8 December ’05, Thursday.
Yesterday we had no sooner arrived at the campground in Olhâo, and we had set off on a walk into town. Of course today was a national holiday…Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Who knows what if anything will be open. The front desk said it was about a 20 minute walk following the train tracks so off we went. About half way, we saw a Carrefour Market on the other side of the tracks, and then we found a hole in the fence to go through to the other side. We always like these little challenges…no trains…GO ! Louise has been looking for a pair of lambs wool and suede slippers, and they had the perfect pair. A loaf of wonderful Portuguese bread added to the list and we were on our way again. We really didn’t want to cross through the fence again, so we took a left and went toward the sea. The only thing now, is the neighborhood is a little rough looking, not that anyone was paying any attention to us, it was just… Anyway, we found ourselves walking around the boat docks with all the small fishing boats tied to the pier and the nets set high to dry in the sun. Finally getting far enough, we reached the beach and the boardwalk that took us into town. Olhâo was and still is a small Portuguese fishing village. The part of the town closest to the beach is the oldest, with most of the buildings showing a Muslim influence in their design. We walked through the narrow streets that went in all directions at once…talk about a place that you can get quickly lost in, this is it and hell, they even had a red carpet laid out on the sidewalks to guide you to all the shops. 2 hours later we were back home. Speaking of home (the campground), after our last one in Albufeira , this one we would rate a 3 out of 10 with Albufeira a 7. We even had to camp beside the main road coming and going from the main gate…it wasn’t even a “pitch” in campground terms…hell, we were in the street ! Oh well, it was only one night. Tomorrow…back to Spain and on to Seville

7 December ’05, Wednesday.
After breakfast it was time to head up and get the laundry done. Now these machines are fancy…so fancy, that we had to have help getting it running. First you have to get it to the right “language”, for us it would be English (isn’t that nice to know?). Now it looked easy enough, but 4 of us (all English speaking) couldn’t figure it out. Finally a young cleaning lady came to our rescue and got all of us taken care of. One hour later, we now have some of the cleanest clothes we have had since the beginning of our trip…these are good machines. Washing done, all hung out to dry, and we are off to see what Albufeira is like. This is the sun belt for Portugal, and being the furthest southern point of Portugal, it faces out to the Atlantic Ocean. The beaches are wide, deep, and of golden sand. The town is built on the hillside above the beach, with access to the beach through 2 tunnels and one pedestrian walkway. Albufeira is a small town, but in the spring and summer it must just explode. There are so many bars and restaurants in town, it seems that just about every businessman owns at least one. The prices are very reasonable, the service very good, and the atmosphere is “beach resort”. This is a place we could get used to easily, but we still have places and things to see…tomorrow we are off again. I’m not sure yet, but Faro maybe our next stop.

6 December ’05, Tuesday.
A short trip of just under 200 miles from Lisbon to The Algarve. The Algarve is known as one of the best “winter” locations for the “Brits”. I would say that what we have seen so far, that is a true statement. English is THE spoken language here. It was an easy trip coming down, and kind of reminded us of driving along the last part of the trip into Longbeach. Once we got here, we headed straight for the grocery store. Our stock of food had just about depleted. Finding the campground was one of the easiest yet. All we had to do was follow the road straight in toward the town and 2 km out was our campground. Now this is what you might call “over-kill” in regards to security. We both have ID cards that we have to put into a slot to get in and out of the gates. If we take the van out (which we wont), we have a card for it as well. Everything has to be paid up front, including $21 Euros for the 3 cards (refundable). They have 2 huge waterslides, 2 pools, a large and active restaurant, nice grocery store, and a young lady at the front desk that has a “don’t give a … attitude”. The toilet/shower blocks are the best we have had yet…and there is a lady that is constantly in there cleaning and polishing. To top that off, we are getting all this for less than $15 a day. Louise went and checked out the wash machines and is all excited about them as well. I can just tell, tomorrow is going to be laundry day

