The Long Trip Home

Another Eight hours travelling brings us back to this excellent Onlycamp campsite 'Le Pont Romain', not far from the Autoroute on the outskirts of Le Mans. The same site that we used on our way down 

Not too exhausting in the Volvo - well not exhausting at all really.... but since we've been in France, it's lost its 5G connection which is a little annoying. Oh, how so quickly we grow to depend on life's little luxuries..

Tomorrow, we're heading for two nights near Calais, where we pick up Alex, Jake, luggage and Dog¹ so that we can get the hound back into the UK. He's got all the documents and vaccinations but you just can't fly a dog onto the UK without crating it in the hold since Brexit.. although you can fly it out into the EU in a suitable travel bag.

"I'm more than a piece of luggage.."

image credit: Alessandra Arnott 

Let's see how that all goes....

¹Dog is called Kite

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On another note...

Yes it was eight hours travelling, including stops, but here we are, relaxing in wonderful surroundings having eaten some lovely salmon with a glass of white and a nice coffee. Fellow adventures to chat to, should we wish. The joys of caravanning.

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So, eventually, here we are at our eighteenth and final stop for two nights at Des Noires Mottes in Sangatte, ten minutes from Le Shuttle and fifteen from Calais.

It's a really nice site to end this brilliant trip; a little time to chill and reflect but mostly to sort out the 'van and car for the trip home with A&K&D. 

So, the end of this blog looms. Did I hear someone say thank goodness?

So, after picking up family, heading through the Tunnel, dropping off family plus dog plus luggage at the station, putting the 'van in storage, filling the car with clothes and stuff from the 'van, we're HOME. Phew.

Brilliant trip.

Vacances à Mimizan

After a drive of eight hours, including stops, through the wonderful mountainous terrain of Northern Spain and Southern France, here we are in Mimizan for a beach holiday. Pity about the rain.

Lunch time in España...

We wake up to clouds but the forecast for the next two days is good - and today proves ideal for a walk into Mimizan Plage. We were not sure what to expect - but a touristy place buzzing with restaurants in that French way wasn't it. It's perfect for our mini holiday and, over a lunch of moules frites and a carafe of white, we reflect that we've neglected France. We've missed this.

On the walk back to the 'van we spot a wild boar on the way to the beach - or the Tourist Office. Then a few more pop up. Vaguely worrying.

What a relaxing little 'holiday by the sea' this has been. 

But now it's time for the trip back to Calais with an overnighter on the way, probably at Le Mans again.....

Bye for now 👋 

España Surprise

 Well it's kind of a surprise to us anyway...

...A last minute change of plan sees us heading out of Portugal after a brilliant trip there. Expectations exceeded. Last night in Évora seemed to be a fitting end to it all - A great day in a wonderful city finishing with a leisurely meal then and home to the 'van in a good campsite. Wonderful.

So here we are in Tordesillas after a five hour drive towards home. When we stop for lunch there's another surprise in the form of a waiting WhatsApp: Alex & Jake are engaged. Wonderful news actually.

We stopped at the Tordesillas campsite on the way down but this time we manage an evening walk into town for a drink in the buzzing town square after sorting out our remaining days.

So what's the plan? Well, we're going to have a little relaxing holiday by the sea at Mimizan en France. Join us there?

Évora

We're here at our 14th campsite, Orbitur Camping Évora, one hour from Beja, more or less; we've set up the 'van, had lunch and been on a mini road trip to the medieval city of Monsaraz, about 50 minutes from camp. Not bad I say.

Despite the sun/cloud/rain/thunder weather, Monsaraz is definitely worth the trip. Uplifting. The link above says it all really. 

5G church: 

Not sure what these 'turrets' were/are for...:

We even buy a souvenir but not sure it will make it home...

We spot a bit of high tech work on some optical fibre in the rain...

The view of the sourounding country from Monsaraz is breathtaking. What used to be a river when the town was constructed now forms an irregular lake. We spot the long bridge that has been constructed across the water - the road leading to the small town of Mourão and Spain beyond that. 

We fancy crossing that lovely bridge so we give Mourão a quick visit; the bridge is great.

We plan to Uber into Évora tomorrow...

