On route to Lisbon

Thursday 28 February

It is really cold at night. The temperature drops to about 2 degrees and we don’t have the heating on all night. So if you need to get up in the night you need to steel yourself and go for it. The alternative is holding on and that is not easy. In the morning before we get up we can reach the heater switch and in no time at all it is lovely and warm. This morning we woke up at 7am, not surprising really as we are still on Spanish time in our body clocks so really its 8am. Still it was light just the same and after showers we tucked into our two huge croissants each and a steaming hot cup of fresh ground coffee. Yum.

Once packed up we went and sat outside the campsite restaurant to use the wifi. We were in full flow when a Swiss man came down the path expecting to do the same. He was very interested in the van and said he had one and how unsuitable it was for the cold weather and he did a lot of sucking through his teeth when we were on our way up north. He told us it would be too cold and we should stay in the south as long as possible. He backed it all up with the weather reports on his Apple laptop. We were glad when he went as we were quite happy before and now we weren’t.....!

Anyway, off we set and we told the TomTom to take us to our destination a campsite at Vila Nova de Milfontes. But first we wanted to stop at a village called Odemira on the way. Our Finish friends from Riogordo Aki and Maiju had recommended it to us and we thought we stop and take a look. 

The drive along the coast from Sagres was spectacular and so different from what we had been used to. It was green, lush and wooded. Clearly, the area had had its share of strong winds as many trees had been blown down and the workmen were still clearing away the damage. The road wound its way up into the hills, it really was a most pleasant trip and we both enjoyed it. The weather was mixed with mostly sunshine that made it all the better. 

On the way we went through and stopped at a village called Aljezur. We parked up and took a stroll up the hill towards the top of the village. We passed several interesting stone carvings and arrived at the top to see the Museum. We didn’t go in but it was a nice walk. At the bottom of the town not far from where we parked Campy we found a small car park containing several camper vans. It’s useful to know these places and we would have stayed there longer if we had the time.

We arrived at Odemira for lunch and sat in the car park at the bottom of the hill by the river Mira looking at the new Sky Walk bridge which was still under construction. As we walked up into the village it was clear that the whole place was undergoing a transformation and roads, pavements and even sides of hills were being ripped up and being relaid. We walked up the hills to the library which was lovely, very old and quaint. We retraced our steps to the other end of the village and walked around a small garden which was teeming with bird life. 

Can you spot Campy?

We left the village via a very windy road and headed back on the planned route Vila Nova de Milfontes. On the way we stopped off at Lidl and bought a few supplies and some custard tarts which Petra has been longing for since we left the UK. We made our way to the sea front at Vila Nova de Milfontes and was rewarded with a fantastic view across the bay. The Atlantic rollers were rolling in and it was spectacular to see them at a distance crashing in to the cliffs. There was another interesting sculpture facing the town from the vantage point.

We decided at €8 it wasn’t the effort to find a free campsite and besides we had seen signs warning people no to camp overnight. The campsite is situated 8k from the village of Vila Nova de Milfontes and is massive. When we drove into the site we were amazed how many caravans there were on the site and yet there wasn’t a car to be seen. We actually struggled to find a slot but settled in at the end of a line. It was rather strange seeing all these vans with no one about it felt a bit lonely and like a ghost tented city of permanently sited caravans. Still it was lovely and quiet and we even managed to give Campy a scrub as she was filthy.

Friday 1st March

Easy day today drove straight to Lisbon through the city and out the other end to the campsite. We have come to Lisbon to see Kev's ex Army chum Duncan who he has not seen for 32 years. We are really looking forward to seeing him tomorrow afternoon.