Travelling with dogs from Porto to Rosslare, via Bilbao, with a Vet stop in Valladolid.
Stormy weather - France had major strikes - Risk of no petrol stations open – Closing Le Havre port, maybe others!
We re-routed to depart from Bilbao to Rosslare with Brittany Ferries on the Salamanca, instead. When something like this happens it is important when travelling with dogs out of France or Spain that you leave time for tapeworm treatment (Echinococcus multilocularis) this is required to re-enter Ireland and must be recorded in the Pet Passport. This must also be certified by a vet “not less than 24 hours before arrival into Ireland and not more than 120 hours before arrival”, between 1 to 5 days basically. We extended our stay in Valladolid and cancelled the vet we had booked in France. We toured a little of the city while we had time, seeing the Peacocks wandering around the Parque Grande Campo. Valladolid is also the resting place of Red Hugh O’Donnell but that’s another story.
We headed off for Bilbao in quite poor weather. As a bad sailor I was not looking forward to the Bay of Biscay, suddenly we got emergency warnings from Brittany Ferries on our phones. Due to severe weather the ferry could be boarded but would remain in port overnight. They hoped to sail the next day. This 30-hour sailing would still get us in on time to meet the vaccination requirement luckily.
Odlum and Chica were brilliant when we first sailed over from Cork to Roscoff and were not phased at all, Brittany ferries was really first class for passengers and dogs, and we had a wonderful experience on the Pont Aven. This time we were on the Salamanca the latest LPG ‘green’ cruise ferry. It was especially dog friendly, and we had booked a cabin with a view, and given the size of the dogs, they were allowed stay in our cabin. We were a short walk from the doggy deck as well.
Here’s a pic above of me with Odlum and Chica I’m the one looking worried having seen the waves in port.
The Salamanca in quieter seas.
We boarded easily, dogs muzzled, but not strictly observed once dogs were controlled by their owners, and by about 6pm we had settled ourselves and the dogs. We explored the ship starting with the doggy deck which was spacious enough, not huge, but nice and easy to get to.
Early in the season everything on board was not open, but there was a broad selection of meals to choose in the Azul restaurant, which were fabulous. Afterwards most people congregated in the Plaza Mayor for drinks afterwards. We walked the dogs on and off through the evening and the weather seems to improve slightly. Certainly, in the port we had a great sleep in our cabin. At about 8am next morning the ferry set off out of port.
We fed the dogs and walked them first and decided to grab an early breakfast in the main area where a buffet was served. There was nobody except us and the staff, which we thought odd.
As we sat down with our trays, I looked out the window. At that moment, the sea appeared to rise up and over my view. The ferry dipped into and through the waves and then I realised just how bad the weather was and why nobody was on deck.
I’d love to tell you more about the Salamanca but at that point, I cancelled breakfast, held onto walls and staggered back to the cabin. The dogs were a little nervous when I arrived, so they hopped onto the bed with me, and there I stayed for 24 hours through a stormy sale over the Bay of Biscay. My husband was born with sea legs – he and three lorry drivers were the only people with the staff up on deck. He walked the dogs, fed them, fed me (1 bread roll in case….) and provided bottles of water. The dogs were amazing and very cool about the whole journey, me less so.
Finally heading around the tip of Cornwall the stormy weather calmed down and we got into Rosslare port 26 hours later shaving a bit of time off the journey. Even the port here was rough!
But I was never so glad to get to land. Odlum and Chica seemed to be smiling at this point, before sleeping the rest of the way home. We had made it!
