Kevnjan's new advenure.

Fri. 29th. Mar. As you know, I don't like to complain but let me tell you, this weather is crap!! It's 9.30am on Good Friday and it's pouring with rain again, we've had a thunderstorm and now it's just raining. We are getting the weather England should be getting, its all thanks to the jetstream moving again. I can take a joke - but come on - this is Portugal, the sun's supposed to be shining. Anyway, what have we done this week? On Monday we took the bus to Portimao and Jan had a couple of hours shopping. It's quite a big town, the second largest on the Algarve and the main shopping centre is a good way from the seafront. Jan had a good look around and I sat out and had my last beer for a while. We planned to have lunch in Portimao but didn't see anywhere that attracted us so we took the bus back to Alvor and went to a fishermans bar on the seafront and enjoyed sardines, salad and potatoes. It was good, we washed it down with a bottle of water. We've decided to be good, no booze for me, no ice cream for Jan, in preparation for our return to England, apparently we have to look slim and fit. (I thought I looked that already,) but I'll go along with it for a while. Tuesday passed almost unnoticed until we watched the England game in the evening. Why do we do this to ourselves? My sympathy lies with the fans who travel to watch. Do they need their heads examining? And I had to watch without the benefit of booze. It was tough!! Wednesday was dry and cloudy, with the occasional glimpse of the sun. I sat and read most of the day while Jan went with a couple of ladies and had her hair done. Very nice it looks too. Thursday we went to Lagos on the bus. We like Lagos, a pretty riverside town with beautiful sandy beaches either side of the river. The town itself is old, with winding narrow streets and lots of bars and shops. Laid back, colorful and full of charm. The weather was reasonably kind, sunny periods, when it was really quite warm. When the sun disappeared though it was very cool. The buses here are expensive, I suppose they would be when we travel free in England. It's when the weather is bad that you miss the car. Never mind, mustn't grumble. Happy Easter. Isn't it strange how blue skies make all the pictures so much more colorful.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sun.24th. Mar. Can it really be the last week of March already? I'll just get the weather report out of the way. Its cool, showery and still not the best and the forecast is for more of the same for the next week or so. Disappointing but hey - we've been watching the news and it's clear that we are best off here. Don't like the weather you're getting in England. Anyway, that's it weather wise. While we were in Albufeira we complained to anyone who'd listen about having no TV and several people told us they had been helped by a guy called Ken who lives out in the country west of Lagos. I phoned him and we drove about 50Ks to let him sort out our problems. After 2 hours he admitted defeat and we still have a useless satellite dish. We drove back down the coast to Alvor, and found a pleasant campsite which is where we are now located. It's a strange thing about Portugal, at least, in the Algarve, there don't seem to be any sites located on the beach. We are probably a mile from the beach and that's too far to drag the sunbeds. Not that it's been a problem as sunbathing isn't an option. We've been very fortunate here, when we arrived we were befriended by two English couples who have been here for some time, we were pointed to the pitch which gets most sun during the day, (not much right now) and offered a connection to a large satellite dish owned by one of them. So we have TV!! Hooray, it is good to have a diversion for an hour or two in the evening. No match of the day this weekend but saw the England game on Friday and will be watching on Tues. I think we will stay here at least until after Easter, it's a good idea to be settled somewhere over the holiday. It's a quirky sort of a site. There is a Vietnamese pot bellied pig wandering around, with the run of the site, her name is Olivia and she has befriended Janet who thinks she is wonderful. I think it belongs to the man who runs the site, Jao. We're told that a few weeks ago Jao had a birthday party in the site bar for his wife and had the world's worst DJ. Last week he threw a party for his two donkeys and had a 5 piece band which was brilliant. Tells you a lot about the Portuguese male. So there we are, another largely uneventful few days in the life of Kevnjan. We bought a phone card for €5 this week which gave us 220 minutes. Jan just finished it up this afternoon talking to Paul and Barb in America. That's a lot of phoning in 5 days. Anyway, she go cut off so she says goodbye, talk to you next week. For those of you who haven't got Facebook, here's a picture of Jan with her new friend, Olivia.