our motorhome adventure

monday: had a lovely day in guimaraes yesterday, and were v. lucky with the weather too!
walked down through the woods, as were told it would only take about half an hour, after a look at
the stunning view from the miradouro; both recommended by the lady at the reception desk!
we stopped for a while to listen to the singing in the church just below the viewing point, and then
found the small pathway through the cork oaks, and headed downwards towards the town.
a long religious procession passed us, and a french motorhome got caught up in it coming the other
way!, we felt rather sorry for them, as hundreds of people, priests, religious icons, scouts banging drums,
filed past on their way to the huge church at the top of the hill.
it took us about 40 mins. to walk down + we had to ask a few locals for directions as we went along, but
in the end made it pretty easily.
arrived in town just in time for lunch, so stopped at a café right by the old city walls, looking down at a
large church at the end of a long formal garden.
toasted sarnies and naughty drinks, watching the world go by, and then off for a wander.
headed to the paco dos duques (ducal palace) first as free entry before 2pm (sunday special!).
the palace fell into disrepair, when the duke and family moved to vila vicosa, but has been beautifully
restored to its former glory. It was the coziest medieval building we’d ever been in, and would have been
a fab place to live!
there were also some interesting modern art exhibitions, and clothes from the 18th/19th century on
display, so lots to see….
had to hang around a bit as it started to rain v. heavily whilst we were in there, but eventually it stopped
and we headed to the castelo, just behind, via a small church with v. old carved tombstones in the floor.
found a falconer inside the castle walls, with harris hawks, peregrine falcons and a lovely owl, so chatted
to him for a while, before deciding to wend our way back to catch the cable-car, as the weather
seemed to be closing in.
got a bit damp as we walked back through the gorgeous medieval town, stopped for an ice-cream (of
course!), but it wasn’t too bad under the umbrella….then straight onto the cable-car and in 8 mins. back
at the statue at the top in penha, and a short walk back to the site.
cooked quick tea, milled around/internetted for a bit, then bed.
up early-ish as moving on today, to braga, portugal's third largest city....
paid our bill, used services etc. and off. drove around town for a bit, trying to find a post office, but gave up
as couldn't see one (unusual!).
short journey to braga (about 40mins.), and then drove into the site, parque municipal de campismo de braga,
situated on one of the bends into town - about 20 mins. walk away from the centre.
quickly got parked up in the sunshine!, and now chilling (internetting!) before lunch, and a walk down into
town later on for a recce....
will stay here a couple of nights, and then head back to the coast to get sorted for our re-entry into spain.

tuesday: walked down into town yesterday aft., after nice lunch sat in the sunshine, and mooch in the van/
around the site.
only took about 15 mins. as we cut through a small park where there was an old church from the 17th
century to have a peek at.
went straight to the post office, as needed to get the sat nav. cord posted back for our (fingers crossed) refund.
after that just strolled around. v. busy place, everyone out and about. walked past so many beautiful
churches and buildings we lost count! plus lots of nice shops, restaurants and cafes....
headed to the se cathedral, the oldest in portugal, and went in for a look. really amazing place with fantastic
wooden ceiling and ornate choir. we wanted to do a tour of the chapels below and the choir above, but closed
on mondays (like most other things).
no internal pic's either, and a v. vigilant guardian!
so, walked back through the shopping streets, via an ice-cream shop, to the centre, before slow walk back to
the site via a supermarket. v. enjoyable!
a few more vans, and a tent, had appeared at the site, so quite busy really.
didn't sleep well as v. noisy, but woke to another sunny day : )
plan is p working for a bit this am, then walk back to town and visit the roman ruins and another museum, as
open today, before getting the bus to the bom jesus do monte - a sanctuary - where there is an old church,
reached by some baroque steps and a good view of the surroundings.
after that hoping to have some dinner in a recommended (LP) grill close to the cathedral....