...and so we go there... It's certainly not a disappointment either. A UNESCO site with the old town paved with the typical Portuguese cobbles, we manage to get in early enough to avoid the numerous tour groups, the majority of which seem to be American.

The Cathedral is vast and in impeccable condition; with our combined museum and Cathedral entry ticket, we are able to spend as much time as we like on and in this sturdy building.

Possibly the one of the most interesting organs (the 'Japanese pipe organ') in Europe is housed here, being constructed in 1562.

The Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval contains some of the most impressive tiling in Portugal and, strangely, a stock of skulls and bones visible beneath a grid in the floor.

 

The attached art gallery contains a wide range of art and artefacts, beautifully displayed - with a couple of surprises.

The Templo Romano is one of the best preserved in the Iberian peninsula.

A traditional Portuguese lunch, wine and a walk to the Praça do Giraldo and it's time to Uber back to base. Beautiful City.

We're aiming for Guarda, some 1000m above sea level tomorrow. Poor Volvo - another tank of 98 Octane will help.

Stop Press

Change of Plan?

Beja View

 Well, we've turned northwards, driving for a couple of hours on (mostly) the N122, which brings us to the municipal site at Beja. 

More on Beja later because, after a light lunch outside the 'van, we head out on a little road trip to see two smallish tourist-free towns in the Portuguese countryside.

Heading east out of Beja takes us to Moira, the town of the Moorish maiden who is said to have opened the town gates to the Christians in 1223 - That must have gone down well. The remains of the Islamic/ Christian castle are free to view and worth it.

Looping Southwest from Moira leads us through olive groves, many newly planted, to the hilltop town of Serpa. It looks as if the olive oil industry provides much of the employment in these towns.

Serpa is renowned for its traditional singers who are said to be descendants of medieval troubadours.The poster in the town square reveals that the singers celebrated the 50 year anniversary of democracy.

The town still has its ramparts in place with an impressive gate, the Porta de Serpa (of course).

Back to Beja and the 'van for a curry cooked outdoors on our Cadac. The temperature reached 29⁰C today but rain is forecast for tomorrow morning.

Pity about the rain because it meant that our walk onto Beja was delayed until the afternoon.... and, as we have learned, afternoon isn't the greatest to visit a town like Beja. Still, we paid the outrageous sum of one Euro each to explore the castle with (possibly) the tallest tower on the Iberian peninsula. A significant part of the town's wall still stands and, looking at its construction, it's not surprising. 

The tower of the castle is beautifully preserved and has some of the best, concise, video presentations that we've seen on our many travels.

Parts of the old town, including the square in front of the Cathedral are desperately in need of a bit of TLC though.

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So, tomorrow we're off to Évora which, with a couple of side trips, is likely to consume two days of our shrinking amount of time. We hope to spend a couple of days in Guarda, too,  before we pick up speed heading for Calais. Let's see.

Not Tavira

 Well, we were heading for Tavira... but when we arrived at the campsite it was closed, shut, gates bolted.. definitely not in operation... but no signs saying so...and there we were parked in the entrance. It explains why they didn't answer my email via the ACSI campsite app - which says nothing about it being closed. Sue chats to a site worker through the gate who chats to a site person on the phone who says it's open on the 1st October. Who shuts their site in the high season?? Mysterious.

Anyway, we reverse the 'van around and head to the next small town, Conceição, ten minutes away and pay for two small pitches to get everything on..,nice site though.

In the afternoon, we head back to Tavira, which is a truly attractive small city, well cared for with the remains of a castle, museums and churches, the historic buildings tastefully prepared for tourists. Might Uber in for an evening meal before we depart.

View from the belfry...

Now which one was this? Unusual though..

More exploring, visiting:

Olhão, with its extensive market - including a large market hall where it's possible to buy a vast array of locally caught fish (and fishy type things - apologies, not my strong point). There's a Roman bridge, twice rebuilt, a well stocked yacht harbour and the usual range of cafés and restaurants.

Faro, which is a bit of a revelation, with its old town, museums and great restaurants.

Passenger aircraft sink slowly over the cathedral as they land on the nearby runway of the small but very busy airport.

The cathedral houses this working organ, originally constructed in 1701 by Heinrich Hullenkamp. 

Arch of bones in the cathedral grounds 

Sunday 16th is Fathers' Day.....

