Perfect 10!

Nina admiring some street art

This week marks the tenth week of being away on our travels around Europe. Time-wise I can't say if it's passed quickly or slowly, what I do know is that by and large it has been time well spent.

During our first week in Portugal we were based in one place, Penamacor, which we absolutely loved; since then we have experienced a lot more of the country as we travelled south through central Portugal, heading towards the Algarve. Last week's blog post left off with us in Castelo Branco on Saturday morning, getting a bulb changed in the bus headlight and then heading off to visit an old friend of Nicks, Sara, in a place called Pedrogao Grande.

A bridge too far? We crossed it!

The journey there was a little dicey! We thought we'd had our share of mountains, but that was not the case, and once again it was a hair raising journey not only upwards, but also over terrifying bridges. It wasn't possible to get to Sara's house itself, it being off road to anything other than a four-wheel drive down a long bumpy winding track, so instead we left Lula the bus parked overlooking an enormous dam (which we had driven over earlier with white knuckles) and were collected in a jeep.

It was lovely to spend a night in a house with the luxury of a hot shower, and we had a great evening of food, wine, chat and laughter. Sara and Nathan' s story is inspiring, they have been living full time in Portugal for three years, but coming and going for 7 or 8, living in a caravan at the start, while they renovated their beautiful traditional house, complete with terraces of olive and fruit trees. They have a ten year old and two year old and Sara travels back to England every couple of months for her work as a medicinal herbalist, whilst also working at two women's retreats in Portugal during the summer. Nathan is a mechanic. It was fascinating hearing about the challenges and victories along their journey.

On Sunday we returned to the bus, where we left it parked outside a huge 1970s style restaurant overlooking the colossal stretch of water below, surrounded by pine trees. Striking though it was, I found the setting quite eerie, it was deserted and drizzling, and with nothing else around it felt a bit like being in the horror movie The Shining; with no shops open nearby and little food in the cupboards we decided to have Sunday lunch in the restaurant.

restaurant with a view,
but not a great atmosphere

This was our first meal out in Portugal. The large restaurant was mostly empty and once seated the friendly waiter explained they were nearly closing so we had a limited menu. We opted for pork cheeks and roasted cod, with no starter, and were surprised when the waiter brought us out a basket of bread with two types of fish paste and two cheeses, which we pretty much devoured. 

The mains came, and we found them edible, if a little unusual. A carafe of wine was less than €5 and seemed to go on forever. I had a chocolate mousse for pudding which seemed more like Angel Delight. The final bill was more than I expected at €31, I think they charged a lot for the bread and cheeses, which we thought were complimentary, and wouldn't have eaten otherwise, but hey-ho, you live and learn. Since then we have eaten out on one other occasion and had a very strange burger type thing, swimming in gravy with an egg on top. I think we will stick to cooking ourselves from now on!

We stayed Sunday night at the dam and on Monday explored the surrounding area, taking Nina for a nice long walk and visiting Pedrogao Grande the town itself. We headed off later in the day and made for our next destination 'Tomar'.

One of the many interesting buildings in Tomar

Tomar is a beautiful town and ticked a lot of boxes. Firstly the camping ground was first class, it was near the centre yet secluded in attractive landscaped surroundings, it had great facilities and furthermore it was free (we have not paid for any camping yet in Portugal)! We decided to stay for a few days and settled in. Tomar has an intriguing history and was founded by the Knights Templar in the 12th century. 

There is an impressive castle, the grounds of which you enter via manicured gardens. There are two convents at either end of the town, itself an ancient mediaeval area with a cross shaped layout, and many building with stunning tiled facades looming over intricately cobbled streets - I found it absolutely charming. 

Old industrial Tomar

The newer part of town was well equipped with a state of the art launderette and a brand spanking new Lidls, which served our purposes excellently. Tomar also has a fascinating industrial history and we visited the outskirt areas of desolate factories and old chimney stacks, the edges of which are now inhabited by gypsies.

On Thursday we 'tatted down' and moved on a place Nick had visited eighteen years ago, Amourol Castle. 

Amourol Castle

This was a magical place to spend a night, parked alongside the river with the beautiful castle in front of us; very tranquil. We took Nina for a walk and were surprised to find ourselves amongst a huge orange grove encircled by towering bamboo, a strange combination and surreal surrounding!

On Friday we spent most of the day on the road stopping at two places, Montargil and Evora but decided to push on, not really feeling it at either place. Late evening we arrived at Mertola a pretty hill village on the banks of the Guardiana river, which was recommended to us by a English lady who kindly popped to see us at the campsite in Tomar to offer me some books she'd read (we did a swap).

Ancient weaving in Mertola

Yesterday, Saturday, we explored the quaint village, visiting yet another castle ruin, atop the hill and clocking up an impressive 29 floors on my pedometer. We also called in to a small weaving museum and watched a weaver in action on an ancient loom. Though small there is plenty on offer here, and I expect it's a tourist hot spot in the summer, as there are a few gift shops dotted about.

Yesterday we bought a large bottle of gas, which should last a good few months, costing a fraction of what we were paying before, so today we are treating ourselves to a slow roasted lamb Sunday lunch - mmmm, mm!  

Nick & Nina in Mertola old town

We are not far now from our next destination, Alcoutim, where we intend to spend a few weeks and hopefully enjoy some slightly warmer weather, with it being in the Algarve region. Next week is Nick's birthday and beyond that we have not made any solid plans other than arranging to meet up with a good friend of my mum's, Suzie, who came to Portugal herself a few years ago in a camper van and now has a house. 

It really does seem like once you get to this amazing country you are unable to leave, and I can certainly see why, at ten weeks in, it gets ten out of ten from me.