All photos related to this blog entry can be found at Grant & Julie

We had heard the Algarve Coast in Portugal was beautiful so decided to have a look ourselves. The border was only a few kilometres from Huelva and we had some time to kill prior to commencing our next house sit near Malaga, Spain.Crossing the border at Ayamonte takes you straight to a set of very confusing, unmanned booths. There are several lanes open each with a boom gate and a 'Box of Lights' signed posted with ‘Foreign Vehicles must stop here’ and diagrams of cars, lorries and motor homes. On the far right is a narrow lane with no boom gate, no box of lights but motorcycles painted on the pavement.

We stopped in the motorcycle lane to determine what we were supposed to do. Unable to fathom the procedure for motorcycles we presumed that Portugals Toll roads were civilised and motorcycles were exempt (as they re in many countries) so we drove on.

As we continued on the A22 we noticed a sign that depicted various vehicles, including motorcycles, and the corresponding price of the road toll. There was no booth. This happened several times over a few miles with the prices changing each time. Discussion ensured, confusion reigned and we presumed that it would be sorted once we exited the highway.

As we wanted the more scenic coast road, took an exit to the Villa de Real San Antonio. There was no exit toll booth pay here place, shrugged our shoulders and thought no more of it.

Much of the south coast of Portugal, like Spain, is set up for tourism in a big way. One major difference that the Algarve is built up with high rise apartments dedicated solely to vacation rent and urban displeasure. The Portuguese love to speak English, they take pride in how well they speak the language. They understand the importance of multi-lingual communication to the tourist industry. In one campground we stayed in all members of staff spoke a minimum of three languages (most spoke 4) other than their native tongue. This factor would contribute to the fact that the campground was chock-a-block full of grey nomads and their campervans.

Winding along the N125 is beautiful. It is lovely, rural and coastal, with little farms and villages dotting the landscape and the towns house the bigger tourist resorts. Campgrounds are plentiful and many are open all year. They can be simple affairs to large flashy ‘glamp-grounds’ (posh campgrounds for those not in the know) with all the bells and whistles you can imagine.

Distances are short in Portugal and by the time we had decided to stop for the day, we were in Lagos on the far west of the N125. Grant had been feeling disappointed that due to political and ongoing health issues in West Africa we were unable to undertake our West African Winter Odyssey. So Lagos (Portugal) was to be the next best thing to Lagos (Nigeria).

As the weather is still cold in Europe we took a cabin at Camping and Bungalows Turiscampo at Praia do Luz. This is a really nice friendly campground with great facilities. It was a good base to visit the historic old town of Lagos

Lagos is known for it being the historical centre for the Portuguese Age of Discovery. Henry the Navigator/Infante d. Henrique, the Portuguese Patron of Exploration, (1394 – 1460) used Lagos, frequently, as his home and set up his nautical (navigational and cartography) school in the nearby town of Sagres; though this is being disputed by modern historians.

The old town of Lagos is beautifully white washed with the odd colourful building thrown in. It is surrounded by the 14th century military fort that was built on the ramparts of an earlier Moorish fort. Inside the walls are steep, narrow cobblestone streets, lined with white houses and terracotta rooves, decorative tiles portraying saints or ships, potted geraniums on balconies, a stray cat wandering past, the smell of cooking wafting through an open window, salty air blown on a sea breeze, a bright clear blue sky and a sun warming a small praça where one can sip a coffee and eat a tiny, fantastically delicious, custard tart.

Portugal is lovely and laid back. The cost of living is more expensive than in Spain, but the people are friendly, the history interesting and the scenery handsome.

We explained to the campground staff our dilemma with the toll booths and explained what had happened and asked how to rectify the situation. Nobody really knew as the system is quite complicated and there are different rules for foreign registered vehicles and Portuguese vehicles.

Along the road there are cameras that photograph your vehicle and numberplate, as you pass by a camera it registers that vehicle X owes X Euros for travelling on that part of the road. We think that as a foreigner you are supposed to purchase a pre paid ticket or leave your credit card details at the box of lights on the border.

If you are Portuguese you have the opportunity to go to the post office and they will look up your licence plate and calculate the cost from the photographs taken. If you are from a country within the EU we can sort it out on line.

Eventually one lass told us that her father rides a motorcycle and he had been on the highway without prepaying. He went to pay but the cameras could not detect his number plate as it is too small and therefore did not have toll to pay. She suggested that we maybe ok and nothing will happen or we will receive a bill in Australia for the toll road usage plus a fine. We will have to wait and see and take the free roads instead.

(PS Please note that closer to Lisbon the toll roads have ticket booths when you enter and manned booths when you exit. If you have pre paid you go through the unmanned pre-paid lane.)

