Lagos to Praia de Santo André

So where have we been for the past two weeks....
We went to an Aire in Lagos and paid €2 each for a shower, but it was worth it. So feeling a bit cleaner and having bumped into friends from earlier, Paul & Anita, we went and explored Lagos on our bikes and found a nice bar. The beach in Lagos was sheltered from the wind and so we went back then next day and then we decided to drive to Ingrina. Thankfully we had been forewarned that all the sand had been washed away in the storms. Now it was just a rocky cove, but at least the restaurant was still there for a birthday celebration, joined by Ian and Sue.


This is a view of Ingrina in 2013!!! The story was the same at Zavial, just over the hill where Tim had hoped to go surfing. Though it was still lovely to lay in the sun and enjoy the peace and quiet, and an ice cream.



Then it was on to Sagres, where the storms had also removed the sand and destroyed a cafe, along with the surf beach. We battled against the wind to cycle out to Cape St Vincent and then found a place out of the wind. Though the weather has been lovely and sunny for the past month, the wind has been constant.


This might not appear much....but now we can have toast in the van, thanks to our newly purchased Portuguese toaster.


The view from the overnight parking area at Sagres is stunning. The cliffs are several hundred feet high and believe it or not people fish from the tops! They must be mad. Right below our parking area is a lovely sheltered sandy beach a sanctuary out of the wind.


After being constantly battered by the wind, we decided to take a "holiday" and went to the luxury Tourismo Campsite at Espiche, just inland from Praia de Luz. Here was a lovely sandy beach and a cool pool on the site so we had the best of both worlds. The only draw back was that we had to cycle back to the campsite past a magnetic ice cream shop that kept pulling us in, how we struggled to resist it!


Then off we went in search of surf, to a beach 3 miles down a bumpy, dusty track. Thankfully the surf was good and Tim made it into the water for a good afternoon's surfing. We were also surprised to find a pig living in the white camper parked next to us, along with 3 dogs and a cat!


A quick stop back at Sagres, before moving off North. We headed to a surf beach at Arrifana for lunch, but noticed the engine management light was flashing and we'd no idea why. We took a leisurely drive to Odeceixe to use the Internet and stay the night. Unfortunately there was no wifi and the parking area was being reconstructed, so we traveled on up the coast to Porto Covo. Here we discovered our brake lights were stuck on, even with the key removed. A phone call to Riverside Garage at home came to the rescue and informed us it was a faulty break switch. To prevent the battery draining overnight they told us to remove the fuse, number 9, if you are interested!
We found a garage in Santiago do Cacém, who fixed it for us. We had to speak to the boss's daughter over the phone for her to translate, but even though the garage was closed as it was Saturday, they found the right part, €15, and fitted it for no charge. What lovely, generous people.


To chill out afterward, we headed back to the beach at Praia de St André and spent 2 days doing nothing but reading our Kindles and when that got too much for us, we made a windmill from bits found on the beach, much to our surprise, it actually worked!



Cold beers, from the fridge and off to the bar to find some wifi.......