Our adventures in a mobile home
Posts tagged campsite
Porto
Apr 8th
Next stop Porto. We had been warned by friends that this city was rather industrial and our expectations about its aesthetics were low. However, we thoroughly enjoyed our short time here. The weather helped as it was hot and sunny throughout. Even the Portuguese managed to stripped off and bask in the sun.
We stayed near Villa Nova de Gaia, by the beach and cycled into the city for our sightseeing. This has been the easiest city to visit on our bikes as a dedicated cycle path runs along the seafront and riverside into town. The path along the Duoro river passes all the famous port lodges. There were many names we recognised and a few we haven’t seen before. From this side of the river there is also a lovely view of the main town and its diverse architecture. We also enjoyed the view on a boat trip that took us out to the sea and back again. We finished our first day with a glass of port at Kopke lodge, Porto’s oldest, overlooking the river.
Day two saw us return for more port (of course). We visited Crofts and Calem for tastings, our favourite being Calems vintage tawny blend but at a hefty €21.40 we had to pass up buying a bottle. We took a tour at Sandemans, famous for its cape and sombrero advertising. All in all a good day of drinking rounded up by cocktails by the beach at sunset! And a hangover the next day … anyway I don’t feel too guilty on a Saturday morning (its a reminder of a previous life!)
Water, trees and piggies
Apr 1st
Luso is the home of Portugal’s famous mineral water. It was a pleasure to go and fill up our water bottles for free at the town’s fountain. In fact, the fountain provided us with much entertainment over our lunch. There is an endless stream (haha) of people that come to fill up and we counted them with up to 10 big water bottles each. They must be very thirsty!
The campsite in Luso is set amongst the pine trees and dotted with daisies, it was very quiet and peaceful. From the site it is a short walk (up a very steep hill) into the Bucaco forest. This walled forest was planted by monks and there is a tree dating from 1644. The paths meander past ponds full of rose petals and up to the Palacio do Bucaco, now a hotel. The hotel is ornate, in a manueline style with some beautiful azulejos on the exterior walls.
We walked up to the Porta de Coimbra and also to what we thought was the Cruz Alta, but we discovered that we must have stopped climbing before reaching the summit and the topmost cross! Ah well, both had panoramic views of the countryside.
This region is famous for its leitao, a roast suckling pig which is usually eaten accompanied by a local sparkling red wine. We tried both, and stuffed ourselves silly with such a decadent meal. I had to leave the driving to David as I had rather overindulged my appetite for wine at lunch and had to have a little lie down.
Coimbra
Mar 30th
One of Coimbra's beautiful fountains
Coimbra stunned us with architecture and culture. The city is hilly, like so many in Portugal, but this gives it great views. We marched about exploring the winding staircases meandering from the university down into the commercial part of the city and then onto the river. We had lunch and I got to try a local speciality, Chafana – goat stewed in red wine. It was very rich but tender and tasty.
Woe is me, and you too if I don't get a good tip
That evening we ventured back into town for some fado (the Portuguese equivalent of the blues) and had our first taxi ride with a Portuguese driver. It was more hair raising than driving with an Italian as he managed to clock up 110 in a 50 zone! The fado wasn’t neearly so quick. We had to wait an hour for it to start - apparently my strop eventually got it going. It was interesting and I enjoyed the guitar but I wouldn’t listen to it regularly as it is rather moody for my tastes. One guitarist was most enthusiastic, strumming like his fingers were on fire, but the other looked like he wanted nothing more than to get back to his fishing boat …
NATO is unpopular with the local student population
Chapel of Bones
Mar 15th
We’ve been sticking to the coast up to now but decided to take a detour inland to visit Evora. The drive took us through the cork forests of the Alentejo. The cork trees are stripped to their waists, the underlying bark being red to start and turning slowly to a deep black in the 10 years before the trees are stripped again. The cork itself is strangely light (though that shouldn’t have been a surprise given how many win bottles I’ve opened) and has a very spongy texture.
Evora is a town of many interesting sights. We arrived intending to park under the aqueduct but on meeting some other motorhomers who were robbed overnight in their vans we opted to check into the campsite instead. Evora had the usual impressive cathedral and other interesting architecture but the highlight for us was the macarbe chapel of bones. The walls were created with monks bones (mostly femurs and humeri) and it is decorated with a trio of hanging mummies. The inscription above the chapel entrances reads ‘We bones here are waiting for your bones‘. It definitely stimulated thoughts of our own mortality, and it made me glad we are seeing the world before we enter the chapel of bones!
Aljezur
Mar 4th
An old motorbike parked on an Aljezur street
Aljezur is an old Moorish town with a hilltop castle and stunning views to the mountainous region of Monchique. The cobbled streets lead up narrow lanes bordered by tiled houses. We spent a couple of nights at the campsite and also wild camped at a few local beaches.
The Amoeira beach is divided by an estuary with an aquamarine river providing a home to what looked like trout. Unfortunately David hasn’t managed to catch us an dinner, although secretly I am pleased as I am not too keen on gutting a fish. I dealt with a couple of squid the other day, one had nothing inside but the other had undigested little fishies which made me jump out of my skin and squeal when I discovered them.
