So sorry to hear most of you are having to put up with rain and wind on this day the 25th December 2015. We had to sit out in the sun eating chicken,steak, and sliced potatoes washed down with some Guinness and wine. Nikki had a day off from cooking while I did the BBQ. Happy holidays to you all.

Guess what….we had some rain, but only for a couple of hours but it came with thunder and lightening. And it was all over by 10 am, so we are not complaining about the weather. Saturday one of the guys here who has a 38ft RV needed to go out and get some gas, so I volunteered to go with him, any excuse for me to go in one. Only about 20 minutes down the road but nice to be in one again. 

We were tod the mini bus was going to a pub on Sunday 3pm -8pm and only two places left so we jumped at the chance, gets us off site. From the outside you would never go into the pub as its in a two horse town with all derelict buildings around it and real dodgy looking. But once inside it’s great, there are music posters everywhere and old instruments on the walls, a stage at one end. Sunday is Jamming session, no that’s not bread and jam to those that don’t know, it’s where anyone who plays a instrument comes in and joins in. Owned by a ex pat it it attract.s all sorts of people with different music tastes. The pub also did food so we had a Sunday roast, beef for me and chicken for Nikki, washed down with a drink or two.Ok maybe three or four. The music was great, but it all stopped at about 7-30 because they blew a fuse. But it was a great night. 

Today the we had to go shopping, Oh how much I looked forward to that, but with the promise of steak on the menu for Xmas day even though we don’t do Xmas I was up and ready to go. So off to Aldi it was, that’s the nearest shop the mini bus goes to. Got my steak and some other bits and pieces. The plan is to get the BBQ out on Xmas day and eat outside in the sun. Well that’s the plan. Will let you know. 

Wednesday we have been invited next door for a drink/ eat. They are Swiss and there are going to be a few people there from all over, some Swiss, German,Dutch, and some English so should be good. You take what you want to eat and drink and your chair and that way you can’t moan about the food. A great idea I think. So that’s us up to date, we are now sat outside in the sun just chilling. So as we don’t do Xmas I can’t say it so all I will say to you all is. Have a happy holiday, enjoy your time off work. 

A quick hello, as the Internet here is shite. So I have not forgotten you all but for the next month the blog will be a bit hit and miss. No wonder the Internet i free here. The campsite we are on is Mikki’s place to stay, gets a bit confusing with Mikki the owner me being Mikey, Nikki being Nikki, just hope no Pikki’s turn up. The owner Mikki is a artist who paints and does pottery which is everywhere. 

The sun has been doing us proud and we even had a spot of rain one night or it might have been two spots, but it kept the dust down. Since we left England now in our sixth week we have only had two days rain.The bar area is nice and good prices. We had to go there the other evening just for research. I had four beers Nikki three large glasses of wine and it cost us £9. Back home that would of been one round. We are parked next to a Swedish guy who speaks very good English and is into his hot rods, choppers and American cars so have had a few chats with him. He also gave us a lift to a wine shop yesterday because it sold Guinness so I could stock up, better than the crap lager. So 48 cans of Guinness and two boxes of wine later, we know we won’t go thirsty. Nikki’s wine is working out at about 70p a bottle. We may be overloaded going home.  

It’s our last night tonight at camping Albufeira, we have been here for six nights. We then move to Mikki’s a place to stay which is the only place we booked before coming away. We will be there for a whole month. It’s a site which is only about 18 months old so still being developed and only 60 places, a small bar etc. Should be interesting, not too sure what to expect but only one way to find out. Will keep you all posted. 

Yesterday we decided to back into the old town of Albufeira on the bus and treat ourselves to lunch out, just because we have not eaten out yet, got to save the ol euros a long way to go yet. Then we find out it’s a public holiday and the buses are a bit hit and miss. So it’s another walk back to the old town. We aim for the beach again. At the edge of the beach is a escalator which takes you up to the top of the cliff, how cool is that. At the other end of the beach is a lift which does the same, or you can go the normal way and walk up the paths or steps.  

