Tavira is on the banks of the River Gilao with elegant houses on either side of the river. Travel brochures describe it as the Venice of Portugal. with 16th - 18th century buildings and 37 churches it is the most genteel town on the Algarve. There is a busy fishing port which was formerly the base for Portugese expeditions to North Africa. It was a lovely town but we think it is now the home of the largest gypsy encampment in Portugal!! We have never seen so m...

We left the Atlantic coast heading south towards the Med and the Algarve where we planned to stay for about 4 days. Along the way we once again took small scenic roads taking us up into the hills with small villages and passing lots of logging areas, another change of scenary and just as beautiful. The camp site was the busiest yet with lots of Brits who were down on the Algarve for the winter in motorhomes and caravans. It was a bit of a disappointment at fir...

A resort in the middle of a National Parque with long beaches lining a wild sea and nestled at the end of a wide river. This is the sort of place you may call for a day and stay for a week. The camp site was quiet once again with about 3 motor homes as we left in the morning for a bike ride. When we got back there were about 30 tents all filled with Portugeuese teenagers on a activity trip. They weren't bad as far as teenagers go but it was certainly the nois...

We stayed overnight in Peniche which is the most western town in Europe a busy fishing port. Once an island, Peniche joined the mainland in the 16th century. A lot of development on the outskirts makes the old centre with its excellent fish restaurants and historical fort a nice surprise. We were camped right alongside the sea with the Atlantic ocean crashing onto the cliffs which we could hear at night at we tried to sleep. We gave our new gas BBQ a try for the...

We stayed on the outskirts of Lisbon at a place called Costa de Caprica and travelled into Lisbon for the day on the local bus.  We caught the 10.30 bus and didn't get back until 8 p.m.  Lisbon has many different interesting areas too many to visited we just concentrated on the Barrio Alto a fashionable 17th century residential area now Lisbon's Soho with vintage boutiques, restaurants boho bars and cafes.  We took a sightseeing bus which w...