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Portugal 3

We're currently on site at a place called Luso, 60 miles or so south of Porto.  Having moved inland we're back on a virtually deserted campsite.  After our last note we did head south, just touched the western Algarve without reaching the south coast and got to the edge of the land on the western coast.  Our first site there was fairly empty and we saw some fabulous cliff scenery which was very colourful.  Strange landscape with sand and dunes on top of the cliffs.  One of the (to me, many) iritating things about this country is that the dunes on the cliffs are like all dune environments very fragile and easy to damage but there are no marked paths.  There are tracks everywhere.  Then a few miles up the coast are big signboards with EC funded notices on explaining about the wildlife and the protected sea zone all in Portuguese and no other language.  Perhaps they have lots of Angolan, Mozambique and Brazillian tourists but I doubt it.  What ...
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Portugal 2

Even though we've been here well over a week there's not a great deal to report.  Last year in France, May was too early for the best flowers whereas here in Portugal early June seems to be too late.  The land gets more parched as we move south.  The north has more rain and is therefore greener and more wooded. Had an easy climb to the top of mainland Portugal's highest mountain at 1993 metres with as expected, spectacular if hazy views.  One of Portugal's Kings had a 7 metre high tower built at the top so that Portugal's highest pointwas exactly 2000 metres. Oh, it was easy because we drove up. We're currently meandering in a southerly direction close to the Spanish border, a sparely populated, empty, untouristy area.  Very attractive countryside, dominated here by dehesa, which is a system of wooded pasture consisting of well spaced cork oaks with meadow beneath.  Fantastic for the wildlife, both birds and flowers.  Like everything else a landsc...
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Our 2011 Portuguese trip

We began with the best excuse I’ve ever heard for a course of a meal taking too long to arrive.  We’d ordered the ‘Selection of Desserts to share’.  “Will it be much longer ?”  “Sorry, the manager has had to go out to get another blow torch for your crème brulee.”   This was in exotic Wimborne Minster where we’d decided to start the trip with lunch before catching the Santander ferry from Portsmouth.  The dessert selection was excellent when it arrived, but there was no crème brulee. Last time we went to Spain it was a P & O ferry and it was crap, like a floating motorway service station and not even a good one of those.  This time we went Brittany Ferries and it was far superior, good food, reasonable prices and not crowded.  Smooth, smooth crossing. First site in Portugal, terraced, almost empty, facing west and covered in cherry trees so we can pick ripe cherries any time we want.  They’re small, about the size of a little...
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