No Particular Place To Go

When we finally leave Foz do Arelho, pointing ourselves south toward the Algarve and head for more bumpy, potholed roads that make things a little more adventurous as we try to dodge them.

Not long into the drive, we cross the longest bridge in Europe. It stretches on forever, the kind of crossing where you start to wonder if it’s ever going to end and with the current fuel prices rising we hope we reach the other side soon. 

Speaking of fuel… every time we fill up, it feels less like a transaction and more like a small-scale robbery. We hand over our card, try not to make eye contact with the pump, and drive away pretending it didn’t happen.

Nights, however, are less philosophical. One particularly memorable stop is at a petrol station, where sleep proves… ambitious. Between engines, headlights, and the general symphony of road noise, it’s not exactly five-star tranquility. Somehow, though John manages to snore his way through it all like a man in a countryside retreat. It’s both impressive and infuriating.

The following day, slightly delirious and fuelled by a large cup of tea and stubbornness, we decide to upgrade our surroundings and find a campsite. It feels like a luxury. That said, campsites are a mixed bag, some are pristine, neat, and so clean you almost feel guilty stepping inside. Others… less so. There are places where you genuinely suspect you were cleaner before entering the shower block, and you exit questioning a number of life choices.

Along the way, there are moments that make everything worth it. Ice cream stops become essential daily ritual…purely for morale, obviously. We also start noticing storks nesting along the route, perched high and unbothered, like they’ve claimed the best real estate in Portugal.

We cross the Rio Sado through the national park, where the scenery shifts again, wide, open, and quietly beautiful. It’s a welcome contrast to some of the roads we’ve been tackling, which at times resemble an obstacle course more than actual infrastructure. Bumpy stretches, landslides, and potholes large enough to have their own postcode keep us alert (and occasionally airborne).

Despite it all, each day we make time to walk and stretching our legs, taking in the surroundings, and reminding ourselves why we chose to travel this way in the first place.

Eventually, after a patchwork of campsites, questionable roads, and steadily dwindling patience with fuel prices, we reach the Spanish border. It feels like a small victory. Another chapter, another country, and undoubtedly more stories waiting just up the road.

We stop for a drink on the coast in Atouguia da Baleia. It’s an area known for the lodine that comes from the algae found in this

Tonight’s park up in Atouguia da Baleia is just a dusty parking area over looking farm fields

View of Ericeira beach

Daylight robbery for fuel in Portugal 

The Vasco da Gama Bridge in Lisbon is Europe’s longest bridge, spanning 17.2 km across the Tagus River

We pass by and wonder why everyone’s wearing the same clothes and soon realise it’s Estabelecimento Prisional de Pinheiro da Cruz where they grow, harvest and make the wine behind these prison walls. Part high security, part open.So if you ever pick up a bottle… you’re holding a second chance in your hands.

We pass hundreds of Storks perched up high scanning the area for their next meal

Views down to the port in Alcácer do Sal

In Alcácer do Sal located near the Church of Santa Maria do Castelo we find the Roman ruins that were found in 1983. Items such as inscriptions, statues, and marble friezes were found here.

Tonight we are parked up on a campsite in Alcacer do Sal and this is the view from the motorhome door as we chat to our neighbours Demain and his family

In search of a quiet night we decide the campsite in Zambujeira do Mar will be home for the night

On the outskirts of Sines we park up with a few other vans for the night

On this part of our travels we come across lots of diversions and collapsed roads all victims of the recent storms and bad weather

In Vila do Bispo there are still a few old windmills once used to mill flour, now turned into holiday rentals

The church in Luz

I call the Albufeira site “God’s Waiting Room in the Sun.” It’s a disused football stadium that’s basically a mini housing estate, mostly Brits who somehow ended up here long-term. I have no idea why some of them are here…. maybe lost a bet, maybe exile….but the facilities are clean, the sun is shining, and you can’t help but wonder about everyone’s life story. It’s like a holiday camp for people who never left.

Easter in Portimao

Campsite might be generous name for this site — in Lagos we ended up in what felt more like a shanty town, with people living there full-time in tents and rough-built shacks. We only stayed a night, but it was cheap and at least quiet once things settled down.

Laundry day in Albufeira now the sun is shining

In Lagos we walk the wooden boaed walk along the cliff tops

We have a stroll down the Strip in Albufeira — already packed by mid-morning with English tourists ( that’s a polite word for them), plenty of sunburnt bellies, and more topless confidence than you’d expect before noon.

Walking the rocky coastal path in Falésia

Our son Chay is a huge F1 fan, so we made a special stop in Quinta do Lago to see where legendary racing driver Ayrton Senna once lived and it’s an impressive complex

Crossing the river Gilao river in Tavira

In Olhao we find a “Good Tesco” but it’s not a Tesco we are used to, you definitely can’t use your clubcard and I’m not sure the slogan “every like helps” is a phrase they are familiar with

We catch the cash only train from Porta Nova to Olhão for the day and let’s just say it’s not only the train that’s rattling the conductors pockets are too

In search of a toilet I’m sure we have stumbled on the undesirable area of Olhao

Aires and Campsites used in a Portugal 

Atouguia da Baleia

N 39° 19′ 32

W 9° 21′ 10

Ericeira

N 38° 58′ 1

W 9° 24′ 32

Alcácer do Sal

N 38° 22′ 49

W 8° 30′ 58

Sines 

N 37° 57′ 51

W 8° 52′ 56

Zambujeira do Mar

N 37° 31′ 32

W 8° 46′ 32

Vila do Bispo

N 37° 4′ 50

W 8° 54′ 50

Luz

N 37° 5′ 14

W 8° 43′ 53

Lagos

N 37° 5′ 41

W 8° 40′ 18

Portimão

N 37° 8′ 0

W 8° 32′ 44

Albufeira

N 37° 5′ 54

W 8° 14′ 36

Falésia

N 37° 5′ 25

W 8° 9′ 38

Tavira

N 37° 7′ 58

W 7° 37′ 54