Telephone Road

4th Dec

Fisherman's Blues

Today we took a stroll into town to the Vodaphone shop. We walked along the beach to let Max have a run  or two when we got there no queue, straight in no luck? The shop is just an agent for Vodaphone and don't do PAYG sims also he had no data sim cards "having a delivery tomorrow", but he was able to give us an address of a Vodaphone "main" shop in a town between here and Lisbon so we will drive there tomorrow
We headed to the pier, and found a street full of fish restaurants everyone had all kinds of fish on ice in their front windows. We keep finding more to Peniche the longer we are here ?
We walked to the end of the pier where the lighthouse was, and had a breather and then went in search of some fresh fish

 Restaurant near the pier

The end of the pier, it was a fair walk to the end

 

 Marina

Peniche in the distance

So we found a place selling fresh fish and returned to Base camp

 

 It was such a nice day we decided to stop on-route for a frosty and catch up with emails etc. The old Currant Bun was doing it's best to make me drink more

 

 

 Swordfish steaks

Sardines

 Later I cooked up the fish with a side salad, delicious albeit a bit fiddly with the bones

 

 

5th Dec

The Journey

Woke up this morning and thought lets do some baking, a traditional Portuguese cake and a few hours later

Bolo Rainha

It's a bit like a Lardy cake and a hot cross bun

By popular demand I was asked to make a curry again "so good was the last one"

 

So later that day we moved the van for the first time in over a week, filled up with water and emptied the grey waste as we drove past the service area. We then drove to Torres Vedras about 22 miles away to sort out our phones and Internet

Along the way we stopped at a place called Capelas, We were cooking on thin air in the gas department on both bottles were on zilch, we found the garage and filled both tanks up

€17.05 cheaper than the UK €0.72c = 57p a litre. Considering we have used the gas everyday for cooking and heating and the fridge when not on EHU in France and Northern Spain not bad!! and cooking whilst here.

We arrived at Torres Vedras about an hour later found a place to park up and went in search of the shop, found it with ease! only to discover that they could supply us with new phone sims but we would have new numbers!! "not a bit of good and not what we were told in the UK by their trusty sales staff "as we were told once we go PAYG back in the UK, we would have to use the phone once in the first month to retain our numbers, the sims are on their way to us in the UK we are in Portugal.. so the phone fiasco continues. We were able to buy a data sim though so I bought 2? another cracker from good old Vodaphone they sell 4gb sim cards for 7 days whichever the soonest or 1gb for 30 days another legal scam on their behalf.. When we get back we will change providers, and tell em where to shove their data sims too

The town itself was quite nice and in all we managed to do a few things so it was not a total waste of a journey and also I was able to stock up with two 5L boxes of wine €4.99 about 0.59p a bottle, cheapest yet and a good drop to boot

 

 

 Orange tree lined streets

 

They must have known we were coming, they had laid out the Red carpet for us

So it was back to the van and a quiet evening, after happy hour of course to devour the Goan Pork and Mushroom Vindaloo

 

6th Dec

A Little Good News

Sam had emailed her Dad "Neil" last night to enquire if we had any post from good old Vodaphone! he replied quickly back, that there were two envelopes there for us. So this morning after making enquires at the front desk and getting the address, we forwarded the Information over to Neil and he mailed back later, that both sim's are on their way to us. Many thanks Neil, hopefully this will sort us out and put an end to this fiasco..
I got talking to a French chap this morning on site, he asked me where we were heading and I told him down to the Algarve and Morocco in January! He shook his head and said dangerous he then went on to tell me that all French nationals have been advised by their President not to go to Morocco? I later googled and found this info, also I had read that Morocco has just had severe floods down the south, and that it had washed away many of the roads and bridges, killing several people! I am still intent on travelling to Morocco, there will be more room for the Brits now without the 20,000 odd French not there..

It's Saturday! football day so I make one of my specialities an Omelette with some fresh bread, Sam had picked up at the café earlier today, unfortunately for you no pics ! we scoffed it down before realising by then to late.

I'm not expecting to many shocks this weekend, there all pretty straight forward games, a few draws to the strugglers and wins for the top teams. The Big game is tomorrow !!

So we just moped about, and then went down to the bar unfortunately there were a couple of people sitting outside and one had an Alsatian! Max does not get on too well with larger dogs, he was there first "I didn't want a commotion" so we headed back to the van and took it easy.

There was some Vindaloo left so we had that with some side salad "Christ was it hot" always better the next day I say, but this had taken on something more sinister than yesterdays!! We finished it, but we were both wiping our brows neither one willing to give in.

