Yesterday’s windy weather was supposed to blow itself out overnight, but how wrong the forecasts were – it just kept on blowing a gale all through the night and, with the van parked on an exposed area of the coastline, it was like trying to sleep through turbulence on a transatlantic flight. Neither of us … Read more
This morning we had a shocker of a drive. I’m going to need some new trainers before we get home, and there’s apparently a Sports Direct in Portimão, not far from Alvor. (I try to avoid shopping in Sports Direct, but they seem to be the only outlet that sells the trainers I like back … Read more
After a restful few days near Albufeira, we have now moved westward to Alvor. On the way over we filled up with LPG and diesel, and replenished our food and wine stocks (and the naughty cupboard) with a trip to the supermarket. I also had my back clicked by the chiropractor in Lagoa, which desperately … Read more
We’ve had a lovely few days here on the site. The weather’s been great, but as we’re not ones for sunbathing we’ve been sat under the van awning in the shade reading, surfing and listening to music. We’ve been out for a couple of walks, and I went for a ride on my bike on Saturday … Read more
We’re now on an aire just outside Vilamoura, a coastal town west of Faro. The weekly market takes place on the aire, and when we arrived early yesterday the market was in full swing so we parked up in the next door car park and went for a wander round the market. It was a really good one, … Read more
We checked out of the Manta Rota aire this morning, which cost just €4.50 for overnight parking, great value considering that included servicing. It took about 45 minutes to get to Faro on the N125 road, though it would have taken less than 30 minutes if we’d taken the toll road. The N125 follows the … Read more
Yay! We’re now in Portugal. It’s been a pretty quiet day, with an uneventful drive over the border. Once in Portugal we had to pull over and register for the road toll system, which uses Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras and charges your card. We don’t intend using the tolls, but it will be interesting … Read more
This morning we went for a walk into El Rocío. It’s a religious town whose focal point is the Hermitage of El Rocío, which is the end point of a pilgrimage attracting around a million pilgrims a year. It’s all a bit much to try and explain it all here, so if you’d like to know … Read more