Olhão

Wednesday 30/01/19

I went for a cycle while Toni jogged; it was a grey and dreary morning.  After we had breakfast and watched the Swedes extricate their motor-home from next to us, quite easily as it turned out, we headed off into Olhão on our bikes.  We are always looking for some odd things too, so popped into a few interesting looking shops on the way, things like: handles for my bike, bells for both bikes, clips for our trousers, ball of twine and so on.  We had two tiny espressos and wandered through the old town which was great.  

The narrow streets are surprisingly busy

Lovely textured tiles around the curves of the wall

The tiled buildings are so pretty

Hmmm, may need to go back and measure...

Public bench

Stork feeding it's youngster with much beak-clacking

 Our main reason for the trip was to get fresh fish at the market which closed at 1pm, so we had more than enough time,  but when we walked in they were busy packing up already - what?  We scurried around and found a nice Dorado (local sea bream) which cost us €6.00, I paid with a €20 note and was give 4 coins back.  I realised something was wrong immediately, only because I had noticed when I paid for coffee that I only had €20 notes, no €10's.  He quickly corrected his error when I pointed it out, I wonder if he was chancing his arm?

Anyway, we went on to buy some mackerel and sardines for tomorrow and headed back to the bikes with the fish in the rucksack.  Imagine our fury when we found that some scum had removed Toni's bicycle seat and stem.  We then had to walk to the bike shop to try and find a replacement but, as it is a 15 year old Trek bought in South Africa none of the modern stems will fit.  Toni had to head off with my bike to put the fish in the fridge while I walked to another shop where I also lucked out.  Oh well, our mission now is to try and track down a odd-sized bicycle stem and seat. 

The worst is, the twit that stole it won't be able to use it as it won't fit the modern bikes, so it will probably just get chucked away!  It really soured the day but the grilled fish was lovely with sweet potato and fresh tomato from the market.  In the meantime, Toni is wishing all sorts of ill-luck on the so-and-so that stole her bicycle seat....!

Yum!

We hope the wind and rain clears up soon so that we can have some sunshine.

Olhão

Tuesday 29/01/19

As planned we have back-tracked about 30 km (and 2 years) and are in a camping site we visited in 2017 - Olhao.  The weather forecast is a bit grim for the next few days so we have decided to hide amongst the pine trees, hooked up to power for the first time since Los Escullos in December.  

We have unfinished business here as we wanted to return to explore the area a bit more, and also buy some fresh fish and veg at the wonderful market.

We cycled around a bit of the area and popped in at the Intermarche, a local supermarket we visited last time we were here.  Toni suddenly remembered that it was at this shop that we had bought goats' butter then, as it was the only small container of butter we could find for our short trip and it was fantastic - we have been dreaming of that butter ever since!  We searched the store and managed to find some again...and it is every bit as good as we remembered.

At the campsite, we thought we had been skilled to maneuver Bokkie into quite a tight spot and were a bit shaken when a Swedish couple pulled in next to us in their even bigger motorhome.  We had a chat with them (they are really friendly - we like the Swedes!)  and they are leaving again tomorrow; I hope we are around to see how they get out again as it could be quite a challenge. 

We'll probably sit out the weather until the end of the week and see what the forecast looks like.

There is quite a number of 'permanent' holiday set-ups here.

Although some of the locals may have spent too much time in the sun...

It's a massive camp but, as before, somehow always seems peaceful

Vilamoura Rustic Aire

Monday 28/01/19

We were up fairly bright and early and popped out to Camperserv to get our spares from a very harried David, as he dealt with a brace of motor-homers looking for spares.  

We then headed off into the marina at Vilamoura; the entire town (the part we saw) comprises fancy golf courses, fancy hotels, fancy houses and fancy yachts; definitely not our thing.  To be fair, we were a bit rushed so didn't walk very far around the marina so probably didn't give it a fair crack at the whip but I think we had seen enough to know it isn't for us.  

The joy of motorhoming is that we can move on to the next place, or find a better spot that's more suited to us - we really like that!  And, as is probably becoming quite apparent - bright lights, big cities and lots of people (and consumerism) just isn't our 'thing'; we seem to thrive more in  the small villages and open countryside....definitely food for thought for our future plans...

Interesting to see though, that there were loads of sailing teams in the marina, presumably preparing for the sailing carnival week in February.

We found our way back to the Aire, had something to eat and I replaced the Sog unit fan which turned out to be very easy.  Tomorrow we'll move on, probably back-tracking a bit to the area where we were near Olhão.

Vilamoura Rustic Aire

Sunday 27/01/19

Google makes it look like we are living in the bushes at the moment but only because the aire is a fairly recent development so not shown yet.  

We left Route 66 with a heavy heart, we had fallen in love with the relaxed camp and beautiful surrounding countryside but felt it was time to move.  Our loo fan is getting noisier and is bound to pack up at any time so we need to pick up the spare we had ordered and get some post Charmaine and Chris kindly forwarded to us from the UK.

We went for a ride through the gorgeous farmlands

Looking out over the orange groves - Moncarapacho in the distance

I was a bit concerned whether Bokkie would be able to start this morning as it has been 32 days since we have had electrical hook up so have been relying on solar power.  With a few cloudy days in the mix and the fact that we hadn't driven anywhere for more than a week, the engine battery voltage was a bit low but luckily she didn't disappoint us.  

