Portugal 10 - Camping Lisboa, Benfica and a day out at Sintra

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We are up to almost the half way point of the holiday . Thoughts so far . After bad start to the weather it has improved and it was positively steaming by the time we arrived at our campsite Camping Lisboa. My sun tan is coming along nicely . Worried by the tolls we went through more of them today which could mean more arguing with the Portuguese and more talking to Germany and Tolltickets. It has spoilt the holiday so far worrying about them. We even crossed the Tagus on the bridge with Christ the Redemer looking down on us. Not a squeak did the box make.

Glenn has been unwell with severe stomach ache and this has made life a bit difficult at times. The air pressure in the new suspension let itself down and we had to pump it back up again. It seems like this holiday has been a bit of a disaster waiting to happen. It does not feel like one of our finest moments. Things can only get better I hope. Jeremy Corbyn has been elected leader of the Labour Party back home. Not sure how that one will pan out. It feels a little like he will take Labour back to pre- Blair days and it will become more left than it currently is. We have felt isolated a touch as we have struggled getting Wifi this time.

Anyway we arrived . Big campsite . We had read reviews and they had all been pretty bad. The last time we came we stayed at the other campsite the other side of the city but it had been a touch out of the way. This one seemed to be a better option on a bus route. The reviews however did not sound positive . For a start they said that reception was poor, that they lacked any customer service skills and they were more interested in going home. We would test them out shortly. The reception was small and full of customers. The only member of staff working was a touch miserable and when it was my turn he curtly asked for passports. He took my 52 euros for two nights and gave me the receipt. We could park on plot 30. When I asked about buses to Sintra he muttered quietly "outside bus stop," he told me the number but it did not seem right so I asked again . This time he repeated "bus stop outside" ," Sintra not central bus 570 – Benfica and train". What time ? No response apart from grunt every 20 minutes. OK they were right on the customer service skills so what next . He won't win the prize for the best receptionist on a site then.



The plots. They were gigantic especially compared to what we had had the night before . We had our own drains for grey and black waste, our own water supply and electricity and a table to sit on. Our neighbours were Swedish and came to introduce themselves . They had both recently retired and had spent the last few weeks travelling down from Sweden and would be in Spain and Portugal for another 2 and a half months.



The second comment we had read was that the toilet facilities were feral. They actually were not that bad . I have been in better but I have been in worse. They were clean and had copious supplies of hot water. There was another swimming pool that invited me in for a few lengths. There was a café selling fast food, a mini market and a playground for the children. Wifi was poor and only worked near to the cafe area. It was an excuse to have a white wine whilst trying to surf the net and try out the burger and chips on offer.

We had probably the best nights sleep for a while despite the constant hum from the motorway that ran alongside us. Funny how you get used to it after a while.

Monday was Sintra day. We had tried to go there last time we were here in Portugal but failed. This time we had a cunning plan. We got up early and walked to the bus stop. That was easy it was just outside the gates and inside was a diagram of the line showing which way the bus would go. We also had picked up a leaflet from reception which showed the stops and we counted 6 between us and our stop of Benfica station. Luckily it also gave the time between each stop. The fare was 1 euro 80 cents single. We counted the stops and got off right outside the train station. Last time I was here was in 1966 when as a 14 year old I walked into Benfica stadium to see the hallowed ground that Eusebio played upon. Those were the glory days of Benfica and oddly you could view the stadium for nothing.

As always health and safety not an issue in Portugal. The bus had been heaving with not even standing room . It was good to get off and walk into the station concourse. Hopefully we would not be packed in like sardines on the trains which ran every 15 minutes. The fare structure is a bit strange. We had to buy two viagem cards which would be loaded with our tickets. 50 cents a card. Glenn paid 1 euro 10 cents each way to Sintra and I paid 2 euros 15 cents. The ticket office was a pleasure to work with. Easy to buy the tickets and we were even told the time of the train and which platform it would go from. Only problem in our rush we headed for platform 1 and saw the train on the other side of the track with no visible way of getting there. We had to show our tickets and go all the way round again and then wait for the next train.

Arriving in Sintra we found it a most difficult place to negotiate. We couldnt find the tourist information office and when we did we picked up the card for the buses. Apparently we had to buy either a one circuit ticket at 5 euros each or a hop on hop off ticket. There are a lot of palaces and they are all too far apart to walk. Imagine San Marino and the walk from the bottom to the top. Imagine Neuschwanstein Castle and the walk up. Think of both and think again and you might get the right idea. Not walkable unless you are seriously mad. Is there an order to see the castles? Well not really. It depends what you like. The quieter ones are the ones not on the main sightseeing tours. The busiest are all together so if you go to the top one by the time you get to the bottom you find that one heaving. If you start at the bottom then the top one is full by the time you get there. There is no right or wrong way. This is one place you might need a few days to take in everything but we did not have a few days. It is also the type of place you easily could become castled out.

So how did we do it ? Well we got on the bus with what felt like hundreds of others and got off at the first opportunity. Sintra National Palace. This is the one with the big chimneys if you ever have looked at a photograph. It is also known as the Town Palace and stands in Republik
Square. It is painted pure white and has the biggest chimneys you could ever wish to see. They dominate the building. It had been the home and retreat from the summer heat of Lisbon for the Royal Family and it was our plan to see inside. We believed that there are joint tickets for different castles and we thought once in we could ask and get the best deal. However , all good plans and all that sort of stuff. A bus tour turned up. Led by a guide holding up a green hand they took over the entrance area and the balcony outside . They were quickly followed by group number two led by a white chrysanthemum. They took over the steps. Group three turned up next and took over the yard to the front of the castle . By this time it was impossible to get near the place so we took to the cafe nearby and ordered espressos and crepes which we ate to while away half an hour. This was a vain hope that the queues would go down. They did not and the courtyard looked as if it were full of angry wasps. An attempt to visit was futile and we had to make do with photographs of the exterior. Plan B was then to catch the bus and head for the Moorish Castle half way up the hill. This dated back to Islamic rule and was less popular with the visitors. We paid our 14 euro full price ticket and 12 euros 50 cents pensioner rate and walked the rest of the way. The gardens in the summer must have looked lovely full of Agapanthus plants. The seed heads were all that remained. The castle was picture perfect with fantastic views across the valley to the palaces below and it was so peaceful after the hurly burly of the town beneath. We listened to one visitor who said that at this time of the year the crowds had gone and it was quiet . If this is quiet then I would hate to be here in the height of summer.

On again to the bus as it chugged its way up the hill between the parked cars. I marvelled at the skill of the bus driver negotiating the curves and the parked cars . This time though I got my foot caught in the door as it opened. Much pulling, tugging and cursing I managed to get it loose but the door then opened on to that part of my anatomy that I use to sit on. Now after imagining a broken ankle I found myself well and truly stuck and when finally I extricated myself I had a huge bruise the colour of a plum which was glowing darker every minute.

By now it was dinner time and we stopped off at Pena Palace. Again crowded to the hilt. Our lunch just a sandwich in the cafe before we headed off to be herded like animals around the very colourful palace. Thoughts so far - my God you need days to do these palaces. We just were not doing them justice.

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