The Gem Trail

 

3rd April

 

We took the 12pm ferry from Tangier Med back over to Spain, filled up the LPG tanks in Los Barrios and drove over to Rota where we had stayed in January, the weather wasn't that good !!

The next day we headed into Portugal to Altura 37.171169 -7.500630 again it was an overcast day , the Aire is free and adjacent to the beach.  Altura is a nice town you can walk along the beach to Manta Rota.

 



 

 

5th April

 

Quarteira today, and the sun was out and it was a short drive past Faro near to Villamoura 37.073200 -8.077300 the Aire has all services at €3 unless you arrive on a Tuesday like us, it is then taken over by a large market that takes place every Wednesday and the motorhomes are allowed to park in the car park to the side for free.

Wednesday we took a walk around the market, bought some clothes and odds n sods then headed over to Mikki's Place another site we had stopped at last xmas.

Our friends Gerald and Leslie were still there, that's our drinking buddies sorted!!

We have come back to Pera so I can get new front tyres since we punctured one in Morocco, and also get my brakes looked at, as the warning light has come on.

 

16th April

 

10 days later with our new front tyres and new brake pads we said our goodbyes to Mikki's and began our tour of the many Barragems in Portugal.

 

We passed through Silves on our way

 

Barragem de Arade

There are two spots to stop at here 37.239373 -8.377699 at the top of the hill, a nice spot overlooking the lake but it was busy, there was a caravan that appeared to be full timing there also, or where we parked at the lower end 37.23817 -8.37756, most of the places on the lakes are wild camping with no services, this was a nice spot to start off our Gem tour as we would call it.

 

17th April

 

Leaving Arade we drove a short distance to Barragem do Funcho, like most of the lakes we will visit, we used Google maps and the Mapsme app on our phones, we then took co-ords of small roads often dirt tracks leading to the lake we visited 3 places that you could wild camp then on our way to an Aire we found another 39.275320 -8.312626, I wont be listing all the co-ords just the more suitable ones in my opinion.

 

Do Funcho

 

We then went to an Aire at Bartholomou de Messines 37.254410 -8.285940 to use their facilities, it's a free Aire in the town usual facilities close to many shops, there were quite a few French vans parked up. It was then onto Barragem Santa Clara 37.562273 -8.341155. This was a nice spot, whilst there the grocery van that stops at many of the campsites on the Algarve drove by and pulled in for an opportunistic sale, as it was we needed bread and some veg and he left a happy chap.

 

 

 

Santa Clara

 

18th April

 

Continuing our gem trail we stopped at Barragem Monte da Rocha 37.72730 -8.28780  a nice enough spot just off the N261-4 but decided to head on to our final spot for the day at Barragem de Roxo 37.93578 -8.08106, this is a recognised camper spot on Campercontact not to far from the lake itself.

 

 Roxo

 

 

 19th April

 

Today we stopped at Barragem de Odivelas 38.18391 -8.11305, there were three other spots all good for a stopover, this was a nice place unfortunately it was raining so we decided to view a few more. 

 

 

 Like many of the Dams there is a marble pillar with the date it was constructed, most we have found were built in the 50's and 60's

 

Odivelas

 

The next being Barragem Vale de Gaio 38.246379 -8. 29387 again a lovely spot with great views over the lake.

 

Vale de Gaio

 

Finally back at a familiar place Barragem Pego do Altar 38.420343 -8.393893. We stayed here in December, this happens to be one of our favourite spots, there are several places to park here, it has good facilities and a toilet block with hot showers, there is also a nice bar/restaurant which we would avail ourselves to.

 

Pego da Alta

 

We spent three days at Pego whilst there we met an English couple Chris and Annie, who are traveling around like ourselves, one evening we put the world to rights over a few beers and quite a bit of wine, a nice couple I wish them well.

 

 

22nd April

 

We set off today going back south to a few lakes we wanted to visit, first up was Daroera, we thought it was uninspiring.
 

Daroeira parking either end of the dam.

 

We then drove to Fonte Serne 37.87990 -8.49762, this was a good spot overlooking the lake and noted in our book,

Fonte Serne
 

And finally we drove to Barragem Campilhas 37.84652 -8.61866 this place was fantastic, so much so we spent two nights here.

 

 

The view from the van

 

 

 

Campinhas

 

 24th April

 

First stop today would be Barragem Morgavel 37.90932 -8.75288 this place is close to Porto Covo, has a nice sandy beach and definitely one to stop at for future

 

Morgavel
 

Morgavel scouted we then made our way to Barragem Alvito, on route we stopped at the Aire in the town of Santiago do Cacem for services 38.012440 -8.694440 then drove onto Fusos, again there were many places to park, we eventually opted for a place close to the lake 38.3923 -7.86314.

 

 One of the many places on Fusos we found to park up
 

 

Like many of the dams we have come across, when they were flooded villages were cut off from their neighbours, roads were flooded over.

At midnight I was woken by the sound of loud bangs, it sounded at first like gunshots I opened the blinds to see the sky lit up with fire works, I had a birds eye view of the  display from the window, it went on for 10 minutes then went quiet. 

