Monday 21 January 2013

Still mixed weather so time to move on. Chap in a van parked near to us was a long-termer who had just come onto this aire “for a change of scenery” (!) as he had been staying on a cheap site just along the coast for several weeks. Sounded ok but was only a short distance and we had planned on moving a bit further and had identified an ACSI site at Quarteira that looked to have everything we needed for a longer stay.

So we left after servicing the van (2 euros for water – conscience placated!) and made our way west along the coast to visit Alvor, where our friend Ed had stayed for several months. A small but very attractive little town which was probably worth a longer stop but we had made our decision so continued.

 A short side trip to top up supplies found only a completely burned out Centro Commerciale – the whole lot gone, must have been a huge fire. So up onto the N125 and eastbound towards Faro, managing to stay off the motorway and finding another supermarket shortly in Lagoa (not Lagos, that seems to be a different place – we think…).

Passed through more small towns and villages but despite what we had read in the Rough Guide, the road was in good condition and very pleasant to travel on. Approaching Quarteira, a mixture of signposts, guide and satnav saw us squeezing along some very back lanes before arriving at our chosen campsite.

At last! Sunshine!

Orbitur are a chain of campsites throughout Portugal so, like the Clubs in the UK, you know what to expect. An efficient young Portuguese lady who spoke perfect English (though there are a lot of English in the area, evidenced by many signs being in both languages) dealt with all the formalities but never really gave the impression of being interested – shy? – and we were left pretty much to our own devices. Nevertheless, after a good look round we found a pitch that promised to be quiet, close enough to the facilities but more importantly, in the sunshine! And it was now bright sunshine at last, so awning up, chairs out and a late lunch in the sunshine. Lovely.

We later explored, finding short and long term m/hs and caravans of various nations everywhere. A wander out of the site took us towards the beach and we enjoyed a pleasant hour or so strolling in the sun. A circular route took us back to the site to end the day relaxing in our usual fashion.