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Tues. 19th. Mar. All the days are pretty much the same at the moment. Cloudy, the occasional shower and the odd sunny spell. Not really what we'd hoped for, the only consolation is that at home it's cold and miserable. We moved up to Quarteira on Friday morning, another overcast day and looked for somewhere to wild camp near the beach. Found a spot just east of town and stayed for lunch, didn't fancy spending the night there although there was another Autostratus, a couple of years older than ours parked nearby but unattended. We don't see many of those and although we hung around for a while no-one came back to it and we left. The last one we saw was at Calais last May and I vaguely wondered if it was the same one. We settled on an aire, about 2 ks. east of town, hard standings, toilets and electricity, €2 + €2 for electricity. We spent 2 nights there and moved on to Albufeira on Sunday. Quarteira was OK, nice beach front walk, market, shops and cafes but no wow factor, unless you count the long walk into town and back! We've been looking forward to revisiting Albufeira, the last time we were here was in 1983. My has it changed!! We are camped on an aire, about 1.5ks from the old town and it's costing €7 per night with all conveniences and internet, which is good enough to Skype, we had almost an hour with the Smigiels on Sunday, uninterrupted, which is unusual, nowmally a bad connection or Frenchman spoils it. The rain on the way here was torrential and it stopped during the afternoon. We walked around Albufeira and recognized nothing, except for the beach and the big rock thereon. I think the town must have quadrupled in size since we first visited, the charming, 'Fishermans Beach' has been replaced by a concrete slabs and sculpted figures of fishermen. Not a boat in sight. a Shame! Still, that's progress I suppose. Monday dawned bright and sunny, time for the beach. We set off to walk to the beach and after blundering down several dead ends found ourselves on a beach about 1 k east of the old town. We staked out a spot and laid out soaking up some rays. It's amazing how beautiful the day was, not a cloud in a deep blue sky all day, a slight breeze kept it just on the cool side but it was the best day for a while. We treated ourselves to lunch at a Tex/Mex place on the seafront and had a stroll around the old town looking for familiar landmarks. Then it was back to the beach for a snooze. That's more like it!! By the time we got back to the van, around 6.30 we'd walked miles and were shattered. Went for a shower, only cold water - I suppose that's what you get for €7. It rained all night and this morning we had a thunderstorm. The rain has now stopped, it looks like the sun is coming out and the Janet is emerging from her bed. It's 11am If anyone wants to Skype us the next day or so would be a good time. Brian Dinnage where are you??

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Thurs. 14th. Mar. We've had a quiet week, except in the bar where the French seem to find it impossible to speak to each other without shouting. It's like a competition. On Monday we went to Olhao and got the phone sorted out, spent the rest of the day washing. It was bright and very windy which was a good thing as we got the washing dry. Overnight the rain came in and it poured until early afternoon. Too much rain lately. Still we were pleased that the washing was done on Monday. We had a walk around the town in the afternoon but it's not a place to get excited about. The river and the lagoon are pretty but the main beach is a sandbank which is only reachable by boat. Not that it matters much at the moment. There is a thriving swap shop for books and DVDs in the bar and we have had a new DVD each night since we've been here, a good thing as we have no TV. Yesterday we went to Faro on the train. It was a pleasant surprise. We expected high rise buildings and concrete jungle. What we found was a fascinating old town with a small but beautifully formed cathedral with wonderful views from the tower. Lunch was taken, in the warm sunshine, by the marina and afterwards we attended a half hour demonstration and introduction to the unique Portuguese music form, Fado, played by a talented musician on a Portuguese guitar. Fascinating. A walk around the shops and gelato concluded the visit and we caught the train back around 5.30. Well worth a visit. Faro had the feeling of a small town and is so laid back, great day out. Last night was a bit of a nightmare, there is a bar at the back of the campsite, by the river and a live rock band was playing there last night, very loud, until 2am. Apparently they play there Fridays as well so we'll be on the move tomorrow, don't know where yet. Bye for now.