paco dos duques (guimaraes): pduques.imc-ip.pt

saturday: yesterday was a total wash-out - it literally rained all day! we haven't had a day like that
for a v. long time.
it eventually stopped late eve., and thankfully didn't rain in the night, so we slept a little better.
but, we woke to another gloomy one, and decided time to move on from the site at arco, as
we didn't really like it, but couldn't put our finger on why!
so, packed up and got onto the road pretty swiftly; headed to guimaraes, the first capital of portugal,
only about an hour away.
journey took us through some more of the gorgeous vinho verde valley's, with its tall vineyards, and
then, after quick stop at an intermarche in fafe, we arrived at the site at penha, high above guimaraes.
we got a bit tangled up on the roads, as there is a car rally later on this aft., and there was lots of tape
everywhere blocking the entry to several roads, incl. the campsite entrance, but eventually we made it
to the reception....
the very friendly and helpful staff guided us in, showed us to our plot, and plugged us in just as the
heavens opened!
we had our lunch, got sorted and are now relaxing as its raining again : (
p is going to check out the rally later, starts in a little while, and we plan to visit the town - far below
us - tom., so our fingers are def. crossed for better weather!

sunday: watched the rally yesterday aft., was actually pretty good and v. exciting! we had a great
view from just outside of the site, weather stayed rain-free for most of it too.
after that explored the campsite a bit; nice pool, clean showers and loos, little restaurant, sweet!
then early tea, rest of a film we'd started the night before, + bed.
another van arrived, huge french thing!
woke to sunny-ish day, but raining now. going to be a sunshine and showers kind of day....
plan is to explore up here, penha, then get the cablecar down into the town for an explore down there!

camping (penha): parque de campismo da penha, tel: +351 253515912

thursday: had a lovely day yesterday - exploring porto in the sunshine : )
got the bus in again, v. busy at the campsite stop, chatted to some irish motorhomers (pretty new to
the game, first motorhome, like us!) while we waited….and not such a rockety journey as the day
before!
there was a big traffic jam as we got near to vila nova de gaia, so after sitting going no-where for
quite a while, we decided to get off and walk the rest of the way (as we kind of knew where we were,
thanks to yesterday's exploration).
crossed the huge luis 1 bridge and then walked along the banks of the historic ribeira district looking
over at vila nova!
stopped for lunch; toasted sarnie, drinks and ice-creams, before climbing up towards the palacio da
bolsa (the old stock exchange palace) for a tour…..only had to wait a few mins. before we set off
around the building – privately owned, hence the guided visit and no piccie’s either! (although a few
sneaky ones were taken!).
after that just strolled around the small, narrow, streets soaking in the atmosphere of the city….popped
into the portugese centre of photography, and its museum, located in the old prison/court of appeal
building (cadeia da relacao), and the sao bento train station, with its amazing azejulo tiles, before heading
back towards the river via a restaurant recommended on lonely planet…..booked a table for dinner and
then milled some more, enjoying the sunshine….
had another drink/cake stop in rua das flores, a v. old street, and then a walk along the river to the carro
electrico museu (tram museum) – sadly closed for refurbishment – followed by a short tram ride back to
the centre, and another slow meander along the ribeira esplanade, before our dinner.
meal was delicious in 'a grade' restaurant. we took the opp. to have a 'roasted in the oven' meal - lamb for
p, pork for c (yum), then shared a naughty chocolate mousse, and finished off with some locally brewed
'firewater' (eau de vie) for p; we talked to some friendly canadians at the next table – also using lonely
planet ‘top choice’ rec’s – we all laughed when they said they had done the taylor’s tour too!
then we reluctantly walked over the bridge to get the bus back to the site for potter before bed. it was a
really nice day.
raining in the am, as forecast. packed up and onto the road pretty early….headed inland one last time,
to amarante, a medieval town.
stopped for shopping (cupboards bare), fuel and popped into another ‘roady’ to see about the sat nav
cord….before heading on into the vinho verde vineyards.
arrived at small site in amarante, v. pretty town, after about 2 hours. sadly no wi-fi or internet (which p
needs for work now our wifi thingy isn’t working), so had a short pit-stop, and some lunch, before getting
back on the road to the next closest site (about an hour away) at arco de baulhe.
arrived at another lovely small (run by belgian's) site, campismo arco. parked up/chocked up in the pouring
rain, got ourselves organized, and now p has gone to the reception area to use the internet.
we plan to stay here for a couple of days or so….not sure what’s around here, but as weather looks bad
– rainy - for a few days, not sure it matters!

