Blogs from Portugal, Europe - page 5

We leave our perfectly located, but postage sized car park late in the afternoon intended to park around the bay, in Canidelo, but it is a popular resort and the two campsites were full. We headed south for 30 minutes to the Municipal Campsite at Espinho, another average looking campsite, at least it had a pool. The campsite was a poor reflection of the town of Esphino. It had a wide modern promenade with many cafes. For the sporty people, a sign that displayed the towns name - was also a climbing wall. There were many beach volleyball courts and a large open air swimming pool, with 3 high diving boards that look like 3, 5,and eight metres. I’ve dived of high boards but what scared the bejesus out of me, was from the 5mtr to ... read more

Travelling through Europe it always amazes me how many songs I hear in English whether it be on the radio, buskers playing in the street or piped through the supermarket. On our camper’s radio we’re listening to Radio Comrcial a mixture of modern English music dotted with some Portuguese and international songs. We’re heading for Vila Real just for a stopover. I’ve mentioned before, you always have high hopes that the campsite will have wonderful amenities, or perhaps a lovely view. This had neither, but once settling in we make do and get used to what we have. Down the hill from the campsite across the river there was loud music and a commentator speaking through a PA system - we decided to investigate. So going down many steep steps and crossing the river there was ... read more

Following the success of yesterday’s plans, we thought a repeat today was a good idea, but with a different lunch destination. First we thought we’d check out this weird thing I’d seen (not on TikTok) called Bom Jesus. I hadn’t bothered to do any reading at all but the pictures looked cool, so off we set. After a false start at some other stairs leading to heavenly redemption, we found the right place. Despite the pious religious motifs scattered left, right and centre, it was actually pretty spectacular, and we meandered up and down the stairs for some cool photos, in between trans-continental tales of the dog’s escapades around the neighbourhood. Next stop Braga for some lunch. We had a quick look around the historical centre before hitting the main drag for a restaurant where we ... read more

Kicked off the day with a delightful breakfast in the courtyard before heading to the Castelos dos Mouros (Moorish Castle). Despite Geoff’s aspirational assertion that we should walk the 1.5km uphill, rejection was unanimous and an Uber summonsed. Thankfully, since the Moors apparently had a fondness for building on a hill. A tall hill. On a ridge. So we climbed and we explored. There are two fortifications on high points of the ridge, connected by walls and surrounded by a lush forest. We enjoyed wandering the walls and peering over the edges, imagining the enemies trying to attack and having hot oil poured on them. Both were quite the climb, but a cooling breeze and views of the surrounding countryside and Pena Palace made it less painful. Maybe my legs will feel differently tomorrow. Some replenishing ... read more

Over two days, I’d say maybe 55 hours it’s been since my last tart. That’s just marginally shorter than our flight over here, and honestly, I’m not dealing. At least I’ve not been spewed on through this ordeal. Lucky I have lots of wholesome outdoor activity to numb the pain. Managed to stretch the doze til about 7 this morning so definitely on the improve. Lazy wait for fresh bread to complete our breakfast basket, but I would have happily eaten the cake three times, but the bread was good. Suited up for our horse adventure which included fetching the horses from the paddocks, grooming them and cleaning their feet, which was fun and something we’d never done before. Not too long til we were in the saddles and headed towards the cliffs. We were mostly ... read more