Up to the River Below

 On our road north the view is changing. When we look up we no longer see storks on sticks but osprey, vultures, and the odd flock of lapwings swirling above our heads. It’s getting a little more mountainous and a lot more ‘rivery’. And there was a random woman walking beside the road with a large plastic bucket on her head - no hands.

Easy walking

Does this look like two turtles kissing to you?

Yesterday’s route started out as very relaxing as I calmly watched the cork fields slip by. But then - the road got twirlier - and thinner - and more full of gigantic trucks loaded with massive logs bearing down on us from in front and from the rear. I must say it’s a tad terrifying when you come around a bend and see a big blue truck almost on your side of the road. Thankfully Graham’s driving was very calm and measured and the scary bit was only for the last 20 or so kilometres of the drive.

And of course we’re still on the Compostela

The entrance to the town of Vila Velha de Rodão was dusty from roadworks and, of course, we got the red light for the one way traffic system as we were still on the extremely high bridge. EEEEEK! Surprisingly the parking area for the van was down a steep hill that took us directly to the peaceful and attractive banks of the River Tagus. It was exciting to find that this area is famous for its archaeological finds and petroglyphs. The museum is currently closed but we remembered we’d visited quite a few years ago so we  simply enjoyed walks by the river and Graham posed with a few Neolithic individuals (albeit cartoons).

The area is well known for its fauna as well. We didn’t see any of the otters, cobras, or mongooses (Mongeese?) that live in the area but Hugo met an unpleasant collie who tried to nip his heels.

Today we drove further up the mountain to a spa town, Unhais de Serra. There is a river running through the town that, in summer we think, is blocked off in certain sections to turn it into swimming areas. I don’t think I’d like to use the diving board at this time of year. Not sure where we’ll end up tomorrow.

Looks dodgy any time of year to me

Castles Aplenty

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.

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.

Our view up to the village

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. 

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.

Where is everyone?

I’m down here!!

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.

The door of knots

Oh, and it’s on the Compostela

Grand ducal palace

Pretty town house

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.

Bumps - And Some in the Night

 Our drive today was both gorgeous and atrocious. The road wound its way through olive groves, cork fields, eucalyptus forests, and undulating hills bright green after the recent downpours. There were giant storks nesting atop power poles, a moped rider laden with twigs for his fireplace, even a butterfly who flew in front of our windshield and waved hello with his yellow wings.

View from our window

The atrocious part? The actual road itself reminded me of some of the Australian country roads of my youth. There were cracks, holes, and undulations that mirrored the bright green hills only with extra unexpected bumps in them. There has obviously been a lot of work on the Portuguese road system over the years but not on our route today. Rocks dotted the road where they’d fallen from the cliffs along the edge and we would suddenly come upon a section of untreated surface that had no warning whatsoever.

We made it to a very, shall we say, rustic campsite in the hills behind Portomão where the temperature is about 25 degrees and we’ve been able to sit outside in short sleeves for the first time in a while.We’re hoping we’ll be safe here as we had a rather disturbing experience last night at the beach.

Enjoying bread and cheese in the sun

Despite the area we were in being legal to camp we’d heard of people being moved on if they’d parked just a few hundred meters away so were alert to the idea of police patrolling the area. At 3AM someone was tapping on the van and shouting something in Portuguese. Immediately we were awake and presumed it was the police telling us to move. Graham turned on the lights, opened the blinds and peered out but couldn’t see who was there.

He decided it would be best for him to get out of the van and investigate (against my instructions that he was NOT to go outside and investigate). I heard voices and saw a strange man’s face at the window who looked at me and said ‘hi’- he was clearly not a policeman. Graham returned to the van unmurdered and all in one piece but not much sleep was had after that. Speaking to other van people this morning they think the guy was on drugs and the site is normally very safe. Graham has agreed he will not leave the van if someone bangs on the van and shouts at us again. 

From Coast to Country Then Back Again

 We knew we had to avoid the bridges of Lisbon on our way south due to my extreme bridge phobia (gephyrobobia - don't ask me how to pronounce it) so we headed inland to Alcácer do Sal. On the way we had a night at a fabulous spot called Foz de Arelho where the Atlantic Ocean connects to the largest salt water lagoon in Europe. Our lagoon side location was perfect for watching the fishing boats and kite surfers although the rain came in again overnight and turned the place into a mud puddle in the morning.

Where lagoon meets ocean

Our view as the fog came in in the morning

Nevertheless, we enjoyed our stay there, especially Mr Fluffy who happily consumed yet another octopus dish at Taverna Lagoa. We would definitely return in better weather to make the most of the lagoon - and the restaurant. 

Back to Alcácer Do Sal - what a stunning town.

Rice fields at sunset

Our view over the river

Morning fog over the rice fields

White houses, roman ruins, rice fields, views, friendly people - and a bridge with lights that change colour at night. What more could one ask for. We had driven to one of the barragems (or dams) nearby but it was muddy and boring so we went back to town. A gorgeous walk up to the Crypt Arqueologica ensured we had fabulous views over the town and fields and we encountered a young woman on a swing singing softly to herself which added to the atmosphere.

We parked by this bridge

Night view

Unfortunately, later that evening we ate out at a cafe and thought it would be a good idea to try a local dish called Migas which is bread soaked in water, mixed with coriander and other stuff, then fried. I can’t say I’m a fan although Graham managed to swallow his half. The waiter kindly took it off the bill - I get the feeling my negative reaction wasn’t an uncommon one. The Alentejo wine, however, was very delicious and very acceptably priced at 13 euros.

