Set off for Quarteira which was going to be a reasonable drive but we were going to use the “A” roads so it shouldn’t have been too bad, how wrong could we be! We easily found our way out of Evora, filled up with diesel and made good progress south. But not long afterwards the road became so poor it literally shook the van constantly, even at 30 mph! This is the only road of any size going in this direction so we were stuck. For well over an hour we travelled at 25 – 30 mph braking hard on a regular basis to avoid deep drops in the level of the road. I tried to drive on the wide hard shoulder as much as I could to minimise the vibrations and noise! How they can let a major road get into this state is beyond me. Occasionally we would encounter a 100 yard stretch that had been resurfaced, which makes you wonder what that bit was like before! We also past several new bridges being built across the road, but with no roads connecting them on either side, nor were they very far apart?
Anyway the scenery was wonderful, lots of rolling hills and the occasional river. Once we were near the Algarve the roads improved and we made good time, stopping for GPL and a quick drink around 1.30pm on the motorway just west of Quarteira. On leaving the motorway we found a much better route to the camp, no narrow side roads this time!
We checked in at reception and they confirmed the chalet had been reserved for Emma & Nick, which was a relief. We drove through the camp heading for the pitch we had last time but that area was busy and the pitch already taken, so we had a walk around to some of the other ones we had seen and liked before. We chose one a bit further down but it’s fairly level and large, with plenty of shade. Getting in was tight but we managed it, with a little tree pruning from the top of the van! Once settled and set up we sat in the afternoon sun and relaxed with a glass or two. It was so nice we had dinner outside watching the sun go down.
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