 
After chilling out for a bit, it’s something we’re good at, and watching the fishermen dodging the waves while trying to catch their supper. I also had to keep one eye on the waves to get the photos. The things I have to do for you guys.  

 
Time to eat, there are a few places to eat, and as usual everyone wants your money. Also a lot of places are still closed from the storm and look like they will never open again, it really was that bad. We find a place and are greeted by a guy with a good sense of humour luckily. Now you’re all wondering what we had to eat, we both had piri piri chicken with chips and salad, I had a large beer and Nikki a glass of red wine. The food was excellent and the service. We had a great chat with the waiter who was Spanish and had such a laugh we could have stayed there all afternoon. The bill for the Meal and drinks. €15 that’s £10.53 Bargain. on the way back we called into a super market to get a few bits and stopped at the guy selling oranges on the side of the road. €2.5 for 5 kilo of oranges, that’s 18 oranges for £1.81 another bargain. 

We left the campsite at Evormonte, heading out on the N18 towards Albufeira on the algarve. Decided to avoid the toll roads, not just to save some money but the other roads are more scenic passing through little towns, and even when we passed through Evora the road through the town was all cobbled stone. I thought any minute we would end up down a dead end or a street that only a donkey could fit through but we got through no problem, even though the camper had a good shake up on the cobbles nothing fell off. 

The Portugese roads are as bad as in England and they are doing a lot of improvements, I think on all the ones we wanted to travel on. So we lost about 20 minutes according to our sat nav. But who cares we got a bit of time and we ain’t in no rush to go anywhere. 

We arrived at the campsite at Albufeira, it’s a large campsite, with a bar, restaurant, 3 pools, static caravans, lodges etc. Not the sort of site we would normally go for but it’s cheap enough and peaceful this time of year.lots of trees around for shade and the pineapples are huge. Albufeira was hit by a really big storm on the 1st November this year that’s only a month ago. When I say big storm it was big. Go on you tube and put in Albufeira Storm. They are working so hard to put it all right. We walked from the campsite down to the old town which was hit so bad and you can see where all the damage was done and how hard they are working. Lots of places still closed up. The old town also leads onto the beach, so it was great to see the sea again. 

Just to prove I am a man of my word, I said I would go in and I did. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and the water was bloody freezing. The temperature dipped last night to about 5 degrees but it’s warm in the day. The pool is not heated. I know I surf all year round but I have a wetsuit on. Believe me that water was cold. A quick swim then a hot shower and sit in the sun. Sorted, it’s good for you. 

So where did that month go. I can’t believe we have been away for a month already.Our last evening at Caceres we were sat outside having a beer & wine, a bit unusual for us but we thought we would give it a go. It was nice. A motorhome came onto site and it was our friends from Devon who manage the site we spend a lot of time on. They were going to meet us in Portugal for a couple of days and had no idea where we were just pure coincidence they picked that site on there way to Portugal.  We are now in Portugal and the sun is shining and looks like it’s going to shine for a day or two yet. 

  
Ok if are still friends after you seeing that last pic,I will show you some more later. The drive from Caceres to here Evora monte was really nice, decided to avoid the main roads and take the B roads. Again the roads were really quite and winded there way through small little towns and miles of high chaperal countryside and the occasional hill to climb.I was expecting to see some Cowboys and Indians. We were due to go on one site but could not find a good review about it and were told it was not a well looked after site, so Nikki found another on line which was on out route anyway. Run by a Dutch guy and his wife it’s a small site its very clean and tidy. He was telling me all about the trouble he had with planning etc and it took so long to get anything passed. In the reception are some items made from cork as a few miles away is a cork factory. The items in the reception include key rings, bangles, and a cork baseball cap which I really like. And no the hat is not made from the corks from Nikki’s wine bottles. If they were to use her corks it would make a three piece suit. LOL

As you can see we parked in the shade as it was hot….oops sorry must not mention the weather. Ok instead you can have some photos of the site, the pool is not heated but me being me I am going in it later. Nikki is not, she says it’s not the cold water but it will mess her hair up. We will spend a couple of nights here and then move on south to Albufeira that’s the bottom of Portugal, the algarve for those that dont know.  So until then Obrigado.