I recently retired so decided to do a road trip in Spain and Portugal in Aug Sept. Left the spare wheel behind and emptied the floor well to make room for another suitcase. Got the ferry from Ireland, 2 nights to Bilbao. 3 nights in Bilbao for their festival. Great city, cheap food and drink. Then onto a place near Torrelavega, The gps brought us up a dirt road which I knew was wrong but could not do a u turn. Ended up on top of a small mountain and turned around at last. Coming down ended up in a ditch. Thought the car was knackered. Got a lad and his dad from a nearby house to pull us out with a tractor eventually. Brought the car to a garage to get it checked. They could not have been nicer or any more helpful. They put it on a hoist and had a look. Only damage done was to the heat shield, some floor panel push in bits and the gearbox bracket slightly dented. Broken wing mirror glass and a bit of paint damage so nothing serious. Was very lucky. Then we went to Oviedo, Ribadeo, Lugo, Santiago de Compestella, Ourease, Vigo, Braga, Porto, Averio, then up through the mountains and wine country to a few places staying at a winery and small B & Bs. Then to Puebla de Sanabria, up through Valladolid, Aranda de Duero ,Burgos, Lograno, Zarautz then back on the ferry. 3667 km door to door, 5 weeks. Stayed in cities, small villages, 5 star hotel and hostels, air b&b and guesthouses. Had a fantastic time and not one argument. Weather was good, loads of different foods and drinks. The Spanish and Portuguese were so friendly and helpful. The roads in the mountains were brilliant, some villages were so tight that only one car could fit between the houses on each side, see attached pic.
Thinking of doing something similar this year but on the other side of Spain. Any suggestions.