Thursday 23 April 2015

Parque da Gale


18th April

Time to move on, we’ve been in the countryside on our last two stops, we decide to move 30 miles down to the coast, to a town called Vale De Parra, near Albufeira 37°05'33.5"N 8°18'42.8"W, there are plenty of bar’s, restaurants etc, and just over a mile to the beach,

To Da Gale

We are staying on a site called Parque da Gale.  6.50€ p/n with EHU and 4.50€ without. The facilities are spot on, and the onsite wifi is exceptional, without the need for my wifi booster in the van. Having rushed down to watch the game, Swansea were soundly beaten by a hungry Leicester side fighting for their Premier status, disappointing but fair result.

DSCN0081




DSCN0083
Some pics of the site


19th April

Day 2:  Strolled down to Lorenco Beach, Max was able to stretch his legs, another great beach, it stretches 5km to Armação de Pêra, On the walk down we pass some exceptional villas, all with pools.
DSCN0104DSCN0103


DSCN0086

DSCN0092

DSCN0087
Armação de Pêra in the distance
 
DSCN0096

DSCN0091

On the way back we found a bar showing the Liverpool,Villa game, we sat down and relaxed, at 3.30€ for our two drinks it be rude no to.


20th – 22nd April

Not a lot to report on, except to say we have slipped back into our pre travelling days, and frequent a local bar every afternoon. I put it down to being in Morocco for 3 months, It’s easy to do!

DSCN0101
The Terrapins at our local, doing as much as us in the sun “nothing
 
A few miles up the road they have the annual sand sculpture festival at Fiesa. According to their website it is one of the biggest in the world,

DSCN0097
Having thought it through, not a place to take Max.
 

DSCN0078
Max happy at not being in Morocco, Pork sausages at last

Short blog this week, and only 5 days.  I will probably come in for some criticism from (some) family members in Wales, but we are planning to visit some places where I’m not sure how we will fair with wifi? 
The weather has improved the last few days, and it's getting a lot hotter, the BBQ comes out most days, we are enjoying Portugal.
We will move on tomorrow, and start the slow route back, our plan at the moment is to leave Portugal at the end of the month, drive through Northern Spain, Southern France, Italy and upwards.


23rd April

Reluctantly leaving this morning having spent the last 5 days lazing about. we are driving up to the Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana to a small town called Mina de Sao Domingos, where there is a deserted open pit mine close to some lakes,  37°40'20.0"N 7°30'15.0"W  Number 10779 CamperContact

To Parque Natural
It’s a free campsite, I will update, and let you know in next weeks blog!

Friday 17 April 2015

Deja Vu


10th April


Once again we get caught out on the many slip roads and turn offs that make up the Seville highway system! Spaghetti junction has now’t on this place. A few errors later and we are on the E1 heading west, then going south on the A483. We drove along side the Parque Nacional de Doñana to our stop at Matalascanas, a free Aire. 36°59'00.4"N 6°31'45.2"W  Ideal for an overnight stop.

To Matalascanas


Matalascanas is a beautiful area with 7km of beach, that then stretches through the national park to Sanlucar de Barrameda, and up to Huelva approximately 60km in total. The beach is abundant with clams, with many fishermen using a strange contraption to catch them, it’s basically a metal mesh cage with a net on the end, which they then tamp the sand in shallow water and rock the pole forward and backwards to catch the clams in the net. There are many people swimming, but still a tad cool for this chap.

imagesDMQ3391G
The clam man . It looked hard work
Picture courtesy of the Net “forgive the pun”
 
DSCN0024
 
DSCN0027
Also plenty of fish judging by the rods

DSCN0029
We are parked behind this Bar/Restaurant
 
DSCN0031
View from the van
 
DSCN0028
I think you are allowed to breathe here?
 
The weather today is hot, were parked up behind a small beach bar, and literally 100m from the sea on the edge of the national park, and all this for free, what a life eh. We took a walk into the town and look at the many villas here swimming pools galore, there are so many up for sale, a quick check on the internet tells us we will have to make do with the van till our numbers come up on the lottery.
 