We headed to Lidl in Olhao to stock up Bokkie's lockers and also popped in at a Continente -  a Portuguese supermarket chain - where we found they had a good selection of GF goodies which we couldn't resist (chocolate g/f wafer biscuits...!).  We need something to put all the wonderful cheeses on after all.

We then drove past Faro to Vilamoura Rustic Aire where we met Gerard, a South African and Anthea, a Brit who grew up in Oz; a wonderful couple who have built up the aire.  We proceeded to stand around and chat for three hours until Toni suddenly realised we hadn't even switched the fridge onto gas yet.  Luckily it was cool enough so no damage was done.  I always knew too much talking was bad for you...

We haven't many photos yet as we haven't had a proper chance to explore.  We took a walk around the area, it is quite rural and then becomes quite developed as you get closer to the coast, looks very much focussed on the tourist market so we are already hankering back to the less populous areas.

'The Old Course' golf club, not very Portuguese sounding...

Far West Route 66 camping, near Moncarapacho

 Friday 25/01/19

We're still chilling in a very relaxed campsite surrounded almost exclusively by French motor-homers, everyone else seems to have scarpered.

Here are some photos to keep you going until we move again.

The Germans may have the biggest motor-homes but the French have the best toys.

I felt guilty at Toni working so hard on her running that I decided
to make another assault on our hill and went all the way to the masts.

The views over the Algarve were amazing but the wind was wild this high up

Looking out over Olhao

We went shopping at the market this morning and found some coarse mielie meel
so we made a Portuguese version of pap en wors.  It was fantastic!

Far West Route 66 camping, near Moncarapacho

Tuesday 22/01/19

Toni went for a run this morning, and after breakfast we filled up Bokkie's water and emptied the grey water.  We have quite a slick operation for doing this when we are standing for a few days, as it is easier to do it by hand rather than drive her to the service area.

We packed a picnic lunch, and then set off on our bikes to Olhão, about 12 km away.  We had stayed in the campsite in Olhão on our last trip so were keen to visit again.  The ride through the farmlands and villages on the way down was lovely, with so many orange orchards in view, all bearing lots of fruit. We also managed to avoid the main road, and traffic.

Once in Olhão we locked the bikes up and walked around, heading to the Mercado or market area, and the marina.  

Olhao church - dating from the 18th century

Hand shaped door knockers; a Moorish design

Statue of Floripes - the Moorish lady of Olhao 

We had a quick espresso at the market cafe; the Portuguese coffee is so smooth.  We also had a good nose around the fish market but with a long cycle back we couldn't buy anything today - we'll definitely come back.  Next door is the fruit, veg, meat and everything else - market which is has stunning fresh produce.  

We then sat outside on the boardwalk and ate our lunch; whilst overcast and quite windy it was still lovely watching the boats in this busy marina.  We, in turn, were closely watched by the locals, hoping for a dropped morsel.....

Like many of the old towns, Olhão has an area of lovely narrow lanes with shops and houses which are great for wandering through.  The murals on the walls depicting some of the local history, were very interesting.

Toni had read that one of the local supermarkets, Pingo Doce, does a gluten free version of Pasteia de Nata, the famous Portuguese custard tart  - but we lucked out as this one didn't have any.  The in-house bakery does some wonderful-looking pastries though; Portugal does seem to have a strong pastry and biscuit culture. Almost every tiny little village has a Pastelaria - the local coffee and cake shop; and they always seem to do a roaring trade.  

After a lovely morning reacquainting ourselves with Olhão, we cycled to the local campsite to have a look around and see how full they are, as we may come and spend some time here again.  They were quite full but always seem to have a few spots available so we will be back.  They have quite a lot of trees so finding sunny spots can be difficult - may need to hook up to power if we stay.

We cycled back along the N125 which was less scenic, but a bit quicker as we were starting to feel a bit worn out.  Another lovely day and it looks like the weather could warm up a bit later this week.

Far West Route 66 camping, near Moncarapacho

Monday 21/01/19

Some random pics and stories:-

Firstly, a complaint: - why do they insist on cutting the grass first thing every morning right outside our motor-home?

At least their mowers are quiet!

If there is ever a competition to see who has the biggest motor-home in the area, the Germans always win.  They take their technology very seriously.

I think Bokkie could fit inside their trucks

Our latest braai-accompaniment - gluten-free flatbreads, with some local butter.  Nice and easy and very good to eat.

Unfortunately we struggled to wake up early enough to catch the full effect of the lunar eclipse so only managed to see the very final stages.

And finally, a quick story I forgot to tell on our Tavira day out.  

After we had failed to get a meal in a restaurant we cycled to the Lidl to pick up some food to eat back at the motor-home.  By now we were both quite hangry and struggling to find anything suitable.  The shop was fairly quiet and a Portuguese announcement came over the speakers followed by the English translation, as it sometimes does.  I caught the tail end and the gist of it was that they were closing till 4 and we must not put anything else on the belt.  I know a lot of shops do close for siesta although not usually the larger chains but this seemed a bit extreme.  Seeing our chances of getting any food evaporate before my eyes I grabbed Toni and said we had to make a dash for the cash register, which we did.  I was surprised to see some people still calmly shopping in the store, and looking around I saw that it was in fact only Till 4 that was closing...  

Toni hasn't let me forget!!!

We're still enjoying it at Route 66; running, cycling and walking (and getting washing done... the eternal motorhoming chore).  We love rural Portugal.  The weather is not brilliant but it is the same all over the Algarve and the Costas so there is no reason to move at the moment.  And, compared to the snow that is battering Europe, this weather is positively summery!