On The Road Again, "Well Sort Of"

9th December 

Today we finally left the Peniche campsite we have been on for the last 30 days, campsite fees £121.58 @ £4.05 per day, campsite fees are a heck of a lot cheaper here than the UK, we love Peniche and are sorry to be leaving, but will no doubt return in 2016 at some time.

Another glorious day at Peniche

One of the many cool beaches

surrounding the peninsula of Peniche

 

We decided to check out the free Aires whilst here for future, the first one we stopped at was on the cliff tops 39.372275 -9.376279 stunning views albeit a tad windy, after a coffee we drove into the town and stopped at the Aire opposite the fire station 39.35854 -9.37749, it's quite popular with a few vans parked up, a few look like they are here for the winter? we topped up our internet card then we drove a few miles up the road to Baleal 39.37252 -9.33631, another great place and the one we decided to stop at for the evening, no more than 50m from the sea with a few bars and restaurants and popular with the surf set, again there were a few vans parked up.

The short journey to Baleal

 The day before we left this Norwegian bus conversion pulled onto site

The view from the cliff top Aire

View from our van on the Baleal Aire

 

A short video of  three Aires in Peniche

10th December

The next day we decided to head towards the Algarve. Skirting Lisbon and after a pleasant drive through some lovely countryside we arrived at our stop at Barragem Pego do Altar 38.420502 -8.392030. it's on a lake and the views are superb. Barragems are dams used for hydro electric and there are plenty in the interior of Portugal, many have Aires also.

 The view from the van window

 

 There was a nice bar/restaurant 100m from the Aire

11th December

After a peaceful night the first in a month in which we could not hear the surf we headed south to an Aire in Minas do Lousal 38.03603 -842900, unfortunately although it looked a pleasant spot with a few vans parked up, the downside was there was quite a few large dogs roaming around and there were cats galore, not the place for Max, so we headed to another place towards Faro called Ameixal 37.365372 -7.971610, friends of ours had stayed here on their way a week or so ago, when we got there it was full and there appeared to be many full timing there, although we could have had a spot as another British van was just about to leave I got chatting to them Neil and Fiona from Liverpool and they were heading to Mikki's at Pera,
I didn't get a feel for it and decided we would head straight to Mikki's  on the Algarve as well 37.127819 -8.323050, the campsite has only been open since Feb of this year and is still work in progress,  a great place. The owners are very friendly, the site has all the facilities and they do a deal for stays of 7 days or more. 

There is also a bar on site a big plus. Our friends Dave and Sue who we met earlier in the year are staying here for Xmas so we will hole up here and spend the festive period here. Whereas on the last trip we seemed to be constantly moving, well we did cover over 10,000 miles, this trip will be more laid back with longer periods at one place or another.

24th December

We bought a bike a few days back off a young British couple, a folding bike so we're able to fit it in the van's garage, it will come in handy for getting shopping etc. local, although I may source a bike rack eventually as space is at a premium in the van especially when we load it up with our booze for the three months we plan on staying in Morocco again after the new year.

 The bar area at Mikki's

 

 A few Pics of Mikki's place

We have met a few other British couples here at Mikki's, Martin and Michelle and their friends Heather and Jayne all from Leicester have decided to have Christmas dinner together, all the girls will be busy and it should be a good day. We have permission to use our fire pit and agreed to have a drink with Gerald and Lesley a Welsh couple and Neil and Fiona and whoever else wants to drop by.
You may have noticed I havn't mentioned how the mighty Swans are doing this year after a great season last year, well Gary Monk has been sacked "not soon enough in my opinion" and we are now in a relegation battle manager less going into the busy Xmas period, the font of football knowledge Lawro has been quite frequently predicting wins for us unlike last year, I feel he is putting the kybosh on us.
Well that is it, another short blog, the weather forecast for Xmas day is hot n sunny, I hope everyone has a great day and enjoyable festive season.
Happy New Year to all.

