Porto Covo and Points North.

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Peter and Nia — 1 Comment

Prawns for lunch, with some delicious Portuguese vinho verde, ‘green wine’.

Porto Covo is a very relaxed fishing village on the Portuguese coast south of Lisbon. I love the way they place stone seats in the middle of the Main Street.

There are a load of walkways running along the sandy/rocky coast here.

These flowering succulents were everywhere.

After Covo, we moved up the coast to Foz, and parked about 5 metres back from a sand-rimmed lagoon.

The weather was turning wet and cold so we beetled up to the Douro valley where we stopped the night at Quinta de Lourosa. This is a vineyard where they brew vinho verde, and sparkling white, rosé and red. We had a mini tasting with the delightful owner and have stashed a few bottles away in the boot.

Fortress at Braganca, a border town close to Spain, where we stopped for lunch en route to Valladolid.

Posted in 2022 Spring, Foz do Arelho, Lourosa, Porto covo, Portugal

Cape St Vincent. Zambujeira. And a Dose for less than 3 euros.

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Peter and Nia — 2 Comments

We stopped off at Cape St Vincent, the SW tip of Portugal, on our way round Portugal to Zambujeira.

Parked at the top of the cliffs. Plenty of space here. Just remember to use your handbrake

Good to see the English national dish alive and well in deepest Portugal.

More spectacular Coast a bit further north at Zambujeira where we stayed at Camping Villa Park for the night.

Pretty House on the Zambujeira seafront.

Tagged with: Portugal
Posted in 2022 Spring, Cape st Vincent, Portugal, Zambujeira

Praia da Luz and Lagos

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Peter and Nia — Leave a comment

Old Cubans. The slave market.

We stopped at Orbitur Valverde, a campsite between Praia da Luz and Lagos, for a couple of nights.

We took a taxi to Lagos and were set down here at the Place of the Infanta Dom Henrique.

The old Moorish Castle on the seafront at Lagos.

The two shoppers checking out some shiny things . At this point John and I split off with Coco for a walk around the port.

Posing at the old slave market after a spot of shopping.

The next day John and Linda headed off inland to visit John’s nephew. Nia and I walked around Praia and had to dive into a Mexican restaurant for cocktails and nachos when the heavens opened.

Posted in 2022 Spring, Portugal, Praia da Luz

Faro…March 2nd

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Peter and Nia — 2 Comments

Cat Burglary at the Cathedral, Sardines on the beach, impertinent cranes, …Faro has it all.

We stopped for a couple of nights at Faro, capital of the Algarve, on the south coast of Portugal.

Beach side Restaurant. We paused here for sardines and other delicacies.

Sardines by the beach, listening to the Atlantic rollers rumbling in (us, not them).

The campsite is on a spit of sand about 2km from Faro town. We took the ferry over.

Fortifications surrounding Faro old town.

Coco checking out the cathedral. She had to be carried.

John dropped his guide book from on high and had to vault a wall and sprint across the cathedral roof, before security clocked him, like a cat burglar. We were impressed.

Impudent Crane. On a statue of some worthy in the main square.

Lunch at a seafood restaurant in the sun.

Drinks on the beach. We watched the sunset. Coco and Phoebe watched the nibbles.

Posted in 2022 Spring, Faro, Portugal

Vila Real de Santo Antonio. February 28th

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Peter and Nia — Leave a comment

Our first stop in Portugal, just over the Spanish border, on the shore of the Guadiana estuary.

The pretty main square of Vila Real. Rebuilt apparently after the Portuguese earthquake of 1755.

Posted in 2022 Spring, Portugal, Vila Real de Santo Antonio

Gibraltar February 26th

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Peter and Nia — 4 Comments

Parked up on the Marina just over the border to Gibraltar, on a very blowy and wet day.

The two princesses on the runway at Gibraltar.

Drinks at Grand casemates Square, just to get them fired up for a shopping trip. And boy did it work. !!!

Posted in 2022 Spring, Gibraltar

Ronda, Andalucia, February 24th

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Peter and Nia — 2 Comments

Puente Nuevo, the New Bridge, at Ronda. (Completed 1793, so not that new).

The remarkable El Tajo gorge which runs through Ronda.

Casa del Rey Moro; the house of the Moorish king.

Ronda was a favourite haunt of Ernest Hemingway.

Apartment block Mural in Ronda. Must get the aerosol cans out when we get home.

Posted in - Spain, 2022 Spring, Andalucia, Ronda

Puerto de La Duquesa February 20th

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Peter and Nia — Leave a comment

We moved down to Camping la Bella Vista, a few km to the east of Gibraltar, to meet up with Kate and Alastair again. There are some very good restaurants here.

Capitainerie and Palm tree at Duquesa beach

Beachside apartments just south of the campsite.

Poor old Romeo needs some TLC.

Posted in - Spain, 2013 Spring, 2022 Spring, Andalucia, Manilva

Carboneras

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Peter and Nia — 8 Comments

Our next motorhome….the eco option….I will ask Nia to start training.

This is an old windmill at Carboneras, a Spanish coastal town in the Cabo de Gâta natural park, where we stopped overnight on the way South.

There is a nice be-palmed cycle track. We cycled out to the west of the town but there is a big industrial/port complex here which isn’t very pretty.

There is a good seafood restaurant behind these palms, to the east of the town, where Nia had Lubina, or sea bass, and I had Bacalao, or cod.

Lovely starter..tomatoes, anchovies, salmon, sardines and balsamic vinegar.

Tagged with: border terriers, motorhome, Spain
Posted in - Spain, 2022 Spring, Almeria, Carboneras

Marjal Costa Blanca

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Peter and Nia — 2 Comments

Elvis, Robot waiters, Flamingos…It’s all here…

The Alannia resort at Crevillent is not to everyone’s taste; it’s very big, maybe 500-1000 pitches, and well provided with stuff to do; heated swimming pool, sauna, pétanque, Padel (like tennnis but slightly smaller courts), and so on.

The site is between Alicante and Torrevieja, and close to the towns of Catral and Elche. Catral is within easy cycling range and has some good restaurants and shops, including a massive Chinese warehouse shop stocking everything that you would never want or need. But fun to walk round.