Portugal 2

July 23, I (Marcel) had to say goodbye to my brother Jurgen😩. He hasn't seen his girlfriend Natalia for a long time and they finally managed to book a trip to Cancun to meet each other😍. I dropped Jurgen at the international Airport in Madrid and continued my trip to Portugal. 

Next day I received the very good news that they both made it to Cancun. 

My first stop in Portugal was at campsite O Tempo Parou (Vilartao) . When I arrived I was the only customer. Normally it is fully booked from March to October, but due to Covid, most of the bookings were canceled. In the evening I got company from a Dutch family in a huge mobile home. 

The next day there were forest fires very near by. Firefighting planes flew back and forth. 

Link to video forest fire

This is a very nice campsite with a swimming pool and a very friendly owner. 

My next stop was campsite Lima Escape (Entre Ambos or Rior). This is a national Parc where you can do beautiful hikes. 

Time for some beaches😎, so I went to Vila Praiade Ancora, campsite do Paco. A beautiful place next to a small waterfall and close to the beach. Here I stayed 7 days. I did a couple of hikes, jogging every morning along the beach and cycled along the beach. 

The following stop, Braga. Great camping on top of a hill. Braga is the oldest city of Portugal and built by the Romans 16 years BC. 

Here I visited Bom Jesus, a sanctuary on top of a mountain. It is a 7 km hike uphill😥. But on top is a great terrace with a beautiful view and cold beer. 

After 5 days I moved on to Porto. Camping do Canidelo, expensive, but the location is perfect. Next to a cycling path along the beach directly to Porto (7 km). 

Porto is great city with terraces everywhere😜

But too expensive, so I went to Praia de Mira. A little paradise located between a lake and the ocean. Very nice. 

I'm still here (August 20), but the plan is to move on tomorrow. I have contacted a campsite 2 hours drive from here. The owners are Dutch, so after 4 weeks I can finally speak Dutch again and I hope to have some contact. Due to Covid there are only Portuguese and Spanish traveller's and they hardly speak English and I don't speak Portuguese nor Spanish. 🤔

To be continued😉