  

 Our view as the sun was setting

 

25th April

 

We left today to check out one of the biggest lakes in Portugal Barragem do Aqueva, this lake splits Spain and Portugal, We stopped in the town of Portel for lunch then went to the first stop on the lake near the town of Amiera 38.29385 -7.55974, this was overlooking the lake a quick scout around we then went to the marina and then we found a spot near the town of Campinho 38.355579 -7.44470 in a park, a beautiful spot overlooking the lake with toilets although levelling up was hard due to the slope of the car park.

 

Portel

 

 

The first stop we found

 

 Marina
 

 We stopped outside this bullring and found many spent fireworks, we later found out it was Liberty day in Portugal. and every town has a firework display
 

Our views from the second stop at Aqueva

 

 26th April

 

We stopped at an Aire in Reguengos de Monsaraz  38.421767 -7.535738 for coffee, then drove to the Aire at Aldeia de Luz 38.342819 -7.374060, there were 6 vans parked up, nice but no views of the lake so we found a small road a few km that led to the lake and made our way there

 

This building in Reguengos de Monsaraz  is now occupied by Roma gypsy's.

 The Aire at Luz

 

The lake was teaming with fish, some very big

 

Our spot for the evening

 

 27th April

 

Today we decided because we were so close to Spain we would pay a visit to Badajoz, the birthplace of my grandfather, it was only 100km away and we would then be able to carry on our tour of the lakes when we re-enter

 

Gelves

 

 Castillo de Alconchel

 

 

Badajoz was a good call, it's a fantastic city with a nice park that runs along the river with many cafes etc. The place is probably nothing like when my grandfather left here in 1904, the Aire is situated next to the park 38.884833 -6.97842 it has all the services and a nice stop.

Gin and Tonics to finish the evening off

 

 

28th April

 

Goodbye Spain we are back in Portugal, we stopped in Elvas to do our laundry at the Intermache supermarket, These supermarkets have designated parking for motorhomes and services and you can stay there for a maximum of 48hrs, it's a shame the UK don't do more like this.

 

The Amoreia Aquaduct of Elvas

UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

Washing done we then went to Barragem da Vigia 38.53985 -7.60875, this was another great stop very quiet and tranquil

 

 

Vigia

 

 

29th April

 

We tried a few more lakes today unfortunately not all are suitable for vehicles of our size, Monte Novo was ok but with no good views and Torega we ended up on a dirt track and again the views were not up to much, but that is why we decided to check out the lakes for places to stay for future visits, we have seen more of Portugal doing this, it has taken us through many small villages and off the beaten track.

 

 Evora

 

For the few poor ones you come across you then find a gem like Divor 38.69982 -7.94199 this was a pearler, another beautiful spot with great views over the lake. Most of the lakes we have stayed at we have been the only persons there, however at Divor we were joined later in the day by another van across the other side of the dam, we will definitely revisit this place.

The van on the far side of where we parked

 

 

30th April

 

A short drive north and we were at Barragem de Moranhao the first spot we found was nice 38.700630 -8.064670 but unable to access the water, we looked at mapsme and saw a few roads leading to the lake.

 

 Maranhao first stop

 

After coffee we found this place, although the last bit of road is dirt track and I wouldn't attempt it if it had been raining, we ended up on a peninsula with great views all around 39.04296 -7.94199
 

 

 

 1st May

 

Today we had a disappointment, after driving to a large lake called Montargil, we saw many side roads all leading to the lake unfortunately every one we turned onto we were greeted with a no camping sign which was a shame the spots were ideal for wilding.

 

 

We are also in the Alentejo region famous for its wines and  have drove on the Rota dos Vinhos a few times today scouting the lakes

 

So we then headed to another favourite of ours from last year Barragem de Povoa 39.48201 -7.54772, this place has all the facilities with a nearby bar which is always a plus.

 

 

The one thing we have noticed with the lakes we've been to before is the level of them! at Pego and Povoa they were considerably fuller than the last time we visited them, not suprising due to the considerable amount of rain they've had in Portugal this year, the other thing is the amount of ticks here! there seems to have been an infestation of them and we groom Max after every walk after noticing a few on him after his jaunts.

 

 

 

Puncture wounds to Max's head.

 

While we were at Povoa Max broke his tethering to the van and lurched himself at a Pyrenean mountain dog belonging to a French couple in the nearby van, I managed to wrestle him free before he was mangled, the dog had his head in it's mouth he would certainly have killed Max, the thing is he will never learn.  

 

 

4th May

 

After 3 relaxing days at Povoa the weather has been great and it was time to move on, first up was Pracana 39.56376 -7.81178 nice but there are better places to wild, we then drove to an Aire in the town of Macao to use its services and also it has an electrical point 39.557201 -7.992370, tanks emptied and the fresh water tank filled we drove on.

