It is upon
us! The rest day is here! So what event to write about a day with the sole purpose
of relaxing and refuelling? Well, I will
try to keep it brief. It was a lovely day. Of course, with a kid, there might
never be such a thing as a perfect day.
The hair in
today’s soup was a familiar one: Molar number four (for Number 3)! Sleep was a
bit rough and he is just that bit less relaxed and more complain-y. After seeing
how wolfishly jagged the other three turned out to be, it is hard to blame him
for it. Still … the bipolar alternating between crying and joy takes a bit of
the chill out of relaxation.
Wait, what is going …
Don’t get
me wrong, there was plenty of that for all of us. Number 3 walked up and down
maybe 100 stairs or more, while Nina and I did some light research, blogging
and a lot of generally not very much. Oh, yes, and a lot of chook chasing for
Number 3. The three resident hens turned out to be of great entertainment
value.
Lunch was
silky smooth scrambled eggs with caramelized onions. One way I found to prepare
eggs even to my liking. We felt we had a good reason to use up all our eggs in
storage, since we could restock for 10ct a piece straight from the coop 20m from
here.
Oh, we gave
the pool another shot with Number 3 – still too cool for him. He was still
quite the trooper though, taking shock to the nether regions with only very
little screaming. After that, we called it a night with some ice cream and a drink
at the bar. Another Portuguese Liqueur called Beirāo. Again, sweet
enough that Nina liked it a bit.
So tired. Yesterday
was worse for me, Flo feels the full brunt today. :S At least, we know exactly
where we’re going to be tonight and that it is probably a nice camp ground. Flo
had chosen another Dutch-run camp ground in Tomar for a rest day and campwerk
had mailed our spare parts to that camp ground last week. Now, there were only
two things: We needed to get there and the spare parts needed to be there.
We got up
and away okay. Number 3 had one of his better nights, breakfast and packing
went smoothly so we even had a good chat with our British neighbour who was
interested in the rooftent.
Our morning
stop was Fórnea, a natural amphitheatre. To get to it, we drove through the
plains, up into the hills. The road itself was nice already. Fórnea was
supposed to be a hike…in our minds…but it turned out to be 300 meters from the
road. Those 300 meters were uphill however. It’s still sunny here with temperatures
over my comfort zone. The views were pretty spectacular though.
Back at the
car, we realized it was already lunch time. Since we liked the road and had
enough food for a roadside lunch with us, we continued through the hills,
looking for a good picnic spot. A view point over the plains provided just
that: Shade and a view. 🙂
The last couple
of full-on days had gotten to us. We decided to cut this one short and head
towards the camp ground in Tomar. Another stop at a big supermarket to stock up
for the next days later, we were on the last stretch. The Pelinos camp ground
is lovely. We had quite a bit of luck to get an amazing spot to park our car
and pitch the tent. Lots of trees provide much needed shade, we even have
enough space for a private sitting area behind our usual set up. There are
chickens roaming free, the owners are nice and Number 3 immediately started to
explore the whole thing. Only…only the spare parts haven’t arrived.
One can just make out the Atlantic some 40km out
poppy in bloom, always an eyecatcher
The knob on the right is where we are going
the valley behind us was also worth a view – like the fieldstone walls
all that to the smell of wild rosemary and thyme
amphitheater make for good updraft, it seems
Here it – all thats missing is the soprano down below
hard to convey the scale, but it was mighty cool
more views west
He was quite irretated by the 10 butterflies flirting around his head
I don’t even … I mean … soooo tired! Or better just drained. Normally, we would take it slow, but we had decided already to go to another of the lovely rustic campgrounds near Tomar. So this is a travel day. We decided super last minute what we would do and got going later than expected.
