Vila Nova de Milfontes, Portugal

Ola
We're now on our way to Vila Nova de Milfontes, a little seaside village on the west coast of Portugal. Much debate about the best way to go - not toll roads but also not small back roads. Settle on using only N roads which are national roads, which is long way around but the better option.
Well a couple of things- good old GPS can’t get the hang of not wanting to you send you down country lanes and even dirt roads, and secondly an N road ain’t necessarily much chop either. Still they are big enough for trucks! A few white knuckles moments particularly crossing a very narrow bridge which doesn’t slow the truck down from the other way but it sure does us. A few more tight spots where we have to hang fairly close to side of the road which I alert Bob too but he is more worried about his side (where the other cars are!), so understandably.

But alas, we've picked up a solid scrape along the side of the motorhome, probably from a solid tree branch right on the edge of the road - bugger.

We arrive in town, and try to navigate through but there are a few motorhome and caravans prohibited signs, that we pass through due to lack of choice and find ourselves on a headland in a car park with other motorhomes so wonder if we're okay to be here or not. Any way it’s lunchtime!
So after lunch we have a short walk, and it’s a very nice outlook up and down the beaches and into the river estuary.
Ask a couple of other people who are also in motorhomes - one says ‘what signs’ (in my defence your honour I didn’t see any signs …), and the other said not sure but maybe it’s okay as long as you don’t park overnight. So we stick with that defence!!!

Beach at Vila Nova de Milfontes

View of river at Vila Nova de Milfontes

Another view of beach at Vila Nova de Milfontes

Anyway off to the campground, trying to get back the way we came but of course Google has other ideas and tries to send us up a dirt road - "FFS" (Bob's language), we're NOT going on a dirt road!! A recalibrate and we find ourselves at the campground 5km from nowhere!! It’s as big as a small town but virtually deserted, lots of empty permanent holiday vans, empty cabins, vacant tent sites- I think there is about a dozen people here in a campground that would hold 2000-3000 in peak season. Bit like a ghost town.

Nothing for dinner, unless we eat at the restaurant on site. In total there are about 8 people there (almost all those who are staying?).
We bravely order the dish of the day recommended by chef, a Portuguese specialty which looks vaguely like a crumbed sausage of indeterminate origin - my enquiries as to meat are answered with its very nice and a local specialty. Okay then. But it is actually pretty tasty. We find out after we have eaten it that it is a mix of chicken/duck/game meats(?), with breadcrumbs and garlic and paprika, it’s skinless, and called "Alheira". Dates from the Portuguese Inquisition (yep same as Spanish one) when the Jews had to pretend to eat pork or risk death - so they made this sausage to look like what everyone else was eating!! It was served with bacon bits (no need to avoid Pork nowadays), cheese, and accompanied by rice with beans, chips, and a fried egg! So we were "full as a goog" by the time we've finished.

Kerrie about to demolish "Alheira" ie traditional Portugese sausage

Portugese sausage x 2

Portugese sausage - all gone!

Headed off to Sagres via Odeceixe where we stop at nice lookout for morning tea at 1.00pm. We chat to a couple from England (who have lots of suggestions about where to go, like everyone does but we tend to forget as we get so many suggestions), and a couple from Netherlands (also in an Indie Camper and also had sheets that didn’t fit!!)

Odeceixe - lovely view of estuery

We book in for one night in another park (huge again but got soul) and we decide to stay a 2nd night. Tonight’s dinner is Spaghetti Bol packaged but fresh not frozen from the supermarcodo (some of the Portugese language is easy - just add "o").

Adeus until next time - Sagres next stop