Biking to Vouzela

 Thursday 09/09/21

Yesterday the forecast for today looked like rain all day, so we thought we might have to cancel our cycle plans.  Luckily, this morning it was looking better so we got the bikes down and planned a trip down the hill into Vouzela.

I wish they had invented Smell-o-vision so that we could share the real experience of the early(ish) trip down the valley into the village.  We could smell the vines, the grass being cut, the trees, the rain that had passed and the different woods being burned in the houses.  It was sublime, made even better by the fact that we hardly had to pedal at all right into Vouzela.

Looking down on Vouzela

We parked the bikes and walked around the village, ending up in a lovely café for some coffee (tiny espresso, Portuguese style, of course) and some pastries to give us energy for the trip back.  The village is pretty, has a very relaxed feel and we felt right at home.

Our favourite - disused railway converted into a walking / cycling route.

It's always great to find a lovely 'resting bench' with a view

Definitely a farming community - our view from the coffee shop!

Soon, however, it was revenge time for the downhills, which had all mysteriously turned into uphills punishing us on the way back up to the campsite.  Quite a different cycle to the flat Torreira, very enjoyable and very tiring - but all good exercise.

Usually seen as a creeper, this was the most amazing bougainvillea

Tomorrow, we plan to catch the bakery lady in her van (for breakfast bread) before heading off to stock up on groceries for our next house-sit and, hopefully, a stay in an aire in a nearby village.

Vouzela

 Wednesday 08/09/21

In spite of the fact that I love the ocean, we both really enjoy being off the beaten track like we are now.  It is pitch dark at night and much quieter than where we were and we both feel very happy here.  We took a walk in between showers this morning, and both agree that you can't beat a beautiful view where all you can hear is the wind in the trees and birds singing (apart from the church bells, obviously).

A view of our campsite 

Lovely picnic spots below the chapel built on the old castle foundations

Inside Capela da Senhora do Castelo

It feels like you can see most of Portugal from here.

We hear the bells toll from the campsite and were a little disappointed, if not surprised, to find they were from a huge tannoy system and no longer the bells.

As we got back to Bokkie the rain set in for the rest of the day so we have had an indoors afternoon.

We are hoping to get the bikes off tomorrow for some exploring.

Since the fires of 2017 destroyed much of the surrounding area, this campsite has not been as busy as in the past and no longer has it's own shop.  We hadn't realised this so didn't really stock up before arriving.  We were busy working out how we would stretch our provisions when Toni noticed a white van pull up outside our neighbour's tent.  We hurriedly dressed and went to investigate.  It was, as we had hoped, a local lady who bakes traditional fare and visits the campsite so we couldn't resist supporting her.

Lovely traditional pastries and breads

Vouzela

 Tuesday 07/09/21

We were thinking about extending our stay at Torreira, things had quietened down considerably since the weekend and we don't need to be in our sit until Saturday; then the circus came to life again, with a vengeance.  It started up at around 20:00 and carried on at full volume until after 23:30.  It also rained heavily during the night and this, coupled with one too many 'Whoopah' from the ringmaster across the road made up our minds - we had to move on.

As the interior is a bit more off the beaten track from a tourist point of view, our apps don't really cover it very well for finding good places to stay but after a bit of research we found a campsite in the mountains, surely this must be more peaceful.

Definitely not built with Bokkie in mind (Photo from Google Maps)

We had a minor navigation issue that saw us facing the bridge above (photo lifted from Google Maps) and we either had to cross or return along the very narrow road that had led us to it.  We were preparing to try to turn around when a small truck came across from the other side, giving us hope. We decided to see if Bokkie would fit and it was easily the craziest thing we have ever done in Bokkie.  The metal framework seemed to twist and buckle the whole way across drawing the barriers in towards us, rubbing against the wheel arches at one point but there was no way I was going to try and reverse back off it so onward we went!  We got across safely but I don't think we'll be trying that ever again!

What followed was almost two hours of bum-clenching, winding narrow roads along the river Vouga up a mountain gorge.  The scenery made it worth it, it became more and more stunning, unfortunately rain made most photography out of the question but it really is lovely here.  

Although the campsite looks full, it looks like they are mostly permanent caravans and tents with no one here at the moment. It is so difficult to get here I think most people can't face taking their caravans back home once they get them up the mountain.

Bokkie recovering from her ordeal

The views from the campsite are amazing

We're booked in for three days but it looks like the weather will be a bit rainy.  Hopefully we can get some walking and cycling in while we are here.

Torreira

 Monday 06/09/21

Torreira beach

After the festival finished last night the campsite and the town drained as if someone had pulled the plug; it was fascinating to see the difference this morning.  That said, the circus and funfair across the road continued late into the night...

