Last day in Portugal

Friday 14th October. Tonight we are parked up alongside the river Guadiana in Vila Real de Santo Antonio looking across to Spain.(37.19791 -7.41455) This is a dedicated Motorhome parking spot with all services, a gate entry system and electric points. The gate entry system is broken, there is no water and the electric points are locked up. Oh yes, we have a fairground 100m away which will keep us awake for a good while as well. It's supposed to be €4.50 per night but as nothing is working the authorities have kindly taped over the cash payment machine. We've spent the last few days on a semi-campsite just outside Albufeira, I say "semi" because although it is laid out like a campsite with all the usual facilities, including electricity, washing machines, WiFi, a small swimming pool and a games room there were no toilets. But the owners were charming and helpful and it's only a ten minute drive to Albufeira. Parque da Gale - (37.09265 -8.31190). A 2km walk takes you down to the beautiful sandy beach and from there we walked along the boardwalk to the wetlands at Salgados. But we didn't come to the Algarve to see exotic wading birds. We came to see Tony and his lovely wife, Jackie. Despite the fact that they both work hard in the property rental and management business in Portugal (www.go-algarve.co.uk) they found time to entertain us and we've decided that the reunion will become an annual event! Here we are, together with Hughie, another old school pal who flew out from the UK to join us:

We were smiling when this photo was taken because we still expected England to get 3 points last Tuesday.    Saturday 15th October.   We're parked up tonight a little east of Seville, just off the A92 - Autovia de Andelucia (37.32936 -5.80555). It's a Motorhome sales and service centre which also offers overnight parking and whilst we begrudge the €10 per night charge it is secure and we have electricity and decent WiFi although, oddly, they charge us 50c for fresh water. Unfortunately there's absolutely nothing to do here as we're in the middle of nowhere. I was quite looking forward to perusing the showroom and the shop but they were both closed by the time we arrived so, after lunch, Phil has read a book whilst I watched Michelle Obama's speech in New Hampshire which was inspiring and worth seeking out. So, with decent WiFi I'm going to try and upload a few photos. I mentioned the roundabouts in Europe in a previous blog and we've seen some great ones in Portugal the last few days. Unfortunately it's a bit tricky taking a photo whilst negotiating them but here are a couple we saw whilst walking in Belmonte - these are actual statues/figures on the first one:

 

Here's Phil in Leon, having a sit down with Antoni Gaudi:

The Castle at Braganca:

Finally, why can't all supermarkets be so welcoming?

Tomorrow we set off for Antequera, which our guide book says is worth a visit. We could do with a bit of culture.   Pat