It seems we’ve swapped beaches for castles as we’re currently parked by the walls of our third one in three days. Once more our drive has been along a road weaving through green of rolling hills studded with vineyards, cork trees, and yet more eucalypt forests. All along the way we saw storks nesting on the top of power poles and clacking their beaks. At one point almost every pole had a nesting pair.
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| And they were on the chimneys in town, too |
We found our first Castelo in Silves. Graham hadn’t seen his friend, JJ, in some years so we pootled along to Silves to catch up with him there. I think it’s as close to the Algarve as we got. Lots of British, French, Dutch and Germans spend winter there in their motor homes and the food reflects that. We even had a ham and cheese toastie (under duress) which was actually quite yummy. Thankfully we were able to find some fabulous Portuguese food and it was so cheap - two separate restaurants did three courses for 10 Euros. Fresh whole fish, salad, desert and wine - bargain.
The castle was unique as it had an Aldi supermarket at the base of it - very posh. The winding lanes are always fun to get lost in, especially when you find a souvenir shop to top up those essential items like a chicken shaped toothpick holder, an oven glove and a fish-themed tea towel. And I can understand why all those Brits come down here - the temperature was a sunny 22 to 25 degrees all day. Very acceptable.
Once we’d had the taste of our first castelo we couldn’t resist another. Off to the village of Mértola we went and parked by the Guardiana River.
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| Our view up to the village |
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| A slightly muddy Guardiana River |
It has an interesting history and is worth a visit if you’re in the area. The church was once a mosque and still has the vaulted ceilings you’d find there. There is a small museum of weaving which shows a lot of the Berber style brought over by the Moors when they conquered the area.
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| Mosque turned church |
The castle itself was impressive but a bit of a slog to traipse up the to the top - all worth it to take a photo of the boys looking tiny from a great height.
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| Where is everyone? |
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I’m down here!!
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Our latest castelo is in Vila Viçosa in the heart of the Alentejo wine region. It was once an important political centre but now is famous for marble and wine.The food’s pretty good, too.
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| The door of knots |
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| Oh, and it’s on the Compostela |
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| Grand ducal palace |
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| Pretty town house |
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| Naughty (?) sculpture in the church |
We’re now sitting in the van listening to the sounds of birds, cowbells and dogs barking in the distance. Tomorrow we head further north.
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