5 December ’05, Monday.
If your king thought Sintra, (in Portugal) was his favorite summer retreat, then most likely (if you were a “noble”) you would feel the same way. Back in the 15th century, King John I (João), did just that and just about every king and nobleman from that time on, followed suit and built their summer palace in Sintra to be close to the King and his court. Today we had a chance to wonder through the village of Sintra, have an expensive lunch (at least for our budget), and hike and ride the hillsides to see some of the wonderful palaces of the past and present. Like most of the small villages we have been to, the streets are very narrow and the cars that do drive through them are driven by “crazy people” that are out to kill as many tourists as they can. Fortunately, most of us are quick enough to dodge out of the way at the last moment and try to live for the next village. Getting back to our lunch, we ate at a place that silver napkin holders, two dishes that you didn’t eat on, 4 glasses (3 of which we didn’t drink from), and enough silverware that we could have had our whole family with us and still had a fork or two left over. It wasn’t that we couldn’t have found another restaurant; it was that this was the only one that had anyone eating in it at the time. I started out with fish soup and then went to the main course of filet of fish. They were both really good. Louise had chicken breast stuffed with a spinach purée…it was to die for. Ok, so we eat well too… We do splurge once in awhile, but then for some reason, we get “buyers remorse” later. Go figure… Now that we have our tummies filled, we head out to get work it off. The Palácio Nacional de Sintra is written in some books as the palace of “Madonna’s Bra”, because of the unusual “chimneys” that come from the center of the building. Before this was the “Nacional” palace, it was one built by King John I (João). Then scattered throughout the hills above the town, you can see at least 10-12 more. All very individual in design, but with one thing in common…they are “grand”. The higher up the hill, the “grand-er” they get. Now we are hill walkers, but hiking these hills…we caught a bus. Let me tell you, they know that most of us want to see the other “palaces” and, they are high on the hills, and the hills are get to the top (which I now know would have taken us over an hour by foot), and then, 2 minutes to get back down. On our ride up, the driver kept his foot to the gas pedal at the floor and as we approached the hairpin corners, he would hit his horn and twist the steering wheel right and then left without a flinch…that is from him, for us, the people behind him, we flinched, held on, and at times closed our eyes. Those people that had decided to walk to the top, not only had a tough climb ahead of them, they also had to watch out for our bus. The ride down was even more exhilarating, and I would definitely walk down the next time !!! There was one couple that we came upon on the way down that ducked into a crevasse that just happened to be in a solid rock wall…I know it saved their lives. The bus mirrors were located on front of the bus, because if they had been on the side they would either be worn by the pedestrians, or have been torn off by the rocks, cars, or tree limbs we passed. Once was enough. At the top, we had two castles to see. The first one that we chose was built by the Moors in the 8th century. Built around huge rocks, it sits at the very top of the mountain, with a high wall that completely circled the top. The view from there was “forever”, and gave them the opportunity to see the “invaders” from a long distance off and thus give them time to prepare. The guard at the gate gave Louise and me a brief description of what this fortress/castle was like and then we wondered around, through, and over the total grounds. Climbing and walking along the old walls is always kind of exciting. You can let you imagination run a little (just so you watch where your next step is going…it can be quite a drop). Across to the next peak, was Palácio da Pena. This castle that was built in 1869 by King Consort (Dom Fernando II). Now this is by for the most “original” castle I have or will ever see. I really liked this one a lot. Unfortunately, we got there on a Monday…it is closed on a MONDAY. All was not lost because we were able to see the exterior, and what an exterior it was… Ferdinand was a cousin of Bavaria’s “Mad” King Ludwig (remember our trip to his castle Neuschwanstein in Bavaria…, and that castle was the one that Disney took as his castle designs for Disneyland…). Well, Ferdinand liked what he saw, but also added his own flair. I think Disney missed the better of the two castles to design from. Just my opinion… OK, tomorrow…heading south…The Algarve

4 December ’05, Sunday.
Sundays can be a little long wait for the bus. Today, we waited through at least 5 buses and 45 minutes before we decided to…“just take the next one no matter were it goes”. Well, it did go just about were we wanted, but this time Louise jumped too soon and we got off about a mile too early…I kept my mouth shut. Our destination today was the fourth part of Lisbon called Belém. We were grateful that we took the umbrella as just as we stepped off the bus we were getting wet. Fortunately, we only needed it a couple of times throughout the day. First things first, Louise had read in Ricks book about this little eatery that all the locals and every tourist that is lucky enough to know about this place, makes it a “must stop”. There is a special cream tart (pastel de nata, but here they are called pastel de Belém) that we have been sampling every since we arrived in Portugal. Not only has this place got the recipe down pat (I think they invented it..), but they serve them warm right from the oven. The people standing around the counter were 3 to 4 deep (all day long), and then they had at least 3 dining areas that were filled too. We went back twice and I even brought 6 more home for a special occasion (tomorrow). One site that I’ve wanted to see was the “Belém Tower” which was built in 1515 and sat at that time in the middle of the Tejo River. It is kind of like a fortified castle, but pretty small. It was used as a look out tower originally, and it was the last thing a sailor would see as he pulled out into the Atlantic Ocean and headed for points unknown (such as the “Americas”). We also took in another “tower” on the river front. This tower is the “Monument to the Discoveries” and was built in 1960. It is to honor the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the “Navigator”. To finish up our “menu” for the day, we saw the Monastery of Jerónimos and the palace were the president of Portugal resides. Then it was time to call it quits for the day…a short day, but a good one. Tomorrow we are catching a train and heading to Sintra.

