We left Porto on Tuesday 26 June and headed south to Lisbon / Lisboa, the capital of Portugal. Driving down in the car we decided to check what the outside temperature was and were very surprised to find it was saying 39 degrees outside. When we arrived, it was extremely hot and after we set up we decided to go for a swim. I checked the map of the park and soon realized this park didn't have a swimming pool. It was finally getting hot enough to swim and there was no pool!! So it was off to the beach for us, which was only a short drive away.

Just before we arrived at the caravan park, the ACE light (active cornering enhancement) came on in red on the dash of the car - the manual says when this happens to stop the car immediately. The next day we decided we'd better find a landrover dealership and get it looked at. They were very accommodating and looked at the car straight away for us and couldn't really find too much wrong with it and didn't even charge us!! Loche thinks the light may have something to do with the electrics between the car and the caravan.

After we had the car checked out we headed up to Sintra which is just north of Lisboa. Sintra is a very popular place for locals and is well loved by Portugese royalty. Its location is in mountains covered with thick forest and the architecture of some of the buildings is just lovely.

The next day we had to find a clinic nearby to get my bandage changed. There was apparently one very near to the caravan park, but of course we couldn't find it easily and in the process Loche and I lost each other. We have also now run out of credit on our UK phones and with no way of topping up here (we are unable to use our credit cards), we need to start looking for a new service provider. I found the clinic, got the bandage changed and walked around trying to find Loche and Cara, but ended up walking back to the caravan park where luckily they were waiting for me. That afternoon we headed into Lisboa to have a look around.

On Friday 29 June, we left Lisboa and headed south to the Algarve. Our destination was Lagos, a beautiful town on the southern coast of Portugal. We got there around lunch time, quickly set up and went for a drive to explore. It didn't take us long to find a beach and Loche took Cara for a swim. The beaches here are absolutely gorgeous, the best we have seen with actual sand, very calm, aqua/blue water and high cliff faces. We wish we could have stayed more than one night but our set back in Porto means we really have to keep moving in order to see everything we want to.

That night we decided to have a few drinks and something to eat in the caravan park restaurant. We met a lovely couple with a little boy a year older than Cara. He and Cara played well together all evening while us parents chatted away. We learnt that the village a kilometer down the road is where Madelaine Mcann disappeared.

Saturday saw us packing up again and heading back into Spain to Seville.