Later on we get an unsuspected call on Skype from our friends, at our local back home. It was so nice to see everyone and have a quick chat. Thanks Charlotte  

 

6th Dec

Let's Go Fly A Kite

There were a few shocks yesterday? A few of the big boys (Chelsea & Arsenal) got turned over. I am hoping those fluke results don't carry onto today!

Into town first thing, get the shopping done quickly! the match kicks off early.We take the beach route it's gorgeous out.

I notice Billy Bridgend had been here with his bag of pens

 

 

Shopping done we head back, not long till kick off I want to watch the stream on the net.

On the way back there are several Kitesurfers out, amazing to watch

 

 

Max chased up and down the beach barking and generally making a nuisance of himself and then it was back home for the footy.

Re-edited

I have had time to reflect, so writing this with a clearer head albeit not happy! Sam set his team up well, We played well for 20mins scored and lost our shape, route one went out of the door for the Irons, and they were the better team. Two Set pieces and they have gone ahead. We loose our keeper "we always get a player sent off against them" bad ref decision "Sakho  handball" he then goes onto score, a bad day at the office we weren't good move on.

It is times like today I don't miss my phone service! I can get no texts, thank god unless by IPhone or Whatssapp and I only get one from my protagonists "I'd have done the same" We have Spurs next Sunday another game I got something riding on..

So down the pub for a few swifty's to cheer me up, but Alsatian man is there again "I wish Max would learnt to socialise" so back to the van it was, and a night in.

For supper tonight, out came the BBQ. Pork Chops and fantastic spicy Portuguese Sausages with a Potato salad and side salad "beautiful"  

 

 

8th Dec

Making Plans for Nigel

I feel a bit better today yesterday gone, today is today..

I got chatting on Whatsapp this morning with a good friend and was able to pin down why the hit's on the blog were half of what they were last week ?   Don't get me wrong I don't suppose anyone is reading this to be honest "you have better things to do" but I had noticed quite a drop in figures ? Then I was told it was being serialised and read in paperback at our local, it's nice to know people are following our trip.

We have also been wondering why there were so many people on the site over the weekend? Also why there was not much hot water in the showers brrr

It so happens that it is a Bank Holiday here today " The Feast of Immaculate Conception" and a lot of the locals had been here for the weekend using their caravans, lots of BBQ's going, people eating alfresco and lots of people at the bar dining and enjoying themselves, so we relaxed also its nice to have a day off.
By the way Portugal get 10 bank holidays. they did have 14 till last year and after public outcry the government will re introduce the four they stole by 2018 compared to our measly 8

This morning we went to the other beach opposite us. Praia do Forte dos Cabanas

It is basically 3 beaches joined, it made a nice change.

 

Max liked it, he soon scattered the seagulls

Then it was into town do a shop, and grab a coffee on the way back. I took some photo's on route

 A canine toilet. Max refused to use it "the last dog had not cleaned up"

I always wondered what happened to Nigel the World Cup predicting Octopus

Our jaunts into town are keeping us fit. They are usually about 3hrs and we are quite tired when we get back and don't really do much. Once again Alsatian man is there at the bar!! So once again we trudge back to the van "hopefully he be gone tomorrow after the bank holiday"

 

9th Dec

 

Tuesday Afternoon

We had a late night last night. We are on a grape diet?

 

It does say on the box it is ideal for everyday consumption

So this morning we woke much later than usual! It's cold today about 14 and cloudy. We decide to chill!!

Sam is doing a roast dinner, it will be the first roast we have had since we hit the road. We will use this as a dress rehearsal for Xmas day. I have also been saving all our off pieces of stale bread from France, Spain and Portugal and decide to make another of my specialties a Bread Pudding. we have had some of these pieces of bread for a few weeks they are rock hard and you need an hammer to break it up, but unlike the bread in the UK it is not mouldy after a few days. Must be something different about their bread? I add lashings of Brandy and leave it to soak overnight

 

Later on the Sunday roast on a Tuesday afternoon is ready (well done Sam) and we sit down and enjoy "I must admit it was the best meal we have had to date"

 

We can hear the power of the ocean it is quite windy, but it is a nice sound.

We stay indoors it's snug and settle down and play some cards.