3 December ’05 Saturday.
Another big city to learn the bus, tram, and train routes. Another big city to learn our way around the streets and back alleyways… Lisbon Portugal is like Seattle in a couple of ways, with the most common element being the city is built on hills. It is also divided up into 4 different areas with something new and exciting to see in each of them. On a Sunday morning in 1755, when most of the populous was in one of the many candle lit churches, Lisbon was hit with a huge earthquake that was felt as far away as Ireland. Two-thirds of Lisbon was immediately leveled. Fires spread throughout the city from the candles, and to top all this off, a huge tidal wave blasted the waterfront, pushing a huge wave up the river and changing Lisbon forever. Over 30,000 of the 270,000 people lost their lives in a quick few minutes. Now Lisbon is a mix of then and now, with some of the older areas dating back to the time of the earthquake. Of those, there are many that are going through a rebuilding and maintaining their original caricature. We rode vintage trolleys up and down it’s hill, small buses that you would swear wouldn’t make it through the corners and narrow passages, and of course we rode the open-toped tour bus to see the city in a 1 ½ hour journey. In riding the bus from the campground into downtown Lisbon, I made the “incorrect” call to getting off too early…it wasn’t much, but maybe 3 stops. As it was, we had no problem orientating ourselves and making our first stop at the TI. It is always good to get their input. Lisbon is laid out with one section running from the river straight back, with the streets in a grid system. This section is called Baixa. On the side hill to the left is Bairro Alto, and the side to the right, Alfama. Further down the river is the fourth and it’s called Belem. We got off the bus at the Plaza Comercio, where they have just finished putting up a huge Christmas tree. In back of the tree, are the main entrance gates to the city. As we passed through the gate, it was a straight, wide, and long pedestrian shopping and strolling area. The city was busy with everyone there to do their Christmas shopping and stroll the city on a nice day. We did the same for a while, and then caught the tour bus. Back at the plaza again, we caught the little bus up the hill to Alfama. Now this was a “bus combo sports car” ride… The drivers have talent !!! At the top of the hill, is the Castelo São Jorge (St George Castle), and right across from the entrance is a small Indian “Goa” restaurant that Rick Steves recommends in his book. Lunch was great, with Louise having Chicken Curry and I had Shrimp Curry with a little added “heat”…it was really great. This was the oldest parts of Lisbon, and the streets were just wide enough to squeeze 3 people side by side as we walked through. You find all the little markets, restaurants, real small pubs, and if we were lucky, we had a chance to look into their little home. This is also the hot musical area for “Fabo” (How fate deals with Portugal’s adventures and the women they leave behind). We did a lot today, and I could just write a book on this day alone, so I will only add a couple more things… we caught a vintage tram from the top of a hill, that would take about 20 of us down the rails to the bottom…as we were getting on, there was a commotion in front of us with 4 men. It seems that 3 of them were a team of pickpockets and they had just tried to hit a “tourist” of his wallet. They missed, but it just goes to show that it is something to watch out for because next time it could be us and they might get what they are looking for. The next thing of interest…we just happened to be back at that first plaza with the tree about 6:30 pm and they were having the “Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony”. A little nostalgia set in …