Food in Portugal is generous and delicious, but there is a trick. In some restaurants the menu clearly states that bread, butter and small appetizers are extra, they are detailed and the prices are listed. You are asked when you order your meal if you would like any cubiertos and you are shown them on the menu. In other establishments an assortment of cubiertos are placed on the table as you sit down. You are asked what you would like to drink and the menu is placed in front of you open to the set of choices for main meal.

In the meantime you are hungry as you have been riding for a few hours, lunch is always late in southern Europe and is a slow affair, so you have some bread put some cheese on it, have another slice with some nice tuna pate. Your drinks come so you nibble a couple of olives. Order your meal (as we were being budget conscious we ordered a soup and main to share) have another bite of something delectable before our meal is presented. When you come to pay your 10 Euro (AUD $15) lunch is calculated to 20. You read over the bill, yes dinks are there, soup is there, chicken is there along with each item that you thought was complimentary. After that we were very, very careful.

We took a lovely northern back road to Lisbon again following the coast. It was hilly and gently twisty. Lush green pastures were slowly replaced by cork tree forests. A glimpse, now and then, of the sea or rocky cliffs and gullies running down to the waters edge. The road is often lined with wattle trees and various eucalyptus trees. The wattle was in spectacular full bloom and the scent of the pollen was strong and irritating to our nasal passages. We really felt as if we were back in Australia taking a ride out around the Adelaide Hills.

Lisbon was long touted as the jewel of Europe boasting more treasures than Venice. In recent times, due to economic crisis, this grand old lady looks a little tattered around the edges. You can still see and imagine the breathtaking beauty of this city’s past but all seems a little grey, dusty and empty. That being said Portugal is experiencing a slow but steady upturn financially and small signs of progress can be seen. Abandoned buildings have for sale signs and renovations are commencing.

Arriving in Lisbon across the enormous feat of engineering that is the Vasco da Gama bridge at 17.2 kilometres it is the longest bridge is Europe we set up base at the Lisboa Camping and Bungalows just outside of the city. This campground tucked away in 3800 m2 pine forest has facilities to cater of 1800 persons. It all seems a little run down, neglected and grubby especially for the price.

Our day out in Lisbon started out with catching the bus to the Praça do Commercio, in the city centre, before deciding we wanted to go to Belem and to see the Monument to the Discoveries and the Tower of Belem. We walked along the River Tagus, past the docks and railway station, under the 25th April Bridge (based on the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco), past the marina, fancy restaurants and to the harbour. At times the 8km walk felt a little deserted and uncomfortable and we wondered if we doing the right thing as we watched the odd drug deal take place in abandoned warehouse car parks. Comfort was brought by noticing the amount of single joggers and exercisers both men and women that would pass us by so we kept on our path.

Eventually we arrived at the Monument to the Discoveries. The fifty meter concrete tower was erected in 1940 for the world Exhibition and was dismantled a couple of years later. An exact replica was constructed in 1960 on the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. It represents a ship’s bow and sails with Henry the Navigator at the front with many famous Portuguese explorers behind him including Vasco da Gama (who found a direct route to India), Ferdinand Magellan (who was the first to circumnavigate the world) and Pedro Allvaes Cabral (the discoverer of Brazil).

The forecourt surrounding the foot of the monument is paved in marble in the shape of a giant wind rose with a map of the world in the centre. All the discoveries of the world made by the Portuguese are marked by their year of unearthing.

A little ways further along is the ‘Portuguese Gothic’ or (Manueline style of Architecture – named after King Manuel 1) Tower of Belem. This iconic landmark has a lovely rich exterior with Moorish style turrets on each corner and naval themed sculptures. It has been used as Royal residences, prison, protective fort with armoury and now a tourist attraction.

As we visited Lisbon on a Monday all museums and galleries were closed so we could not visit the interior of the tower. Likewise we could not visit any of the art galleries as they too were closed. So we walked and drank coffee, took some lunch and walked some more soaking up the ambiance of the city.

This is an important thing to keep in mind when travelling in Europe, in most countries most of government and some private run galleries and museums are closed on Monday.

Our time in Portugal was coming to a close and time was running out to return to Malaga. A check of the map and the plotting of course along back roads to Merida, Spain was set in motion.

Approaching the border we found the town of Elvas. Sadly we did not have the time to stay and explore as it is home to some amazing architecture including the largest/longest section of Roman Aqueduct and a Roman Star Fort.

Portugal deserved more time than we allowed, that being said, we can always go back when we have more time and the weather is better. We were looking forward to our next house sitting assignment with three big lovely dogs, the time to sit and plan our Moroccan expedition and to think carefully and plan the next stage of our European Legs.