We’re back on the coast now at a very groovy surfing site beach called Sines São Torpes. There are no other British people around and we’ve only seen around three or four others in total on our trip so far. Most here are young surfers from Poland, The Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal. One small transit sized van is complete with five, yes five, long-haired dachshunds and we’ve seen two other vans with cats draping themselves leisurely over the dashboards. The parking area sits between a gigantic power station and the beach - very weird - but, as parking on beaches is banned in this area, this is our best ‘legal’ bet.

You’ve seen a beach so here’s our power station

Tomorrow we head back to inland Portugal to catch up with a friend in Silves.

Aveiro

 It’s been an interesting couple of days of fog, rain storms, sun, more rain - and getting lost. We decided to go to Aveiro which is a city of culture and is famous for its canals and its art nouveau architecture. The roads getting in and out were challenging to say the least - road blocks, diversions, spaghetti junctions and an increasingly stressed Mr Fluffy. It made the trip rather tense. 

We eventually found the correct place to park - a less than salubrious area under a flyover that was a 5 minute walk into the attractive town. There is an Art Nouveau Museum but we couldn’t go in because Hugo was not allowed. There was a lot to see just walking around town as we dodged the raindrops.

Beautifully painted boats take tourists around the canals

Clouties on the friendship bridges

One of the many Art Nouveau buildings

Almost like Venice

Love this building

We had stunning weather this morning until the predicted storm arrived rather suddenly. It absolutely chucked it down so we took refuge in a restaurant and consumed vast quantities of codfish and noodles - a local specialty. After getting lost - again - on the way out of town we made it to another beach near Figuera do Foz.

Looks like another storm is coming in. But the wine is cheap - and surprisingly pleasant.

Two glasses wine 2euro 20cents 

Ominous clouds

Perusing Portugal

 Oh, the weather outside is frightful

But the van

Inside’s delightful … etc, etc

Wish we had this decal on our van

We crossed into Portugal yesterday and haven’t seen a whole lot yet as the fog has been so thick it’s difficult to see anything.

Even Hugo’s bored

The morning was spent doing one of the most boring things on earth when you’re travelling in a van - the washing. A couple of hours dragged by outside a Carrefour Extra in Nigrán (a lovely town by the beach not far from the border)as I watched the laundry tumble around seemingly endlessly and I almost lost the will to live. Eventually it ended and now the van smells fresh and clean instead of fusty and damp. (The towels were beginning to grow a beard …) 

Welcome to Portugal

We headed off along the coast and as the ‘Portugal’ sign came into view the fog seemed to get thicker. Weirdly, the temperature has stayed pretty high - around 17 degrees C. A large storm is supposed to be coming in tomorrow so that should be interesting.

Mannequin art 

Church in the clouds

Jesus

We stopped overnight in the village of Vila Nova de Cerveira, a place famous for art with a square full of restaurants, a church, and a medieval castle. Graham felt like a change from seafood and ordered the house specialty of what we thought was lamb and vegetables. Once it arrived I thought it would be a good idea to translate the dish as my Portuguese is a tad rubbish. We discovered it was actually kid goat and it was very good.

More art by the river

Clouds we drove through today

Hugo enjoyed the leftovers but we’ve decided he’ll never be allowed to eat it again as, later that evening, his buttocks emitted the worst goaty aromas ever smelt in the history of doggy farts. The van was thrust back into smelling atrocious for a short time until all windows were flung open in an attempt to breathe fresh air and flush out the offending smell. Thank heavens it’s warm.

Not much of a beach view

We’re now parked behind a bus station in Esposende. We tried the beach down the road but couldn’t see anything so we’ve come into town in the hope of finding an open restaurant. No luck so far but I spent a good hour perusing the aisles of Aldi instead. Town is probably the best place to be in case we do get the predicted storm. Despite the weird weather we are enjoying Portugal so far - the sun should be returning at the end of the week.

Hill Forts and ‘Homicide’ - (Well, Not Quite)

 We thought we’d walked into the opening scene of ‘Death In Paradise’ this morning as we were investigating the Castro de Baroña Iron Age Hill fortification and village on a beach. Graham and Hugo were playing on the sand and a man clad head to toe in a black wetsuit emerged from the waves brandishing what we thought was a speargun. Being a total chicken I suggested we leave toute suite before we became some weird victims of an aquatic serial killer but he soon overtook us on the climb back to the road and we discovered he was actually a snorkelling fisherman who had caught a large octopus which was struggling away in his bucket.

You can just make out aqua man on the right

Distant view of hill fort 

The hill fort was an amazing find as we knew nothing about it before we saw a write up in our camper van app. What a location! It sits above a sandy beach atop a rocky cliff and is very well preserved. A Wikipedia entry can be found Here for more information on the site.

An Iron Age house

On his throne

Windy hair

We’d spent the night in Noia, a place which started life as a fishing village and has since become a tourist town mainly for Spanish people. I must say we fell in love with the place, not least because we found a fabulous restaurant, La Ferrador, but the people there were so lovely and the church was very saint-statue heavy which we always find enjoyable. A statue of Mary sported a very fetching wig.

The fires of hell

Excellent wig

After a lunch of pulpo, not caught by our scary beach guy, in Padrón (the home of Padrón peppers but we couldn’t have any because they’re out of season) we’ve moved on to yet another beach at Villanova de Arousa (unusual name) and will be in Portugal either tomorrow or the next day depending on the weather.