On the road again - Algarve

Monday 25 February

So the day has finally come to leave our winter retreat, Casa Perro Con Pan in Riogordo. It is with certain regret that we leave all the friends we have made over our four months, we will miss them/you all. We have been so grateful to all the residents of Riogordo for the kindness we have been shown and for making our time and our family and visitors so enjoyable and welcome. We will miss you all. We would also like to thank Carole and Richard the owners of the house for allowing us to stay for the 4 months. We have loved the house and fantastic terrace.

The time at the house was very important to us and we didn’t realise how tired and exhausted from all the retirement preparations we were. It is fair to say the house and the village have worked their magic and we have now recovered and really excited about moving on.

We had a slow exit from the house this was mainly due to the dinner party Mike and Viv invited us to and the excessive amount of alcohol consumed. Best left there really! But by 11.30 we were on our way and we said goodbye to the house and to Riogordo. 

Only a short drive today to get ourselves back into the swing of things, about 180k. We stopped on the way for coffee at a road side cafe. We ended up at an Aire we fancied in the Aires book some 15k before Seville. It was in a Campervan and Caravan Dealers sales area and was secure at night. It was fun looking around some of the large campervans and they had a shop selling all the usual gumph.

Whilst walking around the vans we came across a lovely couple John and Trudy who very kindly invited us back in the evening for a chat. It turns out that have been on the road for 17 years and have never looked back. They really were an inspirational couple who had ventured all over Europe. In the summer they lived in a caravan in Scotland and in the winter they set off in their camper. We could have talked to them all night.

Tuesday 26 February

We set off about 09.30 having said goodbye to John and Trudy. The idea was to go to Seville. Kev had asked the girl at reception where the best place to park was in Seville and she had advised the railway station had a large car park. We put the address in the TomTom and set off.

Seville is quite a large city and much bigger than we expected. By the time we got near the centre by the railway station it was heaving with traffic and we were beginning to wish we hadn't bothered to come in. Eventually, we made it to the railway station and by mistake went in to the short stay side of the car park. A quick sort out of the ticket (no cost) and we went out and around to the other side only to find you couldn’t get a fag paper between cars and with ‘Campy’ we didn’t stand a chance. By now we had had enough and set the TomTom to get us out of the city. We did look for street parking on the way but it was hopeless. 

We then went to see a small town called Niebla some 70k from Seville. This was an extraordinary place. Firstly, it had several stork nests on anything tall. Electric pylon’s seemed to be favorite. We had to stop and take a photo. We went across the Roman bridge that was destroyed in the civil war but has been rebuilt. It spans the River Tinto, so called because of all the minerals that flow down it. Onward we went to the town. Niebla has a Medieval castle that we couldn’t resist going round. So after lunch we set off. The castle is hugely impressive and the walls including the four gates are still intact. Inside there is one of the best forts we have seen. Most impressive of all was the two story ‘Dungeons’ complete with all the torture equipment. The amount of equipment they had to do their dastardly deed seemed never ending. Quite frankly it was all a bit much to take in made you feel a bit queasy thinking about it. Goodness only knows what the young schoolchildren (6 years old) leaving the fort made of it all. It’s the stuff of nightmares.

Is it real Peter? We think so.....!!

The rest of the castle was very interesting and in reasonable condition for its age. We walked up on to the ramparts and looked over the side at Campy...Ah! There were other displays to see including the bedrooms and Armoir etc. But nothing like ‘The Dungeon’. 

After we left the castle we had a quick walk along the river to the look at the bridge and then returned to the van setting off another town, Huelva. Huelva was another town that was impossible to stop in really busy and hectic streets. We wanted to look at where Christopher Columbus sailed from but it was impossible to park. We did see an area of Victorian design houses that were built to house British mining workers. It did look a bit odd to see them in the middle of the town but there they are and resplendent with it.

Moving on, we ended up just over the border into Portugal at Castro Marim on a free Aire. Castro Marim is another ancient town with a not only a fort going back to Roman Times but a large Fortress t’boot. The latter we were not allowed to go around as it is undergoing repairs but we did venture up the hill to the fort and enjoyed the walk around. There was a small photographic exhibition in the church which was lovely and  the views from the top of the keep were worth the effort. We liked the town which had lots of small bars and restaurants and shops. 

The Bridge from Spain to Portugal

The Fortress

Church in the Castle

The Castle

Wednesday 27 February

Our first stop today took us to Faro, we nearly bypassed it but at the last minute decided to go take a look. We were very glad we did. We made our way down to the centre of the town and into a large free car park called St. Fransisco. At the bottom of the car park next to the waterside were the camper vans. Lots of them all free parking/camping. Portugal really are helpful to campers and seem to be much more relaxed and tolerant of them. We parked up and had a good look around the old quarter. It is elegant and interesting but unfortunately, quite a few shops were empty and the area had clearly seen more affluent times. 

We got back to Campy at about 11.45 and decided it was too soon for lunch and headed off again. We stopped for lunch at Albufeira in a small free car park. We did try to get nearer the the center of the town but again we were beaten, this time by the narrow streets. We did have a good drive around the area but decided it was not for us and after lunch we motored on. 

Next we went to Lagos to look at the Aire. We found it no problem but were surprised to find it full. The site holds 25 vans and each of the spaces were full, 8 of them were British plated vans! So instead we decided to carry on to Cabo de Sao Vicente which in a way completes quite a milestone for us. It is the point where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic and is the furthest point southwest of Portugal. It also means we have completed our journey along the length of the Med. Typically, when we arrived a squall raced in from the north and we had to wait for it to pass before we could go explore the lighthouse. The area is quite isolated and we did debate whether to free camp on the lighthouse car park. In the end we decided we would go down the road and pay the money for a proper site and a shower. It turned out to be quite a nice shower, very empty of campers but situated in a pine forrest. We liked it. Not bad for €11 and croissants ordered for breakfast.