Children dress up in bright colours for a festival in Aljezur
Spanglish mates
Jan 30th
We were feeling rather weary after our overly exuberant new year celebrations in Benalmadena and after a night of recuperation we drove southwards in search of sunnier climes. We decided to return to one of our favourite Spanish campsites, near to the Cabo de Trafalgar (where Nelson fought the Spaniards).
The area is famous in Spain for its pine trees. They were planted by Franco to stop the endless march of sand inland. The trees still produce pine kernels and in January provide a home to an apparently very poisonous caterpillar. We were told by other campers that said caterpillar was both attractive and fatal to dogs. Luckily we only saw a couple of dead specimens and Odie was not at all interested in them, so they can’t be such a delicious doggie delicacy.
There are some fantastic cycling routes which thread though the natural pine park. We were looking forward to using our bikes to discover more of the area. Unfortunately our ambitious plans were rudely interrupted by some enterprising bicycle thieves who nicked our bikes in the middle of the night. They kindly left our bike cover, which means we don’t have to replace it for a third time! After discovering our loss, I had to make a trip to Barbate police station to report it and during this tedious exercise found out that the campsite had been targeted the previous month and that eight other bikes had been nicked in one night not long before we arrived! Pity no one had mentioned this fact when we turned up or we would have locked them to our van instead of to a tree!
We did not let our loss detract from our stay in the lush Costa de Luz, there were plenty of walks to the beach, lighthouse and along the surrounding hills. We were blessed with sunshine for most of the month and this meant David could work outside, although he had to defend his laptop from the sunshine and his legs from mosquitoes!
We squeezed in a visit to Cadiz, Europe’s oldest city, with narrow streets, exotic plants and hardly any parking spaces. We replaced our bikes with some cheap mountain bikes from Decathalon, and David purchased a mound of new clothes to replace his crusty look with a smart sporty style.
The campsite was a very sociable place, which was a major draw for us to stay for a month. We participated in 2 quiz nights (one sober; one with a very random combination of drinks) and played bingo for the very first time (besht played when tipshy!)
We met Padget, a bearded collie, and his owners, Bill and Jane, who are on a traveling adventure like us. It was fantastic to have some mates about again. We went for long lunches, played some hectic tennis and table tennis, went for long walks and drank quite a few beers together. If you want to check out their blog go to: http://www.getjealous.com/Billandjayne
We also met another couple, Paul and Tracey, and all 6 of us played an interesting match of TT which involved running around the table and trying to hit one ball each before stepping out of play. It made me feel rather dizzy and David was complaining of stiff obliques the next day. This was soon followed by a boozy curry night before we hit the road once again! Months of social deprivation were made up in just a few weeks. Keep in touch guys!
Accidental Austrian Strudel
Aug 18th
Rain, rain, rain! We had hoped to make the most of Lake Constanz but the only constant has been a steady downpour. Luckily, while drifting through Friedrichshafen, we spotted signs for the Zepplin Museum and decided to check it out on a whim. As it was early, we were fortunate enough to find a parking space easily but they were few and far between when we returned to the van. Get there early if you don’t want parking headaches. The museum itself was fascinating. I can’t believe how huge the Zepplins were, especially considering how few passengers they could carry. What we did find rather odd was that the top floor was home to an art exhibition. The rather tenuous reason (or should that be excuse?) for its existence was a little sign with the words “Science is art and art is science”.
We found a Stellplatz adjoining a campsite near Lindau. At last a chance to do some washing! A brief break in the steady downpour allowed us to go for a cycle to explore the area. We stopped at a cafe for a warming cup of tea and a very delicious apple strudel. On the cycle home we noticed a sign showing the way to Deutscheland and realised that we had accidentally strayed across the border into Austria for our strudel!
Lindau bay lit up at night
When evening fell we cycled, away from Austria this time, into Lindau town. The bay is lit up at night and is very pretty, apart from a rather odd neon sign at the top of a statue which changes every few minutes from a smiley face to a sad face. The restaurants on the water front are very expensive but a short walk to the end of the row will take you to a funky little cafe which serves cake and beer, a combination I have come to love 
We suspect that although it has a lovely riviera feel at night it would be very different in the day, heaving with tourists.
Padel
Jun 20th
Spain has educated us, we have learnt a new sport whilst we have been here. Popular in Spain and Latin America Padel is a cross between tennis and squash. Played with smaller raquets, on a smaller court and with a smaller bouncy ball than tennis. The court has a wall to the back and side of the court which you can play off just like squash. It is easy to get the hang of and is less intensive than playing tennis.
Here’s a little snippet of how the pros play, unfortunately we don’t look like that!
All the campsites in the South of Spain that we have stayed in have Padel courts. Most don’t charge for use of the courts. The bats (cheap wooden cut, probably meant for the beach) cost us €5 for a pair and you can play with a tennis ball if you have one handy.
Best Campsite!
Jun 3rd
Our last day in the Picos we stayed in the most incredible campsite. Just outside Potes, a wonderful but touristy mountain town. The campsite is surrounded by snowy covered peaks, the grass terraced site with a sparkling blue pool is the most stunning setting you can imagine. It was hot somehow reaching 31 degrees but was perfectly juxtaposed by the snow capped mountains.