 

11th April

We were the only van there at Matalascanas last night, we slept well with the aid of a few cervezas from the bar. A French van pulled in as we were leaving.
Today we are heading back into Portugal, I need internet for the football and to watch the Grand National.
We drove along the coast through the park, a fantastic road, we didn’t spot one deer even though there were numerous road signs warning you to drive careful with their picture depicted on it , there are also wild boar, lynx and mongoose in the park, although I don’t think you have a cat in hells chance of spotting them? 

imagesDNW74MYS
We passed hundreds of these signs and saw zilch
 It was then onto Huelva “a fantastic looking city” then up to pick up the E1 and onto Portugal avoiding the A22 toll road once you enter!  
to Moncarpacho

We arrived just after midday in Moncarapacho, the weather was again hot. The site is outside of the town nestled in the countryside, easily found just follow the route 66 signs, 37°04'51.8"N 7°45'25.4"W. The cost is 10€ p/n with all the facilities including wifi, if you stop 3 nights the 4th is free.
Once again Sam has found a great place, it has a western theme, there appears to be a bar or should I say saloon onsite, and a few other farm animals
DSCN0033

DSCN0034
The wifi lounge
 
DSCN0038
Reception/Office area
 
The internet is good through my wifi booster hooked up to my PC, I am able to watch the game, although wifi up on our phones is intermittent. The infamous Lawro has gone for a 1-1 draw, finally the penny has dropped in that thick nugget brain, and he picks up points. I then sat back awaiting the big race, while following the live scores.
A disappointing result, Rocky Creek loses a shoe half way round and doesn’t land the expected windfall, but followers of my blog will have made amends with Alvarado, who finishes 4th and was trading at 25/1 in the morning.


12th April


We decide to take up the offer and stay 3 days, getting the 4th buckshee, The site does not have a lot to do as it’s to far from the main town, what it has got is some nice walks, The whole surrounding area is awash with fruit trees of every description, Fig, Orange, Lemon, Tangerines, Olive, Almond and Loquats, we are able to pick as many as we like, no shortage of lemon for the G&T, I’ve never eaten so many Oranges and Tangerines, even on Xmas day as a kid, and the Loquats are delicious if you've never tried them.

DSCN0052
Loquats in abundance, overhanging the road.
 
DSCN0055
All picked from the side of the road, we only pick what we can eat.

I caught the late game a pearler,  It wasn’t the same Man U we played first game of the season or at our place, they have a new look about them, the confidence is there, City will probably buy a new team in the summer, they have the dosh!

DSCN0039

 DSCN0040

DSCN0042

DSCN0043
A few more pics from the site.
 
 

13th –14th April


The last two days we have been doing what we have grown accustomed to, relaxing and taking things easy, I have been downloading lots of films from YouTube courtesy of my brother, thanks for the heads up. This site appears to be a resting ground for old van’s and caravans, It would have been a great place for my old Talbot, there are a few full timers here and a few have left their vans here to use as a bolthole, you can see the vans have not moved in years, there are some static caravans here also.

DSCN0036

DSCN0044
I’ve not seen sheep this size before.
 
DSCN0051
Max was not keen on the array of animals here, he had a go at the pot bellied pig
 
DSCN0048
And definitely disagreed with the Ostrich, It’s not been a good trip for him, Bless
 
The weather has been a bit low key the last two days, I’ve heard that the UK is inline for a heat wave that will last three months? Hopefully it will improve here.


