59
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
== Hitchhiking out ==
=== South towards [[Aveiro]], [[Lisbon]], [[Algarve]] ===
Going South can be hard, even when you start from within the nearby city of ''Gaia'', which is just across the Douro River. The best One spot in Gaia is probably a roundabout, just after next to the last metro stop (and ironically, just past the main street that leads to the motorway). Keep walking straight along this main street, stay to the right as it drops down and becomes the motorway. You'll see a bridge connecting the two sides of the road that don't become motorway, and just past this: a roundabout, which also has a part leading to the motorwaySanto Ovídio''). This is an okay spot to stand, even at night, with plenty of room for cars and trucks to pull over.
If you don't want to stand at the roundabout where the road , a better option is momentarily experiencing roadworks and the lanes have been reduced we just found out that you can to walk from there onto the first petrol station from the roundabout. Its just a bit more than 2km and you can start hitching right on [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=metro+dom+joao+II,+vila+nova+de+gaia,+portugal&daddr=41.1162456,-8.6073042+to:Unknown+road&hl=en&geocode=FaxvcwId6q18_yk_Hei00mQkDTHO6jAWa1xOEw%3BFVVicwIduKl8_ymBCBysLXskDTHgckG0vesAEw%3BFVspcwIdOMd8_w&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=17&via=1&dirflg=w&sll=41.116058,-8.605481&sspn=0.003734,0.006899&ie=UTF8&ll=41.102784,-8.601093&spn=0.003735,0.006899&t=h&z=17 a petrol station on the motorway].
Just walk down the hill for 2km as indicated on the map, then you cross the motorway through a tunnel. Walk up a smaller hill for 200m until on your left there is a spring and a smaller sandy road. On both sides of the sandy road there are two wild gardens. On the end of the road (heading to the motorway) up comes a house on your left and a door on your right. The door leads to the petrol station framed by a 1.80 metre high fence on top with barb wire. The fence has already been repaired quite a bit. After 50m you come to another metal door which leads you onto the petrol station. It can be opened with a little rusty wire on the right - just pull very hard. Otherwise you can always shout for somebody to open the door. (August 2011)
Better option: 100m before the gas station there's [http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=metro+santo+ov%C3%ADdio,+vila+nova+de+gaia,+portugal&daddr=Unknown+road&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=41.105436,-8.601093&spn=0.004123,0.010568&sll=41.104943,-8.601319&sspn=0.004123,0.010568&geocode=FZxfcwIdpax8_ylz2JPBLXskDTGsUdsNETeCXg%3BFZM0cwIdGbt8_w&t=h&dirflg=w&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=17&z=17 a road passing under the highway] - it's an easy place to go up into the highway, and just walk your way until the gas station. Look for: Rua da Palmeira, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
=== North towards [[Braga]] and [[Spain]] ([[Vigo]], [[Santiago de Compostella]]) ===