By the time we reached Peniche, it was already pretty warm. And reasonably late. Well, at least late enough that we could go for the earliest possible lunch. Once again, we sat down as the first patrons at the Restaurante a Sardinha. An old fishermen’s tavern turned restaurant still known for good grilled seafood. But since it has gone through a good bit of touristification, it also catered a vegetarian dish for Nina. This lunch was a bit of a consolation prise for the reportedly excellent seafood we missed at Ericeira last night. It was good and the rugged old waiter (who looked like he would have never dreamed of catering well off tourists in this place) melting to Number 3’s charms was a sight to behold.
And a good view on Berenga island
I strong
armed exhausted Nina into a bit of a detour around the peninsular. The jagged
limestone cliffs and views out to the islands off to the west were worth it.
Even so, still a little more fuel out of the tank.
The town is
primarily known for its surfer beaches. We decided to give Number 3 one more
round in the sand before heading inland for a good while. It was nice but
brutal out in the midday sun. Next time, we will have to see to get some kind
of shelter packed so that the little one can enjoy the sand for a little while
longer.
Knackered we gave it a final push for the day and strolled a bit through the inland town of Óbidos. We managed to sneak in to the medieval old town just before the biggest wave of tourists arrived. That made our little stroll a lot more bearable. Well, actually, we did kind of like it. It was definitively touristy, very much like Carcassonne. The three same things in all shops: Booze (the local version of Ginjiha made from sour cherries), books and chocolate. That’s the things mentioned in the guidebook, that is what you get 😉
In the end,
we chose a camp close to the sea – we thought we might get one more shot at
this west coast sunset. Turned out it was not close enough, but we were glad nonetheless.
Warm showers, cheap and a shady spot for us. Time to rest once more.
Someone is really happy!
And someone really likes potatoes!
A cheeky seagull on a high perch
View onto the fort
A little tunnel connects to the sea
Number 3 further honing his balancing skills
Blue George and the blue ocean (with cliffs)
Rather not have Number 3 climb around on the limestone cliffs
Well, bad
is the wrong word as nothing bad happened. Just a couple of annoying
situations. But we’ll get to it in time.
Today is
Mother’s Day, in Germany at least. In Portugal, it was last weekend but I’m
still going with the German date. It is the day we leave Lisbon, a city we
really enjoyed and hope to be back in, and a camp ground which was so noisy Flo
wore noise-cancelling headphones. It is the day, we pack up and leave to have a
second breakfast at Ikea. XD
Ikea breakfast at Mother’s Day
To be honest, I’ve had the idea when we first arrived and saw the giant “IKEA” sign on the other side of the motorway. So today, after packing up, we went on a bit of a shopping spree. First to Decathlon (brand of big box sporting goods store) to look for shoes and a kid camping chair. Flo’s shoes are thoroughly worn and Number 3 occupies my chair at the moment. It was so hard to get him to eat properly without a chair that we swapped. He’s in my chair, I’m on the chilly bin. A kid-sized camping chair would be better though. We bought none of these things but left with kiddie sunglasses and a new shirt for Flo.
Ikea was
the next stop. We’ve been on the road for about a month now and it was great,
plain and simple, to walk into an Ikea where just everything is familiar: The
layout, the furniture, the restaurant. Breakfast still has a national twist as
you can get a pastel de nata, a croissant and a coffee for 1€ here.
Back on the
road, we went into exploring mode. Instead of taking an inland route, we
cruised along the coastline and saw what Portuguese people do on the
weekend…they all flock to the beaches close by. We didn’t stop but I tried to
get a couple of pictures of the thousands of umbrellas in the sand.
The road led us to the western most corner of mainland Europe: Cabo da Roca. As could have been expected, the place was full of locals and tourists alike – plus motor bikers to boot. Sweating in their gear, they took pictures in front of the memorial plate, reminding us a LOT of ourselves when we were on the road for a year.
Ahm….why?