....and who am I to argue? 😇

..... So, buoyed up by daughter contacts, we head off to have a look at the most easterly Portuguese town, Vila Real de Santa Antonio, which was erected at great speed (in two years by 1776) using the latest technologies, after a Royal decree (info)  Its layout is in symmetrical blocks, unlike othe Portuguese towns.

España gazes at us from the opposite bank of the wide Guadiana river. 

A Fathers' Day lunch in the town square completes the uplifting visit.

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It's time to work out our remaining stops as we turn Northward tomorrow, heading, finally, for a reunion with Alex, Jake and Dog in Calais.

Around Lagos

 We've arrived in the South West of Portugal in the Algarve region, staying near Lagos. We used the autoestradas, automatically clocking up charges on our Via Verde account, so getting here was swift, if not the cheapest way. The Orbitur campsite, unlike their others we've stayed in, is old and in need of TLC ... but we find a nice pitch and chill for the remainder of the day.

We decide to do a road trip the next day, as suggested in the Michelin Green Guide, heading up to Monchique for a coffee in this town, famous in the area for its twice weekly market. When we arrive, it's a bit 'Monday sleepy' and we guess from the snack bar and restaurants that it caters for an ex-pat contingent.

From here we head westwards towards the Costa Vicentina National Park, which borders the sea with high cliffs and some sandy, windswept beaches; it's surfing country. On the westward journey we see so many stork nests...

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Even on a dull morning, the views are spectacular...

Cork is cut as bark from the cork trees (or more accurately Cork Oak.... or even more correctly Quercus suber), Marmelete seemingly a centre of this industry. We come upon vehicles transporting the bark as we drive through...

We stop on the edge of the coastal park at Aljezur, with its Arabic style old town and castle. While many old town houses are on a state of disrepair, a number are being, or have been, refurbished to a high standard.

We head on to Pontal on the coast with a large surfing beach. There's a great view along the coast from here.

We stop briefly at Vila do Bispo but the church, the object of the stop, is closed so we refresh ourselves in a snack bar instead.

Time is chasing us as we head for Ponta de Sagres with its old fort housing an expensive EU funded building with visual and audio visual displays focussing on Portugal's role in exploration, trade and slavery. The multimedia displays were clearly intended for an audio tour but this wasn't offered. Unfortunately the unique 43 m diameter wind compass is no more.

We finish the day with a quick visit to Cabo de São Vicente, the windswept southwest extremity of Europe. The lighthouse here is one of Europe's most powerful.

Ponta de Sagres with its multimedia building....

Powerful Stuff 

A day on the beach in Lagos! We drive in and only desert the large Mela beach when the wind whips up the sand in mid afternoon. In the early evening we Uber in again for a wander in the old town for a drink and a meal. How good is that!?

Personal info (rarely shared!): We were here around forty years ago, when Sue was carrying our eldest daughter, Sam. This place has, therefore, some very special memories for us.  

It's changed a bit since then:

What will tomorrow bring?...

.... Another mini road trip - much shorter this time as we cover around 140km, heading, first, for the town of Silves, once an important town in the Arab Emirate of Córdoba in the 10th Century.

A nod to those times forms an attractive square...

We spend quite some time in in the town's restored castle with some stylish, sympathetic paved areas and restaurant.

From here, it's possible to see dozens of stork nest around the town.

The Cathedral in the old town has a really welcoming feel, which isn't always the case, I feel. We eat on the old town, too,  although there are some nice restaurants in the new part which we miss unfortunately.

Moving on, we arrive at Albufeira, a large bustling package holiday resort, popular with the British........

Heading back 'home', we stop at Algar Seco, famous for its rock formations at  the town of Carvoeiro.

A good day; might try the beach tomorrow...

But before we relax on the well known Praia da Rocha we spend an enjoyable hour or so at Ponta de Piedade to see some fascinating rock formations caused by constant erosion of the soft rock. We walk to the point from a newly constructed large car park.

Beach - 'home' - eat - take down the sun canopy - spruce up the 'van and car - blog .... then check out the route because we're off to Tavira to the east of Faro. This will be our last stop in the Algarve before we start trekking north. 

I really ought to do a bit more on the car in its review tab because it's a bit of a revelation - powerful and really great to drive on these trips.

Another day, another post. See you in Tavira?