We travel slowly and like to see
the country so don’t use toll roads, but I am aware that sometimes they can be
cost effective, even though we must pay double for a camper. The problem in
Portugal is that some have toll booths (that’s OK) while others have an
electronic system. It is complicated and hard to know when you will be on one
and how much it will cost, and therefore whether the toll saves fuel costs from
a slower route. It has caused many problems for tourists and is not helping to
bring tourism here. We set the GPS for the town of Coruche, on the way to Évora,
knowing we would arrive after dark.
The route was devious as we skirted
Lisbon at about 100 km away. At one point we faced a 3.5 ton limit on a bridge,
our weight, and soon after another one with 3.0 m height limit. 2.8m is the
least I will pass under. We found official camper parking in Coruche and in the
morning I walked and Anita went for a run by the river.
We continued on to Évora,
another walled city and found the 2000 year old Roman Temple thought to be
dedicated to Diana.
Évora is the capital of the Alentejo Region and the shops
were busy before Christmas. We moved to a quieter parking area for the night at
Intermarche supermarket where there is a camper service area.
The Atlantic coast was calling us
and we came to Sines, which we had always driven past previously. The oil
refineries and power station give character to the out of town area. We headed
to a beach at the north side.
A restaurant was busy with Sunday lunch, and we
followed the code of “busy with locals means good place to eat”, and decided to
eat out for a rare treat. Bacalao is a large salted fish and we decided to try
it. It is actually cod, caught in the Atlantic and was very tasty. The salted
fish sold everywhere in Portugal does not look attractive in the shops and
needs soaking over-night before cooking.
Just south of Sines starts El Parque Natural del Sudoeste Alentejano y
Costa Vicentina with it’s wonderful wild coastline.
We spent the night
close to, but upwind of the Power station in a designated parking area as
camping in the park area is not allowed.
We came to one of our favourite
places in Portugal, the Mira river Estuary town of Vila Nova de Milfontes and
walked on the beach.
Further south and inland we took a peek at Odimira, set in
a valley, and on the Mira River.
We moved on to a good campsite we
had used before at Zambujeira do Mar, parking under eucalyptus trees, with
their lovely scent for Christmas Eve and Christmas day allowing us electricity
for our usual purposes including making green smoothies.
We still have a defective one year old
caravan battery.
Anita’s mother came out of hospital
before Christmas and being frail and bedridden needed care at home which Anita’s
daughters gave up much time to be with her and to do all the messy things
needed. Her health was a constant concern and has overshadowed the joy of our
journey. Anita will go in early January to take over the care for a few weeks.
No other relatives have supported.
(Sadly Mother passed away on 30 December after being further weakened by a fever).
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