 

10th Dec

 

Bread and Butter

This morning I got up and put the bread pudding into the oven, and an hour and fifteen minutes later it's done

Lashings of more Brandy on top, and leave to cool

We take a stroll into town , stopping at the office to see if the mail has arrived "not today, maybe because of the Bank holiday" we need to go to the hole in the wall for cash and stop by at Lidl for odds n sods. It's warmer today the beach is deserted apart for the lone Kitesurfer. I watch him for awhile , he is pretty good the way he harness's the wind. 

Back to the camp and stop by at the bar and watch the sun go down

 

We have been talking, everyone has a name for their van? Sam has read two books by fellow travellers and I am reading several blogs. So we decide to call ours Dylan

So we return to Dylan, we have chicken new potatoes and salad! I have also bought a domino set, it will make a change from cards. Hopefully tomorrow if the mail arrives, we will drive to Cabo da Roca the most westerly point of Europe and spend a night there, then onto the Chicken Run in the western Algarve, we have received an email back, they have space for us. So we will probably spend Xmas there and then move back into southern Spain, and onto Algeciras to catch the ferry over to Tangier Med, January 8th 

Note: The bread pudding is fantastic, one of the best I have done.  

 

That Was The Week That Was

27th Nov

Stay

Well we decided to stay a few days at the site, and Sam went to the office this morning and paid up until Sun. This will give us a few days to chill and relax
The site has everything we need it is very large but has enough toilet/shower blocks dotted around.

We were told at the office I could get a data card for my Huawei wifi device at a shop called Worten at a hyper store on the outskirts of town. I was told you can walk it and was given a map and we set off, We weren't keeping track of the time it was a nice walk along the coast, and over an hour later we arrived at the store.

I was able to find a chap that spoke English and asked him if they sold such cards? Yes thankfully was his reply and he took me over to where they were on display! I had walked past these several times and thought they were phones in the boxes and not containing a micro-sim "definitely over the top packaging"

A bit OTT for a micro-sim card

I also bought a 16GB penstick to back up our photos, and then I went into the hyper store and bought quite a lot of groceries not thinking about getting it home. An hour later I emerged happy with myself and loaded up with about 6 carrier bags full "mistake"  the bags were cutting into our hands we transferred some into better stronger bags that Sam had in her handbag fortunately, as some were already breaking! Further down the road we stopped at a bric a brac shop and purchased some garish but purpose built carrier bags and transferred the shopping into these and we could then hoik these over our shoulders and it was a lot easier.
We stopped and had a coffee and got back to the van about 3 1/2 hours later totally worn out and we then chilled for the rest of the day.

28th Nov
A lazy day, so some Stats to date...
We have been on the road 17 days, drove 1800 miles at a cost of £395.00
Spent £99.00 on drink (£5.82 per day) not bad including bars and £154.00 on food

This is the best thing since sliced bread in my opinion, and it has been a blessing when we have been unable to get fresh milk

It does what it says on the tin, and to taste it, it is like full fat milk! remember gold top? great on your coco pops


29th Nov

Take it Easy

Yesterday was just a chilling day nothing much to report so Sat morn I get a call from my Brother, he informs me that the GPS co-ords I am posting on the blog don't work when he cuts and pastes them into google maps, we have a good chat for 20 mins and he says he will look into the problem (he mailed me later with some info)
and we realise we are using an apostrophe ' instead of a min ′ so we had to edit the last two posts and re correct, we also decided to hyperlink them, which enables readers of the blog to click on them and it will take you into google maps to the position.

As is customary for me on a Sat I had a full Welsh complete with Laverbread "I had not had a cooked breakfast since we hit the road" truly scrumptious. With that done we went for a walk to see if we could get to watch any football on TV unfortunately we drew a blank so I was consigned to watching my phone for updates on the Rugby and the Swans v Palace game

Full Welsh Breakfast
 

Wales beat the boks and Swansea drew "poor ref decision once again" so in all not a bad day P.s England won their rugby game also against a tired Australia

The Sun sinking after another glorious day

30th Nov

Sunny Afternoon

Today it has been quiet a lazy sort of day, just mooching about the van chilling.
I was able to fix my rear view camera that had stopped working "it turned out to be a loose connection" since we first started off. Sam has cooked a whole chicken piri piri, and I am now following the footy on the net while Sam is doing some laundry.
Later on we will make a decision on our next move? Do we stay a or do we move on whatever the outcome it will be at a more sedate pace from now on. We will try and hug the coast down to the Algarve stopping along the way. We will eventually like to find a place we can hole up for a while over the Xmas period then in January we will meet up with some folk from the MHfun forum and enter Morocco on the 8th

