The Algarve, April 2016
Our neighbours, Eugene and Susan from Jersey spent 2 weeks with us, they are both retired and this is their fourth visit to Portugal in their Camper, they are very much living the dream in the sun!
They are such a fun loving couple, they put Neil and I to shame when it came to excersise! They were always off on their non-electric bikes, going for a swim in the sea or walking miles along the cliffs.
They would always return and crack open a beer so thats when we joined in!
A lady called Lynn arrived in the second week, she is full timing in her brand new motorhome and spends the winter doing excersise classes and her speciality is Hoola hooping! Lynn offered a free class to teach a few of the keen ones onsite! I managed it in the end and was great fun! Apparently the key to hooping is a good thrust on the hips! Guess who was the best at this! Neil.....!
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| Eugene definitely had the rhythm! |
lovely surprise!
We had a few days of rain which caught us out a few times but jobs still need to be done Neil!
Eugene and Susan
Full bloom on the Algarve in April.
We arranged to meet up with Steph and Neil again, we first met them at Cartagena camper park and they followed down to the Algarve a few weeks later.
Lunch in Vilamoura with new friends Steph and Neil 2!
Neil likes his new T.shirt!
My first game of Boules!
Little Cookie and Neil 2!
Our next stop was north of Albufiera, inland to the old town of Silves. The quaint streets and old buildings are set on a hill with 2 Motorhome sites at the bottom there is 16th century church and an old castle ruin. We booked into Silves Motorhome park which is under the same ownership as Algarve Motorhome Park. At €7.50 a night with electric free wifi and water it wasn't bad value, we stayed one night here.
View from Bessies pitch at Silves
Storks nesting on top of palm trees
Silves quaint streets
Storks nesting everywhere!
A beautiful little ceramics workshop owned by an Englishman in the centre of Silves.
I bought a pretty handmade butter dish for home.
Portimao Marina Praia Rocha Beach.
Heading west along the Algarve is the large city of Portimao, the Aire is situated right beside the Marina end of the resort and at €5.50 a night including electric we couldn't miss this one! Water is charged seperately here and is €2 per 120litres and once you put the coin in you get 120 litres whether you need it or not! Bessie holds 110litres so we had a watering can and empty water bottles at the ready!
Portimao Marina and a view of the Aire in the distance
Praia Rocha Beach
Our friends Steph, Neil 2 and adorable Cookie joined us a few days later, Steph loves cooking so that is music to my ears! Steph made us a wonderful Garlic prawn in white wine and garlic dish, it was delicious and enjoyed a great evening with them!
Portimao Aire at night
We caught a water taxi over to Ferragudo, a little working fishing village with lots of winding streets to get lost in and a beautiful beach where you could wild camp. We were on a budget day so we took sandwiches, then Neil spotted the menu of the day and the lovely food that was being served so we planned to return on a non budget day for lunch! Budget day is just not spending much money to keep us on track with the weekly budget, just recently we have had a few budget days as we found an English owned restaurant that served an English Breakfast and a Roast Dinner! Normally we wouldn't seek out English restaurants on a trip abroad but being away for 37 weeks you start to crave certain foods!
Neil 1 and 2 on the Water Taxi
The Wild Camp area at Ferragudo
Ferragudo
The maze of cobbled streets
Apparantly this is someones house!
Neil says he has found me a new washing machine!
We biked to Alvor one day which is 5 miles west of Portimao and an easy ride with electric bikes, we wanted to check out the Aire by the beach to see how busy it was and we bumped into Eugene and Susan from Algarve Motorhome Park. Some of these Aires are in frontline positions that many staying in a hotel close by would envy, downside....you have to empty your own toilet!!
Alvor overlooking Lagos in the distance
A little liquid break, Alvor
The evenings are warming up and it is pleasant to sit out until much later now.
We have started to think about our return trip home but Neil won't talk about it for very long, he's says he's on holiday and puts it off, but I have pinned him down to booking the ferry home, I just have to get him on it!
We have spent longer on the Algarve than intended again but we really don't like leaving this place, this trip has made us fall in love with this place more and we will be returning as soon as possible.
We spent a great few weeks with Steph and Neil and little Cookie, we have hoolahooped, played Boules, been fishing, played Scrabble boys v girls, Girls won!! and Mr and Mrs game came out Neil and I lost as usual, we've had some fun evenings with these two. They will spend the summer exploring Portugal but we will be back to find them!
Non Budget Day!
We found a Sunday Roast!
Our time on the Algarve has come to an end and it was time to say goodbye again to friends that have made our Adventure even more fun and memorable. We hope to see them again soon! Keep up the Hoolahooping Eugene!!
We also had to say goodbye to Steph and Neil 2, they can't follow us anymore as we are now on a homeward journey and they still have the whole of the summer in Portugal!
Steph, despite having a massive leak and on going repairs for several days in their Hymer Camper resulting in the whole bathroom having to be gutted to find the leak and still not back together yet she still cooked for us all on our last night and did eggs for our breakfast the morning we were leaving!
Bessie was parked up in Lidl once more to stock up on supplies including more teabags 95c, cheddar cheese is cheapest at €1.99 a pack and cheap fabric conditioner for the toilet Lidl is the favourite amongst Motorhomers here, they are always Motorhome friendly with large allocated parking spaces and sometimes they allow overnight stopovers too.
4thMay
Time to start our homeward journey, the weather was forecast to change so we headed north to a free camp right beside a reservoir and Dam called Pego do Altar east of Evora. The scenery changes quite dramatically compared to the resorts of the Algarve. It is quieter and greener! We spent a very tranquil night at the dam where the only noises were from the wildlife and Neil snoring!
Bessie on the otherside of the Dam
Sunsetting over Bessie.
Our next stop was to Lisbon, there is not much of a choice of campsites around this area so we opted for Costa De Caparica Camping. A campsite just across the water from the city with a bus link.
The site is tired but tidy. At €19 a night with electric this wasn't too bad a price for a city campsite.
The weather changed overnight to much cooler temperatures and lots of rain! So we dusted off our jeans and raincoats and headed into the city.
Lisbon is a huge city set on a hillside, a little tatty on the outskirts but some nice places to see in the older parts. The original tram lines were the highlight for us. The old wooden trams are the best way to get around as there are so many steep hills. They creek and crack but they were fun to ride, No 28 Tram is the best route but be prepared to queue!
The Old Wooden Framed Trams
Taxi, Tuk Tuk or a Tram!
The steep streets of Lisbon
Lisbon Cathedral
Some sights on the roads to Salamanca and the Alentjo wine growing region of Spain.
Forte De Sta Luzia ( A star shaped Fort)
A view from Bessie
Snow on the Sierra De La Pena De Francia mountains at Beja
Next stop the beautiful City of Salamanca, Spain
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