The far end, bad bits and good bits

Our plan was simple, take the motorway through the Algarve, scoot past the concretopia around Albafeira and stay for a few days in Sagres at the far end of the peninsula. The forecast was good, we managed a mid-morning start and were on track for a lunch stop at one of our favourite beach restaurants - Cabanas, situated in a small cove between Burgau and Salema. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, the weather to begin with. The forecast sunny intervals proved to be very brief indeed and the zero chance of rain spectacularly inaccurate. Somewhere  near Lagos we ran into a Niagara-like wall of water. One of those downpours where you consider pulling off the motorway until it eases. 

Fortunately it was an intense but local storm, beyond Luz the skies cleared, the sun came out and though it was too breezy to consider lunch outside, the Cabanas beach restaurant has a big covered patio with pictures windows overlooking the spectacular cliffs. 

It was closed, in fact it looked partially dismantled, a refurbishment or change of owner - who knows? We had lunch in the van, bread and cheese - again!

We have driven through Sagres a few times on our way from the Alentejo coast to the Algarve but we have never stopped in the town. The Orbitur site is open all year, so it seemed like an opportunity to explore the place. It was made famous by Henry the Navigator, instigator of 'the age of discovery' who died here in 1460. I am sure everyone must have learned about Caravels and Astrolobes in primary school.

One good thing about apps like Camper Contact or Google reviews is they do forewarn you about the idiosyncrasies of sites before you arrive. Not that helps, particularly in the low season when there are few places open, but a least whatever their peculiarities the reviews mean they don't come as a surprise.

Top moans about Orbitur Sagres concerned frosty reception staff and  over-enthusiastic campsite regulations. We experienced both. It's not clear when you drive through the entrance by reception if the barrier will rise automatically. It doesn't, so Gill hopped out to book us in. There was no queue or anything so it would have been a simple matter for the receptionist to raise the barrier to let me drive through. Instead she refused to deal with Gill until I had reversed the van back through the gates and parked outside. Only then would she book us in. It did not help that she was German and her accent and clipped manner could easily have been the inspiration for Helga's character in 'Alo Alo'. This more or less guarantees an inappropriately racist response from a Brit of a certain age. I duly conformed to the stereotype.

Helga-gate

So far as the mad officialdom of Portuguese campsites goes, then this one is actually better than some of the other we have stayed in - such as the metal turnstiles reminiscent of a Brazilian football stadium in the place near Tavira, or uniformed guards, 'camper passports' and a security regime like North Korea's to be found Sesimbra's municipal site, or the barbed wire fencing with floodlights in Campismo Vila Nova de Milfontes. 

At least the site at Sagres has updated one of its sanitary blocks, sadly it's not the one we are next to. Ours is more typical of the Orbitur's usual standard, very old, somewhat ramshackle and depressingly utilitarian.

What's the alternative? Stay in one of the many aires and unofficial camper stops, but increasingly the police are clamping down on these and anyway do we really want to spend three months camped in various car parks? 

If you set aside irritations about the standard of facilities then all the Orbitur sites we have stayed on have been in lovely wooded locations. The one in Sagres is no exception. 

So when you wake on a January morning,  make coffee as the sun rises, watch the van flood with golden light, then by 9.30am it's 18° outside and the sky is deep blue -  you would have to be very curmudgeonly to let a less than luxurious shower spoil the day.

I have to remind myself it's midwinter. Later we are heading off on our bikes to explore one of Europe's great coastlines, then plan to have lunch at a well regarded fish restaurant in Sagres' 'doca pesca'. We  are very lucky, no way should we let occasional inconveniences or grumpy receptionists get in the way of appreciating the good bits.