The
western-most point of Europe looks a lot like New Zealand actually, just rocks
dotting into the sea and then a whole lot of ocean. No seals though. 🙂
After a couple of pictures, we drove off, further inland. Sintra was supposed to be a good stop even if the Lonely Planet warned of masses of tourists. A couple of kilometres on our way, we came past a weekend farmer’s market. There, we bought fresh bread, veges and fruits as well as cheese and jam. Blue George filled to the brim, we stocked up on butter and alcohol-free beer in a small shop and where all set for a roadside lunch.
Which
didn’t happen. We just couldn’t find a nice place to stop and it was getting
later and later for lunch. And then, we were in Sintra. Sintra is a labyrinth
of small roads with most of them being blocked off for everyone except
residents. That’s pretty awesome…just not when you are driving through it and
the satnav doesn’t know you can’t go where it wants you to go. Plus, everybody
and their dog was out and about, blocking roads, stressing from behind when we
didn’t know where to go….it was stressful driving.
Also, there wasn’t any recommended café or eatery here, most being expensive or touristy. The next recommended restaurant was another 30 minutes away and we just didn’t have the time to get there. So we made the decision to park and find food here. Not so happy with the choice to begin with, we sat down in the least sucky place and ordered.
It took forever for them to prepare our food. I was just about to dig in when I realized that my spinach quiche, listed under “vegetarian options” on the menu, actually had chicken in it. Bleh! They were apologetic and I got my spinach quiche straight away but the meal was kinda ruined.
By now, we were
completely over Sintra. Not to make it even worse I, at least, queued to buy
the local sweet treats. Once we acquired them, we hurried back to the car and
left.
Though in sunshine
Only the camp ground was still on our list for today. Ericeira is a surfer’s place so there is a big camp ground there. We actually managed to get in for a decent price and found a lovely place under trees to give us shade.
Putting our
washing in proved to be a bit too late. First, you had to walk all the way back
to reception to buy a token to wash and it felt like 1 kilometer in 30 degrees
and no shade. Then, the washing mashine was occupied. So we hung our washing in
the evening, knowing it wouldn’t dry before bedtime. Too bad as we had put most
of Number 3’s sleeping stuff into it.
The sun set amazingly over the ocean shining right into our tent. Flo took great shoots of the natural beauty while I fought Baby who was entirely against sleeping in a hot, bright tent. Baby won. He went to bed at 9pm, leaving me exhausted and frustrated.
You’d think
that with not much packing required (staying put and not even chairs to be
used) we’d be quick as to get going. Well, no is the answer. Maybe it is the
missing drive of a travel day. We did a bunch of things in the morning, though.
Breakfast no.1, some more blogging preparation and the attempt of a shower. I
say attempt, since the solar heated water reservoir had been thoroughly emptied
by party goers last night.
That was
not the only thing going a bit off script. We had a late start to begin with,
since Number 3 had another bad night – at least he extended official rest time
till 8 am to compensate. Long story short, it was maybe 11 am by the time we
hit the bus. Good thing we were not going as far today.
Some real money went into this …
We arrived
at Belém only 20 minutes later. The main draw here is a 15th century
monastery, build on the riches of Portugal’s Indian trade routes. It was
actually officially commissioned in honour of Vasco da Gama’s discovery of a
route to said India. Interesting parallels to our last trip come to mind, where
we saw multiple times the other end of that golden age in Timor Leste and Oman.
Before we
would do any of that, though, a spirit boost was in order. The lines in front
of the monastery made us anxious. We wandered a brief while considering our
options and decided on 2nd breakfast and a later lunch in town.
There was another line in Belém full of tourists – the one in front of the
famous pastry shop that claims to have invented the Pastel de Nata, here called
Pastel de Belém. But we skipped the line for the much better option of sitting
down inside the labyrinthine place and getting served our pastel and coffee
like proper people. They were good – but a place that churns out maybe 10,000
of them in a day can only do so much. It was worth it for the crazy atmosphere.
With enough
sugar and caffeine in our bellies, we were ready for the lines – and they were
gone. Somehow we managed to slip into the adjourning church as the very last
two people before it was closed to the public for a wedding. We saw Vasco da
Gama’s grave while the choir already warmed up.
inward perfection, hm?
