Overcast morning when we get up. Ali has a short walk into Coimbra. It's a typical university town on a Sunday morning; rowing crews on the river, joggers in the park and lots of young people all around. We leave at 11:55 heading towards Oporto. After five nights and not so many miles, our batteries are getting very low so we need a campsite and electric hook up. First there is a little drizzle but as we head north it turns to rain. The roads and sc...

After a lovely sunny day yesterday it rained heavily in the night and this morning is grey and overcast, but we stick to the plan to explore Nazare. We go a hundred yards to the sea front where the empty golden sands are being lashed by curling waves. The world record for the biggest wave ever surfed was made off the coast of Nazare. The promenade is lined with mostly modern style whitewashed buildings but here and there a few older styles can be seen. The...

We are up early this morning to explore Obidos before moving on. It's a 500m walk across the carpark to the fortified gate and although it's only 13deg C the sun is bright and warm. The streets inside the walls are every bit as picturesque as the guidebooks say; whitewashed shops and houses with blue accents matching the clear sky, and tiny windows. Obidos holds a chocolate festival each year, not on at the moment, but many shops are selling local produce, w...

All night we were buffeted and battered by a northerly force 6 so it wasn't the most restful night this trip, and this morning the wind is just as strong, with steely grey sea and sky for company. We move off the beach at 10:55 and drive the coast road around Caba Roca and into the hills towards Sintra. The road is narrow and winding, with lots of trees and very green scenery. In Galmares we run alongside a narrow gauge railway, but the rusty tracks suggest it...

Before leaving we decide to spend a while exploring Alcacer do Sal, the 'do Sal'part of its name coming from its history of salt trading. We cross the steel -girder bridge and amble along the side of the Sado river. The town is old. In fact human settlements here have been dated back to the Mesolithic period 40,000 years ago through the copper and iron ages and more recently African slavery. Buildings have wrought iron balconies and small windows, and most ...