Misfit Central and beyond

If Tavira Motorhome Park is the natural tribal gathering place for Northern Europe's comfortably retired middle class motorhomers, then at the opposite end of the Algarve, here at Vila de Bispo's Lidl car park there's a safe haven for more alternative types - wandering van lifers. 

No matter if you have dropped out or are totally spaced out, whether your van is held together with string and gaffer tape, or you are living in a clapped out 4x4, there's a welcome here for you and your scrawny pooch on a string. Sociologically I guess we belong in Tavira, but personally, for me I have a soft for the Lidl car park's bewildered wanderers. Psychologically I'm with the misfits.

Actually, these days they're a bit of an endangered species. Back in 2017 when we first stayed hereabouts most  beach parkings were van-lifer enclaves, a mixed group made up of athletic looking surfers, pallid looking crusties and earnest bejewelled earth mothers.. There were lots of users, and quite a few families with kids that looked unkempt and somewhat feral.

I don't think the influx  delighted the locals. COVID gave the authorities the opportunity to clamp down on the informal encampments. Living off-grid was banned throughout the Algarve and the Alentejo coast's national park. It's stayed that way ever since and the regulations are strictly enforced by the local police.

This Lidl car park near the Algarve's pointy end is one of the few places where you can still stay overnight for free, the last outpost for a dying breed - the lesser spotted crusty.

The van we parked beside looked abandoned, it certainly wasn't roadworthy, but someone seemed to be living in it because a large hairy dog was flopped beneath it - a curious looking creature, part St Bernard, a bit of Old English Sheepdog crossed some generations back with a brown bear.

A venerable 4x4 was parked behind us sheltered beneath the sunshades. The rear hatch was raised and a big beach umbrella was strapped to the bumper to create a make-do awning. The owner was clearly feeling very relaxed, the only part of him visible, a pair of stockinged feet sticking out of the back.

Having bought this and that and a baguette for lunch we headed for the Orbitur campsite near Sagres. It's one of our favourites, attracting a mix of people all drawn to the simple wooded campsite in a somewhat remote spot - starry at night, full of spring flowers, quiet except for the slow pulse of the Atlantic surf  pounding the tall cliffs of Cabo San Vicente a kilometre or two west of us. Magic!

Aside from the allure of nature we are here to eat fish. A Sereia is a seafood restaurant on the first floor above the auction rooms located in the fish dock in Sagres. The first time we ate here it called itself a 'snack bar'. These days its better known, and has expanded, much of what was a big terrace is now  covered. It's definitely a restaurant now, much busier, but thankfully unchanged in terms of what it offers, fish grilled on an open BBQ accompanied by fries or salad. 

Our dorada was plump and delicious and perfectly cooked as ever.

The weather was stunning too, shockingly blue. I don't think we have ever been here when the light has been so clear or the colours almost luminescent.

On the way back to campsite Gill pulled into a rough patch of ground  near the clifftop. She wanted a photo of me on my bike to put a positive Google review for Guadiana Bikes to say thank you for fixing it.

Sadly the ten days we spent faffing about before we managed to find someone to repair it has impacted on the remainder of the trip, we are not going to be able to do all the things we had planned. Furthermore the long range forecast is predicting a return of unsettled weather for most of Portugal in a couple of weeks time.

However the next few days look sunny, though there's a chilly edge to the northerly breeze. We decided to head for Vila Nova de Milfontes making a lunch stop at the beach parking at Carrapateira.

It's a lovely spot. We used to stay overnight here before wild camping was banned. Today there were half a dozen other vehicles but no other motorhomes. I do think January's stormy weather impacted on the usual northern European invasion.

Gill went wildflower spotting, the Spring flowers on the Alentejo coast are magnificent.

Wooden walkways protect the esturial wetlands. A strange cacophony emanated from the reed beds. We decided that it was the mating call of thousands of love lorn frogs!

It is only 80kms from here to Milfontes, but the road is narrow and winding, slow at the best of times; today even more so,  whole sections were controlled by traffic lights with contraflows in place where  winter storms had triggered landslips and rockfalls.

Vila Nova de Milfontes is a lovely coastal town on the estuary of the river Mira.

It has a network of beautiful old streets..

Amazing flora on the clifftops by the river mouth...

...and having travelled the world keeping an eye open for great cafés, Milfontes has one of the best we've come across...

The coffee is great, the brunch menu delicious and the owners friendly and professional.

The place has a cool, left field vibe, the music relaxing indie rock - most of the customers were more than half our age. Somehow it rubs off on you, it has a magic effect, you leave the place feeling younger than when you went in.

I have an informal roll of honour in my head regarding the great puddings and cakes I've eaten over the years - such as the Key lime pie I had in Key West some time in the mid-noughties, Richard Camarena's deconstructed carrot cake devoured in Valencia Market Bar in November 2016, the lemon polenta cake served up by the Boathouse cafe next to Bawdsey ferry in September 2021 - all memorable. Maybe the lime cheesecake with raspberries at the Laréu Café today will join them, it's too early to tell, but it was exceptionally yummy.

Next day was cooler and greyer than forecast. Cabin fever drove us out of the van by mistake afternoon. We cycled a couple of kilometres up to Vila Nova de Milfontes fish dock.

 It's a wild looking coast, especially so in the blustery north wind. We took a couple of photos then scurried back to the van.

The longer range outlook seems to have worsened too. By the middle of next week we're back to the procession of Atlantic lows which seem to have characterised so much of Iberia's winter this year. We are thinking that we'll head straight to Costa Caparica tomorrow and visit Lisbon on Monday.

After then the interior of Spain looks much sunnier than Portugal so we may well head there and stay for a few days in Aranjuez. If you add up all the time we've  spent in Spain since we retired it totals a little over eighteen months. To get even more nerdy about it that's 37% of our time in motorhoming in Europe. We've explored every region of the Spanish mainland apart from one - Madrid. There's a regular train service from Aranjuez to Madrid, so maybe this is the moment to visit the capital.

I have a particular reason to go. There are two paintings that I have a real desire to see for real. Velasquez's 'Las Meninas' in the Prado and Picasso's 'Guernica' in Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Maybe it's impractical to see both in one day, both museums are close to the station, but I can't be doing with rushing about. It's a plan.