Out again,
we bit our pride and got in line for tickets for the monastery proper. It was
rather late, but we managed to push lunch out. As we stood in line we got tapped
by two ladies telling us that people with little kids can skip the line and go
to the special service counter. We could not yet quite believe it when the
security guy saw us and pulled us out. It was true! In our cheerful mood, we
even thought of looking out for another set of parents in the now much longer
line and made one couple out in the bright noon sun very happy indeed.
The
monastery was impressive, but most is probably told in the pictures. Once we
felt we had taken in the place, it was time for lunch. Something that could
best be come by back in central Lisbon. There would be time on the tram to
figure out the details. After a bit of deliberation, and ruling out a bunch of
places too far out of where we wanted to go, we decided on Indian food. Hey!
First of all, big cities are food free for all, and secondly Portugal has a
colonial history in India. I even ended up going for the Goan speciality (lamb
in tamarind sauce) – it was great!
After that,
we had only one more item on our list: Ginjinha shots! I had seen it yesterday
but felt like this might be not the best idea before gaming, so today it was
on. The drink, apparently first served in the joint we picked (A Ginjinha) is a
super sweet cherry liqueur served with or without a soaked cherry. For some
reason, I managed to talk Nina into a round of 3 pm shots in 28° C heat. It was
decided afterwards that the best next step would be coffee and another bite to
eat. We managed to get offered weed three separate times on the same square in
the space of a minute. Do we look that much in need of a fix?
Coffee was
excellent, but it was time to head home. Days with the little one in the
carrier are tough. Plus, the bus ride is still almost an hour and we had some
blogging to catch up on. All of it worked out surprisingly well.
Belém has retained a very small town feel
Guard in front of the presidential palace
Yeah, nah …
… much better
Authentic twist is cinnamon on top – not a fan
Some real money went into this …
super detailed stonework
much better preserved than most we have seen
obligatory church shot
little one impressively quiet
Grave of the great navigator … for a european 😉
Portuguese coat of arms
Number one and three on the loose
They had their meals here …
… under the watchful eyes of Hieronimus
inward perfection, hm?
two stories
this wing houses a museum, nowadays
they can do pompous in 17th century style as well
Asleep just before lunch … hmmm …
The elevator had a line like the cable car during cruise ship visits … all it does is skipping the hill
SHOTS!
COOOFFEEEE!!!
they managed a solid flat white!
I had no appetite left, but apparently Number 3’s was fine …
Ah, the
weather. The weather forecast had said that it would be cloudy…but having
breakfast in outright rain didn’t get any enthusiastic reaction. It. Was. Supposed.
To. Get. Better. Dammit.
Not having
to pack, we were faster than usually, at least a little bit. Most of it turned
into non-existence as Baby had one accident after the other. First, he fell off
the bench and then, he put his hand on our only sharp knife. It was the first
time he cut himself and he was not fond of the experience. Putting a band aid on
it didn’t help. He just tried to get it off and it was completely soaked with
saliva within a couple of minutes. By now, the cut had stopped bleeding so we
just kept it as it is.
… oh this places is good, then?
At about
9.20am, we took the bus into the city centre. For 2 euros each and a bus ride
of 40 minutes, we could escape the noise of two motorways and explore a city
that I had really looked forward to. Just not in the rain. /complaining
We got off
the bus at the end station which is Praça Figureira
and, not knowing what to do first, fell into the first bakery/café that looked
inviting. It turned out to be an institution in Lisbon in a great building
which yummy things to eat. Most tourists queued in line to take some treats
away so there were still options to sit down and enjoy a proper sweet second
breakfast. Flo sampled another pastel de nata, while I chose some chocolate
treats this time. Flo still fared better, I think. Tea/coffee and a bite-sized
treat swiftly turns into our favourite pastime.