14th April


Set off today, after the rain and thunder had abated at 9am? Yes we have had a few shitty days to be honest, although later in the afternoon it was sunny, but not as hot as you’d expect at this time of the year. We drove to Olhao to pick up provisions, then onto today’s destination to meet up with some friends we had met in Morocco, namely Colin and Sandra and Dave, also Phil and Mena who had came over to Morocco the same time as the other MHF convoy on the 15th Jan, but unfortunately our paths never crossed. However due to an administration error by the chief navigator we ended up on a site 17km away from where we had arranged to meet them. 
We arrived at our co-ords and was greeted by the owner, a very friendly Dutch guy called Andy, Sam says what a coincidence, the owner of the site we had planned to stay at in a few days time, his name is Andy and Dutch? Good I thought, we have killed two birds with one stone. After setting up we waited on the arrival of the others. I went on to the MHF forum later in the afternoon and saw a posting saying they were on the new site sitting in the restaurant, a pint and a three course meal 7€? Alarm bells ringing I said to chief navigator that the others have arrived, but are not on our site,  there is no restaurant on this site? That’s the co-ords you gave me, came the disclaimer!  You copied them down from Sandra’s post I said in return. Anyways we are here now, no more driving today, besides I’ve started into the tins. A minor blip in the grand scheme of things, to be fair having travelled close to 6000 miles, with very few incidents, I’m not about to sack the navigator/chef/teas maid/housekeeper. well not 3000 miles from home.
We are tucked in a pretty valley, “Vale Fuzeiros” near to the town of São Bartolomeu de Messines. 37°16'41.9"N 8°14'28.7"W
 
To Messinas

The site as I said is owned by a Dutch couple, It has not been open long, there are so many sites opening all over Portugal due to the Police clamping down on wild camping, having said that there are still many places you can wild  in the countryside and coast.  but not so much on the Algarve anymore. The cost is 6€ a night all services, good wifi but no EHU.

DSCN0075

DSCN0065

It’s a nice set up, quite a few vans, mainly Dutch, German and British. We intend to stop here a few days and catch up on the laundry etc, there are some good walks we can take Max on also.



15th –16th April


The area around here is abundant with wild boar and deer, it’s the speciality of the local restaurant, along with goat. Wild boar hunting takes place year long, with the use of dogs, and we see many signs on our walks. There are 185 hunting reserves in Southern Portugal alone.

DSCN0066
Beware Hunting Camp?
 
DSCN0059

DSCN0057
I was quite Impressed with this find in the middle of nowhere,
The remains of an old well, with mechanical water displacement.

The weather the last two days has been a bit cloudy albeit warm. We have been on a few yomps, and followed some interesting trails, and got lost on a few to, the main trees in the valley are Eucalyptus and Cork. You can see the evidence of this on the cork trees as the lower bark/cork is removed.
  DSCN0067

DSCN0072
Ready to be shipped off for the finest wines or port
 
DSCN0062
The campsite set in the valley
 


17th April



The weather today is better and it’s forecast to be getting hotter. Our plans are to stay another week around this area or South, then moving up along the N2 towards Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana where there are three sites, then onto Monsaraz, Estremoz, Portalegre and upwards(y). We try not to plan to far ahead.
On todays walk we came across a small cafe, we decided to have a coffee and a large brandy and sit and relax for five, the cafe is rustic as you’d expect in rural Portugal, it’s as far removed from the dapper villas and chic restaurants of the Algarve,

DSCN0074
Conservation at it’s best at the small cafe
 
No sooner had we our coffees served, a chap came in with a large German Shepherd, and that’s when all hell broke loose, another of Max’s pet hates, we ended up downing our hot coffee and double brandy in record time as Max was remonstrating with his new pal, we made our exit, much to the amusement of the locals as I carried Rocky out, “to save him from being eaten”.
 
DSCN0070
I have come across several of these old wells now
 
Well it seems that font of football knowledge, that infamous boil on my arse Lawro has predicted Leicester to win this weekend. His short love affair with Wales only Premier team over!  Maybe the last two weeks he was concussed?
On a brighter note I see that Wales have moved up another place again to 21st in FIFA world rankings,  if we beat Belgium in our crucial next game we will go above England for the first time in our history, now there’s an incentive for the team, what’s more it will make us a No1 seed for the first time in a WC draw.