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sun. 10th. Mar. Mina de Sao Domingo was a fascinating place. A town which was built around a 19th. century copper mine, owned by the English, who apparently dealt with the workers in a most unpleasant way. The mine is now deserted and the workings are abandoned, there are shells of formerly grand buildings, still standing and the terraced workings glowering over the landscape. An eerie sort of a place, we visited around sunset and it was silent except for the occasional bird. It made a big impression. We spent the night there and on Saturday headed for Pomerao, a small village on the banks of the river, a beautiful spot, peaceful and barely a soul around. The scenery in this part of Portugal is striking, the wild flowers everywhere, sorry we missed the almond blossoms, it must be spectacular. The weather has been indifferent, showers, heavy at times, interspersed with warm sunny spells. Today we drove back into Spain and down a fabulous straight road, back to the border and reentered Portugal. We have driven up the coast of the Algarve to Olhao and taken up residence on a campsite for a few days. We got a decent wifi signal and Skyped Paul and Barb. This was much to the annoyance of a bombastic Frenchman, one of a four playing bridge. He took exception to the conversation we were having and it was necessary to remind him of his manners, (a strange concept to the French). He addressed me for 30 seconds in French, a complete waste of breath as you can imagine, as I understood not one word. His companions were graceful enough to be embarrassed for him. What a dick!! Janet has gone off to cook dinner and I am taking advantage of plentiful wifi to upload some videos on Facebook. My French neighbours are now leaving, no apology received so far Cest la vie. Let's try to put some flowers on.

Kevnjan's new adventure .

Fri.8th. Mar. Well, it's been an interesting week so far. On Monday the van was repaired and we spent the day and night under cover waiting for the filler to harden. It rained all day, torrential rain, and it was miserable but we had electricity and were warm and dry. We made a decision to head for Portugal on Tuesday. It had been our intention to travel along the coast from Matalascanas to Huelva but the weather was crap again and we stayed on the motorway all the way. We waved goodbye to a soggy Spain and crossed the River Guardiana into Portugal. We found a free aire at Castro Marim, just over the border and parked about 2pm although it was really only 1pm because Portugal is on the same time as England. How sensible!! We had a walk into the town and tried out the beer. It's OK but you wouldn't want to live on it. I'm just beginning to feel the need for a pint of real ale. Must have been gone a long time!! We took a bus into Vila Real de Sao Antonio and found a Vodaphone shop where we got fixed up with local sim card for calls and internet. Not as simple as it should have been but I won't bore you with the details. Returned to the van and had dinner, went to a local bar and watched United lose to Real Madrid. Next day we moved across to Vila Real and parked up by the river on an aire that cost €6. They threw in 3 hours electricity and 3 hours wifi. The wifi was useless. We took a long walk along the river and checked out the town. Nice, typical Portuguese architecture, lovely square. I like it. We got back to the van and the sun was shining warmly. I made a big mistake, put on shorts and got the chairs out. Within an hour the wind was howling and the temperature had dropped. The rain started around 7 and a gale blew all night and well into the morning. The weather forecast is not good for the Algarve for the next week and we made a decision to head inland for a few days. Firstly we had to get the internet sorted out. Never simple!! Around lunch time we set off for Alcoutim, a small, charming town on the banks of the Guardiana opposite an equally pretty Spanish town, Sanlucar. The river is quite wide here and navigable, numerous quite large yachts are moored up waiting for the storms in the Atlantic to abate. Spent the night listening to a cacophony of barking dogs . What a shame. Nowhere's perfect. Today we have driven further up river and are at an old mining town called Mino de Sao Domingo. It's raining again so we haven't explored yet. Will report in next blog. As you can see, so far this leg of our journey has been a little damp. Next week we're expecting better weather and will head for the beautiful Algarve beaches for some hard earned R & R. Already, despite the inclement weather, we are beginning to like this country. The roads are good, and quiet, the people friendly and polite and the scenery is easy on the eye, mile after mile of rolling, deserted countryside, reminds me a bit of the Brecon Beacons or the Mendips. Everywhere there are carpets of wild flowers, we seem to have arrived too late for the almond blossom but you can't have everything. I posted this blog on the phone earlier but when I read it it made no sense, predictive script got to it again. Will report on Mino de Sao Domingo later, if it ever stops raining. Jan's got a cold.