friday: quiet night at the site - but rainy.
woke to more rain, and a pretty gloomy looking day. some people have packed up and left....most people
seem to be travelling down, towards the algarve (and the sunshine), not up, into the cold, like us! (sensible
people!!).
a bread man arrived in his small van, tooting like mad to herald his arrival, and to muster customers!
we had leisurely brekkie + slow get up. rather nice.
both sitting in the recep/restuarant on the internet at mo. p working.
no plan for today really as too wet for scootering, and no supplies needed! : )
so, just relaxing and waiting for sunnier days....

old stock exchange palace (porto): www.palaciodabolsa.pt
portugese photography centre (porto): www.cpf.pt
tram museum (porto): www.museudocarroelectrico.pt
a grade restaurant (porto): rua de sao nicolau, tel: +351 223321130
camping amarante: parque de campismo penedo da rainha, tel: +351 255437630
camping arco de baulhe: camping arco, tel: +351 968176246

sunday: scootered into luso yesterday am to check it out - sweet little place! (thermal/spa town),
pretty, nice houses, shops, gardens....
found TO for some info, supermarket for some supplies, little farmers market for some fruit....then
strolled around for a bit.
back to the van for lunch, then scootered to one of the nearby gates of the walled-in-forest at bucaco.
had a long, peaceful, aft. walk around in there, topped off by tea/drinks on the terrace of the rather posh
palace hotel! (and a nose around, of course!).
short scoot back to the van for 'cooked outside' tea, and semi-pack up as moving on today.
woke to a lovely sunny day, said our goodbyes, paid our bill and onto the road for the 2 hour+
journey to another orbitur site (madalena) on the coast, for porto.
easy journey, + stopped for shopping just before we arrived at v. large sunny site.
parked up and unpacked, lunch, washing on, now chilling....waiting to see what the weather will be like
next few days for our visit to the city.
we're also starting to think about leaving portugal (which will be hard), and crossing back into spain in the
next week or so....

monday: nice quiet aft. yesterday....p worked, c walked to the beach - long, sandy, windy! - and back again.
then tea and bed. site v. busy, but slept well.
woke to another sunny day; depending on how p feels/his work, vague plan is to get the bus along the coast,
check out vila nova de gaia (just across the river from porto) about 10km from here - where all the port lodges
are.....
if we don't do that, may just walk back to the beach and sit in one of the many cafe's enjoying the sunshine.

tuesday: v. relaxed day yesterday; p worked, c pottered, then after lunch walked to the beach for a stroll along
the long boardwalks, in both directions.
stopped and had an ice-cream sat in the hot sunshine at one of the numerous beachside cafe's and then
walked back to the site for more mooching, tea and bit of a film before bed.
today will be much the same....see how p feels and then make a plan.
weather is still good, warm and sunny : )

wednesday: p worked yesterday am/didn't feel too bad, so - after lunch - got the bus from outside the site
into vila nova de gaia. super fast journey through the narrow backstreets and arrived on the riverfront in
about half an hour!
wow, what a view....
walked along for a bit, just looking at beautiful porto on the opposite bank of the river, before climbing
up the steep hillside for a tour in taylor's port lodge (rec. on lonely planet).
v. professional operation and gorgeous grounds etc., reasonable price for the tour, incl. tasting, €3 pp. +
only had to wait about 10 mins. for the next english one too....
v. interesting half an hour, finished off with a taste of ruby and tawny port for p, he'd had a white port
taster before the tour started!
then after sitting about in the lavish tasting room, and checking out the view from the balcony, we walked
back to the esplanade for another wander....
had a little toasted sarnie/drink break to soak up the alcohol and then decided to get onto one of the
traditional wooden boats (rabelo) for a trip up the douro - underneath the six bridges.
again, didn't have to wait too long and off we went....really nice to be on the river, and more lovely views
too!
then back to the bus stop for the rocket ride home and quick tea, bed....
rain started late eve and went on all night, v. noisy on the roof!, and heavy....but happily woke to a sunny
day.
plan is to return on the bus - to porto side of the river - and have an explore over there....p feeling better
at last, so might even stay and have a bite to eat : )