By then, it
had stopped to rain so we decided to do the suggested walking tour today with
clouds rather than tomorrow with 30 degrees and sunshine forecast. It took
about 15 minutes to get to the starting point and most of it was uphill. Later,
when we had a proper read of the section, we realized that a tram ride up the
hill was suggested. Well, unaware, we walked. Hello Wellington calves.
we made it up!
The first point was a viewpoint over the city. We both enjoyed it
despite the lacking sunshine. From here, the path was mostly downhill. We took
lanes through the city, I fell into another bakery, we had more viewpoints and
also lots and lots of great architecture aka tiled houses and sights. Just
wandering around was a lot of fun. It is a good way of getting into touch with
a city if you just keep on walking and check what’s behind the next corner.
We didn’t
feel like paying fees for admission so stayed on the outside of most suggested
sights. At lunch time, Flo found another great little place, vegetarian again.
It’s really good to have proper vegetarian food instead of whatever waiters can
think of on the top of their heads. Even Number 3 enjoyed the food and the high
chair which allowed him to share plates with us. We liked it so much that we
stayed for coffee and desserts which conveniently allowed us to sit through
another spell of rain. 🙂
Alfama feels like a muslim medina
The one big
item to see in the afternoon was the castle right in the city. We walked there
expecting to actually having a look inside for once but a big sign right at the
gate said “CLOSED DUE TO STRIKE”. So much for this. Good on them for striking
though and also getting the city where it hurts. We were by no means the only
tourists turning away from the castle.
We kept
bumping into “private” guided tours. At the central praças, you can
hire a guide for your own tour. Flo kept looking at them longingly…I guess we’ll
try that in the next big town.
Walking through
the steep and narrow cobblestone lanes of Alfama, we came upon a terrace with a
view. Two guys were playing a cheerful tune, the sun had come out and it was
just a really nice moment to be there.
Thus, we
made our way back to the commercial district. It had been a pretty full on day
with the walking tour and we wanted to catch a bus back to the camp ground
around 4pm as another game with our German friends was scheduled for this
evening. Due to the time difference, it starts at about 5.30pm our time. We
even managed to squeeze in dinner in time.
Let’s check the book …
… oh this places is good, then?
old school decorum
we took the quieter upper floor
… and while we were huffing and puffing up the hill
up and up it goes
we made it up!
you can see how much Number 3 appreciates the view …
poem grafito
we could have taken this up the hill
shady hawker sometimes break them off the buildings to sell to tourists
a lot of buildings are tiled on the outside
very Wes Anderson
A lot of Lisboa, with the bridge and Cristo Rei in the back
sun out, smile out
Sunshine makes everything better
all downhill from here 😉
a lot of areas were right in the middle of gentrification … cool art is kind of a marker here
Little one fooling with my new hat during lunch
uhhh, a great little local porter
Portugese really love their canned fish, it seems. These were more for the tourists, though
cool door to a boarded up house
Fado buskers
Alfama feels like a muslim medina
Even though this is a main tourist attraction, life stubbornly goes on here. Washing out and all
Still
raining … hm. Ah well. Four weeks are long, but not that long. We have to get
going. The seven stork families and their clattering are still very enjoyable
background sound to our packing up. Évora is next on our little itinerary.
Known for a very well persevered roman temple and a lovely medieval walled old
town. It is actually part of the Unesco heritage list.
preserved by being turned into a medival storage bnuilding
We found a
parking spot near the university within the wall – a good spot to explore on
foot – strapped into our gear and faced the ongoing drizzle. It still turned
out a pretty good location. Yet, there was a constant battle going for our
moods between the grey wet drizzle from above and the picturesque sights right
in front of us. We held on, mood wise, and Évora started to evoke other
medieval old towns we have seen in the past. For me, it reminded me most of
Avignon. Recent Carcassonne came to mind as well, although this was bigger and
had a much more lived in feeling compared to the open air tourist attraction
vibe of back then.
