the edge of the city of Guimarães the first capital of Portugal, and drove up the winding road to the hilltop sanctuary of Penha where we found the municipal campsite in the woods with a flat area for motorhomes and an outdoor swimming pool. Penha was a peaceful place and a popular spot for local coach tours so we stayed for two nights and took the Teleférico cable car down to the city the next morning. Guimarães is compact city with a castle, several churches, a ducal palace and attractive squares and gardens. There were also several Stations of the Cross tableaux encased in doors.  It is the European Capital of Culture in 2012. We returned to the campsite for a lazy afternoon and planned our route for the next few days.

Before we left the site we used the service point - just a small manhole among the trees which involved some careful positioning of the van. (We suggested this could be improved on the satisfaction survey form which seems to be obligatory at Portuguese campsites.) Once we found our way out of the city and a top up shop at a Pingo Doce supermarket we drove through a succession of small industrial towns to the coast at Vila do Conde, an attractive resort beside the Rio Ave estuary where we found several vans parked. A short walk up the estuary, the old town was worth a visit with a massive 18th century convent overlooking the river and an impressive aqueduct. We wandered around the old narrow streets and came across a wedding party entering the old church dressed in their finery. There is also a small boat museum on the quayside with a few fishing boats and a still active boatbuilding yard on the opposite bank. A traditional activity is lacework and embroidery with another small museum. At the beach there were the usual bars and cafes providing double mattresses as sunloungers.
The next morning we drove up the flat coast partly on narrow pavé surfaces for miles and passing a huge Sunday market at Estella but with nowhere to park. At Esponde we parked on the roadside and walked along the riverside prom and gardens and around the town centre with a few fountains and an old theatre, before driving up to Viana do Castelo turning off before the river bridge to the Orbitur campsite at Cabedelo in woods behind the dunes and a large empty beach. As there was a long traffic queue into Viana the next morning we decided to drive along the Rio Lima to Ponte de Lima, a pretty town with a restored Roman bridge and many interesting old buildings and statues. They also hold an annual garden festival which is worth a visit. There were twelve themed garden layouts, some rather quirky and the entrance fee was only €1 each for seniors.

 
In the afternoon we changed our plans and we often do and drove north up into the hills to a pleasantly situated small campsite at Covas, then on to Valença do Minho, a fortified town with massive walls based on Vauban's designs we have often seen in France. Inside the old town we found mostly restaurants and shops mostly selling the same range of table linen, towels, blankets and baby clothes, but there are pleasant walks around ramparts but watch out for unguarded drops. We crossed the river into Spain on the narrow double-decked railway and road bridge designed by Eiffel.