Back to Sesimbra, then south..

Faced with a distressing weather forecast our first inclination is to consult a different one hoping for better news. It did not work; the meteorologists of Britain, France, Spain and Portugal on all platforms, Windows, Android and Apple were in rare agreement. It was about to get windier, wetter and unseasonably cold. Observation replaced prediction, friends in Buxton reported snow in October, bad even by Pennine standards; fellow motorhomers in Hetty Hymer posted pictures on Facebook, torrential rain, strong winds and single digit temperatures in Galicia; a friend in southwest France posted a photo of  the wintry looking Pyrenees.

We agreed, lovely though Bubulcus and Bolatas may be, it was too remote to ride out a storm, particularly for Sarah, Rob and Ralfi camping under canvas. The forecast looked better on the coast south of Lisbon so we headed back to Sesimbra. 

Its municipal campsite overlooks the bay, a large site, packed in summer no doubt, but virtually empty in late October. It has the dubious honour on Google reviews as being named as having the worst sanitary block in Portugal. It was bad, but the site's setting compensated for the general run-down condition.

Sesimbra is definitely one of our favourite spots in all of Portugal, enough of a resort to give the place a lively vibe and a thriving cafe culture, but retaining its function as a major fishing port, which means the town has a lived in feel, retains its municipal market and is famous for fish restaurants.

Choosing somewhere to have lunch proved tricky. We had Ralfi in tow so needed a dog friendly place with a terrace. There were a good number, but the blustery wind rendered most impractical. Eventually we found an unprepossessing looking place up a side street with a bright yellow plastic awning with 'Snack Bar' emblazoned on it. However it provided a windbreak for its terrace, the cold shelf at the front displayed a colourful array of fish and delicious smells wafted from the open grill next to it.

Not all fish on offer were immediately recognisable

I chose swordfish with onions, everyone else had flounders. The fish was prepared and cooked perfectly, accompanied with the usual basic veg you get in traditional Portuguese cooking - piles of boiled spuds and a green salad drenched in spicy olive oil. It was what John Torode on Masterchef calls 'crowd pleasing fare'. 

Swordfish with onions....or onions with swordfish?

The blustery breeze did make the occasion a little more exciting than need be. Every so often it was all hands to the table to cling on to the cloth, cutlery and menu holder. While we ate the staff buzzed around stacking-up tables and chairs next to us on the pavement. Their efforts failed to outwit the wind. A pile of five red plastic chairs tipped backwards caught by a particularly ferocious gust, they teetered momentarily on their back legs, swinging back and forth as if drunk, then crashed backwards. How was lunch? Delicious, but eventful.

Whoosh!

Otherwise we wandered about the whitewashed streets.Though windy, the light was stunning, the raw northerly stripping all moisture from the air so the horizon was mirror clear and the colours vivid. 

Between June and September dogs are banned from the town beach, but now, off-season Ralphi was able to indulge his Usain Bolt fantasies. He has no sense of his size and three inch legs seem no hindrance whatsoever to him matching Rob's pace. 

Even funnier is Ralph's desire to befriend the biggest, and most ferocious dogs imaginable. He developed a pathetic crush on a large, black woolly labradoodle,, straining on his lead and barking excitedly every time the magnificent beast appeared.

A rare moment, Ralfi attempts to befriend s dog of similar size and shape..she was not interested!

In between mooching about on the beach and wandering with everyone else along the promenade we found a Breton Creperie - chocolat all round with a bottle of 'cidre' to share. We had a proper day out at the seaside, it was great 

Back at the van Sarah consulted Google maps and found a station at Coina which looked easy to reach by moho and connected directly to Lisbon. Next day it was farewell to Sarah Rob and Ralphi, it has great to be with them over the past couple of weeks. Rob left us a memento of their visit, he used our post-it notepad as a sketchbook, painting miniature watercolours of culinary herbs using just a small palette knife. They are rather lovely.

As for us, we are heading south towards a birthday lunch for Gill next Sunday at the Cabanos beach restaurant near Budens in the western Algarve. In between, it's a bumpy ride along Portugal's empty Alentejo coast southwards - the same roads that we headed north on at exactly the same time last year. So much for our mantra about exploring new places.

The coast road south - 100 miles of sand, pine trees, empty and little frequented outside of the summer season.

The forecast remains dreadful, cold, rainy and windy, so not really sightseeing weather. What I need is a campsite with decent wifi, the blog is weeks out of date now, with a backlog of stuff written on Notepad waiting to be uploaded and photos added - a rainy day past-time par excellence.