Lunch was a
brilliant experience at an all vegetarian place trying to reinvent local
traditional tastes in a vegetarian way. It was buffet style pay-by-weight and
we both overstuffed our plate to make sure we can get a taste of everything.
… to make space for more
On our way here, we passed a tantalising window display of an arrangement of pastries. All kinds of tarts, including the mandatory pastel de nata as well as a local treat. The time on our parking ticket ran out, and so we split up. I went to renew the ticket and Nina did some window shopping with Number 3. Once reunited, it was time to tackle the treats! We had one of everything as well and sat down in this barn of a café. It was clear that looks were not what they were going for, but the vibe (and the pastry) were great. We sat right next to grandpa in his break, sipping a coffee and getting a quick round of candy crush in.
It was
still raining when we got on our way to Lisbon. After half an hour, we decided
that arriving was more important than saving some money and we hopped on the
toll motorway. Some tolls we wanted to pay anyway, to get a chance to cross
into town over one of the two colossal bridges connecting the south shore with
Lisbon proper.
Earlier
today, we finally abandoned the idea to switch up accommodation from campground
to cheap room. So we arrived at the dreaded Lisboa Camping & Bungalows –
and the grey sky amplified everything that seems horrible about this place.
Overpriced, under maintained and horribly noisy due to two motorways surrounding
it. The things you can get away with for being the only camp in striking
distance of the city centre. A white whale could opt for one of the camper
parkings, but we cannot.
Town really
has to make up for this … at least tomorrow should be the last of this weather.
Wroooommmm …. woooooosssshhhh … wrooooooommmmm ….
farewell Mr. Donkey
Separation of labour
no respect for history
cool aqueduct, although this one is from the 16th century
preserved by being turned into a medival storage bnuilding
a lot of the towers have been integrated into other buildings
central square of Évora
never spare an oppertunity for an “i was here”, even in a chapel
tiles all around, even in the churches. Odd reminder of Iran
This
morning, we actually managed to pack and leave. It was an hour still to get to
Mértola, the small medieval city that we wanted to visit. Number 3 is now fully
adapted to travelling and fell asleep as soon as we started to move. As we
approached, we got some nice views of the castle, the river and the bridge.
Roman ruins
Mértola is
sometimes called an “open air” museum. There are a couple of historic sites you
can visit but most of the town within the town walls is of interest. Today, we
switched it up a little and I got to carry Baby around in the carrier backpack.
The ensemble is rather heavy but it was kinds nice to try it. The whole town is
compact and most things are close enough together so it was a good day to try
it out. On our way to the historic sites, we had a look into the
church/mosque/church and promptly ran into a guided tour…Number 3 got his
attention again but we waited for a bit to actually see something of the place
and not have people everywhere.
Once at our
destination, we started with the casa islamica, a replica of a dwelling from
the Islamic period, based on the archaeological findings. It felt minuscule in
scale. Tiny, tiny rooms though it had everything and more. There was even a
room for weaving.
Right next
to the casa islamica was the actual archaeological site. We marvelled at the
mosaic which was still preserved in small parts and strolled through what was
now the basement.
Afterwards,
we had a look around the castle. It was mostly ramparts and a tower which closed
for lunch right in our faces. I was secretly glad that I wouldn’t have to carry
Baby up a tower. Also, it was lunch time and I was hungry. So we decided upon a
restaurant and went on our way.
On the way
out, we picked up jam and something close to muffins in a store and then fresh
fruit in the market place. We still have so many oranges from the 5kg bag Flo
picked up from the side of the road that we only went with the first
strawberries and a fruit I haven’t actually seen before. No idea what it’s called.
McGyver or Hazmat?
The first
place we tried for lunch was tiny and had no seats available. We hung around
for a bit but it didn’t look promising so we decided to find something else.
