Journey along the west coast of Portugal - Part II

I headed off back along the four km or so of rough road back to the main coastal route. The plan now was just to make my way on down the coast, stopping at a few places that looked interesting along the way, before finding somewhere to spend the second night. The next place I pulled in at was a good lunch stop, just south of a place called Sines. 

Here, as in many places in Portugal there was one main carpark, which would be quite busy with motorhomes from all over Europe, then the road would continue usually much further along, which is where the more interesting and secluded camping spots are to be found. The roads often end up in dirt roads that can continue for many kilometres, and even rejoin the main road again via some winding track through the scrub.

Here, it wasn’t far from the main road, and I followed the side road for a bit before turning and parking up side on to the ocean. It wasn’t too windy, so I could have the side open for lunch, and have a walk on the rocky shore. The shore also turned out to be popular with surfers as there was good surf  (there's a surf school along here too) and I could watch some of them catching the waves through the back window as I had lunch..

The next place i stopped at was very desert like with a long sandy road along the coast, and the cactus plants all over the roadside that become more and more prevalent the further south you get. 

Here you can get a good look at the finished job on the front of the camper were I was parked on the sandy roadside..

This road stretched on pretty far, but I wasn’t ready to stop just yet and after exploring it a bit, turned back onto the main road to find somewhere to relax for the rest of the afternoon, and then spend the night..

The place I eventually stopped at was a bit further south than I had planned, but it was a really sheltered place beside a river estuary at Odeceixe. GPS:37.442018, -8.794955

There was a great grassy place just below the cliff of what appeared to be an old quarry. This was the view just down at the river..

It flowed on out through some peaceful sand dunes, then on into the sea just beyond. I walked along the sandy bank, collecting pieces of driftwood, and soon had enough for a fire. Back at camp I dug around for some matches, and luckily there were still some dry ones in the kitchen. Pretty soon I had a small fire going and was boiling water for cooking.

In case you’re wondering, thats the grill from the stove top in the camper over the fire.

It was a peaceful and sheltered spot for the night, not open and exposed to winds like places along the cliff tops, and as the embers glowed and rain began to fall, I enjoyed the silence of the evening, the sound of the waves beyond the dunes making my eyelids heavy..

Part III coming soon..

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