 

Pracana

 

From there we tried to stop at Belver, we drove through the town and drove up the narrowest of streets around and down a very steep and twisting road only to find the bridge across under repair and closed, we then checked Google maps and found another road that leads from Belver avoiding the narrow street so it was back up the hill again and over to another spot opposite the Tagus river from Belver called Alamal.

This part of Portugal is very mountainous and by the time we got to Alamal 39.48819 -7.96696 my brakes were red hot so we asked in the nearby restaurant if it was ok to park up for the evening, they said it would be no problem and it was very quiet at night, so we had a few beers and ordered a meal.

 

 

Castelo de Belver overlooks Alamal

 

This turned out to be another nice stopover with a sandy beach and great views

 

 

5th May

 

It started raining today and I mean raining, proper British weather, we decided to give the Barragems a miss having visited 23 to date, mostly due to fact most roads we use to access the best spots are dirt track, and with the rain these become too soft and muddy, so we ended up at the town of Abrantes 39.453331 -8.19560

 

 This again overlooks the Tejo

 

Another nice place but we were unable to see much due to the poor weather

Abrantes also boasts 4 Aires designated for camper stopovers!

 

 

 

 

6th May

 

We are making our way to visit good friends of ours from Horsham that have a house in Portugal, Val and Hollie Topping, we have arranged to meet them on the 7th so we took a look at Barragem Castelo de Bode for places to stop on route providing the access roads are good.

 

 

This was quite an impressive dam

 

39.63041 -8.29423 near Cabero da Moura

 

39.39467 -8.23089 near Lago Azul

 

The lake from a view point

 

We found a few nice places this is another massive lake, but decided to press on closer to our friends place, so todays stop is only14 miles from theirs in a town called Serta, they have two Aires in this small town the one we stopped at is alongside a river that runs from Castelo de Bode 39.800129 -8.100080, this was a beautiful place and somewhere we would return to with good weather.

 

 

 

Carvalha bridge

 

 

short video of Serta

 

7th May

 

Saturday and it's raining again, the forecast says it will be like this for another 6 days, for the first time in ages the jeans come out of the wardrobe. We drove up to Vila Facaia to meet our friends the village has a lot of character a typical Portuguese village, we were met by Val and Hollie and we drove a short distance to their home.

 

 

This property has plenty of character, and they plan to turn it into a guest house, after a tour of the home it was soon beer time and we cooked an indoor BBQ  and settled in for what turned into a mega drinkathon

Sunday we woke with slight hangovers it was raining cats and dogs again, well persisting down to be honest, we had another great day catching up and enjoying a Sunday roast.

 

We are concerned about Max he swallowed a wasp last week and his neck had swollen up, he had also ate a lot of grass ears which made him sick so we are unsure what the lump that is still in his neck, we have decided to take him to a vet tomorrow near to Val's and get him checked over.

 

 

9th May

 

Still raining here and we've read the UK is having a heat wave!!

This morning we took Max into the vets at Figueiros dos Vinhos 8km from Val's place. 

It's a good job Hollie speaks fluent Portuguese and was able to explain to the vet's assistant what his problems were, we were told to come back at 2.30 when the vet would be there and was told due to his nature they would probably have to sedate him! We returned later and thankfully the vet said his wounds were healing and gave him an injection containing pain killers and anti inflammatory medicine although he did have to be muzzled for that, Max sorted we returned and said our goodbyes, we had a great weekend catching up with Val & Hollie also quaffing a fair bit of the local wine! now we know where they live we will visit them the next time we are in Portugal.

We headed east towards Castelo Branco to a small town called Fratel 39.63259 -7.746094 we found the Aire after a walk about the co-ords we had were a tad out, it was a nice spot and would be great sitting outside on a summers evening it's on the outskirts of the town which was quaint, but it was still chucking it down so a night in the van it would be.

 

 

10th May

 

It hammered down again last night and this morning, we made the decision to leave Portugal and head east towards Valencia where the weather is due to break soon.

A drive into Castelo Branco to fill up with LPG and stock up with wine to carry us over while in the UK, we then headed to two more lakes before our final stop in Portugal. 

We stopped for lunch at Barragem Idanha 39.946358 -7.19041, then onto Barragem Penha Garcia 40.045199 -7.012597, this was a lovely spot to stop the night with great views over the lake.

 

Idanha

 

 

Penha Garcia

 

The lake is overlooked by Castelo Penha Garcia

Our final stop in Portugal would be at an Aire in Termas Monfortinho 39.99825 -6.87840, passing the old village of Monsanto built around gigantic granite boulders. Thankfully it had stopped raining on arrival at Monfortinho, we are less than a km from the Spanish border, the town boasts one of the most prestigious hot springs in the country?  

 

Swifts have taken residence at this old Pension

 

11th May

 

Well for the first time in a while it was not raining, although a little cloudy it was dry and warm, hopefully this is a sign of better weather to come?

 

Our tour of Portugal and Badajoz since arriving on 4th April

Roughly 1500km in 38days

 

These are just the places we overnighted, we visited 27 Barragems and 10 Aires in total and found some great spots for future visits,  there are roughly another 100 lakes still to visit, that should keep us going for a few years!