A couple of views from the campsite

Another fantastic Sunset

 
1st December

Cold December Night

Well it's Dec 1st and we walk along the beach to visit the Intermarche to get some bits and pieces! However when I go in I always come out with sackfull of gear, and today was no different. We only had the one large carrier bag with, us so it was I that had to lug it home on my shoulder, and by the time we got back to camp my shoulder was killing as the bag straps dug into it. So it was a stop at the bar for a frosty one and relax for a while.
This morning we paid for another day here, it's nice and chilled we like the area and the beach, at times we were the only ones walking it this morning. The weather was once again warm and sunny

 It's a fantastic beach, you can see the town in the distance

 

Max at full pelt

So we are undecided at the moment whether to pull out or stay a few more days "such a decision" we have made some plans of our next stops and will be heading down to the Chicken Run Campsite to see what it's like? If we like it we will stay for awhile around there, it seems to tick most of the boxes for us!

Goan Chicken vindaloo for supper tonight! another of my specialities...

Goan Chicken Vindaloo with a side of Tomato and Onion salad and a glass of Vinho Tinto

As I write this the wind is rocking the van like buggery, it was so windy we stayed in and skipped the happy hour now that is windy !!!
Nb. We have been in Portugal 6 days, and last night was the first time we had a drop of the local grog

Woke up this morning to an empty bottle (not bad for €4.69)

2nd Dec

Good Morning To The Night

The storm blew over and we woke to another glorious sunny day albeit a bit chillier than yesterday, it was still 16⁰ but a tad more breezy. We went on one of our exploratory walks after our breakfast "branflakes yogurt n honey" today we walked the other way along the beach coast towards the peninsular, about an hour later we arrived at the tip a place called Baleal, and stopped and had coffee and cakes and watched the surfers.

Graffiti in the men's toilet !! in the little café we stopped at

Billy Bridgend what a Prat

 

We have seen lots of surf shops here in Peniche but had not seen any surfers (it's called the wave capital) or realised how popular it was until today? it seems the best waves were where we ended up, there were dozens of VW / campervans in the car park French, German, Dutch and Portugese and equal amounts of surfers! I googled it later and found this linky.. The beaches here are fantastic, it has also one of the biggest fishing ports in Portugal.

 

 

 

So we wandered back along the coast road, the road pavement also doubles up as a circuit training run with the metres marked every 100 we started off at the tip at 3400 there are exercise things every few hundred meters "step jobbies n situp thing's" did not find a smoke bench though, and we got back to camp an hour later. In all we walked about 5miles or 8Km...

and so it was to the bar to check in, to let people know who may be worrying about our abstinence last night, Learning to Fly by Pink Floyd was playing on the radio. We stopped for awhile

We also decide at to stay another 2 days!! WHY?  We wake up to glorious blue sky's, a beach on our doorstep and everything we were looking for, when we started this trip weather included. As I have said we have plenty of time to head further South, but at the moment it's nice to chill, we feel like we are on holiday now, and we are in no rush "Sorry to the people that just like reading about driving and roads" 
Today we were cut off by our phone provider!!! Good old Vodaphone
We had our phone unlocked before we left Horsham, and we quit our overly priced contracts, we were told in the shop we could go into any shop abroad and get pay as u go sim's, thus enabling us to keep our numbers.
We have since, whilst travelling received an email saying our sim;s will be posted to our home address?  So now we have no phone between us hopefully we can sort it in a shop over here, or by customer services!! Good old Vodaphone grrr

3rd Dec

Some Sunny Day

Another day and not much to report except that the mighty Swans took apart Harry's star studded jet set crew from London last night "QPR" I had the game on the net, and to be honest could not see how we had not scored until Ki broke the deadlock in the 78th min all credit to their keeper Green. Next up big Sam's hoof it in the air seals at West Ham on Sunday "a lot riding on this game financially"
We found a Vodaphone shop in Peniche on the Internet, so into town we went to look for it! after some time we unearthed a whole plethora of shops we had not found on our jaunts into previously, it was like a maze as we winded down the side streets Santander and other banks bric a brac shops pretty much everything. Sam went into the Vodaphone shop there were 5 people in the queue and just one person serving on the sole desk. After about 15mins we gave up and decided to come back early tomorrow and try our luck again.

 Fish factories many of them
 

Peniche town
 

One delicacy of Peniche and most probably Portugal in general is salt cod, they seem to sell it everywhere. We passed the Port on the way into town and saw the fishing trawlers and fish factories, we will endeavour to purchase and sample some fresh fish while we are here .