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Day 79 - 80
Spent a couple of days in and around Gibraltar sampling the strange cuisine in the chippy and shopping at a strange store called Morrisons. "Amazing how Morocco changes your perceptions" Lynn managed an inordinate number of hours on the beach catching up on "bikini time".
Day 81 - 82
We worked our way up the Spanish coast and spent a great night with the kitesurfing dudes at Casas de Porro. Then a night with the paragliding dudes at Chinini beach where we met Lorde and Isabella from Belgium.
Day 83 - 84
We moved on to Sevilla and found the designated parking right in the centre by the side of the river. Sevilla is a fantastic city, well set out with walkways and cycle routes everywhere. We walked down the side of the river and into town.
The fantastic building pictured is where they keep all of the historic records of Spanish rule in the Americas. We then did some shopping, so no pictures of Zara, Mango or C+A despite the time spent there!
I did however find a nice little coffee bar whilst I was waiting for Lynn 😀🍷
The following day we cycled up the riverbank and had a go at a selfie with my camera. Not something to be repeated as close up photos of me can frighten small children.
There was a lot of activity going on, a fishing competition, a triathlon and a football match.
Lynn found a mode of transport more suited to her than the truck - the beer bike!
We also spotted a massive structure that appeared to be made from cardboard - it wouldn't last two minutes in the Bolton rain!!
We attempted to get into the Cathedral but after queuing for a short while a man came to say it closed at 4 and he would advise that once we got in there wouldn't be enough time to see it all. The same thing happened at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona - I can't think why I might have trouble getting in a religious building 😜🍻🍷⚡️⚡️
We moved on to more accepting territory and found a bar. We found another structure that looks like it's made of cardboard (it is in fact steel).
Day 85 - 95 - The Algarve
Well it's ten days since we left Saville and we hit the Algarve. I haven't posted as its been more Holiday than travel, the Algarve sort of brings that out in you. I like the place but it is one sunny beach after the other interspersed with the odd beautiful harbour and a few "Irish Bar, bikini shop package holiday resorts" we tend to drift past those.
One sandy beach tends to merge into the other, and again. We found a gem at Armacao De Pera - the last place in the Algarve where they still put fishing boats on the beach.
We stayed here a couple of days and on Sunday they had a veteran car meet up on the promenade. There were lots of models I remembered......even a little white Mini. I couldn't believe how much space there was in the engine bay of the Mk2 Cortina. But if I had the choice it would definitely be the Mercedes. I am writing this sat at the side of the beach in Portimao so we are not far from the end of the Algarve and I can't wait to see the Atlantic 😀
Day 96 - 99
Well from our spot in Portimao we headed out into the Sintra-Cascais National park and eventually to Cabo de Sao Vicente. You can park here overnight so we did but it was very windy. This is the farthest West you can get and still be on mainland Europe, you get a fantastic sunset. We love this place, it gives the chance to mix fantastic cliff walks. With beautiful views, beaches and great places to park we decided to stick around a few days. We also met up with some great people! You can see Marco and Martin pictured in their fantastic self build truck. Marco in the centre is touring the kite surfing beaches of Portugal and Martin is at the start of a trip down the west coast of Africa to Cape Town. We also met up with a delightful young couple David and Holly who had cycled from Cornwall to Australia......puts our London to Paris into perspective.
Day 100
Time has come to start the journey to Bordeaux so we headed north and found ourselves in the delightful market square in Estremoz. Time has come to start the journey to Bordeaux so we headed north and found ourselves in the delightful market square in Estremoz.T he place has a great castle.....built from stone but inside is a fantastic church and keep built from....marble. The keep is now a hotel but if you ask at reception they will let you climb the stairs to the top where you can get fantastic views of the square. We could just about spot the truck.
Day 101 - 102
We moved along the border region which is called Alentejo "beautiful and mountainous" to a mountain top walled town of Marvao. We found a beautiful place to park, very quiet, a little shade from the tree, and a beautiful view. Marvao is completely walled in with a large castle at one end. You can walk the whole wall and visit the castle, the bit I liked the most is the place seems untouched. Not one handrail or safety fence anywhere, a British H+S nightmare 😀. This gives you a real feel for how the place must have been for the original occupants. As always the whole place is immaculate, with interest everywhere. The stone table pictured even had a cut out for your knees. We met up with an Austrian couple in a very interesting 4x4 completely home built motorhome. They had travelled widely even shipping to Australia and then driving the whole way back, with their sights now firmly set on South America.
Day 103 - 108
The weather set in for a couple of days with rain.....what's that? We decided that as we had to make the break across Spain to Bordeaux we would do it now. We stopped in Salamanca and then Vitoria Spain does have a lot of nothing between these beautiful cities.
Just before we crossed the border into France we met a Dutch couple travelling Europe in a beautiful truck camper......it was very old......the same age as me!
We then arrived in Montalievet. This is a place we know well and have visited many times with the kids. There are great places to camp in the forest and mile after mile of bike tracks to explore. We settled in to a routine of cycling in the morning and going to the beach in the afternoon.
We also met a young couple travelling in their VW climbing and surfing their way to Italy. Milton and Emelda set up a tightrope so we just had to give it a go.