Portugal Archives - Page 2 of 3

Dog Friendly Portugal

Once Upon a Time in Obidos…

July 16, 2018Lorraine Stokes3 min read

15/07/18 – Obidos, Centro Region If you read our blog on Evora, it will make sense when I say that Obidos was similar, but on a much smaller scale, particularly in regards to its centre being inside the medieval castle’s walls that also has an aqueduct. It’s such a charming and picturesque place, with it’s cobbled streets and pretty houses. The centre is full of history, really interesting and it felt quite fairy tale like. There were people dressed in medieval costume walking around like normal, and if you wanted you could hire your own outfit for €5, which would have been funny, but we gave it a miss! We initially thought it was like this all the time, but have since found out that during the month of July there is a Medieval Fair held. That’s reassuring as it would have been all too cheesey! We saw locals baking pao (bread) the traditional way and many selling the local alcoholic delicacy called Ginja, a cherry liquor for €1 per shot. It’s...

Portugal

3 for the price of 1 – Sintra, Mafra & Praia Santa Rita in a day.

July 14, 2018Dan5 min read

14/07/18 – Sintra, Greater Lisbon We had been putting off going to Sintra for no real reason other than we were having a nice relaxing time at Guincho and perhaps the thought of a very touristy town didn’t really sit too well with us after relaxing for a few days. Still, after 3 days of not doing much, it was time to move on and brave the hoards. As we arrived it was nice to start to see some greenery again. It’s surprising how you get used to dry, sparse landscapes or coastal environments, but when you finally see grass and trees again, it reminds us of how much we miss it. It must remind us of England I guess. Sintra is a narrow, hilly town and I was getting that feeling again that perhaps being in the Moho wasn’t the best choice of vehicle to visit this place. That said, we arrived Saturday morning and manged to arrive before 10:00 and bag a free parking space about 5 minutes outside the town. The big draw of Sintra are the many coloured villas and palaces...

Food Portugal

A Surfers Paradise – Guincho

July 14, 2018Lorraine Stokes3 min read

11/07/18 – 14/07/18 – Guincho, Lisbon After Lisbon, we fancied a break from sightseeing and needed a good nights sleep so we took a short drive North along the coast to Guincho Beach for a few days. It is within the district of Cascais. I’d already read that Guincho beach is apparently one of the finest surfing beaches of Western Portugal, and having been there you can see why. It was so windy….enough to shake the moho. We stayed in a big car park for €2 a night overlooking the beach, which we shared with many surfers, surf schools and all the very cool camper vans that came with them! Guicho is set amidst the beautiful Serra de Sintra Natural Park, which is clearly well loved as we saw many conservation projects happening at the time. The area has neat wooden walkways to protect the vegetation, which were great for walking Marley. The cafe, Duna Da Cresmina at the end of the walkway was a very nice treat. The cafe is very dog friendly in that they had 2 big...

Drinks Food Portugal

Tarts and Tiles, Lisbon

July 11, 2018Dan9 min read

09/07/18 – 11/07/11 – Lisbon I was apprehensive about driving into Lisbon in the Moho given its size and the possibility that it could quickly go wrong as it’s a hilly city (still feeling scarred from Nerja) so when we arrived I was slightly tense. We had the address of the service centre (Dometic) for the fridge typed into the navigation and it took us to what looked like a small shop on the corner of a residential street. Surely this can’t be it we said to each other. Anyway, I pulled up on a narrow street taking up 3 parking spaces and went in to investigate. It was the right place but the old guy that worked there said no motorhomes. Thanks a lot Dometic I thought. I started to explain our problem in my best Spanish – he understood enough to make me a makeshift tool to clean out the flue. I then asked if the fumes were bad – I was able to understand that the day time is fine, but he then proceeded to do an impression of someone dying at night. Half of...

Dog Friendly Portugal

Come and Get your Free Hot Shower at the Reservoir! Barragen do Pego do Altar

July 10, 2018Lorraine Stokes4 min read2 comments

08/07/18 – 09/07/18 – Barragen do Pego do Altar, Alentejo We were very glad to arrive at this beautiful reservoir/dam at Barragen do Pego do Altar, as it was so much cooler than Evora where we’d just come from. There was hardly anyone around which seemed odd given it was very pretty and free to stayover. The only two other travellers that were there, were very welcoming on arrival. An enthusiastic lone German with his caravan who was happy to share some helpful tips, especially as he’d been there for some time. The other was Annemieke from Holland. She’d been there a week and is travelling with her partner, but at the time he’d returned home for a few days. They both had dogs, so Marley was in his element. We were so impressed with Annemieke’s converted Dutch Fire truck. She’d painted a gorgeous colourful mandala on the side and was just starting another on the other side. She obviously picked up on my keen interest in her van, as she invited...

