Alcoutim and Altura

Travelled : 180km
Visited: Alcoutim and Altura N37.171170 W7.500630
Stay: Altura - aire, large free parking 30m from beach

It's always hard to leave a lovely spot but we enjoyed the drive to Alcoutim. 

 We parked in the aire and after some breakfast we went for a walk into the tiny port town on the River Guadiana. We looked over the water at the spanish village on the other side and then  strolled along the quaint narrow roads stopping to read the interpretive signs scattered throughout the village reflecting on its historical journey.

The Portuguese emblem!

 We then took the scenic road via Foz de Odeleite before continuing on to Altura,  a holiday town on the  beach in the Algarve. Not quite our thing, although we are happy we aren't here when it's the busy season but find the town has no atmosphere at the moment.  Even so the aire is nearly full and it is a great spot being so close to the beach.

 Choosing our spot we headed out to find a lunch of grilled fish. Unfortunately the restaurant we chose from TripAdvisor was closed but the real estate agent recommended a cafe around the corner which prevented us wasting anymore time choosing from the various restaurants open. 

Feeling satisfied after our meal we walked along the beach in this very popular Algarve area. We were happy that at least this area was not swamped buy high rise apartments and hotels that we could see in the distance. Unfortunately it was not warm enough for a dip so we just contented ourselves with just sitting on the beach. Before settling in for the night we ventured a bit further in the town and then it was rest time in Bluey.

Another day in Mina

Travelled:0km
Stay:as per last night

We thought our spot was a too good to leave,  so we stayed another day and didn't do too much.  A few walks, lunch at the local tavern and read a book. We felt a bit out of our comfort zone at lunch. The waiter didn't speak English and luckily we met some fellow french motorhomers that were regulars who helped us with ordering. We chose a serve of roast pork that is enough for 2 and we washed it down with a couple of Bock beers. We had another lovely day.

The market

Communal oven

Contaminated water 

Mina de Sao Domingos

Travelled : 20 km
Visited and stayed: Mina de Sao Domingos- free parking and services, lovely spot next to a lake. N37.672218 W7.504170

We didn't want to travel far today as it's a Portuguese long weekend and we didn't want to find ourselves struggling to find a spot to stay near the beach. So we chose the closest one with a service point and set off early as this is the best time to arrive when people are leaving in the morning.
On the way we felt we were driving along the Australian countryside with the gum trees everywhere.
Having got a great spot next to the lake, we went for an explore into the old mining village and disused mine area. Copper and sulphur was mined here for over 100 years from 1858 and the effects can still be seen today.
After a relaxing afternoon we had another walk around before dinner. Not an over complex day but it was lovely in its simplicity.

Miners cottages

The old mine 

English gated at the well to do part of town 

Chilling out 

Beja and Mertola

Travelled : 155km
Visited:Beja and Mertola
Stay: Mertola - free parking, no service point, free water on the river N37.638890 W7.661120

We took the scenic route to Beja via Viana do Alentejo and then Vidigueira. It felt as if we were travelling on an Australian country road due to the gum trees everywhere. But as we drove through these villages it was definitely Portugal. 

Lovely field of Poppy's 

Storks everywhere

Statue of a man corking a tree

A cork tree that has had the bark removed. Can only be done every 10 years!

On our way we passed many vineyards, olive groves and cork fields. This area has the largest production in both olives and cork.
We stopped in Beja and stretched our legs walking into the historical centre. It is the capital of lower Alentejo province. We saw the tower built by King Dinis and appreciated some tiled exteriors of some buildings, along with some other Moorish influenced churches. But all in all on a Sunday morning it was pretty uneventful. 

From here we decided to head for an aire located on the river at the base of the interesting looking village of Mertola. There were lots of road works on the way and we must have missed the turn off. We took the next detour but we eventually realised that we were heading down a dead end country track. Doubling back we found the right road and felt lucky to get a spot in Mertola especially as it's a long weekend.  We enjoyed a cooked lunch of schnitzel and ratatouille before relaxing and having a siesta.  We then had an explore of the once inland port and the ruins around the castle.

They made an effort to get the bench level on a steep road!

The fauna of this area

View of the town from the bridge