21st Feb Cadiz to Tarifa

After a few days in Sanlucar we left yesterday. The weather has been very mild and sunny during our stay which enabled us to get out on the bikes.

On the way to Tariff we did a 'drive by tour' of Cadiz!  The reason for this was that Cadiz is SO busy there was not a single place for us to park the van ANYWHERE!

Anyway, it looked like quite a nice place once through the industrial area (with the biggest cranes in the harbour you will ever see).

Continuing our journey we stopped in the hilltop town of Vejer de La Frontera for a couple of hours.  This was great.  Whitewashed houses, narrow streets, a castle and all that.

Then we left later in the after noon and pulled up here, wild camping by the beach about 8 miles West of Tarifa.

I wrote this text at about 2:30 in the morning (!) Because I just could not get back to sleep having woken up just before midnight.

Our plan from here is to have a butchers inTarifa on our way to Gibraltar.

As has now become the 'norm' I will post this blog update when I next get on the internet, which of course could be a few days away and may or may not include photos!

X

next 3 are Vejer

Night stop near Tarifa

19th FEBRUARY 2014

I did try to upload photo's for the last week but the internet in this library is RUBBISH !

I will try again in another library in the next few days.

We are off to Cadiz and then Tarifa tomorrow

Tara

17th Feb

Internet bad so no update for a while

We are in Sanlucar De Barrameda

Ciao for now x

14th Feb

On our way to Seville and then down to Gibraltar.  After that we will probably go to Granada :)

13th Feb and we are in Spain again!

Yup, where it's a bit warmer and more civilised!

In the local library in Zafra checking email and stuff.  I will see if I can come back later with the laptop and upload last weeks blog stuff

G xx

A Blog apology !

Well dudes, you may have found the quality (and quantity) of the blog a little bit lacking.  I am sorry about this but this is due to the fact that we only have limited access to the internet and when I do get on BLOGGER the date and time of blog entry become a little bit confused!

Also it does not help when the subject matter (Portugal) is really very ordinary.

However for those of you that can be bothered to read the blog I wish to say thank you for doing so, even if it is only to help you get to sleep!

Tara xx

Elvas 12th Feb

We stopped in Elvas and it rained all day so not too many pics really.  Elvas is another hilltop fort town but on a massive scale (Google it, you will be impressed)

Err, a few pics I meant to load up but forgot!

Alqueva Dam

Cork Bark (for cork!)

Moura Clock tower

Like a lot of Portugal, this building has seen it's Glory years a long while ago

These men in Moura seemed to have nothing better to do than watch the sewage men working!

Moura Church 

Wolfy gets a clean in Redondo

Well, it rained ALL day (11th Feb) so in the end I got out the car cleaning kit and used water from a nearby water butt

11th Feb

Nothing to report.  Our plan is to reposition to Redondo so that we can be ready to go the Elvas on Wednesday.  Hopefully this is the day that I will have uploaded the blog with all the photo’s etc from the 5th Feb.

So depending on how the upload went you are either reading this before you have looked at the stuff from the last week or after!

Oh and by the way it is really quite wet today!  This is our second real day of rain in the the last three weeks so I guess we should not really complain.  The temperature over the last few days has been much cooler too, generally about 12 to 14 degrees centigrade during the day and falling to about 6 or 7 at night.  Not too bad.

Tara for now

MONSARAZ 10th Feb

The Aire on the side of this hill top fortified village (another one!) must have the best views in Portugal!  We were parked up overlooking the Guadiana reservoir to the East and could see for miles.  The village is the most interesting and original we have seen so far.  We like Monsaraz!

SERPA 9th Feb

Another hill top fortified town full of old Roman, Moorish, Spanish and Portuguese stuff.  This is now the ‘original’ Portugal, which could be interpreted as quaint and untouched by tourism, or simply old and decrepit! (you choose).

MERTOLA 8th Feb

An old hill top fort and town on the river Guadiana.  Lovely old castle ruins and walled town, plenty of narrow cobbled streets (the theme to come!)

PRAIA DE ODECEIXE 7th Feb

Another stop near the beach, this time high on the cliff top.  

CARRAPATEIRA 6th Feb

Night stop down by the beach.  Beautiful !  The swell was still massive.  Had a spot of rain but managed to avoid a soaking.

