Around Olhao

Olhao has an old part of town with small alleyways with many tiled buildings and quite a few decaying old buildings with rusting balconies. 

Parts of it are similar to Northern Morocco.

There are large daily fresh fish & vegetable markets and a large visiting market on Saturdays when the town really fills up.






It's easy to pass the day in the cafes enjoying the good coffee and cakes and watching the locals, most of whom seem to do the same thing.












It rained and I decided to try making some bread rolls in my Omnia Swedish oven. This works on a gas ring and has been quite successful as an oven which is the main thing missing from this van as there is no space for one. The bread turned out as successful as being made in a conventional oven the only problem is if you make loaves or quiches they have a hole in the centre. I have made mushroom roast & roasted vegetables and it will be used to make Christmas dinner.

This is my large pitch at the campsite which is a bit too shaded for winter but I can follow the sun around through the day.


It's been warmer than I expected and drier but there are some windy days, but quite good for December.

I have a visitor for a week, Lynne an old friend has come to stay over Christmas, as she is also alone we will have some company together. She flew to Faro airport which is only 11 miles away and I collected her there. Close to the airport is Faro beach which was a surprise as its directly on to the ocean unlike most other places around here which have long sand islands in front of them. There were surfers there and quite a few wild camping motorhomes.

I saw this unusual UK registered van on market day in Olhao which had many admirers.

On my way to Portugal

It was still cold and I wanted to press on to warmer climes. I drove about 7 hours and made it to Vitria Gasteiz in Spain before it got dark. As it was Sunday there were few trucks on the road so the drive was very easy. One of my worries was how far I would be able to drive alone in a day before feeling tired but with occasional stops and the benefit of the cruise control the driving was very easy. Having electric windows helped at the 6 toll booths I had to stop at and climb over to the passenger window to pay. After a quiet night at the free Aire I drove all day on even emptier roads as it was a public holiday. Most of the day it was -4.5C with freezing fog but visibility was ok. All the bushes on the sides of the road were frozen white and I was getting ice building up on the wing mirrors. Suddenly it cleared, the sun was out and the temperature soared to 14C and I needed sunglasses for the first time. From the free Aire in Caceres it was only a 10 minute walk into the old Plaza Mayor which had a few pavement cafes open.

Next day was an easy 4 hour drive via Seville then west to Portugal. I stayed with 35 other motorhomes at the free Aire just over the Portuguese border at Castro Marim and before I had even taken my seat belt off I was sold a big bag of oranges for 3 euros. Freshly squeezed orange juice everyday for a week at least now. I managed an hours bike ride out to the coast, it was great to stretch and move my legs again.

It was only a short drive to my destination in Portugal, Camping Olhao, a large tree filled site with many nationalities overwintering, even one or two in tents. Its certainly much milder, 16-18c in the day and the lowest so far 10c. I walked around the site twice to try to find a suitable pitch then found one on the main road in where I can see lots going on and there are always people passing to chat with. This was partly why I decided to stay here, there is always company, there is a bar, restaurant, social room and cafe. We had stayed here for 3 nights on our last trip through Portugal and liked the place. There is a big national park bordering the site with trails and a visitor centre and the town is a big fishing port with a good fish and vegetable market and numerous cafes & restaurants.

I have cycled twice to Fuseta along the coast where part of the Algarve cycle route goes through the salt pans in the National park where I have seen Flamingoes feeding quite close up. 

I have also cycled the other way to Faro using the cycleway where possible. Its good to be able to cycle everyday as so far the weather has been dry but sometimes there's a bit of a head wind. There are lots of excellent local cakes and breads to try so I need the exercise to work them off. I plan to stay until mid January as long as I am enjoying it here. It's giving me time to getting used to doing everything by myself and also I'm finding out what I need where in the van and getting used to the daily routines. There's all sorts of characters here including one man aged 73 who cycles from England every year and stays in a tent. Nearby are enormous 30 foot american rv's with just a couple and a dog in them and of course there are many retired couples most of whom come here every year for the winter. It's great to see the sun and Blue skies and bushes with flowers still on them. The site has free wi-fi which is slow but I can usually listen to the Today programme on radio 4 using my laptop and read the main articles from the Guardian, so I keep up with current affairs. I have watched some Portuguese soaps but I still can't make much sense of the spoken language but at least when its written down its quite similar to Spanish.