Static in Peniche

1st Dec 2015

Well we have been here in Peniche just over three weeks, the days are spent lounging around in the sun or taking long walks along the many beaches that surround us. Peniche is on a peninsular and we have a beach either side of the campsite both are a few km long, it is famed for its surf, and there are hundreds of surfers from of all nationalities from far and wide here.
We had a few days of heavy winds last week and one evening the heavens opened up, but apart from that the weather is great although still chilly when the sun drops.

Max seeking shade from the midday sun

 

One of the many beach bars we tend to stop at for a coffee or something stronger!

Another day spent relaxing

 

I took the van to Peniche Auto to get the problem with loss of power and the black smoke that bellowed out when it was climbing in low gear, the mechanic started the engine, revved it up squeezed a few large rubber pipes then jacked the van up and slid underneath. a few minutes later he emerged with what looked like a stud/bolt that had a circlip attached, he told me it was kaput! and after much searching they did not have one, he then found a smaller stud and nut and brazed it onto the original, sawed a piece off and went back under and fitted it, started the engine and no more black smoke, he explained that the bolt was a part of the linkage on the turbo, well that's what I gathered from our conversation, his English poor my Portuguese abysmal! I asked to look under the van so if there was a problem in future I would know what I was looking for, it then came time to pay, he filled in his worksheet and put the time spent 1.25hr and took it to the office, the guvnor took it and they had a brief chat, then wrote the figure down and handed it to me, €38! to say I was happy was an understatement, I quickly paid up and dropped the mechanic €10 and drove off well pleased thinking how much I would have been mugged over for in the UK.

photos I took of the linkage from under the van

 

Anyhow I had asked previously on the WC forum if anybody had suggestions, and was told it could be the turbo or EGR valve? when I updated the thread one chap who obviously is mechanically minded replied this,

 

"From your photos you have a variable vane turbo fitted to your van. The boost pressure on these is controlled by the vehicle's ECU rather than the old style waste gate. The ECU switches a vacuum solenoid on and off, which in turn operates a vacuum servo (the silver cylinder on the left) and this in turn pulls a linkage (which is what failed) and operates the variable vanes inside the turbo. The default position for the vanes is no boost, so when the linkage failed it effectively switched the turbo off, hence the knackered turbo symptoms. When the guy squashed the large pipes he was checking to see if there was any pressure in the inlet system and presumably finding soft pipes he realised that the turbo wasn't working. If you had been at a plug and play main dealer I recon you would have been ripped off for a new turbo and wouldn't have seen much change out of a grand"

 

We had been using our 3 data sim card we had been using in the UK all the way through France and Spain, it worked well and we were able to top it up, but 3 does not have a partnership in Portugal so we bought a Vodaphone data sim card again like last year for €12.50 for 4gb valid for 7days once activated, we then found out about MEO a new Portuguese provider and found out we can buy a 15gb card for €15 valid for 15days,  and 4g also super fast, needless to say we have now kicked Vodaphone into touch, "thieving barstewards" 

 

One day we took a ride up to the headland to a place called Cabo Carvoeiro, another place you can wildcamp, the coastline in Portugal is fantastic.

 

 

 

We have also been geocaching here, there are over twenty in the area although they seem a tad harder to find than back home?

Our first find, it was supposed to be a small container? we unearthed a ovaltine jar! It was easy to find so I put a clump of earth and weeds to make it a little trickier.

 Our second find was again easy once we were in the area and with the given clue

 

 

 Pics taken from Baleal the other end of Peniche

 

Well that's about it for this update, we are planning to stop here for another week who knows maybe longer, then hug the coast down to the Algarve, unless the weather changes and force us to move sooner, we may wildcamp a few days on some of the places around here before we leave?

We also hope to meet up with a couple we met this April at Monsaraz Dave & Sue, they are making their way down from their home in Brittany, and are heading straight to the Algarve to spend winter, it would be nice to catch up with them again.

