Isla Christina and Golf at El Rompido
We split up for a week so David could meet up with friends from the UK and play golf and Karen minded ‘Buster’. Not much to tell other than David played well badly and awfully from a winner last year to second last place this.
The boys at El Rompido
Karen rested by the pool at a lovely aire at Isla Christina. A number of hangovers installed and serviced at the golf and David returned and we had a lovely meal in Isla Christina and prepared to move on to Portugal. But Spain don’t worry, we will be back soon.
Faro
First on our list to do was get Karen’s bike fixed after it’s theft. The controller was broken and parts for electric bikes are expensive plus it had to be fitted by a dealer or it won’t work. So it was off to Faro where the nearest dealer was. Bike Algarve a Specialized dealer who had ordered the parts and fitted them. They also took a look at David’s bike and realigned the wheels. But the part to fix Karen’s was €230 fitting and check overs were only €30 for the pair. It seems to me that ‘Specialized’ do take the ‘P’ with the pricing for parts. But if you need support Bike Algarve are very helpful and good, we can recommend them.
While we waited, we stayed at a small Camper Stop called Faro Campervan Park though not perfectly signed very good value @€12 per night inc. electric. Very clean and close to cycle paths to the lovely Faro Beach and the city. We however had to walk, and each took an hour to do, worth the time and effort. The Formosa estuary leads to the beach and teams with birdlife and the beach is pristine. To eat or drink around the main area is expensive but walking along the beach to the right there was a lovely bar with great sea views and great value for a few beers.
Faro City
The next day was trip into the city, and it really had a feeling of being a little bit down on it’s luck. We took the little tourist train to have a tour and it did not really improve. The old town is very pretty but in general it seemed a little forlorn.
Again, we decided to treat ourselves to lunch, and looking at our 2015 Portugal Lonely Planet it recommended a few places away from the tourist trail. So off we went, Covid has obviously taken it’s toll and only one remained and we decided it was a good sign. It was superb, Chefe Branco still offers the great value mentioned in the book plus the food was wonderful. So good in fact we can offer you the pictures!
Guia and Vale De Parra
The next day it was off to Vale De Parra to meet some friends who are coming down for holidays. Oddly enough it is the same place where Karen and I first went away together. Plus it is the home of Piri Piri chicken what’s not to like. But our first hurdle is that Portugal does not allow wild camping, so we needed to find something close to them. We located a camperstop really close to them but they do not take bookings. Our arrival time was crucial, most people leave site between 10-11 am so we had to arrive just after to have the best chance of a place. Well we got lucky as there was space and Parque da Galé welcomed us warmly. The site to be one of the best we have been to in Portugal €10 without electricity €2 extra if you require it. It has a lovely heated pool, showers washing facilities and a recreation area with a pool table, tv and games and book exchange. If you don’t have your own toilet in your van, it will not work for you as they don’t have toilets. All in all fantastic.
People
Over the years we have met some lovely people and here we met up with Stuart from Swansea with his dog Ella, and lovely guy he is too. We have both walked the Camino and like the movie ‘The Way’. As we chatted, we mentioned we had met a lovely couple from Swansea on our last trip, Geoff, Lesley and Jackson Parr, next minute we are on the phone to them as they were also friends. While all this was going on I went in to the bar to pay for our drinks having paid I came back, and out came the same round as they thought we wanted another, a misunderstanding, but we had to do the right thing so stuck around and finished them off. It is one of the joys of this way of life that you get meet very nice people as you travel.
Albufeira and Port Tasting
With the bikes back in action we can explore a bit further afield so we set off to Albufeira to explore and have a look around. It is a very typical tourist town and bustling with people. It was strange to see so many holiday makers as normally we are a bit off the tourist track. Full of bars offering all day happy hours and such we just wandered around taking it all in. That said, Karen has a bit of a Port fetish and every time we come to Portugal more is purchased, we found here favourite shop and enjoyed a lovely tasting, and a bottle of 2020 was bought to add to the collection. I do hope we will be around for a while as it will not be ready to drink for at least 10 years! Our friends arrived that day so we will meet up tomorrow and spend a couple of days with them before we start our journey back home. Very slowly we might add.
Solar Update
As I mentioned previously our solar system is now working fantastically, we have sun and when we move the engine charges and runs the fridge. But I feel I should mention we can stay stationary and charge our bike batteries from the sun and still have power over to live with. This gives us great flexibility and even though it cost more than we wanted to spend it is impressive. If you would like more on the setup, drop us a line and I will give you the lowdown. I have written a blog on it and will publish it soon.
All the very best from sunny (until tomorrow that is!) Portugal.
D&K