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon. 4th. Mar. Our visit to El Rocio ended on a low note. On Saturday we went to Almonte in search of Mercadonna and much needed food supplies and in a narrow street, full of badly parked vehicles, damaqed the van on a door mirror. Went back, had a walk around town and found it very quiet, apart from a couple of impromptu guitar player/singer flamenco performers. Gave the evening session a miss. It rained all night and in the morning Jan reported new leak at the back of the van. We spent Sunday and Monday at a Motor home/ caravan place, under cover, getting the leak fixed. Will stay here overnight and head out tomorrow for Huelva and into Portugal. When we leave Spain it may take a day or two to get fixed up with new sim cards and internet. May be quiet, back soon.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri. 1st. Mar. February gone for another year. Good riddance. Can't complain though, it's been the most enjoyable February we've ever had with some wonderful weather. Yesterday we decided that we couldn't face another crush on the bus to get to the centre of Seville and drove to Santiponce on the way to El Rocio. Santiponce is part of Italica, an ancient Roman town, birthplace of the Roman emperor Trajan. We saw his baths in Rome. The ruins were OK and there was an old ampitheatre in reasonable condition. We had a pleasant surprise, the admission was free, I think that is every Thursday, the place was full of guided tours for parties of Spanish and although we were invited to join in our Spanish really isn't up to the job. Sad to say, after spending 8 months in Italy last year, we are a bit blase when it comes to Roman ruins and after about an hour we headed for the tall trees!! We'd been told to visit El Rocio, if we were in the area, by our friends Rob and Sheila, there's an ACSI site there and it's more or less on our way to Portugal. So it was that at around 3pm we found ourselves in one of the most unusual places we've visited. The only metalled road in the town is the one which takes you in and out of it. The rest is sand. The town is on the edge of a lake which forms part of the Donana national park, miles of wetland, the habitat of countless birds, deer, wild horses and Lynx. The thing about El Rocio is that it is the part time home of the shrine of the Virgen of Rocio, every 7 years she is moved to the nearby town of Almonte. This is a place of pilgrimage and once a year the members of the 111 brotherhoods, religious societies from various towns and cities have to make their way by horse or on foot to pay their respects. It seems an excuse for endless parties and wherever you look there are knots of people, many of whom are on horseback, drinking beer and wine and seemingly having a great time. Today is Andalucia day and is an even bigger party than usual. It really is like the wild west, the scenes are reminiscent of old western films in Mexico. It's difficult to describe the scene, there are men and women on horseback, and wagons, being pulled by horses and mules. This afternoon we took a bus tour around the national park. You can't take cars, vans or motorized vehicles in the park. I believe you can cycle or ride a horse around, they really do protect the environment. There is a sand road through the middle of the park which is one of the routes that the pilgrims use to come to the shrine. We saw numerous groups making their way in wagons and on horses, all carrying drinks and looking distinctly merry. In addition we saw much wildlife, and thoroughly enjoyed the four hour jaunt. Sadly we didn't spot any lynx but did see marsh harriers, black kites, buzzards, numerous water foul, deer and all manner of flora and fauna. If you are ever in this part of Spain don't miss it. It is the most Spanish part of Spain I have seen. Unique. Fabulous. One complaint, however, no Mercadonna!! The only supermarket in the town caters only for people who want to party, no fresh meat, veg or anything remotely like normal groceries, just another quirky example of an extraordinary place. Tomorrow we have to find victuals, I'm almost out of whisky too. May have to move on, although I'm curious to see what happens in this town on a Saturday night. Watch out for our next report. Amazing.