And so we did. Having to cater for a vegetarian still gets most places on the
wrong foot…I got a plate full of steamed vegetables. They were yummy, don’t get
me wrong, just…just not a full meal? So I ordered French fries to it while Flo
devoured his lamb stew (of which Number 3 also approved).
Our plan
for tomorrow is to visit Evora, a medieval city a bit further north. Our next
camp site was still close to 2 hours away so after lunch we started on the
drive. Number 3 had troubles falling asleep again but slept well once asleep.
The weather turned on us and the clouds now started with a drizzle which turned
into light rain. Despite the bumpy roads, we still enjoyed the drive. Stork
nests still can be seen left and right.
As we
turned into the camp ground, I had to open and close two gates to keep the
sheep and cattle (and donkeys) in. It reminded me a lot of NZ when Flo and I
did the Molesworth on the bike. Hop off, open gate, close gate, hop on. This
time, it was easier though as I had to get out of the car, not down from the
bike.
By now, it
was raining. It took us a bit to find the reception of the “camp ground” which
felt a lot like a meadow with a washing shed. It was lovely and quiet and full
of animals…just hard to locate anyone in charge. Number 3 was super unhappy
about being left in the car, then super unhappy about being put into his rain
gear. Then, he was super unhappy about his teeth. At least, that’s what we
think. He wasn’t really happy again until he was in bed hours later which made
for a rather exhausting evening.
Since it
was raining sideways, everything even under the tarp was slightly wet. Flo and
I decided to stop trying too hard for tonight and crawled into the warm tent.
One of the good things about camping with a baby is that you always make sure
the tent is nice and dry and warm so if you need it for once, it’s already set
up that way.
We said we
would only stay one night. Unfortunately, and at no fault of the campground,
the night was not the most refreshing one. Number 3 cried through the witching
hour. Molars come easy, most of our friends say – apparently, Number 3 begs to
differ.
Everybody a
bit cranky, not in the most efficient of spirits, packing went slowly. It was
also a bit overcast, so the (desperately needed) washing from the night before
took its right time to dry. Instead of literally watching our clothes dry, we
decided to break it up and let the little one explore the camp ground.
tough night, time to explore
First, he
cautiously waved at the young Dutch family I had a good chat with last night.
Then he set his eyes on the big price: The only age appropriate playmate
around. Once again, the camper population is almost exclusively divided between
(mostly Dutch) retirees and young German parents on their parental leave trips.
His playmate was part of the second group.
Jonna, it
turned out, was almost exactly the same age as Number 3 – and almost uncannily
alike in development. In contrast to our grasshopper, this one came with an
elder sibling. So it happed that we first stopped, then chatted and in the end
“occupied” the spot of this German family. The elder sister was called Rahel.
Number 3 took an immediate liking, and she was very good with the little ones.
Or maybe it was her flash red Pucky pushbike that captured his interests.
In a bit of
a playground conversation situation we ended up all on a blanket and in a very
pleasant chat. Pia (Jan took the opportunity of 3 supervising adults to the
same number of kids to socialise himself J) shared a bit of their travel story
so far, and time went by. Decision time came and as the sun came out a bit, it
was just too good a moment and place to be interrupted by departure. So we will
stay another night. With that off our shoulders, things took a turn to the
bright side.
Late night blogging
We moved
the whole cabal over to our camp when the obligatory 12 noon Dutch campground
lawnmower brigade had bugged us long enough. I had a chance to show off our
mobile “cave” to Rahel and we got some tips on what to do with the afternoon.
After a
great lunch finding a creative use for the odd Portuguese cheese I bought the
other day, and a long nap by the sleepers of the clan, we buckled up for a bit
of walking. There was a loop walk following the little river Mira right next to
the camp and through the surrounding hills. 5 km seemed just our thing.
The start
of the track was the best part, following the riverbank for two kilometres. It
was very much our thing, with a few rugged bits and beautiful views of the
valley. We took our good time and had a break half way for some fresh fruit and
a chance for Number 3 to stretch his legs.