I couldn't face the thought of another long dark winter at home by myself, even being somewhere alone but a bit sunny would be better so once I had sorted all the legal matters I plan to head off to Portugal and then Morocco until Easter.

Firstly, and quite unexpectedly a new van. I quickly came to the conclusion only having a double rock n roll bed and a porta potti would be difficult if I wanted to have visitors on my travels. As my van is going to be my only transport I didn't want anything longer than the old VWT5 and eventually came down to Possl/Globecar from Germany but based on a Fiat vehicle. This has the advantage of a transverse fixed double bed with lots of storage underneath, the option to make up a 3^rd bed in the front and has a separate enclosed bathroom area making it much easier to share. Very hard to find any used ones in the UK, some dealers had new White models in stock otherwise it was down to ordering and hoping it would arrive before winter finishes. Luckily I found a used 4 month old model with 6500 miles but with many extras which I would never have ordered (but no oven) I love the colour and many people stop and admire it and all the extras will get a good testing. 

I added cruise control though as I know it will be beneficial for the long runs through France & Spain. A solar panel was another must having had so much useful input from the old one and the freedom from to stay almost anywhere and still have the power to run everything (and keep everyone’s phone charged at festivals)

I didn't really get enough nights away to test and sort everything and it was often too cold to do certain jobs which have been put off until I get to Portugal.

So here I am alone and on the way in early December and finding out about the advantages of Gas and Electric blown air heating, a well insulated van, automatic & cruise control, hot water, a shower, re-fillable gas system and so much more else in such a compact van. Lets see how it holds up to Moroccan roads!

The first two days driving through France I found very quiet as I didn't have Gills rantings about everyone and everything that she would always do when we set off driving anywhere, at least until she fell asleep! Being on the road I didn't speak to anyone for two days apart from pleasantries in shops and petrol stations. The heating was well tested as it was down to 0C at night but I stayed very warm and then found I had hot water ready in the morning. I parked at free overnight Camping Car Aires at places we had stayed at before and which felt secure enough and there were other vans stopping overnight as well.

I had read about Oradour sur Glane and as it was a convenient place to stop I stayed the night at the Aire and I was the only visitor to the village early the following morning. Here's the Wikipedia description.The original population was destroyed on 10 June 1944, when 642 of its inhabitants, including women and children, were massacred by a German Waffen-SS company. A new village was built after the war on a nearby site but on the orders of the then French president, Charles de Gaulle, the original has been maintained as a permanent memorial and museum.

It had just started to rain as I walked into the empty village and the poor light and the complete absence of anyone else made it a very sombre and moving experience. Luckily I left just as a party of school children arrived, I hope they learnt something from the experience.

I then stayed two nights at Kevan and Barbaras house, a welcome break from driving and we shared some memories (and Fizzy wine & buns) of our times with Gill in Morocco. The mud+snow tyres had their first test parking on wet grass a soft clay ground and failed, I had to use my grip mats under one front tyre which had completely filled up with mud was was now effectively bald and spinning. They now have two trenches ready for planting next years potatoes!

A new start

Well, so much has changed since my last posts on this blog. Having had 5 winters away we ended up in the winter of 2012/13staying at home due to the illness of friends and family. It was far too long a winter and we were busy making plans for other winter trips when suddenly Gill died aged 55. She had Heart Disease that she was completely unaware of and this led to a heart attack at the end of one of her horse riding lessons and she did not recover.

It was a complete shock to everyone who new such a lively, cheery and caring person. We shared so many experiences in our 35 years, travelling and working almost all the time together and we were really enjoying the 6 years we had together since deciding to sell our business and retire early

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I found this quote that Gill had written in one of her many notebooks, I can understand how it appealed to her way of thinking

How few human beings lived life as if it mattered, he thought; to most of them it was just a case of passing time. Sebastian Faulks A week in December.

