Lovely new friends...

1st October 2014

Listening to the sound of the sea as you lie in bed has to be one of the most special things we have enjoyed on this trip....you never get tired of it.
This morning, we met a lovely young family, Julius, Marie, Karl and Greta.

[caption id="attachment_2740" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Gorgeous Greta...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2748" align="aligncenter" width="640"] New friends...Julius and Karl, Billy, Marie and Greta...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2741" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Cuddle time....[/caption]

 

They are from Germany and have been travelling in their VWvan since June. We spent a couple of hours together chatting over coffee...swapping van ideas, places to go and stories of our travels. We really had a great time together hope to see them again one day...perhaps in the UK.

[caption id="attachment_2749" align="aligncenter" width="640"] We passed many cork trees today whose bark had been stripped right back....then many yards where it is all being processed....[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_2743" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Odeciexe.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2742" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Just beautiful....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2746" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Villa Nova de Milfontes....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2744" align="aligncenter" width="640"] We crossed the river here hoping to find a place to camp but there were "No camping"signs everywhere ...so we moved on...[/caption]



All too soon, it was time for us to move on again making our way up the coast towards Lisbon.
Once we had found our camp for the night...right next to the beach at Praia de illhe...we decided, as the tide was out, to walk along the beach. We just couldn't believe it when, out of the spray from the waves, we saw Marie and Greta sitting on the beach! What a lovely coincidence!
We were unsure whether or not we might get moved on from our place tonight so, on returning to Bluebelle we thought we would take the rough track behind the beach to camp with Julias and Maria.....however, we hadn't gone very far before we got stuck in sand....just after BT said..."Whatever we do, we mustn't stop!!" It took us 45mins to dig ourselves out.....we gave up on moving elsewhere and returned to our original parking place! It was a very peaceful night and we weren't asked to move on at all.....

[caption id="attachment_2747" align="aligncenter" width="640"] This'll do nicely...[/caption]

Dinosaurs, storks and snails....

30th September 2014

The beach that we have camped on is enormously long.......and this morning we decided that we would walk the length of it.



 



Golden sands, crashing waves and the most amazing rock formations.....



stripes and lines of rock, just like books on a shelf stacked up, squashed up hard against one another...



Some tumbling over and others completely straight.....and others looking like a dinosaur buried in the sand....



the colours and textures are totally awesome. Some of the rocks were strung out right into the sea ...looking just like railway tracks that reach to the bottom of the ocean!

[caption id="attachment_2719" align="aligncenter" width="640"] This one, with all the tiny barnacles and limpets, reminded me of a night sky...!!!![/caption]

 
On our return, we packed Bluebelle up and took to the road again...well, I say road...it was more of a dirt track...bumpy, dusty and steep! We're really not sure we should be dragging Bluebelle through all of this! I think that when we arrive home, climb out and shut the doors for the final time, Bluebelle will sigh a huge sigh of relief and then...crash...the wheels will collapse, the doors drop off and she will just crumple into a heap...and if that doesn't happen, it will cost us dearly to have her fixed up again!!!!

[caption id="attachment_2720" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Struggling up the hill....[/caption]

When we arrived in Portugal, we bought a book describing several walks that could be done in the Algarve. One of them, The Seven Hanging Valleys Trail, we did a few days ago..today we have picked another one which starts in a small village called Carrapatejra. The walk then takes you put to the coast at Praia de Amando........

[caption id="attachment_2724" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Looking back over Praia de Amando[/caption]



 

along the cliffs above the beach, and eventually turning back inland again towards the village. We were both pretty weary after our long beach walk this morning so this one just about finished us off...however, it was just so beautiful it kept us wanting more the whole way round.

[caption id="attachment_2725" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Shells and fossils captured at a moment in time....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2726" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Loving these Autumn colours...[/caption]

The highlight for us both was to see this pair of storks nesting on the cliffs high above the crashing waves.....

[caption id="attachment_2727" align="aligncenter" width="640"] A pair of nest storks...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2728" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Can you spot them here?...[/caption]



 

[caption id="attachment_2730" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Our last views of the sea before turning inland again...[/caption]



 

[caption id="attachment_2733" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Snails everywhere....[/caption]



 

Poor Bluebelle...we put her through yet more dirt track driving and to end the day...a steep, stoney, wiggly road leading to a grassy area right by the beach...the scary this we realised as we headed down this track was that our brakes are now next to useless.....I was just praying that BT would turn the corners, no matter what, or we'd end up in the sea!!!
In contrast to everything we have seen so far, this beach is very rocky, but still just as beautiful.

