And Portugal... August.

August (and the last few days of July).

We were very happy to be on the final leg of our journey and driving the bridge into Portugal felt good, we headed to the coast and west towards Fuseta for our next camp site, Matty was impressed by the islands that he said looked very nice and I loved the old traditionally tiled buildings.

We arrived at Fuseta camp site just after lunch time and were told the last pitch had just been taken, this was not great as we had already contacted a few and they were all fully booked (this one was not contactable), my heart sank to be honest as we didn't have a plan b but thankfully as we were turning around to leave the guy ran over and said that his colleague told him someone had just left and we had a pitch if we needed it, which we did, it was probably the sunniest spot on the site but we were in it like a shot - brill!! Lunch of fish then to the beach it was great. We were surrounded by smiley happy people which was a comforting start. 

Fuseta beach and cheapo surf boards, have to start somewhere!!

It was not long before we had been advised to speak to an Irish woman, a mother of two boys who worked on the site, the next morning I had an hour with the lovely Anita but to my dismay the main reason she was leaving was the schooling; lack of support, little discipline and bullying to mention a few issues!! Well, I passed this info on to Neil and we were a little shell shocked to say the least, we had only been in Portugal a couple of days at this point and were now wondering about our decision to be here, we slept on it and the next day we felt we had been given information that would ensure we find out as much as possible about schools and anything at all come to that before making decisions as we moved forward on this journey.

The Fuseta and Tavira (east) area had appealed to us and we booked an appointment with an estate agent, we arrived at the office, leaving the boys with Anita and her boys, only to find the office closed, it turned out they had tried and failed to contact us, we didn't get to meet the agent at all we kept missing each others calls. In the meantime my research told me that for more 'european' schools we needed to be looking at Lagoa, Portimao and Lagos, which were places we had not really considered, so that was that, we decided not to follow up with the agent and to make the next week or so a full on holiday and then move further west. Best to just sit on this for a while...

Every year Fuseta has a festival and the week we where there was that week, live music and festivities for five nights, it was noisy but very enjoyable and for once the late night loud music did not bother me at all and I found I could drift off to sleep with ease listening to the Latino rhythms - bliss!!

Boat to Fuseta.

Yes!!!

Action...

A short boat trip takes you to Fuseta Island, the free Zumba class on the beach (that Anita is addicted to) was fab to watch, the four boys enjoyed the surf and another stunning sunset before heading back to camp. What a lovely day!!

Boys lunch.

Fuseta Sunset.

August 1st, my birthday, beautiful gifts and cards and a cake at breakfast then off to the town of Alte with cool fresh water pools, the drive there was longer than we imagined and a hard one along the twist and turns of the hillside. Twisting through the pine forests the cooler air was filled with the sweet yet refreshing fragrance of the pine trees, and for the first time we came across the cork trees with the bark recently stripped – quite something. All this followed by Fish and Chips in Albufeira and the evening was spent with Anita, Bruno and the boys at the festival, a few dances and a few beers to finish off another lovely birthday, it was quiet compared to previous years to say the least but filled with love as always!!

Gifts.

The beautiful Alte.

Cannonball!!

Anita and Bruno.

Fiesta!!

Time to find a more permanent spot further west, we found a site called Chicken Run, it was not far from Alvor in a small tradition village called Mexilhoeira Grande, lot of tiles here which I liked very much.

Tiles in Mexilhoeira Grande.

Sunrise at Chicken Run.

We thought great time for us to get cracking and sort a few things out, with excellent internet we were off to a good start. It was not long before I found out about summer school, thanks to my no fear approach and chatting to anyone on the street I came across Marlain who’s son Alex (a little older than our two) was attending summer school in Portimao, not long and it was all organised, they were dropped off on the beach for what was their first day of many with Eureka school. Happy happy happy!!! 

First day of summer school.

The boys weekly schedule consisted of three mornings on the beach and three afternoons with classroom activities, one day at the natural water pools in Estombar and a day out at a water park, climbing or some other exciting fun place, what a start to their new lives in Portugal, oh and a splatting of Portuguese of course in with that lot.  