taylor's port lodge (vila nova de gaia): www.taylor.pt

thursday: weather was iffy all am yesterday, rained on and off, so we waited until after lunch to scoot
into town, (and we never managed to walk to the beach).
after another quick chat with our neighbours, janet and david, we turned out of the site onto the main
road, went round a corner and OMG!, a couple of huge bridges appeared, followed by an enormous town!
we were both really surprised!
not v. pleasant scoot in, bit nervewracking on the bridges particularly, but we made it and then spent
quite a long time trying to find the centre as fig. da foz is quite sprawling.
scootered right along the coast, past the wide beach, to buarcos at the end; stopped for a bit to watch
some surfers running to catch the waves that were breaking sideways onto the beach!
scootered back....eventually found the town, and parked up for a wander.
all pretty quiet as out of season, but a few places were open. walked to the casino to check it out, not
open ‘til 3pm, and no flip-flops allowed – we may come back tom. for a flutter!
after that sat and had a drink in the newer, near to the beach, part of town; a ray or two of sunshine
even appeared - v. welcome, before we walked back to the scoot via a barber’s p had spied for an
overdue trim!
quick ice-cream break, another hairy scoot back over the bridges, then quiet eve.
woken up in the night by more rain, quite heavy, and large drips off the power lines above us (plus v.
itchy mosquito bites!!).
p not feeling too bright, coldy, plus internet thingy not working, so not sure what we're going to do
today....
pottered am, as weather still not great, before lunch p scootered into town with the wifi thing to see if
it could be sorted.....both p and helpful girl in tmc thought it was ok....so p came back pretty happy!
had some lunch, and after a think and a chat, decided to move on as weather still not that great, journey
into town a bit stressful (over those bridges), and not much going on here really....
c quickly walked to the campsite beach - just to see what it was like - really lovely - while p got the
scooter on.
sadly when p tested the wifi it was still not working, so we popped back to the tmc shop in town, on our
way, to have another go....after a while in there - with no success - another helpful girl suggested a trip
to an internet shop in the jumbo supermarket....so off we went.....but despite the best efforts of pretty
much everyone, it still won't connect : (
spotted another 'roady' while we were driving around, and as had no success in there the other day when
we stopped, decided to pop in and see if we could get a new cord for the sat. nav./or a refund. another
v. helpful man, but no can do (as roady are all franchises!) - we have to return it to the shop we bought it
from!
c got few bits in intermarche, as right next door, then once all that had been done - it was FINALLY onto
the road for the journey, about an hour, to luso, and a campsite we'd found on the internet.
lovely drive back inland, and after not too long we arrived at a gorgeous little site in the early eve sunshine.
parked up and had tea straight away as late; it was just nice to have stopped too, after a day of trying very
hard, but not achieving much at all!
p still not feeling good, but a bit better than earlier....
plan is that we are chilling here for a few days, exploring the ancient forest, and the palace (now a smart
hotel) in the centre, which is only a short scooter ride away from the site.

friday: nice relaxed eve, doing not much! slept pretty well as its v. quiet here amongst the pines.
p not feeling good still, and has some work to do today.
sun's not out yet, but its not raining and its quite warm : )
plan to potter today, c may walk to the town, not that far, get a map of the forest etc.

saturday: yesterday was a day of doing nothing much!
well, p worked : )
c pottered, got maps of the forest/town from recep. chatted to german couple next door, usual stuff.
a couple more people arrived, english couple in a tent, french couple in small van.
watched a bit of a film after tea....nice.
woke today to cloudy day - but clearing now, supposed to be hot.
p feeling a bit better.
plan is to head to the forest and have a walk around in there for the day - maybe a cup of tea at the
posh hotel!

palace hotel: www.lusohotelbussacopalace.com