[caption id="attachment_2735" align="aligncenter" width="640"] These rocks remind me of a beach full of seals!!![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2736" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Mr BBQ![/caption]

e had our BBQ on the beach, watching the many surfers enjoy some brilliant waves, and then enjoyed another fantastic sunset.



 

Markets and beaches...

September 27th 2014

[caption id="attachment_2650" align="aligncenter" width="427"] This morning was market day...with a difference! All the local farmers come to town and set up around the market hall selling their produce.....it was an amazing experience! The town was buzzing. The old boys were in the local bars chatting away like old women, and the old women were hard at work selling their wares!!![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2651" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Olives.....[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_2653" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Inside the market hall....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2654" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Sardines...just thousands of them....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2655" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The buzz of the market...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2656" align="aligncenter" width="427"] We want.....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2657" align="aligncenter" width="427"] From Loule we returned to the coast for a walk called the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail. It runs from the beach at Vale Centianes in the west to the beach at Marinha. It is absolutely stunning...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2658" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Along the way we saw more than 6/7 sink holes....[/caption]





[caption id="attachment_2661" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Gorgeous hidden, hard to reach beaches along the way....[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_2663" align="aligncenter" width="640"] I love the way the wind and rain have worn away the rocks and left this amazing pattern...[/caption]



This evening we made our home by the river opposite Portimao and next to Ferraguado...

 

 

 

 

Loule and Alte

 

[caption id="attachment_2634" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Good Morning! Towards the end of the day yesterday we grew increasingly disappointed with the Algarve....we had pictured miles and miles of empty, golden sandy beaches, but as we left Tavira and approached Faro and beyond the beaches were firstly obliterated by large apartment buildings and then miles and miles of golf resorts.....great for the golf lovers but not for us travellers who want to see the real Portugal! So we have decided to travel inland a little today to a town called Loule.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2635" align="aligncenter" width="640"] What a gem of a town Loule is....we both absolutely love it. It is full of character, has a real community feel about it, arty, colourful and a place you feel instantly at home! This is one of the many hand painted, tiled street signs.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2636" align="aligncenter" width="640"] One of the many old gates to the town.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2637" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Loule has a fantastic town walking guide where one follows footprints on the pathway or on signposts, and at each place of interest is a board with a description of the building you are looking at and a gorgeous drawing of the structure....this one is of the town gate....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2638" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The church....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2640" align="aligncenter" width="427"] One of the many gorgeous windy streets....we found an amazing craft shop here that sold items that have been handmade in Portugal....we spent a long time in here, it was incredibly inspiring.[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_2642" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The theatre[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2643" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The market hall[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2644" align="aligncenter" width="427"] Just because it's lovely!!![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2645" align="aligncenter" width="640"] A little further into the hills beyond Loule is a tiny village called Alte. We were informed, by some very helpful ladies at the tourist information in Loule, that at this village there is a place called Fonte Grande where you are allowed to swim....in beautiful, clear mountain water...so, as we are always looking for somewhere to have a good clean up, we decided to go there and give it a go....[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2646" align="aligncenter" width="427"] A fountain at Alte[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2647" align="aligncenter" width="640"] ...innovative seating in a shady spot...[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2648" align="aligncenter" width="427"] ...this is the Grande Fonte....there is barely an inch of water in it and there is a big sign saying 'No swimming'!....it is beautiful even though! Just so you know, we found a public swimming baths in Loule to go and have a shower....we paid for a swim, but, once inside I realised that all the women were wearing swimming costumes and I only had my bikini...I asked a young girl if it was ok and her reply was..."it's a bit small...!!!" ,so I decided that I had better just shower and move on. I have to say...it was worth every cent of the two euros!!! BT had previously been suggesting that we shower at one of the taps, by the roadside, outside a house.......hmmmmm!!!![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2649" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Beautiful terracotta tiles on the roof of a tiny town house in Alte.[/caption]