Looking out a window of the MoHo I can look directly at the sun, which is perfectly visible through the cloud/fog of a Portuguese morning. The last few days have been spent contemplating the landscape in the tiny town of Pomarao, which is elegantly positioned above the Rio Guidiana, which in turn forms the border between southern Portugal and Spain.
A nice overnight stop has turned into a three night stay which for us signals another change in mindset towards a relaxed and happy lifestyle. Pomarao is very small, township which fortunately for us boasts two restaurants, a large level carpark overlooking the river and a pace of life to be envied. The River changes direction with the tides and flows strongly in both directions despite being a good 50km from the mouth at Vila Real de San Antonio.
In this image the hill on the other side of the river is Portugal and on the left is Spain. Pomarao ceased to be a mining town in the 1960s, a fact that I learned from Giles who owned the Citroen camper parked behind us. Some of the machinery and infrastructure remain as does the rail bed running across the hills from 12 kms away. Giles was always available for a chat and is representative of a sub group of motorhome (“camping car”) travellers we have come to pigeon hole as mature men who travel alone on minimal budgets, having left marriages. Generally they are happy, talkative, interesting men who are as pleased to have company as they are to be left alone. Giles was born in The Netherlands, has children at University and has been on the road full time for about three years. Despite never having been to Australia, Giles was well informed on many aspects of Australian history and showed a strong respect for our ancient land.
Such travellers are often a goldmine of information regarding campsites and out of the way places that must be added to our travel agenda. Regardless of the spoken language, or lack of it, the motorhome community is eager to swap advice and information on any subject from GPS coordinates of worthy campsites to practical matters such as where gas bottles can be filled.
Whilst driving through the Portuguese countryside we are constantly reminded of Australia. The rolling hills and eucalypts are reminiscent of many parts of Australia with wide slow flowing rivers and fields of grain crops.
Yesterday, we had a short drive through a Natural Park which is obviously a habitat for migratory birds. In places along the country road there were stork nests on almost every post or branch. Being breeding season there are generally two to four chicks in the nest and the parents can be frequently seen collecting sticks for the large nests or hunting for food.
Last night we stayed in a camping ground in the town of Castro Verde. It has been unusual for us to use these great facilities but from time to time there are practical matters to attend to. Our nights have mostly been in quiet, beautiful places as “free camping” is well tolerated. Our MoHo allows us to be very independent and our only real requirement is to find a washing machine occasionally. Yesterday evening was therefore spent walking to and fro to the laundry and catching up with the happenings of the world using the good internet provided by the Camping ground.
Communications have been limited and difficult as good connectivity has been rare. While in Italy we used our phones as hotspots which worked well but data is very expensive and limited in Spain/Portugal, hence the lack of regular updates.
It looks like today will be a day of seeing to practical matters such as defrosting the fridge and I might even wash the MoHo. It needs a good scrub as there hasn’t been an opportunity since we left Polch and we have seen a few dusty roads since then. The fog has been burnt away by the morning sun and it looks like it will be a lovely sunny and hot day in Castro Verde. On with the day…….
Lots of love,
David and Belinda.
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