Lagos Pt 4

Monday 24th - Sunday 30th Dec: Wow Christmas week already, the site is filling up as some of the free/wild campers want to have access to the facilities for the festive period. Nice to meet new people, have social gatherings increased but unfortunately the WiFi has slowed down quite a bit - a draw back of site WiFi is that peak period times tend to have lots of people logged on so slower speeds. Fortunately we did manage to contact just about all family members during the  week and exchange Christmas greetings, wish those (Colin, Eric and John) with forthcoming operations all the best and catch up on things. Although many miles from the family, we still felt like it was Christmas - Linda had decorated the RV very tastefully and Daisy even had a visit from Santa with some treats (thank you Arthur & Jan). A very different Christmas weather wise, mainly dry sunny days, only one day of rain and temperature highs and lows of 19C and 8C, so it just had to be done - lots of beach visits and a couple of BBQ's. Christmas Day lunch was had at the camp site restaurant; a 3 course buffet style lunch with drinks was thoroughly enjoyed by us all (Daisy had a doggy bag) and to be socialable we drank lots of their Sangria.

Monday 31st Dec 12 - Sunday 6th Jan 13: A last visit to the beach and shopping trip for 2012 was completed on the Sunday.  It would seem that New Year Eve is THE party night and most of the big hotels, restaurants and bars have functions planned for the evening which include dinner and dancing and free drinks - not really our cup of tea so a small group of us visited the local Chinese restaurant for the evening. A really good night with loads of excellent food and finished off with a seeing in of the New Year at the camp site. Once again Skype was in good form and we got to wish everybody a Happy New Year there or there abouts on New Years day. With the weather holding Neil thought he had to take advantage and take of the challenge of Espiche Golf Club - needless to say the course won but it was a good day out and allowed Linda to have some 'me' time. The first 2013 trip out was to visit Les & Helen (fellow Brit RV'ers) at Cabanas (just near the Spanish border east of Tavira) to have a coffee and look at the site and a visit to Faro. Camping Ria Formosa is a good hard standing site, ideal for RV's, with all the basic requirements and is on the list for the future - location means easy for quick visits to Spain for fuel, brandy etc.

Faro Cathedral

Faro Town Hall

Our afternoon in Faro started with a lovely meal on the quayside of the marina followed by a a very pleasant walk around the Cidade Velha (old town). Faro in the capital of the Algarve and is an important centre of tourism, trade, commerce and is located on the edge of the wetland zone of Ria Formosa. The weather throughout was warm, sunny and blue skied.



Tourists in Faro

Must have big musicians

Episcopal Palace

We manged to take in the Cathedral, Town Hall, the walls and castle, Arco Da Villa (town arch) and the Carmo Church which was a bit macabre with its chapel of bones - the structure is lined with the  human bones of more than a thousand monks. 

Carmo Church

Another good weather week with no rain, lots of sun, a few chilly mornings and highs and lows of 20C and 8C. 


Monday 7th - Sunday 13th Jan: A nice quiet week with lots of rest, recuperation and social activities, the site has continued to fill up with more people escaping the UK and its weather - easy to see why when it has been sunny all week and apart from a few chilly mornings (9C) in the 18 - 20C during the days. Obviously the weather meant that Daisy had lots of beach visits, she is having great fun and now eagerly looks forward to chasing and returning sticks. Difficult to realise that we have been here for 3 months (time flies when enjoying oneself) and have only 1 month left here, still we need to get back onto the adventure soon and of course the Port Houses are waiting! Started the pre move work and trawled some sites further north and in Spain just to make sure we have a pitch to go to. Things seem to be getting worse for the Portuguese with more cuts and increased taxes, things are not helped with a load of corruption and fiddling by some government and local council members - unfinished roads, reduce medical cover, half finished houses etc. Such a lovely place with very nice people does not deserve these constant knock backs, we should count ourselves a bit luckier in the UK - especially as most of the Brits over here seem to managing very well.     

