Our adventures in a mobile home
Posts tagged views
Rivers of wine
Apr 9th
We followed the Duoro river inland, this massive water course is surrounded by steeply, terraced hills full of vines. It was once the main route for the boats carrying barrels of wine from the fertile valleys of the Duoro down to Porto where they would age and eventually become port.
We stopped by Cinfaes, right on the waters edge surrounded by sweet smelling wisteria and under a weeping willow. We had sundowners at the local hotel overlooking the river and on our way home stopped at the local ‘shop’. This turned out to be a little old lady’s front room where she sells some bits and bobs. Our wine container was a water bottle filled with the local vintage. Our perfect day was topped off with the sighting of an otter at sundown, clambering in and out of the jetties a few metres away from the van.
The river has some great walking opportunities and the next day we followed a path along it for a few hours. This was a revelation as we experienced some extraordinary acoustics along its course. At one house a radio was playing, this was amplified and distorted for miles down the river until you could hardly make out the songs being played. The route also provided us with refreshments from the many orange trees and freshwater springs, nature providing at its best!
A bit of France in Portugal
Apr 5th
We detoured through the Serra da Freita on our way to Arouca. The landscape in this area is almost English, very green and full of tumbled down stone cottages surrounded by gardens packed with flowers. There is an abundance of water and rock, creating white waterfalls and idyllic roadside stops. At one such place we got out to explore and encountered a rather hunched up crone guarding her goats. I hadn’t noticed her crouching away from the blistering sunshine until she unfurled her black shawl to tend to her charges. She was wrapped in black from head to foot, whilst I was wandering around in shorts and a strappy top. This seems to be the norm here, the Portuguese are wrapped up like its -10° and most women seem to wear black (perhaps to trap in the heat?)
Arouca was bustling compared to the quietness of the Serra da Freita. We wandered around the town and then stopped for lunch in a cafe frequented by the locals. David ordered a Franceshina (translates to “a little French”), that turned out to be not so little. This massive meal consists of a door stop sandwich, containing pork steak, bacon and sausage, covered in grilled cheese floating in a soup of chips, tomato, beer and piripiri. It was a dream meal for David although he struggled to finish it and we opted for a healthy carrot soup for supper to try and balance out our diet.
Music in the hills
Apr 3rd
We drove up into the hills surrounding Caramulo and found an idyllic spot at Cabeca da Neve. We decided to stop here for the night, much to our detriment as it was frequented by locals through the course of the night blasting cheesy rave music. At 4am we had enough and blotted out their crap tunes with our drum ‘n bass turned up to the max. This started a soundsystem war and we didn’t get any more sleep. We will remember in future not to stop anywhere with views of lights on a Saturday night. Our lack of sleep put paid to our walk along the hills the next morning and instead we stopped for pastries at Caramulo and drove on to Vouzela.
Vouzela’s campsite was on a hill, next to a Castelo and a very steep 2km downhill into town. We cycled it and dreaded the all uphill return journey. Vouzela itself is a pretty backwater town, it has a famous pastry which tastes like very eggy custard combined with mounds and mounds of icing sugar encased in filo pastry masquerading as paper. Not my best pastry experience! And it definitely didn’t help with the cycle ride back home … less sugar rush, more like jelly legs!
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.
Sumptuous Sintra
Mar 19th
Sintra, in the hills above Lisbon, is full of fairytale architecture and was once a retreat for wealthy Lisbonites. The pastel coloured palaces and chimneys revealed themselves through the mist and cloud. Apparently this is normal weather for Sintra and is affectionately known as the ‘queen’s fart’. We explored the boulder strewn hills near the Palicio da Pena. There are steep inclines and declines creating some great mountain biking routes with fabulous views down into Lisbon and the coast.
Whilst in Sintra we went to visit the ‘Quinta de Regaleria‘, the vision of a wealthy aristocrat and a visionary architect and set designer. Each element of the house and garden is based on classical themes and the design extended to every element including each piece of furniture. It must have been an overwhelming project; it certainly overwhelmed us and we only had to walk around it! It was a contrast to the Convento dos Capuchos, a monastery with magnificent gardens but rather stark monk cells covered in cork bark.
We also stayed over at Cascais and enjoyed the beach at Guincho – a popular hangout for surfers and for Odie, a massive doggie population! The sun beat down on us during our cycle along the coastal path along with hundreds of other walkers, cyclists and roller bladers. Summer is on its way!
