LISBON – Portugal (Sat 10 Oct)

We drove to Lisbon today and the general impression was pretty drab. The landscape on the way was extremely dry, extremely hot, there were olive trees, cork trees, date palms, and the occasional cattle (although it was hard to see what they survived on). The peaks of most of the power pylons there were stork nests, but before you go all cutesy these things are the size of tractor tyres. They must be a local entity because many of the high points on pylons, steeples and power poles have flat fixtures built on specifically for the purpose of holding these puppies.

When we arrived in Lisbon we drove to our accommodation, or at least we thought we did. GPS Jenny played her dirty tricks on us again, she directed us to an area that was full of run down apartment blocks and ghetto slums. It definitely didn’t look like a safe part of town, and definitely not the serene camping ground just out of town that we were looking for. After driving around in circles we went into the Fire Station that we had spotted nearby to ask for directions. They were extremely helpful, ringing up the camp, googling a map, and going out of their way to help us. Fantastic! And much appreciated. We found that we were on the wrong side of town, and it definitely felt that way. After a complex set of directions we finally found our destination. A large complex of camping spots and bungalows. A restaurant and swimming pool all included. The cabin that we have been assigned is a little run down with doors that don’t open and toilet doors that don’t shut. But on the plus side it has a bathroom, kitchen, and they keep it clean, so that isn’t all bad.

We drove down the road to the supermarket ‘Jumbo’ for supplies, and this lived up to it’s name … huge. And unlike other parts of Europe, open until midnight. The staff here run around the store on roller skates.