Thursday 9 April 2015

Goodbye North Africa, Hello to Europe

4th–5th April



Yesterday I spotted a familiar face on site, it was Alain Giletti the French ice skating champion of way back when, who we met at Merzouga. His female travelling companion had to leave due to an injured back, I guess the off roadin’ may have took it’s toll. He had tried to change his ticket at Tangier Med but it would have cost to much, so he is staying till the 28th travelling solo. It was handy he turned up, I was helping one of his French patriots to set up his satellite dish he had recently bought in Morocco, the instructions were in English, but I was having problems in the communication dep't and Alain speaks good English.
A Dutch convoy arrived later, about 20 vehicles or more, they were on an organised tour similar to the British equivalent of Desert Detours, the “Team Leader” arrived earlier setting out numbered cones, when the others arrived sometime later they were pointed to their allotted slot between the cones,  Now I’ve got nothing against these tours but it looked all too regimental for us, everything seemed so organised, a tour of the medina to an evening meal at a nearby restaurant, a blackboard was erected near the reception, names had to be registered for the jaunts. It’s a good business, but Morocco in my opinion you do at your own pace, stay as long as you like and leave when it suits yourself, that’s what the freedom of the Motorhome gives you? I’d hazard a guess our three month trip in Morocco including tyres and repairs, clothes and numerous other things for the van, is roughly what they paid for their one month tour,  they still have to pay for fuel  and meals also. Don’t worry about travelling here on your own, because you'll always meet up with other motor homer’s going the same way or point you in the right direction.
I’m not sure if Lawro has been reading this, but this week he was saying he had been getting stick from Swansea fans for his predictions, he also noted that we would have single figure points going on his knowledge to date. This week he had predicted us to win for a change?  I hoped it was not a bad omen, and thankfully we won with ease,  hopefully he will now put away the bad blood he has against the the only Welsh premier team and move on, unless he’s a closet CCFC fan.

IMG_3366
Alain Giletti et moi
 
The last two days we have been preparing ourselves to re enter Spain, also making a list of essentials we need, the first point of call will be to one of the many large supermarkets in Algeciras. We have all but finished our wine stock and I have two beers left, I will also seek out some pig products, ham, bacon, sausages and pork chops, something we have missed while being in Morocco.
Morocco has been a great country to visit, it has so many different features, I think I've used every superlative to describe the country in our time here, and probably missed a few along the way?  We have travelled on some of the worst roads imaginable, and some of the most scenic we are ever likely to drive on, we’ve been on some great and not so good campsites, there is so much more to see that we have not been able to fit in on this trip, we have seen the devastation the floods caused and their attempt to rebuild, and saw wealth and poverty side by side, but the true charm of the country is it’s people, they are friendly,trustworthy, generous and humble people.




6th April


Our tour of Morocco


We have been in Morocco 89 days. travelled 2724 miles, stayed at 36 places and visited many more, our average living cost per day was £17 for two people and a dog, this figure includes diesel, gas, food, wifi and campsite fees. I have not included alcohol, how can you in a Muslim country?  Actually our alcohol cost per day was £3.19 for the two of us, not bad a tad over 20 quid a day! We know you can do it a bit cheaper, as most sites we used EHU to run our fridge due to not having enough LPG.

This morning we left Chefchaouen and drove up through Tetaouen and onto Tangier Med to get the ferry over to Spain, a pleasant drive, dual carriageway for most of the way from Tetaouen, a rarity over here, a small section of toll road and we were in Tangier Med.

IMG_3371
Leaving Tangier Med

Unfortunately we missed the ferry we intended to catch by minutes, the ramps were being raised as we arrived, so it was a four hour wait for the next, which then turned into six hours before we departed?  It was 8.30 Moroccan time, or 9.30 in the evening Spanish time by the time we exited customs. We decided to stop at Lidl’s car park in Algeciras, “we had stayed here the night before we entered Morocco” it was close by and we were able to grab ourselves a McDonalds meal, the choice was limited at that time of night on a trading estate. A few Bombay Sapphires later we turned in, shattered.



