Tag - #vanlife

Moho Life’s Not Always a Bed of Roses in Guimarães

July 30, 2018Dan4 min read

29/07/18 – 30/07/18 – Guimarães, Norte Region This was a strange one, having been on a high form Porto, we arrived in Guimarães late on Sunday afternoon at around 18:00. There were 2 overnight parking places on our apps so we headed to the first one only to find that the road at the bottom leading to it was closed. We circled around a few times to see if we could find another way in but sadly not. The second camping spot directed us the middle of a roundabout so I had the bright idea of trying the first stop again but by avoiding the closed road on the sat nav. It was a 5 km detour, but we thought what they heck, lets do it. It took us up some narrow steep hills and tried to direct us through some ridiculous streets – I was learning to trust my gut by now, and if I had a bad feeling about a turn-off, we avoided it. We eventually got to a wide road leading back down the hill. The streets quickly became narrow and VERY steep. It was a good job we were heading downwards as...

Porto – It Lives up to the Hype

July 29, 2018Dan6 min read2 comments

28/07/18 – 29/07/18 – Porto Of all the places we had heard about both prior to, and whilst travelling around, Porto figured highly in conversations and in recommendations of places to visit. we left Aveiro with high expectations….we wondered if it would live up to the hype. Both the journey to and arriving in Porto didn’t get off to a great start. We needed to find a place to empty the toilet and visited 2 campsites. We offered to pay to use their facilities, both declined and said we could only use it if we stayed the night…as they were way outside of the city and €25 each, we decided we would make do. On leaving the second campsite, they didn’t fully open the barrier and it caught the top of the Moho on the way out….D’oh – Hopefully it will polish out! Our spot for the night was a piece of abandoned land on Vila Nova de Gaia side of the river Douro. It was scruffy and smelt like piss, but it was free and there was space for us (A...

Messing About on the River – Aveiro

July 28, 2018Lorraine Stokes5 min read

27/07/18 – 28/07/18 – Aveiro, Centro Region Just a 15 minutes drive from Costa Nova, we arrived at our destination, Aveiro. The area where we were staying (New Aveiro) was built to accommodate visitors during their hosting of the 2004 Portugal European Football Championships. We were situated on a large gravel carpark overlooked by tall residential apartments. (GPS 40.638963,-8.6506399,779) After enjoying our lovely green space at Tomar, it was going to be hard going back to appearing like we were camping again….all cooped up inside. On the upside, just a minutes walk and we were at the Jardim do Rossio a beautifully manicured park surrounded by palm trees which was adjacent to Aveiro river. From the river we decided to take a 45 minute tour on a Moliceiros boat. These are colourfully painted boats that traditionally were used to harvest seaweed. Each boat features either something religious, or sexual. What a strange contrast we thought, but they looked very cool...

Colourful Costa Nova

July 27, 2018Dan3 min read

26/07/18 – 27/07/18 – Costa Nova We very nearly missed visiting Colourful Costa Nova, down to me getting our loosely planned itinerary the wrong way around. We were half way to Porto when Lorraine said, Aveiro, aren’t we supposed to be going there as we approached the exit on the main road. D’oh. Nothing that a quick fingering of the sat-nav wouldn’t solve! Before we knew it we were rerouted and beach bound for Costa Nova. Costa Nova was originally a small fishing village that has expanded into a local hotspot for visiting the beautiful white sandy beaches behind the windswept sand-dunes. Its perhaps most famous now for its colourful stripy buildings that originally took their inspiration from the fisherman’s shacks dotted around the town. We arrived late afternoon in time to get a nice space about 100m or so from the entrance to the beach in one direction and 200m to the town centre in the other. We had a stroll with Marley along the wooden boardwalk on the edge of the...

24 hours in Coimbra

July 27, 2018Dan3 min read

25/07/19 – 26/07/18 – Coimbra, Centro Region Once the medieval capital of Portugal, Coimbra is a well preserved historic town built on a steep hillside overlooking the Mondego river. However, with its bustling student population it’s not stuck in the past, and is supposedly one of Portugal’s most liberal and progressive cities.   Our camperstop for the night was on the west side of the river (GPS 40.2002041,-8.4292415,17.78), close to the boat club buildings and offered a safe and quiet spot to park the Moho. It was a busy little place and campervans of all shapes and sizes were tightly squeezed into spaces, allowing just about enough room to open your door. Having said that, once out of the Moho we were about 50 metres from the grassy riverside where there were a couple of cafe’s, cycle racks, children’s playgrounds and enough space for Marley to stretch his legs off the lead. There was also a pedestrian bridge wide enough to cycle across to...

Totally Awesome Tomar

July 24, 2018Lorraine Stokes7 min read

20/07/18 –  25/07/18 Tomar Oh Tomar you were so good to us, after 5 days (our longest stint anywhere) we are sad to be leaving you. You should have seen the looks on our faces when we first turned up to Tomar’s former Municipal campsite (GPS 39.607275,-8.41072), set in beautiful lush green surroundings. We couldn’t believe that something as nice as this could be free, but it really was!! Although it’s no longer a campsite, it still has facilities such as clean toilets, drinking water, showers (albeit cold), washing basins, washing lines and security manning the entrance between 8am-7pm. We’re not sure the reason behind why the original paid campsite shut down, but Tomar clearly knows the best way to make use of an otherwise unused piece of land, which in turn brings tourism to the area. The site is so was well looked after, there are so many beautiful trees including willows (one of my favourites), and vibrant plants. We loved this site and Tomar in...

The Worlds Largest Surfed Wave, Nazaré

July 20, 2018Dan5 min read

19/07/18 – 20/07/18 Nazaré We both remember watching the video on BBC Breakfast earlier in the year of some crazy surfer being towed on a jet-ski titled ‘The Worlds Largest Surfed Wave, Nazaré’ at over 30 Metres. See below (Obviously not our video..) Well, that amazing achievement was surfed in January 2018 and it’s now sunny July. I’m saddened to say that there were no giant waves to see…otherwise I would have hailed me a jet-ski and been out there like a shot! Seriously though, the sea was relatively calm compared to other places a just a few miles away. I guess it’s just not the giant waves season. As we arrived into the town (Coming from the South) we were greeted by a very busy carpark on the edge of the town that had no spaces big enough for us. We were both surprised by how scruffy the place looked, given what we had read. Lets stay in the Moho and drive through I said. It was very busy, we followed the line of traffic along the...

Something for Everyone, as long as it’s Wet and Windy….Foz do Arelho at Obidos Lagoon

July 19, 2018Lorraine Stokes3 min read

15/07/18 – 19/07/18 – Foz do Arelho, Centro Region Do you like wind surfing, surfing, kite surfing, body boarding, paddle boarding, kayaking, fishing, white sandy beaches and stunning nature? Well, Foz do Arelho beach situated on Obidos Lagoon (Lagoa de Obidos) will definitely be for you!! Obidos Lagoon is the biggest saltwater lagoon in Portugal with its lakes and waterways stretching over 6km. Foz de Arelho beach is on the Northern side of the lagoon, close to the estuary mouth and the town. It remains undeveloped and feels very traditionally Portuguese. However, venture a few kilometres outside the centre, there are signs of modern residential development in progress. Fortunately we’d read up Foz de Arelho and had the opportunity to stay for three very relaxing days. On two of the days we went out on the bikes and explored the area, which really is stunning. It’s pretty good for cycling, but there are some nice steep hills that got us quite out of breath...

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...

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...

Instagram has returned empty data. Please authorize your Instagram account in the plugin settings .