2 December ’05, Friday.
The shower building was made entirely of concrete, the interior ceiling and all…IT RAINED CONSTANTLY !!! It not only rained off and on last night, it rained in the shower block as well. The moisture levels must have been at peak levels, because the ceiling was dripping so fast you would think you were standing in a rain storm outside of the building…it was tough was to wake up and take a shower under these conditions… On top of that, the coffee beans that I have now are not making it…fact is, they are awful. I decided to toss everything and will try to find some in the next day or so that will pass my “taste test”. So with no coffee at “home”, we headed off to the little village just outside of the campground. At the far end of the road, we saw 4 men going into an unmarked doorway and just knew they had to be heading in for their morning “espresso”. Sure enough, once we went through the unmarked door, there they were, enjoying their coffee and pastry…just what the doctor ordered… It was sooo good. I had two lattes, Louise had one, and we each had a “treat”…I couldn’t tell you what they were, but they were good. Last nights sleep was interrupted by a pounding of rain off and on all night…it was coming at us horizontally and with heavy wind. Fortunately, we did get some breaks in between the squalls so that we could get the van all packed and ready for the road. Once we got onto the highway, we were in a heavy head wind and rain squalls for the next couple of hours…nothing huge, but heavy. About 10km down the road, we came to our next stop Óbidos. The book says it is “the picture perfect postcard” village. It is completely surrounded by a 14th century 45 foot wall and sits at the top of a hill about 8 km away from the Atlantic Ocean. The narrow lanes, laid out in a maze, that you would get you lost in a second, the beautiful hand made roof tiles, wonderful courtyards filled with flowers coming from every nook and cranny, and all the white washed houses. This village was founded by the Celts in 300 BC…amazing.300 BC… Then in 1282, it was given away for a wedding gift. King Dinis gave it to his new bride Isabel…what a guy. Now this little village is preserved as a “National Monument” and I’m sure we will be able to see it in the future the same as we saw it today….”Charming”. Now before it starts to rain again we are off to Lisbon. When we arrived in Lisbon we had to find our ring road and then from that we could find our next turn to the campground. Not an easy task, but luck (or Divine intervention) was with us…what looked like we had messed up tragically, turned out to be right on…it could have been a nightmare. This campground is owned and run by the city of Lisboa (Lisbon), and is within a 20 minute bus ride into the center of town. The sites are all paved with concrete (the first we have experienced), all have the water and electric right at the door, and the toilet facilities are pretty good. There is also a huge swimming pool, 4 tennis courts, soccer field, basketball court, mini golf and over 2500 locations for campers to park and set up…it’s huge and very well run…we even have to check in and check out when we come and go… Not bad for $18 Euro per night… Oh yes, they even have an internet café, restaurant, bar, grocery store, and travel office… The weather has warmed up…tonight at dinner time it was 65 and broken clouds… Tomorrow…Lisboa

May 13th 1917, three children were tending to their sheep when the sky lit up brighter than the sun and a woman, the Mother of Christ, Mary, was standing in front of an Oak tree and spoke to them. It was the first of 3 times that she (Mary, The Mother of Christ) would meet with these three children to leave 3 messages. This area is now called Fátima, and that is where we were today. As we approached the basilica, we were among 150+- that were there to see the location that Mary met with Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta and the basilica that was also built to commemorate the occasion. Lucia is still alive at 97, and a Carmelite nun living near Coimbra, Spain. During the months of May to October, tens of thousands believers come to “rejoice” in this modern miracle. The huge “esplanade” leading up to the basilica will hold more than 100,000 pilgrims when they arrive to acknowledge the miracle. This is one of 3 locations that Mary the Mother of Christ, has appeared to children, and that we have visited since we started our journey…Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Lourdes (France), and now Fátima (Portugal). For us it has been a “Special” treat that we will always remember. Our day started in Evora and followed a secondary road through a large number of forests of “cork” Oak and Eucalyptus trees and of course the grape vines for the wonderful local wines. The smell of the Eucalyptus tree has and still is everywhere… We also saw a number of locations where they had the forest fires. Most of these locations were in the Eucalyptus forests, and you can imagine just how fast they must have burned. The cork has been going through its harvest season, so we have seen lots of deep red where they have cut the bark away. Along the route, we saw a couple of large plants that did the processing of the cork. There are so many uses for the cork it almost boggles the mind…I hadn’t thought to much about it before, with the possible exception of the cork in the wine bottle and the cork board that I had in my office. Just prior to leaving Fatima, we searched out a restaurant so that we could have a good lunch prior to leaving to find our next campground. Louise seems to be stuck on pork filet (she says it is outstanding), and I chose a whole trout plate with “greens” and potatoes…mine was also excellent. We are also enjoying the local grown and processed wines. The wine that Louise chose was a Vinho verde (VEEN-yoo VAIR-day). It is a great light, refreshing, and slightly fizzy white wine…almost tart. It is a wine that you drink almost immediately after the “2nd” fermentation and it should be real cold…we both like it and it is rather inexpensive…that is, we have paid as much as $4.50 and as little as $2.50 and both were good. Well, we did find our next campground. After leaving Fatima, we headed north for another 30km and then made a left and headed out to the coast. In a little village called Foz do Arelho we found our next nights stay. It is just off the beach, and the village was really very quaint and nice…it is going to be a good night’s stay. Tomorrow…Lisboa (Lisbon)