Monday 14th - Sunday 20th Jan: OK who sent over the UK weather? Drastic change in the weather this week with lots of rain, not much sun, windy and not so warm 17C during the days and 10C during the nights. Our promised re-visit to Portimao took place on the Friday, as it was the only decent day of the week - so it was back to being tourists for the day. Portimao has the most famous and impressive beach (Praia da rocha) on the Algarve, is one of the main holiday resorts of the area and has a vibrant night life during the holiday season. 

Jesuit College Portimao

Sarrea Prado Palace Portimao

City Hall Portimao

Marina area of Portimao

As the old part of Portimao is quite small we decided to park up the car and have a gentle wander around the town and take in the main church and the sites above before heading to the beach and fortress area in the car. The nice clear day meant that the view from the fortress and along the beach was very impressive, looking back down the river gave us a view of the marina and the colourful apartment blocks. The marina car park has become one of the popular free/wild camping spots in the area - basically people utilise spare land/car parks to park up and as long as they do not cause any problems local councils tend to allow them to stay there.    

Portimao Marina car park

To finish off the day we called into the Aqua shopping centre that has a 'Linda certified' Chinese restaurant so we had to do a spot check - it past with flying colours. We almost got blown away on the Saturday and helped out some unlucky people who had their awnings blown away/down by the 120kph winds, the 'beast' held firm but to err on the safe side we took down the 'add-a-room' and pulled in the canopy. Skype'd just about all the family at the weekend and let them know we are still OK and not feeling guilty.

Lagos Pt 3

Monday 3rd Dec - Sunday 9th Dec: A nice lazy week with plenty of walks on the beach, a visit to Lagos and watching the coming and goings of the site - plenty of activity as the 'going to Spain crowd move on and are replaced with new arrivals from the UK. It would seem that a rather large regular group visit annually at this time and have done for some years, so we tend to be the 'newbies'. More kind weather, mainly sunny with a couple of light showers and a high of 19C and a low of 10C, enabled Neil to complete the other side of the trailer brakes making it all ready for the road again. Our socialising included a lunch out at Portimao to say a quick farewell to Pat and Mark who are going back to the UK until February and of course many coffee/drink sessions with fellow campers, Ken & June (full time 5'ers), Bruce & Margaret (tuggers), John & Margaret (tuggers) and Bob & Gladys (tuggers) to name but a few. We received a nice surprise parcel (we had told everybody no presents for us this year) with Christmas gifts in from Sandra and family, it did make it feel a bit more like the run up to Christmas. Our Lagos visit was on the very pleasant Sunday and was very enlightening - a lively, colourful and cheerful place which is probably the most popular resort in the Algarve. Originally a Carthaginian settlement which became Roman then Moorish before becoming christian in the 13th century and was a centre for trade in ivory, gold, silver and other exotic merchandise, a far more unsavoury enterprise was also centred on Largos - slavery! From the 16th to the 18th century Lagos was the capital of the Algarve before it was transferred to Tavira just after the tragic devastation of the country by the 1755 earthquake.

Lagos & beach

Lagos town square

Dhow fountain Lagos

Slave Market Lagos

Santa Marie Church Lagos

 

After a nice informative walk round the town we headed for the Marina which is very well equipped and at present very full. We also felt the need to check out the current fire prevention measures and were very glad to hear that the fire engine in the front of the station is just for display and much more modern engines are used for today's fires.

Lagos Marina

Lagos Fire station

Monday 10th Dec - Sunday 16th Dec: Started the week with paying our site fees and confirming that we want to stay until 10th February which should give us time to complete our wish list and hopefully mean that it will be a bit warmer when we do move north to the Porto area. So far so good this month as it looks like most of the rain seems to left the area although the nights are starting to get a bit chilly - this week saw plenty of sun, some cloudy periods and one small shower with a high of 20C and a low of 9C (single figures!). We managed to get some quality contact time with the family via Skype so caught up on all the UK news and confirmed that all are safe from the floods and terrible weather - they did try to make us feel guilty but it did not work. The site owners, a Spanish family whose daughter Agnes looks after us extremely well, very kindly laid on a drinks and nibbles session on Sunday afternoon so everybody had a good time and got to know each other. The economic squeeze here has meant that there is a much reduced Christmas lights effort this year, with most council budgets very tight only the minimum of lights are on display, if at all. 

