Thursday 17 January 2013


Today is a R & R day, a time to tidy up, sort out and clean, having been "on the road" for over a week. We washed Bertie yesterday afternoon so today it was the turn of the inside - fortunately it doesn't take very long! No more rain thank goodness and in fact it is also warm enough to leave off jumpers so after breakfast open everything up to properly air the van, something we haven't been able to do until now. We also wound out the awning to find it soaking wet, not surprising really, so we were able to get that dried out too.

The campsite has laundry facilities so we took the opportunity of emptying the washing basket and were able to finish everything off in the fresh air - we are also carrying a portable rotary clothes drier this time out (heaven knows what will happen if we get weighed in a roadside check!).

After lunch, showers were the order of the day. Of course we've got an on-board shower but it does use a lot of water and there's not a lot of room, so "proper" showers are always welcome. As mentioned before the site facilities are basic but, even though a little tired, are kept very clean. No toilet roll is the norm, but why no toilet seats?

The rest of the afternoon was spent firstly trying out the exterior insulated screens. These are to help keep the van warmer by insulating the windscreen and windows, which also helps to prevent condensation forming on the inside glass. Then down to some serious leisure activity - we're supposed to be on holiday!

The campsite is not very busy which we suppose is to be expected at this time of year. There are 2 or 3 other Brits, and a couple each of Spanish, Dutch and German outfits making up the population which include caravans as well as m/h's. There doesn't seem to be any long-termers, most probably doing what we are, pausing on their travels and perhaps visiting Evora, which we'll probably do tomorrow, weather permitting.

There is a bar (closed) a swimming pool (closed) and a small shop (closed too!) but the TV room is open!
Tried a couple of times to use our own satellite TV but trees always seem to be in the way and anyway we've been told that most of the UK stations have been moved to a satellite we're not supposed to be able to receive in Spain and Portugal. Spoilsports! No matter because we've brought loads of DVDs and quite a lot of our CD collection on computer hard-disk which we can play through the vans sound system. Clever!


Up to now this blog has been somewhat domestic but from now on we'll try and make it a bit more touristy, including pictures and a bit more of a travelog. We probably won't be able to update it every day as it depends on where/when we can get an internet connection. So if you're still awake at this point (!) thanks for your interest and we hope you can look forward to it being a bit more interesting!