Our Motorhome journey

Woke up to a fabulous morning and breakfast outside under the clear blue sky.Cycled into town and then onto the local beachs. Ended up on a nudist one , which was interesting!!Lovely chilled out day

As we didn’t get to Belem yesterday we decided to get the train again today.Before we left I tried to find out what was causing one of the leisure batteries to fail but no joy.Belem was a true delights beautiful and helped by the clear blue skies.After a day sightseeing we got the bus back to the train station and then had to squeeze onto a carriage,literally pulling Lisa in as the doors closed on us!Left the free parking site and headed on the long drive towards the Algarve.Arrived at Zambujeira just before 9pm.On parking up I noticed a horrible smell (rotten eggs)coming from the leisure battery area and on further investigation could hear the battery bubbling and it was very hot. We were both quite scared as to what would happen , would it explode or melt? Only thing I could do was disconnect the battery and take it out from the van.At least the other battery seemed OK

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Got the train into Lisbon today and tried out the Metro.We were not that prepared on what we should do so went on an open top Hop on Hop off bus but picked the wrong route as it only went around the modern part and not the old town!Had lunch in “Time Out” market which was amazing.Decided to try one of the old trams no 28 but ended up on the wrong side of the city and had quite a walk to the train station.

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Visited the Pena palace in Sintra and the Moorish Castle. Amazing views and stunning buildings.Long walk around and then back to van to head to Lisbon.

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Beautiful sunny day ,drove to Peniche.Had lunch at an Indian restaurant and then a lovely drive to Sintra. Overnighting in a local football club carpark. Gone 11pm and they are still playing!

Drove into Nazare and had a walk round , back to the Lighthouse again and then went for Icecream at Gelotamania.Left Nazare for Sao Martinho do Porto,parked up and walked along the beach. Then back in the van and headed to Peniche ,our overnight stop.Got there in time for sunset. Lisa cooked salmon and set the grill on fire!!

Walked to Praie de Norte were the lighthouse is at Nazare.Hoping to see some of the massive waves. After a very long walk along the beach in the pouring rainwe climbed up the rocks and arrived at the lighthouse. Unfortunately the waves were not that big but still got some amazing photos

Weather better this morning so went for a walk along the beach. Got chatting to a local who recommended a BP garage for gas.Thankfully they had the correct fitting so finally managed to fill up , Hooray.Drove to Aveiro which was on the way to Nazare.Lovely town and went on a boat up the canals. After another little drfive we ended up at our campsite Vale Paraiso Natur park and settled in. Even had some welcome drinks

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Left the Vineyard Padrella and drove via Pinhoe towards Aviero back along the beautiful Douro Valley. Looking out for autogas on the way (but again no joy) we are now getting worried we will actually run out .This would mean no wild camping as we need gas for the fridge and hot water and heating.Everyone was so helpful ,especially one guy who took us to several shops ,in the pouring rain,and did everything he could to help.After a thoroughly frustrating day we arrived at our planned campsite which was abysmil compared to everywhere else we had stayed.It was so bleak , pouring with rain and the guy on reception was not too helpful. Plus we were the only Motorhome there!!At least the showers were hot and we could wash our clothes ,needed to after 3 days wild camping!!

Decided to drive to Villa Real from the Vineyard to see if we could find some auto gas to fill the tanks.All garages we tried either had no gas or the wrong fitting for our tanks.Drove back to Padrella in the afternoon to join the wine tour and tasting! We were the only people on the tour (given personally by one of the owners) It was very interesting and we ended up tasting some lovely wines ,port,cheese ,meats and Olive oil.Got carried away and purchased a few bottles and some Olive Oil!!