El here - Paul has gone to watch some big football match tonight!
This morning we left our caravan park near Praia de Luz ... saying a fond farewell to our new found buddies! We headed off for Monchique which was about an hour's drive inland. We headed there because the guy in the bar in Alvor the other night told us it was lovely!
On the way we spotted these lovely Portugeezers ...
 |
| Too cute ! |
There was no traffic about as we weaved our way around the windy roads ...
As we got higher up the mountain roads the drop over the side became ... well ... bigger ! Paul said it was quite an unusual experience to be able to see the drop down the edge of the mountain roads, as he is driving on the 'wrong side' !
We spotted this natural spring along the way ... there seem to be a few in these parts ...
Finally we arrived at Monchique having driven around a few times. We just couldn't quite seem to find the part that the barman had told us about so we just parked up in a big car park and went walkabout!
Lovely views ...
This one may have seen better days although someone is utilising the wall for their washing line ...
Lemon trees abound ...
This was cute ... the structure in the centre is the shared 'washing machine' for these three houses ...
... and this is looking down on another 'washing machine', which is situated just across the square, for the other houses ...
We got a bit lost for a minute but the views were still lovely ...
We stopped in a shop and spoke to the chap who ran it ... he and his wife are from Wales originally but have lived in Monchique for years ... they love it. Funny where life takes you! Nice chap - Paul sampled lots of his choccies, but not me as I am on a diet !!
We decided that Monchique was cute and quirky but didn't grab us so much ... also it was cold up there in those hills! So, we got the map out and plotted a course for Silves .. another inland town that had been recommended to us. On arrival here we were spoilt for choice as to motorhome parking! We found a huge Aire near the sports centre which looked quite popular ...
... but then we drove along the road a little way and came across this beauty ...
It is the Algarve Motorhome Park and it is lovely. It has been really well done ... lovely flat, pebbly pitches all marked out, with electricity, water and a brilliant wifi .. all for 6 Euros a night .. bargain!
We had a spot of lunch in the van and then went walkabout ...
We were passing by a car park, when Paul spotted this funeral van ... how to go out in style, eh?
Back to the walkabout, here is our first Storks of the day - there are loads of them around here - all clacking away !
Walkabout pics ...
The last remaining city gateway - now the Library ...
Lovely square, looking back from the gate ...
Amazing Cathedral dating back to the 13th Century ... the bells were ringing when we were there too ...
... and the Castle ...
Loads of lovely lanes and cobbled streets ...
Looking down on the square ...
Love these street names - all in beautiful tiles ...
Paul dragged me in to have a quick look at the Silves United football ground, which he was impressed with ...
We didn't hang around the footie match too long - mainly as Sammie was getting a bit too amorous with a Portugeezer's dog ! We went for a quick beer and then headed back to the van where we spotted our last Stork of the day, just opposite our motorhome park ...
We like Silves. It has a really nice, easy-going feel to it. We didn't see any Poms here .. probably too far from the beach for most holiday-makers. There is a big river that runs through Silves - the Arade River, so we will have a walk along that in the morning before we get on our way!
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I was going to make a separate list of Aires etc that we stayed at but I have decided to add it to the end of each post ... just for info! Today's address was:
LOCATION (Algarve motorhome park)
Location:
E.N. 124 - Lugar da Tapada 8300-038 Silves
GPS Data:
Lat : 37.187218 - Long : -8.451583 | 37º11'13" N, 8º27'05" W
Silves is nice - we were there on Weds 21/5/14. We parked up in free parking next to the swimming pool and saw the same funeral van !! and probably the same storks. We're in Lagos now (great aire next to football stadium 3euros inc wifi). Safe travels Phil (Pom) phil.russ@izzyminx.co.uk
ReplyDeleteHi Phil, we stayed at the same Aire in Lagos, nice town, the only town we didn't like was Sagres.
ReplyDeleteAre you starting or finishing your trip?