Portugal

Walls, Bones and Water – Evora

July 9, 2018Dan3 min read

07/07/18 – 08/07/18 Evora, Alentejo Evora, this tiny city about an hour inland from Libson is definitely worth a detour for a day, if you are in that part of the country. The entire historic centre is very well preserved behind the fortified wall, built by the Romans. We arrived in the stifling mid afternoon sun around 4pm and got parked up in a grotty carpark right under the aqueduct that stretches 9 km to the northwest. Enough time then for me to use the aluminium tape we bought at the DIY store and try and seal around the back of the fridge to stop any potentially deadly fumes coming in. About an half an hour later and I had taped all I could but still the smell of fumes in the Moho, so we headed out into town making sure the rooflights were fully open. There are only a few access points in and out of the historic centre for obvious reasons, but luckily for us, there was an entrance not too far away from where we had parked. Once through, apart from the cars and the modern...

Portugal

Highs & lows of Moho life all in a day – Vila Nova Milfontes

July 7, 2018Lorraine Stokes5 min read4 comments

06/07/18 – 07/07/18 – Vila Nova Milfontes, Alentejo Dan had read about Odeceixe, so we drove just 15 minutes along the coast to find it. It was such a beautiful place and as you can see below, Marley nearly took off while admiring the view! We parked at the top of the hill and took a stroll down through the village which had colourful houses, and stunning views. We could tell that it’s only recently started become more popular on the tourist map. We stayed long enough to have lunch, wander around, enjoy the views, and of course to climb aboard the moho via the bike rack to perform an investigation. Over the last few days we’d noticed a vile gas type odour coming into the van via the fridgefreezer/oven vent, which was a bit worrying to say the least. We kept thinking maybe we won’t wake up one morning due to carbon monoxide poisoning. We have a plug in carbon monoxide detector, which came with the van but weren’t convinced it was working. This was...

Portugal

The Castle on the Hill – Aljezur

July 6, 2018Dan3 min read

05/07/18 – 06/07/18 Aljezur, Alentejo Aljezur is one of those places that can be easily overlooked when planning an itinerary……read most published travel write-ups and they tend to cover the place in a couple of paragraphs. Like many places along Portugal’s West Coast in the Alentejo region, Aljezur has so far escaped the onset of big tourism and remains a place frequented by surfers and those wanting to get off the tourist trail of the Algarve less than an hours drive to the South. Our stay here was only brief but none-the-less memorable for it. Upon arrival we made a bee-line for Praia da Amoreira, approximately 7 kilometers from the town (the last 5 km along a Moho-shaking dirt track enough to give us both a headache by the time we arrived.) That said, being greeted by a wide stretch of sand with only a single restaurant and a lifeguard/surf shack on the beach the headaches soon shifted as we took it in turns to sunbathe whilst the other stayed with Marley...

Portugal

The End of the World – Sagres

July 5, 2018Lorraine Stokes3 min read

04/07/18 – 05/07/18 Sagres, Algarve Nicknamed The End of the World due to the fact when explorers first discovered it, that’s truly what they thought, and when you visit can see why. Let’s not forget though, Sagres, is also well know for its delicious beer, which we have sampled now on several occasions! Sagres offered gorgeous cliff top walks that overlook the Atlantic. The Fortaleza (fort) Sagres is situated at the Southern tip of the Peninsular. It was built in the 15th century to protect the town from North African invaders. That’s the history lesson over, as Dan and I opted not to pay the huge €3 to enter it. The two beaches pictured below are situated either side of the fort. We went for some nice walks but didn’t venture on to them. One thing I can tell you about this part of Portugal is it’s bloomin’ windy. Perfect for surfing….a super popular activity here! Dan and I took a surfing lesson once in Bude, Devon…he did really well, but I...

Food Portugal

Pretty, But Very Touristy – Lagos

July 4, 2018Dan3 min read

03/7/18 – 04/07/18 – Lagos, Algarve We had heard good things in chatting to various people about Lagos, so we arrived with relatively high expectations. Always looking for somewhere free or cheap to park up for the night, we found the football stadium via searchforsites for our overnight stop for €3 for the night plus €2 for water refill and €2 for use of the laundry facilities. The stadium is approximately a 10 minute bike ride from the old part of the town, so after the heat of the afternoon had subsided, we set off to check out the town at around 17:00. There are a few beaches in Lagos, small town beaches on the south side of the river, with a much larger beach on the marina side. We visited Praia Batata (Or at least looked down on it from the mirador above) and then after dinner when it was quiet enough to take Marley on the sand, Praia São Roque. By this time however, the wind had really started to pick up, so we spent just enough time for Marley to tire himself out...