ManWomanDogVan: May 2020

We have stayed at Praia de Malhao for a couple of weeks in total, moving only to empty/refill the van in the nearby towns. While we were there it was the 25^th birthday of one of our new friends and we had a bit of a celebration. The birthday boy was given a surfing lesson by a couple of the guys and we all contributed to the party-food. There was fresh seafood, salad, tapas, prawn curry, chicken tikka and even a lemon cake made on the stove-top! And beer of course.

By this time there was talk about easing the restrictions in the following days/weeks and so we have decided to start moving again a bit more. We are hoping to make our way to Jerez, Spain in a few weeks time to stay with friends for a little while. It is still a waiting game thought, to see how the restrictions may change.

In the mean time we have returned to Milfontes on the 11^th May to meet one of Hamish’s friends of old and spent a pleasant afternoon chatting (with beer in hand) on the town square which has a great view of the estuary of the Mira river. (Restaurants and cafes were still closed you see, but apparently drinking in public was just fine.)

Our next move was to Alzejur, a small town with not a great many things going for it. There is an old fallen down, dilapidated castle with only a few walls remaining and the smallest market I have seen so far. On the up-side, I have bought a new backpack (this one is made of leather, so hopefully will stand the test of times) as the one I have bought for our trip at the end of last year has completely fallen apart. Also got some locally grown peanuts and the best “pastel de nata” to date. (We have sampled many during the last few month.)

We continued to Sagres and stopped by the Cabo de SaoVincent lighthouse, on the southern tip of Portugal. The lighthouse itself was still closed due to the virus, so we just went for a walk. We were going to stay in the area, but the GNR (police) came by and told us that we were not allowed to stay put and suggested that we go to the carpark in front of the Fort in Sagres. What they did not tell us was that the carpark in front of the Fort was actually blocked off. (We have heard from other travellers before, that motorhomes were not really welcome during the lockdown in the Algarve and the police moved everybody on. It is now changing and we see more and more motorhomes around.)

Anyway, instead of trying to find a suitable spot in Sagres, we have decided to move onto Salema instead. A lovely little old fishing village that has been developed to be a holiday destination. There is still quite a lot of building work going on and it seemed like nearly all of the newer houses have a sea view! We stayed a couple of nights on a piece of land in front of the motorhome carpark, as the actual carpark was still closed. We happened to came across a backpacker guy from Belgium “camping” in the actual carpark, who was walking the costal path from Lagos to Sines. All 350km of it!

We spent the last few days in Lagos. A real tourist town without the tourists at the moment. But as restrictions are lifting, the town is waking up and tourists are starting to arrive. We stayed near the beach behind the marina along with another few motorhomes. It was a pleasant walk into town over the “Ponte Basculante” that can be opened on request anytime during business hours to allow boats to pass. We walked around the old town and found a couple of the more hidden beaches as well. The coastline is quite spectacular here; the sandstone has been washed away by the sea creating outcrops of rocks, arches and caves. These are fairly unstable thought and we saw many signs warning visitors about the dangers.

Big day yesterday as cafes and restaurants have re-opened and we were able to enjoy a coffee served up by a waiter. (Mask and glows on, but still…)

As tourism is the main income here people are keen to get back to normal. Although the excursions to visit the more remote and beautiful caves or to watch the dolphins are not yet available (and I would like to do both of these) the surf shop was open and obviously Hamish has signed up for a lesson! I am looking forward to seeing him in wetsuit. (Many years ago I got him a water-skiing lesson; as part of the deal, he was provided with a wetsuit for the occasion. It was an unfortunate black and yellow design inspired by a bumblebee. I hope wetsuit fashion has moved on since…

May 2020 - Part 1 Map