As planned we headed off on our bicycles to the southern end of the 'island' which turned out to be 34km of the most boring riding we have had for a long time.  The road is thankfully very flat but the scenery was quite monotonous, interrupted only occasionally by fishermen trying their luck in the lagoon.  

Aveira on the opposite bank at the mouth of the lagoon

Eel fishermen

This sandy beach continues for kilometres to the north

We were amazed at the precision of these rocks, some bigger than cars, all neatly packed
along the breakwater like a dry-stone wall.

The lagoon mouth was quite impressive and there were loads of fishermen along the breakwater and in boats, we think fishing for eel, which are caught locally.  The beach was spectacular, covered by young gulls and the sand stretches for miles.

In the afternoon the wind dropped and we had a lovely walk to our local Torreira beach.

We had to chuckle at this set-up: desperately keeping the sun and wind out, nowhere near the water.
He might as well have stayed home!

We are impressed with some of the permanent camps in the campsites, mostly based around caravans but with their own, solidly built tents around them.

A 'tent town'

Even this motor-homer is in on the act, wonder if we could get one for Bokkie?

Torreira

 Sunday 05/09/21

Barking dogs and racing motorcycles seemed to be the order of day (or night, I should say) which is often the down side of staying in cities over a weekend.  Luckily, being Sunday we could sleep in a bit and left Coimbra after breakfast.

Bokkie baking in the sun

We're camped on the coast, nestled between a large lagoon and the Atlantic, a real holiday town.  The campsite is a bit bleak with very little shade but there is luckily a cool ocean breeze to keep temperatures under control.  We use spare towels to cover Bokkie's windows and skylight to keep the sun out and this really helps to keep the interior temperature manageable.

One of the local 'bateiras' offering lagoon cruises

Lagoon-side

Lagoon port packed with more colourful bateiras

We were both feeling a little groggy so just relaxed in the campsite until the afternoon before venturing out.  We were stunned to see how many people are still on holiday, the beach was packed.  There is apparently a festival (Covid restricting things somewhat) on at the moment and this is also the last week of Portuguese school holidays so everyone is making the most of the weather.

The promenade, equally packed with people.

Sea-side

It might rain a bit tonight and we hope we can explore the area by bike tomorrow morning.

Bonus video:-

This band was warming the crowd up, they were fantastic!

Coimbra

 Saturday 04/09/21

We had a good night's sleep, in fact the aire was quieter than the Milfontes campsite which was good, and we set off early in the morning while the air was still cool.

Bokkie baking in Coimbra

We arrived at the campsite without any drama and booked in for a day.  The weather heats up significantly on Sunday and the campsite has very little shade so we decided to see Coimbra today and move on tomorrow to escape the heat.

The masks hide our fear quite well...nice not to have to drive ourselves though

Luckily there is a bus stop outside the campsite that runs quite regularly (it's quite quick actually, partly due to the Portuguese bus drivers' driving style) so we made haste into the city while the morning was still cool.  We had a lovely meander around the old town; it's very steep but the architecture is beautiful with stunning views from every angle.

Although some touristy areas were a little busy, the local holidays have ended
and Coimbra was quite quiet for a Saturday.

We stayed for a leisurely lunch in an authentic Portuguese restaurant which we really enjoyed and, as things were heating up in the afternoon we caught the bus back to the campsite.

A tram from days past.

Some really wonky architecture

We're busy revising our plans; we find city stops quite tiring and are keeping an eye on the weather to decide where to go next.

Vila Nova da Barquinha

 Friday 03/09/21

We managed to get ourselves into quite the holiday rhythm in Milfontes and decided it was time to get moving before we melted into complete inactivity.  We seemed to keep busy cycling, walking, swimming, reading, eating and sleeping but really needed to get moving northward to make our next appointment.

Once I start eyeing boats...

and Toni starts eyeing the houses...
It is time to move.

We want to try and visit Coimbra and Porto on our way to our next sit as we skipped them both last time because Toni had hurt her toe and we decided walking through cities was a bad idea at the time.  (Now she's bruised from a bicycle fall...seems to be a pattern developing!)

We're in the town of Vila Nova da Barquinha which has a stunning parking area next to a park alongside the river Tagus.  We had to do some food shopping, buy new tyres for my bike and pick up some diesel along the way and, with some mis-directions from the satnav and a few of our own, we found the day's driving to be quite wearing.  It is much warmer in the interior but we certainly have a lovely spot to spend the night.

Bokkie has a nice parking spot, shade from the sun and a fountain nearby.  Bliss!

The view of the river

The park is lovely and is full of artwork

Even the buildings have a message; possibly something about chasing money comes before a fall??

Tomorrow we'll try for an early start and see if we can get some space in the Coimbra campsite to explore the city.