Relato de autocaravanistas ingleses no Algarve: como vêm Portugal

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http://motorhomingeurope.blogspot.com/2009/01/more-of-algarve.html

Friday, 23 January 2009

More of the Algarve
The next day we moved on to Sagres which is right at the South Westerly tip of Portugal. It was quite disappointing and we really didn’t understand why loads of motorhomers are parked up there. We moved on the next day, Thursday, unfortunately it didn’t stop raining all day.We headed along the east coast and drove through several small coastal villages before stopping at Praia de Luz. Parking for motorhomes was banned from the seafront, so we parked in a quiet residential area just behind. We went for a walk down to the beach and into the town, calling in at the local supermarket that sold a good selection of British products at extortionate prices!

The next day was overcast, but dry, we walked up through the town up to the cliff to the east and then back past lots of big villas overlooking the town with the coast in the distance.Saturday was a lovely sunny day, we had a long walk along the coastal path to Burgau (a village to the west of Luz) passing quite a few walkers going the opposite way. It was lunchtime when we got to Burgau so we stopped for a toastie at a busy café (full of brits) overlooking the sea then walked back. After recovering from our walk we ambled down to the seafront at Luz late afternoon, which was quite bustling.

Luz has been a really nice place to stay, but we’ve decided to move on to Lagos tomorrow.On Sunday we filled up with water and headed 10-15 minutes down the coast to Lagos, went via a couple of supermarkets to stock up and then headed to the marina and parked up close by with about a dozen other motorhomes. Lagos is larger and busier than we like, so we doubt we’ll stay long. First impressions are that it’s nowhere near as nice as Luz! We have a bit of a wander around the old town, most places were closed as it’s Sunday. Early next morning we decide that we’ll move on from Lagos, so we head to the beach at Alvor and then outskirts of Portimao. By lunchtime we’d decided that this part of the Algarve is far too built up and not very attractive unless you‘re on the coast, so we headed inland to the mountains to the town of Monchique. It was only about a 40 minute drive from Portimao, but it could be a world away.

The drive to Monchique was quite bendy and scenic. We parked up in next to the aerodrome which was recommended by the tourist office, a couple of German motorhomes joined us. We stayed in Monchique a couple of days. The weather was quite changable, mostly sunshine and showers with some hail storms thrown in!On Wednesday we filled up with water and headed to Sines.

Sines is nearer to the coast, but far enough away to not be over commercialed! It's a really nice old town with lots of cobbled streets and pavement cafes. We visited the castle which has some lovely views over the town and the rolling hills beyond. Whilst up high at the castle, we spotted several areas where large groups of motorhomes were parked, so later in the day moved to a large parking area near the river. We went out on Wednesday evening to a traditional Portuguese restaurant (Mark had sardines and I had chicken piripiri) and some very nice Vino Verde (green wine). It's a Portuguese wine that is slightly sparkling and tastes a bit like champagne.Thursday rained pretty much all day, although it stayed warm. Friday is dry and warm but overcast. We'll probably be moving on later today as we need to start our search for some gas before it runs out...
Posted by Carol at Friday, January 23, 2009