All in all, this little trip consisted of 4,280 miles in total from door to door.
I can safely say we had an amazing excursion into the relatively unknown, taking in four countries in the end… the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, then back through Spain and France to head home again.
Doris was a trooper throughout, she never let us down once, she just ate through the miles like they were nothing and kept us safe, secure, warm and happy. ⭐️
Deciding to actually go out-out for the night, we walked into Olhao for a meal and drinks and this building jumped out at me as looking nice and blog worthy.
As for the meal… well!
Hearing and seeing Bacalao mentioned everywhere, we investigated, to find out what it actually is, apparently it’s a fish dish, which is famous in this region of Portugal… when in Rome (Portugal) and all that, we decided to give it a go.
We found a nice beach front restaurant, where it came grilled (healthy option, instead of deep fried) with potatoes, garlic and olive oil. 👍
All that sounded very nice, healthy and by this point, it couldn’t come quick enough, as we were starving.
As the waiter placed out plates on the table, we tried our very best to affix wonderful, happy, ‘oh that looks amazing’ smiles on our faces.
To say it was covered in olive oil, would have been a complete and utter understatement!
As can be seen in the photo above, the fish was still happily swimming around on the plate in all the oil.
The first bite of the fish was nice… albeit riddled with bones!… side note: Why can’t fish have evolved to not have any bones at all, so when we eat them by the boat load, we can enjoy the meal, instead of constantly having to check the mouthful of fish you just shovelled into your face for bones, before cautiously chewing and then finally allowing yourself the satisfaction of actually swallowing?
Oh well, you have to try these things don’t you… expanding horizons and all that.
There was a small nature reserve next to the campsite in Olhao, not wanting to miss out and explore, we ventured out for a few hours for a look see.
The above photo was a tidal mill on the edge of the reserve, as the tide comes in, the flow of water turns a water wheel which is used to grind the flour / wheat or whatever… smart.
This little guy was just sat in the middle of the road where cars come and go into the car park, you’d have thought he could have found a better place to sit than that.
Is it me, or can you kind of see the shape of an octopus in this plant?
We had a lovely walk to the beach Praia do Guincho and back from the campsite and here’s a quick photo I took of the view on our return leg.
I can’t say I’ve ever heard of it, but this is what Sea Holly looks like, kind of like your Christmas Holly, but wetter I guess.
While wandering the quaint little cobbled streets in Obidos, we found a small area with owls, falcons and their handlers.
For a small donation, we each had our photos taken surrounded by owls, including a small baby one… ahhhh
I know it’s blue, but I don’t think this old telephone box belongs to The Doctor, plus it doesn’t look any bigger on the inside as it does from the outside.
Wandering the streets in Obidos, we found a jewellers who specialised in hand made filigree pieces and spotting the cardboard cutout just inside the doorway, we had to take a quick look around the shop so I could get a snap of Jánine, as she would perhaps look if she were a gypsy (how close to the truth is that)… as always, she looked amazing and the look suited her don’t you think?
Deciding to go to Obidos for a look see, we parked up and wandered into this lovely looking town that’s part of, or perhaps inside the walls of a large fort.
As soon as we crossed the threshold, we saw the archway above, that seemed to connect the outside to the inside and I’m guessing it’s actually a small alter after seeing the cross at the centre.
Everything looked like the stereotypical small Spanish towns that you either have in your mind, or have maybe seen on TV, even some of the shop doorways have been decorated to perfection.
Small cobbled streets angle off, up or down from various intersections allowing you to navigate around the town.
This is one of those places I just had to share more than one photo of, as no single photo could adequately do it justice for how beautiful it is.
After all these years, I can finally prove the little grey aliens are already here!
I’m willing to bet they live somewhere near that supermarket we found in France with the very small shopping trolleys!
Treasured Timeout 