Blogs from Viana do Castelo, Northern, Portugal, Europe

We arrived in Portugal, without any fanfare, no passport control and not even a sign saying ‘welcome to Portugal’, but there was a warm welcome at our campsite. With a short walk over the dunes to a fabulous, very windy beach we were astounded by the number of kite and wind surfers in the water, the colours, the tricks and criss-crossing it was incredible they didn’t get knotted together! We had inadvertently chosen a kite surfer’s paradise, Praia do Cabedelo. A short hop on a ferry from our beach location and we were in the bustling town of Viana do Castelo. A medieval centre with lots of small shops and restaurants, houses and other buildings are decorated with some beautiful tiles. Just behind the station is a 100 year old funicular railway that takes you up ... read more

et nous voici ! Nous y venons grâce à Claudine... Merci de nous faire faire cette belle route ! Nous ne venons pas pour la première fois au Portugal... Nous avions l'habitude d'explorer le sud, donc l'Algarve du temps où nous venions régulièrement en Andalousie. Nous avons aussi poussé une pointe plus au Nord et même tout au Nord... Mais cette fois, nous venons connaître un nouveau coin qui est celui de Crato, où nous nous retrouvons en famille avec Claudine et Luis. Ce ne sera pas pour les photos d'aujourd'hui car avant d'arriver chez eux il nous a fallu faire quelques kilomètres... Notre programme change parfois selon la météo... nous avons retrouvé le grand soleil, nous essayons de le conserver ! Nous descendons tout de même plus au Sud, Crato se trouvant presque au milieu ... read more

There is a song written in 1934 by a Spanish songwriter Maria Grever titled ‘What a diff'rence a day mades’ and today it couldn’t have been truer. The weather in Santiago hadn’t been that kind to us over the last 3 days just as we were starting to think that warmer temperatures for the northern spring might have been here.But this morning has dawned brilliantly fine and sunny,if a little cool still. Mind you we leave ourselves open to the changes in the weather by moving on every 2 or 3 days. Packing up was easy in this apartment because it is compact although in saying that there has been enough room to spread ourselves around too. It has been another find on Air BnB and despite the fact that the heating inside could have been ... read more

This is a long story today but does it get any better ? It's about our first few days at the villa. Life’s good but at the villa it’s a paradise. It’s just so nice ! Being here at this little spot of nature’s beauty makes one think of other lifestyle opportunities. It will be with great disappointment and reluctance that the eight of us will leave here to return to the ‘normal’ lives we actually live. Being here has given some of us greater insights and an answer to “What would you do if you won the lottery ?” I don't know why this didn't show up but if you click the "villa" on the upper left corner of the black square it will produce the picture. So I added this comment and on reviewing ... read more