Now I have to face up to a different life without my friend but I still want to carry on doing the things we both enjoyed and were so lucky to have done together. So, here goes

Germany, Holland, Belgium & France in one day

Frozen Olive Oil from the cupboard, why do we bother running the fridge?

Border hopping is so easy in the E.U. & using the same currency is just so much easier. We parked for the night at the Stellplatz in Cologne where there were about 10 other vehicles. It is next to a useful park & ride to the city and quite a nice spot though all the motor home facilities were taped up & closed which didn't matter to us.

We managed to get across Germany without having to buy Diesel & after 560 miles on one tank we filled up in Belgium where it was cheaper. Light snow on & off until the French border where for once it was dry but quite windy. Used the free WiFi in Auchan to check the ferry prices & we are set to sail from Dunkirk at 8am tomorrow for £44 one way on DFDS. It was the first time we had stayed at the ferry terminal there, it was much quieter than Calais. We stopped in the parking area for the ticket office where there are more than 100 parking spaces & there were just a few cars & no other motor homes when we arrived at 7pm. Later on we gained a new neighbour for the night, were they trying to get some shelter from the wind for the night?

(sorry about the photo quality it was still dark at 7am)

Arriving home we had driven almost 5000 miles in less than 5 weeks, our winter tyres have had a good run in, hopefully they won't get too much more use this year. Now it's the big task of getting everything out of the van & aired as it's already so damp after weeks of cold weather travel. The house is cold but the gas meter hasn't moved in 5 weeks so that's some saving!

Christmas Market in Nuremberg

We have fond memories of Nuremberg from one of the last trips in our old van during the 2006 World Cup & we knew there was a convenient stellplattz overnight parking place. We found it easily & set off in to town to visit the Christmas Market. The temperature was plummeting it was minus 2 when we set off but in the centre of town squeezed in the crowds & under the stall lights we got slightly warmer. 

We had so many layers on but still the cold penetrated so we had to maintain our energy levels by sampling cakes & warmed wine & then appreciating the heated tram on our way back. In the night it snowed & we had the first real chance to test out Winter tyres. It was Sunday morning so little traffic & I think the snowfall of about an inch on most roads was unexpected. There were lots of mini snow ploughs getting going though, even clearing pavements.

On & off all day were light snow flurries, the countryside looked very pretty in the unspoilt snow and as it was Sunday traffic was lighter as all the trucks were parked up as most are not allowed to travel. As it was so cold we wondered if we would be able to get fresh water as our tanks were getting low, but we called in at a place we had stayed on our way out which was still working where we filled up with enough to last us to Dover if it doesn’t freeze. We have just found the olive oil in the cupboard in frozen, however the diesel heater still works great & wasn't affected by the fuel cock-up & we have now driven about a 1000 miles since Romania & the engine is running well & fuel efficiency is no different so hopefully we've not harmed it.  

Hungary to Austria

Working on the quickest & cheapest Toll free route home we headed for the Hungarian Motorway system which required another vignette which is controlled electronically. You can buy it online by credit card but the website didn't seem to be security enabled & we were using a public internet connection so didn't want to give out our details. Therefore we had to pay cash at the border & suffer the exchange rate rip off, paying in Euro's as we planned to get in & out of the country in one day without buying anything apart from 100% pure diesel.

Arriving at dusk in Austria our map showed a large lake not too far from the Motorway where we found a very quiet parking space close to the closed turnstiles for the 'beach' access. Leaving in the morning to explore the small town & get some shopping we saw a sign forbidding camping but it was probably just beyond where we had parked.

Getting into Austria meant we had to buy yet another vignette but this time we had the local currency Euro's so there was no extra charge. Now we were back in the 'rich' part of Europe & it was very noticeable. Better roads, buildings, sign-age, recycling & expensive prices. The cost of a Coffee on the Motorway had doubled (though we weren't buying any) but we were able to finally get a super clean shower at an OMV services for 2.20 Euro's which was welcome after going many days without campsites, and they also have free WiFi.