Laundry day then onto Sagres..

Tues 6^th

Laundry day!  So after packing up we drove to a campsite on the other side of Lagos. It felt weird to be on a campsite after 3 weeks free camping or using motorhome only areas. It was an Orbitur site (owned by the state) close to Praia De Luz. Huge site, with terraces of cabins above us. It was a bit scruffy round the edges, but suited as it was nearly empty and had 2 washing machines which Tina duly loaded whilst I rigged up drying lines and got the dryer out.  Days like these can only be put off for so long!

has to be done.....

Once the clothes were hung out I sat and BBQ’d a whole chicken piri piri style. We have developed a real passion for chicken cooked this way as it is just so dam tasty!  We devoured one half of it for dinner and went to bed very tired but satisfied, yum, yum, double yum. We seem to have eaten our way around Europe as our waistlines will testify, ahem.

Weds 7^th

After packing up we dropped into a nearby campsite to catch up with Simon & Julia whom we had met in El Rocio, Spain.  They have sold up and are travelling in their caravan.  They were definitely relaxed and seemed to have taken root having been here since before Christmas!  They did reassure us that they were moving on at the weekend. Great to see them again and swap tales.

We left at 2pm and headed for Sagres which is nearly at the SW end of Portugal. The scenery changed to a more open and windswept landscape with no really big developments which we liked. Our sat nav took us to one of the free camping spots above a beach. What a terrible place to stop – not. Great views and the soothing sound of crashing waves – I love this, Tina struggles to sleep with it. We had a late snack then went for a walk along the cliffs to the small port where you can also free park. Not as sunny and potential for lots of noise early am. Yet  another surfer town with loads of surf hotels and surfer dude types in VW camper vans.

view from our spot

van visible in distance

We were parked up next to another Brit, Mike. He was a very friendly guy travelling  on his own who had been coming here for years. Loads of knowledge and advice on where to go. It is great when people share their experience.

port parking

We settled into the van, which was lovely and warm from the sun to watch the sun set over the cliffs and lighthouse.

Alvor in the sunshine!

Jan 4^th

Wall to wall sunshine today, from breakfast outside to tea at 5pm sitting outside watching the sun go down. It is certainly a lot warmer than we ever hoped for when planning to be in the Algarve for January.

After breakfast we walked along to the harbour where there was a fresh fruit & veg market. All the produce was local and looked good. We bought a leek, 2 carrots and a kg of tangerines – total €1. Silly, cheap prices.

breakfast in the sun

marble fishes

We then strolled along the estuary, which was very calm; the banks are very green and lush. After lunch we cycled along to the end of the lagoon peninsula , parallel to the multitude of boardwalks. Again great views and the network of paths and boardwalks make the area accessible without causing damage to the delicate dunes and flora.

calm harbour

estuary

 Our day of activity was completed with a paddle in the rather cool sea, we retired to the van for tea feeling strangely tired. A case of too much warm sunshine and fresh sea air? I am now sitting in the warmth of the van typing this watching the orange glow appear as the sun sinks into the horizon. Nice, we like Alvor.

panorama of lagoon

Foia back down to Alvor

Jan 3^rd

Surprisingly mild overnight, a low of 3.5 C which soon increased as the sun rose majestically to reveal the same wonderful views. The area was deserted which was nice.  I decided to ride down to Monchique and back up, no pain no gain. It was a very nice bike ride the views zooming down were great. The ride up was a tad slower but not too steep, made very pleasurable by the warm sun and views to distract me.

bike ride today

We had a coffee and drove down and back to the coast at Alvor. The motorhome parking area is €4.50 including services and wasn’t too busy. We got a good spot on the outside with an open and very sunny outlook. After a late  lunch we walked into town along the boardwalks to find a very nice harbour with fishing boats and lots of cafes. It was quite busy with the locals enjoying a Saturday out in the sunshine. Looks like we may stay here a few days to explore more, plus it has a proper Indian restaurant. Guess where we are going tonight!

lots of boardwalks

town centre

nice beach

Monchique & Foia - inland and up!

Jan 2^nd

we packed up and said goodbye to Aid & Tim then did a quick shop in nearby Lidls. Next stop was Monchique 22km inland. The road was very good once out of the urban sprawl of Portimao. We arrived at the outskirts of Monchique and parked up. It was very different from the relatively neat towns down on the coast. There was a certain amount of “decay”. It looked a poorer community at first glance. The streets were narrow and cobbled, we walked around and back down to the main square. Yet again we heard lots of Brit voices at the cafes, there are certainly lots of British people here on holiday and living here.

narrow streets in Monchique

We then drove up through the eucalyptus trees to Foia the highest point in the Algarve at 904m. it was a very easy and scenic drive and we soon plopped out of the trees and up to the top which was festooned with communication towers and antenna. However our phone signals were poor and our mifi could only get a 2G signal despite being surrounded by communications  hardware! 

west coast visible

lots of rock piles - a local trend

still had poor mifi signal 

It was a popular  spotand we could see why, the views were stunning for 360 degrees. We could see the Algarve coast stretched out below us right out to Cabo de St. Vicente the most southwesterly place in Portugal and Europe. The west coast was very clearly visible as were several wind farms. Wonderful.

 We parked up for the night after we moved slots to avoid being over shadowed by a huge Concorde motorhome that arrived. You have to think about where to park at this time of year to maximize the sunshine you get.  Very often we use our compass to determine where to park, sad but true.  The sunset was spectacular and the lights of the towns below us were soon twinkling.

sunset over the coast

New Years Day at Ferragudo - total relaxation...........

New Years Day

We have been free camping  (I now prefer this term as “wild camping” doesn’t fit staying on a piece of ground / carpark for free close to a beach or resort) since tues 30^th here at Ferragudo. It is a charming little town opposite the huge resort and marina of Praia De Rocha across the estuary. Lots of birdlife, fishermen and fellow campers to watch whilst relaxing in the wonderful hot sunshine.  We met up with Aid & Tim whom we met in Falesia. On new years eve we all went out for a meal, Tina had red snapper which was tasty.  Us boys all had tender lamb. Very nice.

On new years day we just mooched about and relaxed as we had got up late. We are getting good at relaxing……………

our free camping spot

view from our van to Portimao

fisherman's huts

Praia de Rocha marina - we are parked  across the estuary!

Praia de Rocha beach

Praia de Rocha

Happy New Year!

A very Happy New Year to all our blog readers!

Our 277 days away (who's counting?) have been great, just flying past.

Thanks to all "you out there" for making the blog feel worthwhile.

We had 2 firework displays to watch at midnight, stereo vision?

We are still enjoying very warm and sunny weather during the days and are just about to relax outside in our chairs and watch the seagulls above us. Nice.

Have a great 2015

Ian & Tina xx

Ferragudo

View from our van of the town