PORTUGAL SOUTH - FARO to LISBON

I know this is late but we have had so many good times we have been busy. More to come later.

We fell in love with Portugal with its blue sky, warm sunshine, white sandy beaches and fantastic coastal cliffs. Mountains and trees everywhere, good roads and good drivers contrary to what we had been told. We loved listening to Fado singers and enjoyed some good wine and great Port. The people are quietly spoken, friendly and very helpful.

The Algarve was our introduction to Portugal. 


The first place we visited was a Motorhome  business we got the address for from a guy we met at El Rocio. We had lost the winder for our awning and managed to buy one there. Our next place to visit was a special winery to take a photo for a special friend. From the Motorhome shop we got the co-ordinates for his house and off we set full of confidence. Well after many twists and turns and taking Harry up a very small laneway bordered by grapevines only to end up in someones back yard we decided it was time to give it a miss and travel on. We found out later there are three formats to choose for co-ordinates and now I can put them in correctly life is much more peaceful between navigator and driver.

 The Algarve boasts 150 kilometres of coastline and wonderful beaches. Along the south eastern coast it is very touristy. The quiet fishing villages have disappeared and we are seeing lots of high rise, tourist beaches and golf courses. The beaches are wide and sandy and the rocky formations are just wonderful. The rocky formations, high cliffs and wide beaches of Praia da Rocha was our favourite.

Wandering along the coast road from Lagos we called into the Ponte da Piedade to enjoy its beautiful coloured cliffs and to walk down to and crawl up from the grotto. I lost count of the steps after one thousand!! 

 The town of Sagres was our next stop to do a bit of tourist shopping and try out authentic Piri Piri chicken.

Sagres was where Henry the Navigator established his school of navigation. His pupils were the Great Sea Explorers; Magellan, Cabral, Diaz and Vasco da Gama. I can still remember learning about Vasco de Gama finding the spice route to India when I was 8 years old. At the time I didn’t know much about Australia let alone something that happened in 1476 or where the rest of the world was. However here I am admiring the Square and Henry the Navigator’s statue.

From the town we went out to spend the night overlooking Cabo de Sao Vincente. This south western rocky land was once called ‘fim do mundo’ the ‘End of the World’

Cabo de Sao Vincente was the last land the sea explorers saw before they headed out to see if they would fall off of the edge of the world.

This is the most South Western point of Europe and we have a certificate from the Bratworst Burger Caravan to prove we have been here.

We stopped at a pottery shop which had the most amazing collection of plates on the outside walls. 

Still following the coast we came over the hill into Carrapateria to see the beach and were surprised to see a small surfers town comprised of about 20 motorhomes of all makes, ages and condition and about 30 cars and vans and a caravan hamburger and coffee bar.

We had a cappuccino and talked with a guy who had spent 4 months around Margaret River surfing 

 Heading North we pass through Eucalypts, we could have been driving in the south of state of Western Australia.

Then we come to a town with typical white houses to remind us we are in Portugal. 

We decided to leave the coast and go inland driving up through the Serra de Monchique. What a drive we went from beaches to forests and mountains in a very short time. The mountains are dotted with small villages surrounded by eucalypt trees.

 As far as the eye can see Eucalypts the same as the Tasmanian blue gums are being grown here. Quite narrow roads wind through the mountain and we passed logging trucks and piles of cut logs. The mountains are terraced to get to the trees and the logs don’t have a big girth, we think they are cut much earlier than our forests as it is difficult to get any big machinery into the mountain areas. 

 The mountains are terraced to get to the trees.

After the mountains we saw our first cork forests. Portugal is the world’s largest producer of cork.

The cork is lifted off of the trunk about every 9 years. This picture shows the thickness of the cork.

 Later down on the plains we saw a place where the cork was piled up drying.

After leaving the mountains head north to Beja passing through farming areas where we noted the many trees left in the paddock.

 And wheat silos old and more modern. 

 Of course there were grapes and the ever present olives.

It is not unusual to see a town with a castle looming overhead.

EVORA

We stopped in the historical town of Evora to see the Temple of  Diana and a roman aqueduct dating from the second century. 

The Chapel of the bones in the Franciscan Church is unusual. The script on the top of the entrance interesting. 

 All the tourist shops have everything with a rooster. 