Costly Port
Mar 13th
A hardy fisherman braves the massive waves
Porto Covo, once a tiny fishing port is now a swanky holiday town. We found ourselves underdressed and underfunded compared to the stylish Lisboetas. In one unassuming little shop, reminiscent of our corner shop back in the UK, we were amazed to find a bottle of port on one shelf going for the princely sum of €850! Said bottle dates from 1935 but remarkably this great vintage sits amongst the other cheap bottles of wine. We opted for a bottle of vinho verde close to the expensive port, but even closer to our budget of €6. We stuck to cheap activities like fishing and walking along the cliffs admiring the lillies which are starting their spring bloom. The colour of the sea in this area is amazing with lovely turquoise blues and bright white sands. The waves are also inspiring, but for their force, not beauty, and on a fishing expedition I managed to soak my iPhone in the wild water! I can no longer dial any new numbers and my text messages come out weirdly … you have been warned!
Fire me up!
Mar 8th
Even the sunrise looked like a bush fire
24 hours of fire! Our first fire incident was trying out some local, home brewed firewater; cracking stuff. The barmen at the campsite said he couldn’t divulge the alcoholic percentage or where it was made. Perhaps it is an old family ‘recipe’. (Ingredients: starch. Method: ferment until causes drinker to clutch throat and fall to the ground screaming) It certainly reminded us of Zivania from Cyprus or even Stroh Rum and the after-effects were similar!
The second fire incident happened as I was making prawn crackers for our homemade Sunday night Chinese. I managed to set a pan of oil alight, and in an enclosed space leaping flames are a rather frightening sight. Luckily I managed to keep my wits about me and got it out the door before setting us and the van aflame! Phew, maybe we won’t be making homemade takeaway for awhile.
Making mini craters
The beach at Odeceixe is stunning. There is a long sweep of powdery, white sand framed by dark cliffs and intersected with a meandering river. The sand is incredibly fine, and a hard crust forms on its surface. Every step on the smooth sand causes a ripple of holes to form around your foot, as if someone had just fired at it with a shotgun. I thought for a second I was in some sci-fi movie, seeing a bleed through from an alternate reality, before I realised it was just my foot!
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
Cycling Struggles
Feb 26th
Next stop was Salema, beachside wild camping along with 10 other motorhomers. This spot is in a wetland, and the sound of frogs and waves serenaded us to sleep. We spent a gloriously hot couple of days fishing, sunbathing and generally lazing about. We managed one cycle ride up the rather steep hills into the town, David’s very cheap bike is currently running on one front gear and he had a hissy fit when he saw the climb out of town. Our bbq is getting heavy use now, it is magical to sit next to the ocean, glass of wine in hand of course, and cook some fresh fish or frango piri-piri.
We reluctantly moved onto Sagres, the most westerly town in the Algarve where the weather turned more windy. Consequently, it proved to be another challenging ride to Cabo St Vincent, especially after a couple of G&Ts. David was carrying Odie in his doggie backpack much to the delight of the busloads of Americans who grabbed the opportunity to take a photo, some by asking if they could and others by snapping away when they thought David wasn’t looking. The lighthouse is the most powerful in Europe and its light can be seen for over 90 miles. It’s a very good thing as the sea is very choppy and rough out there.
Sagres town has a couple of places to park in the van, we stayed at both and had a great time walking and fishing near the town. We enjoyed an incredible Sunday lunch of grilled fish and a massive steak washed down with the local beer. All cooked by an old salty looking chef who brings out the uncooked wares for you to examine before singeing them on the grill. Beats a Sunday roast hands down!
Bom Dia Portugal
Feb 20th
Winner of Portugal's "Untidy Garden" award, 2011
We have arrived in the Algarve, only a month late but never mind! Almaco de Pera is a holiday town we have visited before in the winter. Its beach is dotted with fishing boats and the local restaurants offer massive portions of the local catch for lunch. We chose a little shack-like place on the beach and enjoyed ‘sardinas’ in the sunshine. The weather has been incredible since we arrived in Portugal and was baking hot for February. On our walk we discovered a fabulous wild camping parking area on the cliffs overlooking the sea and the western end of town. There were at least 15 campers dotted along the cliffs, but a hefty fine of up to 30k can be levied if you get too near the edge!
It was then time for a bit of culture and history, something we have been missing for the last few weeks as we have mostly been at the sea. We made our way to Silves, a Moorish hill top town an impressive clay coloured castle that dominates the skyline. There is a massive parking area and a huge motorhome community, we counted over 65 vans camped next to the river. We explored the deserted cobble streets by moonlight and only encountered an occasional doggie, of which there seem to be many in Portugal. Silves in the brilliant sunshine was another kettle of fish, the castle and cathedral were our first stops. The castle is laid out with a Moorish garden and you enjoy wonderful views of the town from the ramparts. The cistern is supposedly haunted by a Moorish maiden but all we heard were some brilliant acoustics that David was hugely excited by and he even threatened to come back and sample the sound patterns.
Mmm, doughnuts (drool)
The monthly market was in full swing and we managed to purchase a new grill for fish for our bbq and peruse the local tat. We also caught a virtuoso performance of doughut frying by one of the local vendors and enjoyed a delicious ‘fratera’, a long, thin, crinkle shaped doughut dusted in cinnamon sugar.