CABO ST VINCENT 5th Feb

The most South Westerly tip of Portugal.  We like this place, rough, wild and natural.  It was interesting to see it ‘land side’ having sailed around it 7 years ago in Goosy.

Tuesday 4th February (two)

Today we are in Lagos at the local Aire which is just over the road from the Marina where we stayed in Goosey 7 years ago!  After a walk around town for old time sake and a meander through the marina we  
did some re stocking in 'Pingo Doce'

The weather was overcast today and quite breezy and cool so we even wore jackets and hats!

We are looking forward to the trip West and then North from here.  The Algarve really is a barren land as far as culture and scenery are concerned!  It is simply a place for sun, sand and cheap booze and food!  Also the place is full of Motorhomes just here for the aforementioned!

Also, one Portuguese town or village looks very much like the next, so we are not too inclined to take so many photo's!

Tomorrow we leave here and might not get internet for a while so again I will not be able to update the blog so often.

Tara !

Tuesday 4th February (one)

I have written this text on the lap top and saved it ready for when we do (!) find a reliable and quick internet link so it it covers the last few days from Friday morning 31st January.

FRIDAY 31st Jan

We drove from Manta Rota to an Aire at Fonte Santa nr Quarteira. In the afternoon we cycled around the local patch and found ourselves in a weird and wacky ‘Beverly Hills’ type of Golfing village.  All fairly expensive but completely lacking in taste!  After this we went shopping in the supermarket next to the Aire................ shock horror! a LIDL!  well, actually it turned out to be quite good! and cheap too! (never really thought I’d go shopping in Lidl haha).

The beach by the Aire at Manta Rota

Cacela Velha just along from Manta Rota

'Yellow Man Foon' for Lewis's mates!

Castle and church in Tavira

 Grahame in Tavira (not fooning!)

SATURDAY 1st Feb

Drive to Portimao via Olhao and Faro (fond memories of Faro, but it still is a bit too ‘kiss me quick’ for us).

Upon arriving at the Aire we discovered it to be full of about 250 motorhomes, most of whom had settled in for winter!  OMG it was like a Gypsy Camp!  It was very cheap (2.50 a night) and clearly attracted all the people who were more interested in sitting outside in a car park all day than seeing the local culture and sights.  They had generators, tables, chairs etc and gathered in groups (weird!).

Grahame at the 'Port' nav mark at the entrance to Portimao

Portimao 'Gypsy Camp' LOL

We cycled a few miles along the road to Alvor (much nicer and more traditional but still a bit touristy) for old times sake as we spent a few days in Alvor lagoon when we were on Goosey.

Alvor church (wonder if Poddy remembers this?)

Alvor Lagoon

SUNDAY 2nd Feb

Next day we cycled around Portimao (very dull) and left the gipsy camp around midday and set off for Foia which is a mountain top near Monchique.  We could not get out of Portimao fast enough!

The drive to Foia was just beautiful, a complete antidote to the busy and ugly concrete jungle of the Algarve coast!.  The region is very hilly and full of Cork, Chesnut and Eucalyptus trees.  We got to the top of the mountain (2900ft) and parked up in one of only two spaces on the Aire.  The top is of course full of various radio masts, radar heads and an observatory.  However the view was quite spectacular, with a 360 degree view of nearly  the whole of Southern Portugal.

The sky was blue and there was not a puff of wind, we were looking forward to a quiet night....................

WRONG!  around midnight the wind got up to around gale force 8 and a thick fog formed!  In these conditions it is best not to have a vivid ‘horror movie’ style imagination!  The wind buffeted the van all night and there were very strange noises all around us!  Sleeping was broken to say the least.....

MONDAY 3rd Feb

Anyway, eventually the sun came up, the fog cleared and the sleep deprived night began to fade away.  We drove the scenic way to Silves and pulled up in a really lovely private Aire just outside town (6.50 inc elec and wifi).

In the afternoon we walked into town and wandered around the Castle for a couple of hours. The castle has a grand history and was built by the Moors in the 11th and 12th Century

Later the lack of sleep caught up with us and it is at this point that I am writing these words.  I suspect the quality of my writing could be better but to be honest I just want to get something down before I forget!

Hopefully I will be able to edit and post a few (more interesting) photo’s.

Tara for now :)