Chicken Run was a lovely space but it was too difficult for us to manage there for a few reasons; running water was not freely available it was pumped, although not huge problem in itself but coupled with other things made it hard work, no showers or loo’s for us to use so we had to use the caravan this again not a problem if its only now and again but not every day, it was like standing under a trickling tap which meant showers took ages and more water than ever had to be collected, and not a lot of shade, when its 38 degrees its hot. The boys daily shower was taken stood in a container at the side of the 90 with the solar shower on top, it slid of from time to time… This I have to say the boys loved and didn’t complain about showering once.  Overall the internet was the best thing but unfortunately this was not enough to keep us there. 

Solar showering.

Haven't used one of these for ages...

Just a random experience when filling up...

Cool!!

Where dreams could start...

Camping Alvor had a pool and bathroom block so definitely better but still no shade, the site was so jam packed the only places left were out in the sun, the main summer season is clearly busy. The big hiccup was that after agreeing with the receptionist the monthly (long term) price when we arrived back with the caravan she said she had made a mistake and for August the long term prices do not apply and it could only be the regular August daily rate, hmmmmm, not happening in my world, it was not my mistake at all and the receptionist apologised but this did not help, a solution was needed. After a long ‘chat’ in front of many hot and bothered potential guests they agreed a rate for us and we were, for the second time, happy to have a more permanent place. 

Summer school was closer and the beach only 5 mins away, the down side was the internet which was awful we purchased a router which helped but it was still too intermittent for our needs. We purchased a few camping type storage units to make things a little less cramped in the caravan, we had more stuff than you usually take but things we needed had to come with us, Matty had actually began to teach himself Portuguese. 

Neil set up the hammock which was not a secure as he thought, oops.  Ouch!!!!

Alvor.

Alvor

Alvor beach was wonderful a really good tonic, the sea was divine, the waves powerful; a really good way to cool off and clear any confusion which in our position was priceless, with so many what if’s and maybe’s the brain was getting a little foggy and it was difficult to think clearly – thanks again to Mother Nature and her healing power we would come away without a care in the world. Aljezur was a little further away but this place I loved, we spent some time playing in the delicious sea, we had a picnic and watched the sunset… This place makes we want to surf…

West coast surf...

Relaxing... :) 

Stunning beach.

Aljezur wall art.

  

Atlantic sunset fun.

A tasty breakfast treat, well anytime of the day in fact!!

Wasnt me...

Monchique is a stunning part of The Algarve; cork trees, pine trees and that divine fragrance again, it was an area we thought we could settle in, but when we took a drive up although its not far from the coast the final section of the road to the town was really windy and Ryan was sick. We did look at a few places for sale up there but the access was too difficult and the plots were too steep for us to visualise life there, this combined with the possibility of Ryan having travel sickness coming to and from we ruled it out.

Medieval show.

Market stalls full of wonders.

The lovely Medieval town of Silves has a festival every year, the show was great fun jesters, horses, jousting and cheering, then a wonder through the cobbled street leading to the castle lined with stalls selling the most beautifully crafted furniture, lamps, mirrors and all kinds of shiny things I have seen for a long time, not a good time to buy with only the caravan to furnish but I shall get my chance!!

Food fit for Kings. 

Good times!!

After almost a week we actually spoke to our neighbours, it turns out they too had relocated here and couldn't find a place to rent either. The beautiful Israeli family of four Tal, Yaniv and their two lovely boys Tohar and Ilia were great company, we all went through quite a low spell together in our hot crowded caravans but knowing we shared similar frustrations and feelings helped us all refill with positivity and propel forwards. We shared interests, concerns, ideas, meals and dreams, this was only the beginning of our friendship. Their boys picked up a few English words and us a few Hebrew. It turned out we were all moving somewhere new for September, I was glad this was the case I would have missed them if we had stayed behind when they moved on. We all left camping Alvor the same day.

To new friendships & Angels along the way...