Lagos lights

Site lights

Lots of new arrivals, looks like it is going to be lots of people about for Christmas. We have also noted that the amount of wild/free campers have increased a lot - the local authorities seem to turn a blind eye to occupancy of unused land or car parks in the hope that the campers will at least help the local economy. The car park at the closed swimming baths at Silves looks like a 'Dale Farm' of motor homes (mainly Dutch, German and French with some Brits) and the occasional RV or two. Wild/free camping is easier and more prolific in this area with the surfers leading the way, a cheap way of living but not our cup of tea I am afraid - we like our comfort and security.  


Monday 17th Dec - Sunday 23rd Dec: Frustrating start to the week as the laptop/WiFi stopped playing - HELP. Nice Portuguese man came out from Lagos and had a look at it, nothing major but unable to completely fix it - apparently it is due to an incompatibility between Outlook and the PT DNS at this location, which on current PT repair times may be fixed in the next 6 months, believe me that is fast for over here. Looks like we will just have to work round the problem/transfer to a dongle. Neil decided that he would take his frustration out on  some little white balls on the golf course and paid another visit to Espriche GC, super day for it 21C, sunny and calm. The rest of the week was fairly good weather wise with sun, overcast, mist, a 21C high and a 11C low - the Christmas week is predicted to be a bit chilly so a quick check of the central heating was completed. Our 'Red Cross' parcel from Terry arrived, just a few nice things (including chews for Daisy) and the replacement lens for the trailer light (Nimes occurrence). This week's off camp day was a trip to Lisbon - phew, a long way/day. We, Linda, Bob, Gladys, Daisy and Neil, set off at 9.30am and using the picturesque back roads eventually got to Lisbon at 1.45pm and started to explore the area of Belem in Lisbon - the Monument to Discoveries, the Belem Tower (a fortress once in the river but now on the shoreline due to the change in the river's path by the 1755 earthquake) and Jeronimos Abbey (built on the site a religious order's church to celebrate Gama's voyage and Portugals seafaring).  

Monument to Discoveries
Lisbon

Belem Tower
Lisbon

Jeronimos Abbey
Lisbon

Keeping the momentum going it was onwards and upwards to the old sector of Lisbon, Baxia to see the Cathedral (located in the oldest part of the city and built on the site of an old Mosque), the Castle de Sao Jorge (an ex Moors castle and the long time main fortification of old Lisbon and the Kings residence 1279 to 1511) and the general cobbled area/back streets around the castle.

Te Se (Cathedral)
Lisbon

Old Sector
Lisbon

Castlo San Jorge

By now we were all in need of sustenance and head for the Rossio Square area in search of a restaurant and the Christmas lights.

Christmas Lights
Lisbon

Christmas Lights
Lisbon



Christmas Lights
Lisbon

Christmas Lights
Lisbon

Christmas Lights
Lisbon





Homeward bound and it was on the motorway for ease and speed, arrived back at the site at 1130pm - quite a long day, very enjoyable and informative to see the mix of an old and new capital situated on the River Tagus. Lisbon, a former Greek, Roman and Moors city before becoming a part of Portugal in 1147, is a beautiful old city but is suffering from lack of tender loving care in places due to lack of funds. A busy week was topped off with a really nice Carol Service on Sunday at the Church in Praia de Luz, followed by mulled wine and mince pies.  


MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

A Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year

From Neil, Linda
and Daisy

Lagos Pt 2

Mon 12th Nov - Sun 18th Nov: A partial return of the better weather lifted our spirits and meant that we could enjoy some local area sightseeing. The week was mainly sunny days but a heavy thunder storm/tornado paid us visit on the Thursday and the weeks temperatures were more pleasant at a high of 21C and a low of 11C. Fortunately the the tornado, which came in off the sea, hit the coast just west of us at Lagoa and travelled up to Silves and caused a lot of building damage and over turned some caravans and motor homes (Euro boxes) - but thankfully no fatal injuries. With the first months stay here completed we settled the bill - not too bad at all only 17.45 per night especially as it has ticks in all our boxes, and we confirmed our booking for a further month and provisionally 2 months. Still a bit early to head north, we are happy and settled here for a while and there is plenty of time before we need to be heading homeward. Had a good walk around and investigation of Luz, really nice small fishermen village type place, great beach, lots of eateries and the people are very nice and friendly - quite a few Brit residents so the shops tend to have most of the normal UK commodities. An ideal location for fishing, diving and surfing with a clean sandy beach and clear sea waters Luz is well worth a visit. There is still some evidence of the continuing search for Madeline McCann in the village with 'what she would look like now' posters displayed but unfortunately, generally time seems to have moved on.

Luz Portugal

Luz Church Portugal

       

The Beach
Praia de Luz

Where are those birds?
Praia de luz

With most of the places accommodating Brits, Linda decided to trust another haircut in time for her birthday next week - no language problems as all the staff were expats. Neil managed another game of golf, just to keep Bob company of course - nice course but expensive in 'ball costs'. Skype is still working well but is not really up to video conference calls, so it is one to one or just verbal calls - still it is free.

Mon 19th Nov - Sun 25th Nov: Well another birthday, strange how they come round ever year. Linda became '24' on the Monday which of course meant a meal out - this time we visited the Alitalia in Lagos for lunch, a really nice 3 course meal with drinks was consumed whilst sitting out in the sunshine just watching the world go by. In fact the week's weather was really good - mainly sun with blue skies and comfortable highs of 20C and lows of 13C but an occasional shower appeared here and there plus we had our first single figure temperature when a couple of the night times reached 9C. A quick run through to Ferreiras near Alberfeira mid week for a lovely lunch with Mark and Pat was a real pleasant interlude and helped to prevent 'site fever' building up - too much on site time (nice as it is) can be a bit depressing, so we try and get out as much as possible. The good weather motivated Neil into doing some vehicle maintenance and he managed to get the RV's jacks working again, at least we do not rock from side to side now and are able to level ourselves up. Whilst having a few problems on the 'beast' it is till amazing us with its general serviceability and comfort levels. The Jazz needed to be topped up and as expected the fuel costs have not gone down - still much cheaper than the UK though. The cost of living has gone up a bit in Portugal but is totally acceptable to our current budget, unfortunately the local population are suffering with the country's economy problem and unemployment is now very high. Although whilst not joining the Movember appeal, Neil did decide to support Terry's sponsorship both financially and by not shaving for November - very scruffy!

Mr Scruffy

Mon 26th Nov - Sun 2nd Dec: We started the week with a visit to the shopping centre in Portimao, although the retail park is closed due to extension fire damage there is still the Aqua Centre with shops to spare - including a Primark. The town is quite large and is situated at the mouth of the river Arade and will be the subject of a more involved visit later. Linda had been very patient enough to wait for her birthday presents so off we set in the drizzle to get her some nice things - warm clothing is on the list as we under packed winter type clothing. The rest of the week was dry and fairly sunny with 16C but the nights were very chilly, dropping to 7- 9C, still much preferable to the UK as the news is showing lots of snow, ice and -4C. Neil decided that the trailer wheels and brakes (bedded in after renewal in Poland) needed a quick service, so completed the right hand side - no need to rush the left hand side can be done next week and then will mean it should not require any work on it until we get back to the UK. Just to ensure no withdrawal symptoms affected Neil a quick early morning game of golf was completed at the Espriche course. A bit strange this year, our first on on the road, Linda did not know what to do with herself as the first Sunday in December has always been 'Christmas decoration day'. We agreed that we would have a few festive decorations in the RV just to prevent any 'Bah Humbug' feeling creeping in, at least we will have the eating part of Christmas sorted as we have booked to have dinner in the site restaurant on 'the' day - a rare day off for Linda.

