Cascais to Malaga velez , they told me to refile the flight plan and suggested that MINTA be chosen as a designated FIR crossing point in the new plan.
Hat off to the OP for owning up to not planning before take off. The ILAFT is 'do the planning on the ground to avoid avoidable problems in the air'.
As I said, I should have talked to them, looking at the numbers now the take off elevation was 1800, the top of the hill was 5200 so I would need at least 6200 for safe clearance due to the northerly wind I was getting which probably explains the lack of climb performance. The visuals and the gut feeling just weren't right and It kind of reminded me of a few years back when flying over Loch Tay towards an approximately 4000 foot ridge and I got one hellacious down draft/mountain wave which pegged the VSI, I managed to get turned around and away, a couple of micro lighters a little further along the range weren't so lucky. I think I had an instinct that was what I could have been about to fly into so immediately turned a bit. Again, I should have talked to them.