 

 

 

Never Ending Tour, Going West

We decided to stop at Sainte' Marie till Monday before entering Spain. On Saturday whilst taking Max for a walk we spotted Coypu's along the river bank, there were quite a few, and some as big as Max, they seemed used to humans and didn't seemed fazed, there were Terrapins also but they all shot off on the sight of Max.

 

 

So it was then onto and into Cataluña Spain after 5 lovely days at Sainte' Marie.

 

 

 To Cervera

 

When we left it started to rain and as we drove west it steadily became worst, we arrived in Cervera and it was lashing down and blowing a hoolie, the rain did not relent for 6hrs, and I can honestly say I can't remember it raining that long and hard even in Wales! the noise in the van was nothing like we had heard before, it was like sitting in a tin shed, and with the TV up nigh on full blast we struggled to hear the film we watched that night.

 

 

 To Agreda

 

Tuesday we awoke to bright sunshine, we did not look the town over so cant say what it was like, maybe on the way back, the Aire was free with services N41.678101 E1.283900. Our plan was to do another 4hr drive to Agreda a place we visited earlier this year for a day and ended stopping two. We are doing longer drives this time around such is my need to get further south to the warmer climes. Agreda is also a free Aire and worth the visit N41.847431 W 1.930020 again with services.

 

Wednesday 6th Nov we left Agreda and travelled to Aranda de Duero, a nice drive along the Autivo, when we got there, there were road works and the bridge across was closed the diversion took us thru some narrow streets and then the satnavs tried to take us up a side street with balcony's that with one look was a recipe for disaster, we stopped in a car park and had lunch and then put plan B into operation and drove to Cuellar.

 

 

To Cuella

 

 Not for the first time on this trip we were the only van parked overnight.

A free Aire parked next to the castle with services N41.400829 W4.320000. Unfortunately when we got there the heavens opened up again so we cracked a few tins and had our supper finished with a few large wines.

Thursday was a better day so a walk around the castle and town, we then set the satnavs for Zamora, probably our final day in Spain.

 

 

To Zamora

 

Once again the drive was a doddle, the roads in Spain are first class. Zamora is a busy city and it was a relief to find the Aire on the other side, it's a shame we did not stay on the Autivo for a few more junctions instead of having to drive through the city!

There are two Aires in Zamora for some strange reason both have no services, but both are free, the one we stopped at is adjacent to a large park N41.503601 W5.755430. One small setback was that the park seems a meeting place for trumpeters, and there was a god awful racket that went on for a few hours while they practised. 

 

 

To Freixo

 

 

Well it's the 6th November and we entered Portugal 20days earlier than last year, our first stop is to Freixo de Espada a Cinta 41.088507 -6.817337, we stayed here for two days in May, and one of the reasons for our return is to pick up a set of van keys I lost in the supermarket,  they were waiting in the check out till for us. Freixo is a nice town the Aire is free along with EHU, it also has some nice bars. the weather is much better, quite hot. We spent two days there then drove down to the city of Coimbra 40.198540 8.428050, it is the 3rd largest city after Lisbon and Porto and it is a very nice place with plenty of old buildings and roman history.

 

 

To Coimbra

 

When we got here the weather was scorching, there was plenty of people enjoying their Sunday afternoon along the river, and in the many bars and restaurants. The Aire is again free and for 20 vans, although I counted over 50?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following day we set off for another place we stayed at last year Peniche 39.35389 -9.36083 we will again be staying at the municipal campsite 5.60e per day inc EHU and wifi in the new bar.

It's nice to be back here and we are thinking of stopping again for a few weeks or more, the weather is fantastic, the beach to die for and a surfers paradise, now where did I put my board!

 

To Peniche

 

I also want to put the van into a garage while we are here, as it has been loosing power up hills and blowing black smoke, possibly EGR valve?

 

 There are many spots to wildcamp in Peniche

 

Clear blue sky's

 

 

 

I'm pleased to find out the new bar still has a happy hour from 5-7pm

2 pints = 1.80e