Lagos Pt 1

SLIGHT CHANGE TO THE BLOG - A MANAGEMENT DECISION WILL RESULT IN ENTRIES IN FUTURE POSTS COVERING A WEEK AS OPPOSED TO AN ENTRY FOR EACH DAY.

Mon 22nd Oct - Sun 28 Oct: A somewhat deterioration in weather this week with highs of 24C and lows of 14C, the balance of days had rain but we still had quite a bit of sun - if fact we had 2 days of torrential rain, luckily this site has great drainage so no major problems. 
Unfortunately some of the other sites around here do not have such good  drainage and hence we had some arrivals of rather wet transferees. Neil had a look at some problems on James and Sarah's Tiffin Allegro and managed to get it into an OK state for their trip back to the UK. Social activity included visits to Restaurant Fontenario in Espiche (super meal and excellent wine), a James special curry (yum yum) and a BBQ courtesy of Neil. The mid week shopping trip was to Albufeira, Linda needed Iceland for food and Neil needed Leroy Merlin (B&Q type shop) for some spare parts. Neil finally admitted that the satellite reception was below par so hired a large dish (1.4m) to ensure Linda did not resort to violence when he went golfing on Saturday with James and Sarah - just to be social you understand. Took further advantage of the Skype system and called all those available, unfortunately the WiFi is not really quick enough for conference calls but is OK for one to one. We did try a Lagos/Sydney/Winchester call and had a fair link up for a short time, and  a Lagos/Toronto/Portglenone call was the same result. 

Restaurant Fontenario

Hole 1 - Par 5

Mon 29th Oct - Sun 4th Nov: Good start to the week when James and Sarah took us out for a meal at Sebastian's in Lagos  - real class, top drawer cuisine and service. Just to top off the food and drink the restaurant treated us to a glass of port in their cellar WOW - rows and rows of classic port but unfortunately they did not allow us to move in permanently. Woo... scary Halloween week, seems like they celebrate the event similar to the UK so after a good round of golf on the 31st we attended the Halloween Dinner in the site bar/restaurant for a really good night. Nice surprise on the Friday when Mark  (now a full time civilian having completed his final TA training) & Pat from Albufeira popped in for a visit and to catch up - a very pleasant review of the bar again. Sadly James and Sarah left for their trip back to UK, via Madrid, on the Saturday and we also received our first 'Red Cross' parcel from Terry. Another all or nothing weather week with more rain and some sunny spells - highs of 23C and a low of 11C. Still strange to accept that it is winter, especially as there are lots of flowers/bushes out in bloom.

Still blooming in November

Still blooming in November

Even the grass is still growing

Mon 5th Nov - Sun 11th Nov: Winter must be here as the pool furniture has been cleared away, the pool is still open, even though a bit chilly. Another rainy week with the occasional burst of sunshine, fortunately the temperatures were still fairly pleasant - a high of 23C but a low of 9C, and yes the central heating works and has been on a few times.

Look - no sun loungers

We took the opportunity during one of the dry spells to give Daisy her monthly ablutions, she is still not impressed with these sites that have pet showers as they are too handy - mind you she did not complain about being dried with the hair dryer afterwards. Managed to get a good day off site to visit Sagres and the Cape of Vincent (the end of Europe) - startling landscape, very rugged and bleak with the knowledge that the only land further west is the US.

Cape Vincent lighthouse
Portugal

Cape Vincent
Portugal



 

 

 

Sagres Portugal

Sagres Portugal

 

 





Just had to fit in another game of golf, the course whilst very young is in very good condition, in places very demanding and has a ball swallowing rough. Fortunately a nice couple from Dorset, Bob & Lee, are on site and Bob like Neil needs to get plenty of fresh air and exercise = golf. The 11th November had to be celebrated for the normal 2 reasons, but of course this year personally it was a bit special - the first 40 years of marriage completed with us both still sane ish. A really nice slap up meal in the site restaurant with some beverages,  some reminiscing and a quick walk round Luz, a very nice seaside village which has a lovely beach.

Praia de Luz Portugal

Praia de Luz Portugal

   

Praia de Luz Portugal