30 November ’05, Wednesday.
Our campground here in Evora is about a 20 walk from the walls surrounding the city, is run by some wonderfully helpful people, is clean, reasonable, and close to a major supermarket…what else could we ask for. It is off season, so there were only 3 of us here last night, and tonight 5 others have come in. I would guess that this campground would hold 150. There is a restaurant, bar, grocery store, large swimming pool, and larger play area here also, but right now they are all closed until next spring. We woke this morning to find that we were the only one out and about… We hadn’t noticed that we had come into a new time zone… That turned out to our advantage, we had first choice at the wash machine to wash our clothes. With the sun out and the day nice and warm (the first warm day we have had in a long time), it didn’t take long for the clothes to start to dry. About 1, we pulled out the camera, donned our dark glasses, and headed out on a walk to the medieval walled city of Évora. We tried to see as much as possible, as we will be on our way in the morning. A walk around Évora shows that it has grown throughout centuries, with the monumental churches, historic squares, whitewashed houses, and the medieval streets (very narrow and coming at all angles, up hill and down, and fortunately all “one-way”). It seems that Évora sits right in the middle of the “Historic” route, and the Sao Mamede and Guadiana wine areas. We are about a 2 hour drive to Lisbon, so we saw a number of tour groups in town today. Seeing as it is the “off season”, most of those groups are from the Asian countries. We even noticed that same thing last year in Greece. Our walk took us to see the “Aqueduto da Agua da Prata” (an aqueduct that was built in 1532 and carried water for over 18km (about 12 miles) and brought water into the cities 2 major fountains. Next was the Arca Romano da Ria D, Isabel (this was one of the temples of the Roman city that once stood here in 2 BC). Capela dos Ossos, one of the curiosities that come by once in awhile…the church naves are covered with human bones and skulls. As we walked through the entrance, the words above our heads translated out to be: “We bones that are here, wait for yours…”. Then of course we had to see the cathedral. The Catedral de Santa Maria was built in 1283. This is a beautiful cathedral, with tall columns, arched ceilings, 16 different chapels, and some wonderful sculptures and art. Of course it sets on the very top of the hill and right next to the Roman temple from the 2 century BC…what a contrast… We have already started to enjoy some of the local delicacies, but as of now, not any of the wines…maybe tomorrow.

29 November ’05, Tuesday.
We picked a good day to leave Madrid and head onto Portugal. While driving through Madrid and the surrounding area, we had our first fog for the year. Fortunately, the fog was short lived for the sun came out strong and gave us a great day for driving. We were driving through the rolling hills that were spectacular with color from the orchard and grape vines. Some of the vines were completely void of leaves, and then others were full of colors from a dark burgundy, red, orange, and yellow. Also along the route we encountered forests “cork” oak trees. It seems that Portugal produces enough bark from the cork oak tree to supply over 30 million corks for the wine industry to cork their bottles of wine each day. That is a heck of a figure, seeing as it takes 25 years before a cork oak tree can be “barked” the first time and then it takes an additional 10 years between each harvest. Crossing from Spain into Portugal was almost like going from gray to white… Don’t get me wrong, but Spain was full of color, pretty clean throughout, wonderful people, good food, and well worth visiting. The moment we crossed the border we were driving on roads that looked new, the rolling hills seemed manicured from the roadside to the snow capped mountains 50-60 km away. All the little hill-towns with their high fortress walls, the little white homes that surround the castle at the top…not one, but just about every 30-40 km or so. Now it’s another language, different road signs, menu items at the restaurants, and different prices for gas again… Spain was less expensive for gas than France, and Portugal it seems, is more than expensive than Spain and less than France. In US dollars, we have paid as high as $9.25 a US Gallon in Turkey, about $5.00 in Spain, and about $7.+ in Great Britain. I would like to say that we have been getting great “gas mileage”, but I can’t. Ole “Bumble Bee” does OK, but it is far from getting good mileage. That’s OK, because we knew ahead that this journey wasn’t going to be done on low gas prices and low consumption. Now that we are in winter, we have to look ahead to our next campground…is it open “all year” long? This is going to be a challenge in some areas, but as we have looked at the coast of Portugal and Spain, it looks like we will be good for awhile. Most likely, the toughest will be as we head back to the Netherlands from Spain in January. Today we had 3 different campgrounds to choose from as we drove through the first leg of Portugal, but each of them was about 100 to120km away from each other. Fortunately, we had time to make it to our first choice…Évora.