We stayed in a caravan park in Evora to do the washing and catch up on a few chores. The swimming pool was welcome too as it is getting hot.

As we were up the road a way we saw the signs for some stones like Stonehenge. So made a detour off of the main road.

The stones are impressive and are said to be the largest Megalithic enclosure on the Iberian Penninsula built in the late Neolithic period about 7000 years ago.

The stones were within a cork forest where the trees had been “de corked” recently. We could tell this by the number on the trunk and a different colour .

We decided to head back to the coast and then to Lisbon.

We timed it wrong after finding Caravan Parks which did not open until the holiday season started in Mid June. 

SETUBAL

 We arrived in Setubal around 9pm and then started our worst nightmare. We were following the Garmin which doesn’t seem to distinguish one road at one level and another above it and when we turned left as directed we ended up in a maze of small streets in the old town. While trying to extricate ourselves we went deeper and deeper into smaller and smaller streets. We got some people out of a tavern to shift 2 cars as we couldn’t go back.  Then we went around a corner and up a hill with people hanging out of windows shifting clothes on  lines out of our way or just peering amazed or dazed that a motorhome was in their street. Mind you we were just as dazed and navigator and driver were at very short fuses. We came to a standstill at the top of the hill as there was nowhere to go. Looking to the left we saw people coming out from behind bins, from off of a street bench etc and realised we were in a dead end filled with homeless people at 11.30 at night. I nearly had a seizure and Kevin went very pale.

HOWEVER they were marvellous people.  After signs and lots of jabber jabber we were told to wait by and old lady who set off down a lane and brought back a fellow who could speak English.  We understood he ran a soup kitchen in the area but said the people were poor but kind and not to be worried ( he must have seen the look on my face). He said the only way out was through an arched gateway we had already seen and decided we would never fit through.

No problem he said “Australians could go anywhere” so mirrors were folded back and with our audience we inched forward.

With the old lady on one side and the man on the other we were guided through with a few centimetres to spare. 

We passed a heap of koalas souvenirs through the window and down the tiny street checking we didn’t hit any balconies or signs, got another car shifted and finally made our way out. With a sigh of relief and thinking ’did we really do that’ 

We headed off to the coast to find somewhere to pull up. At 1.30pm we stopped outside a big tourist hotel alongside the tour buses and went to sleep.

LISBON

Our first sight of Lisbon was the huge statue looking over the harbour.  

We crossed the bridge and went through the wrong toll gate so didn’t have anywhere to put the money and wonder when they will catch us up!! With the dreaded Garmin setting the way made our way to a caravan park just north of the city. 

We loved Lisbon. The first day we caught a bus into town and spent the day riding the hop on and off bus around all of the routes. Note the tiled façade of the building. 

 Lisbon is built on many hills and it was relaxing just sitting up front and looking at the most incredible sights.

Trees line some streets and the Jacarandas are in full bloom. The pathways have lovely black and white paving with different patterns throughout the city.

The buildings are varied, modern and old in good and bad condition, a lot of tiles and wrought iron balconies. 

The second day we moved to a free motorhome spot near the river for the rest of our time and caught local transport. 

Trams squeeze through the most incredible streets. 

This was taken from the tram window. There is no stepping out of these front doors without looking. 

Cars park anywhere, crosswalks are fair game.

The tram goes through here.

What goes up must come down. We learnt to catch buses or trams up then walked down.

There are plenty of monuments and statues.

 Lots of cafes and places to view the passing parade. 

This café had bean bags and on the footpath  overlooking the river the most incredible seating with trees for shade and inserts for sitting 

We walked and walked through the night life area and one evening found a little restaurant with Fado singers. We had traditional seafood and enjoyed the staff; cook, waitress, maitre’d Papa and Mama who all sang and played Fado.

Lisbon must be the capital of grafitti artists. Often disused buildings have been used.  Some very good and others just taggers. 

In the centre of the city is an old street lift from the lower city up two streets.   We paid our money and went up to check out the view.  

In every direction you see a sea of red rooves. 

While having a coffee we met an Australian who was sailing on Abu Dhabi in the Volvo Ocean Race so we called in to check it out. 

One of the exhibits was this sculpture from ocean junk. Maybe a Cottesloe sculpture coming up. 

Then it was time to head north again.