To the sun

We made an overnight stop at a little Spanish restaurant with a charming Bodega in the car park

But a look around the back made us wonder about the Spanish building methods

 

We arrive at Luz in Portugal around 4:30pm, sun is shining and it is warm.
This Aires is near the bull ring and is again empty, think we must be frightening others away!  Views over the lakes make for nice sunset.

 

Started at 9am the next morning to head to Ferragudo in the Algarve.  Temperature is a mere 8 degrees but good for travelling. Didn't deter this little family out for a morning spin.

Made good time until we got to Faro.  In an attempt to stay off the toll road we end up in the centre in streets that are made to take cars only, not the likes of 50 feet of van and trailer.  There are no photos because I find it very difficult to read the map, check the sat nav and wield the camera at the same time.  Suffice it to say  that with more luck than judgement, we missed some vehicles by millimetres, very scary.
Eventually decide that hang the expense, it will be much easier to take the pay road.  Got to Ferragudo in very little time and no more grey hairs.
Meet up again with Helen & Lasse, the Swedes and Drora & Yuval, the French Israelites who are parked up near the beach overlooking the ocean with the village,with it's church and castle, to the left and Portimao to the right.  This is 'idyllic'.

Ferragudo from our ‘camp’

Our little tribe.

We even get to watch lifeboat drill on a visiting liner

The Black Watch

It is now Dec fifth, and a beautiful day, bright sun, went to Portimao with Helen & Lasse, did laundry, visited Chinese bazaar then Chinese buffet for lunch, 7.95 Euros a head.  Bob & Lasse cleared the dishes and asked for more.  They both slept for hours when we got back to van as they had stuffed themselves so much
Eventually managed to get TV, had nothing since England (good news really!) so can catch up on news.  Another beautiful day with wall to wall sunshine.
Went Monthly Flea Market in Ferragudo bought 6 Jagermeister shot glasses for 1 euro and 4 pint and 9 half pint tankards for 5 euros. Santa flew over on his wing dropping sweets for the children.

On Monday Drora & Yuval acted as tour guides and show us some parts of the Algarve a lot of people might miss. 

including this crazy fisherman!
 After lunch in a Turkish restaurant we visit a camper van park where some friends of theirs are parked.  Lots of English, Germans with a smattering of other nationalities parked cheek to cheek, about 30 vans in a site less than half the size of a football pitch.  they are there for the sun, the karaoke! and probably the bingo, it's 6 euro 50 cents a day for pitch, electric, water and WIFI.  Not bad but don't think I would fancy being so close to other vans. 

 Find out from one of the guys whose girlfriend works in the Government offices that the Cameras on the Portuguese Toll roads don't recognise foreign plates so we could have saved a lot of time and heartache and used the tolls (most toll roads do not have booths, only cameras to clock vehicles using them, all Port. owners are registered and get monthly usage bills, problem is Portuguese don't pay tolls either! Apparently there is something like 40 million euros  owed by locals and the Government is thinking about seizing cars in payment.  Should make the roads very quiet!!)
Managed to track down an adapter for the gas tank and a place to have our English one machined to take it.  There is no standardisation for auto gas pump fittings, they vary from country to country so one must have an array of adapters to cope with this, of course we came well prepared, NOT.  Everything now sorted so we are set for France and Portugal.  In Spain we may still have to rely on the 'friendly' pump attendant.
It is now 11th Dec went to a town called Silves to have adapter machined, even the wild dogs are 'laid back' here, 

then travelled the old N124 to Portimao through lots of orange groves and old villages.  Stopped to make a bite of lunch at a derelict house which was for sale, Bob went exploring and so did D who  went into the dirtiest, darkest room in the place and came out with, would you believe, a tennis ball!  He obviously hasn't lost his touch.
Visited a Jumbo shopping centre where Bob managed to get attacked by a helicopter (toy one).  How many more accidents are we going to have this trip?  We have not been away a month yet.
Next day We head for Vila do Bispo, which some might say is a 'one horse town'

 a few Kms from the most south westerly coast of the Algarve, to meet up with Helen & Lasse the Swedes, parked in a small wooded area ( no facilities whatsoever other than Trash bins over the road at a 'Rest Area' , real Wild Camping!) not far from the ocean, it is so nice and peaceful we will stay till the new year at least.

We went from here to Aljezur to have some extra solar panels fitted as they are much cheaper here than back home.  On the way we past this guy

who is apparently an Englishman who lives in his tin shed on wheels which he tows around with this old tractor.

The next few days after returning to Vila do Bispo pass by with us just lazing around so nothing much to report.  The odd visitation from the lonely goat herd

 or the cow man with his herd of tinkling cows.

 We later found out that he was a good weather forcaster, he passed one day with an umbrella on his back and sure enough it rained later in the day.

On one of his visits the goat herd forgot one of his flock so after feeding it some bread 

Bob decided to go looking for him. An absolutely pointless exercise.  He drove quite a few miles around the area and eventually gave it up as a lost cause only to find on his way back the goat calming munching grass on the side of the road and obviously making its own way home (Little Bo Peep springs to mind)

We decided to christen the barbecue by roasting a couple of chickens and inviting Helen & Lasse to share with us on our 'grandstand' eating area on the trailer

 

We celebrated Christmas twice as the Swedes have their celebration on 24^th and invited us for some Swedish food, meatballs, chicken and potatoes with fish & cream then Christmas day we returned the compliment and served up steak, sausages and mushy peas!  Hardly traditional fare but we all enjoyed it.