7th April


We are back in Europe and the weather is abysmal, it’s overcast and blowy. Restock our alcohol cupboards and obtain plenty of pig products from Lidl, Then fill up our LPG bottles at Los Barios and onto La Linea. The Aire is a short walk to Gibraltar, It's outside the Estadio Municipal de La Línea de la Concepción, 36°09'28.6"N 5°20'20.3"W it’s quite basic with emptying facilities but no water or leccie, but at 3€ it has other benefits namely a sports bar . We took a stroll into Gib for some duty free, and stopped for a pint of Guinness, nectar from the gods! I also bought a new camera, as mine had given up the ghost in Morocco. The weather reminds me of Britain, It’s blowing a hoolie and it’s noticeably colder than it was in Morocco, It’s the first time I've worn jeans in months! Walking across the runway in Gib, we were walking at an angle and Max was getting blown from side to side. Shopping over it was back to the van for pork chops.
I went across to the sports bar, the team Real Bolompedica Linense were founded the same year as the mighty Swans, what’s more they play in Black and White.

IMG_3368


IMG_3375

IMG_3383
Ticket Office
 
I took a tour of the clubhouse after speaking to someone of Importance, and was able to walk onto the field through the tunnel, Then it was into the bar which I had originally came here for, and a few slurps with some of the players who had been training that night. I could have sat there all night, contented with beer in hand, absorbing the atmosphere, but unfortunately my pass was only valid a short while and it had run out.
Back at the van, Sam had cooked the chops and they were delish! a few more beers and a bottle of wine later we were ready to turn in.



8th April



The wind did not abate last night, it was dreary black skies above when we surfaced, so we made a plan to move on and find better weather. We had talked about our plans when we were in Morocco and we changed our original route, we would no longer be going up the Spanish coast “I’m not a lover of the Costas”  but across into Portugal and up, we have been told that the weather in Portugal was better than Spain at this time and with no internet to find out we set off to Gelves on the outskirts of Seville. The further we drove the better the weather became, tackling the traffic in Seville with the numerous junctions, if your in the wrong lane you need to act quick!  We made it to Gelves and our stop for today, on the outskirts of Seville. The sun was shinning, we’d made the right decision.

To Gelves

The Aire  37°20'21.1"N 6°01'27.0"W is in a marina set in a nice area, at 12.10€ p/n and 2.80€ for leccy if required, It has all the facilities with good showers,”unlike Morocco the hot water comes from the red tap” and wifi, it’s handy for the shops just down the road, and what’s more it has a bar 50 metres from where we are parked up. 

DSCN0016


DSCN0017
A bar and some shops under the apartments
 
DSCN0015

DSCN0012
The Rio Guadalquivir run’s along side. It exits at Sanlucar de Barrameda
 
 


9th April



We stopped another day at Gelves, while walking alongside the riverbank we came across a few plaques set into the wall, It’s obvious they liked this area very much and had their ashes dispersed here, we also came across another plaque where the ashes of a Spanish person was Interned into the wall.

DSCN0013
RIP Mike Harper
 
While we walked down to Aldi, this morning, I happened to notice the Marina apartments rental price 15€ per day? £330 a month for a riverside apartment including gas, wifi,  and gym in a nice neighbourhood close to Seville, not bad I thought. “beats the hell out of Roffey”
 
DSCN0021
Not sure how this got here in this football field.
 
We got back just in time, the heavens opened up and we were confined to the van, well for a short time until the sun came back out, the bar across the way is covered as it happens, and it’s warm out.
We will move on tomorrow along the coast of Spain, before heading into Portugal, we will have been on the road 150 days, it seems to be going so quick.

I’m posting this early this week, I’ve been studying the form for the National, It’s a lucky race for me, I have it nailed it down to two nags, my tip for the winner is Rocky Creek, and place claims for Alverado, both of whom I backed last year. Fill your boots, You read it here first!
Disclaimer: Sensible Gambling Only.