All in all
we were out for a bit more than two hours. All the washing was dry now, of
course. A quick bread and spreads dinner and a little romp around our camp gave
us enough time to let the evening fade out with a bit more good company. I
still had most of a bottle of red wine lying about – I needed just a swig for
cooking. So we kind of invited ourselves to Pia, Jan, Rahel and Jonna’s dinner
baring gifts.
It turned into a lovely warm evening sitting and chatting. Dinner was even vegetarian, hence Nina could tuck in for a second meal as well. When we came back to our campsite about half an hour past bed time for the little one, everyone was in a good spirit. It was the right decision to hang around – I think we have learned from our last stop in Spain!
After breakfast at our pretty empty camp ground, Flo decided to give blue George a wash. He was already worse for wear after three weeks on the road before the dirt road to our previous camp.
Leg parade
Freshly
washed, we took a gravel road to the local beach. 🙂 It was the one recommend
to us yesterday and it was totally our jam. Lovely beach with a river estuary
and now at low tide there were pools and rocks to explore. We spent a good hour
doing just that and Number 3 really digged the puddles of seawater. After
complaints about how hard it is to walk in deep sand, he was now of on his own,
splishing and splashing…getting a very wet and sandy bum. The whole scenery
reminded us of landscape photography calendars. So beautiful!
There were
just two types of people at the beach: Surfers and families with small kids.
And not many of each of them. It was overcast in the morning which made the
beach exploration more enjoyable. I didn’t melt into a puddle of sweat walking
through scorching sunshine for example.
Baby got a
new, dry outfit and a non-sandy diaper…and was asleep pretty much the second we
started the car. Completely knackered. Thus, we had a quiet drive to Odeceixe,
our next beach destination for today. We arrived in the small town of Odeceixe at
lunch time. So lunch seemed Odeceixe like a good idea before heading towards
another beach. I looked up some places here and found a no-nonsense grilled
meat and seafood place which seemed like just the place for Flo to have fresh
fish in Portugal.
The
restaurant turned out to be amazing. It had everything: fresh seafood, even a
vegetarian dish, a baby chair for Number 3, waiters and customers entertaining
the baby and last but not least delicious desserts. Lunch turned into a bit of
a feast there while we made our way through the pickled carrots starter, the curry
or grilled fish and the Alejento delight at the end. Number 3 tried everything
and for once actually ate a good amount.
On a high
note and in good spirits we went to Ocedeixe beach. It was definitely busier
than the first one we’ve seen today. Again, it was a river estuary with the river
coming in a wide bend, forming a big sandbank. Here, kids played in the fresh
water while on the other side, the Atlantic Ocean came in with great waves.
Flags were up, telling you it’s not fully safe to swim but putting your feet in
is okay.
We stayed a
bit shorter here as Number 3 was scared by the big waves coming in. The first
one nearly knocked him off his feet and everybody was a bit more cautious after
that. The wave was high enough to warrant another new outfit for the day. 😉
More hat games
For now, we
said goodbye to the coastline. Our next camp ground was inland again, halfway
to the next town we want to visit. Number 3 dutifully sleep again. Playing with
the waves and the walking on sand clearly tires a baby. We had picked another
Dutch run camp ground as our next night stop and took our time to get there.
Flo had called ahead so we had a spot and the roads inland were lovely. Rolling
hills with trees, all meadows full of flowers, stork nests everywhere. It
reminded us a lot of “Home to Home”, the first time we felt like we experienced
some of the country while driving through it. We even had enough time for a
quick coffee/ tea stop with the obligatory custard tart.
The camp ground Serro da Bica is another one of those great places to spend a night. As most days though, we were in a rush after arriving. The tent had to be set up, dinner needed to be prepared and then we had another round of laundry to do. Afterwards, there was some time to get a drink with the owners and other campers. This time, the conversation was entirely in German as most people staying here at the moment are Germans. A pleasant chance form being the odd one out.
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