27th October (sunny, cool, windy afternoon) 0 km

When all the tents look like this, you know you're in the wrong place.

Actually I didn’t sleep that well last night, I think because I didn’t feel safe.  We checked the phone at 1am and I didn’t feel like I’d slept at all until then.  After that, it did get a little quieter but I think I can safely say I didn’t get a full hour of sleep all night.  While we were eating last night, I had tried to book us into a hotel just around the corner for 38 euros including breakfast but it wouldn’t work for some reason.  So this morning when we woke just after 7am, we quietly packed up the gear and washed off the very gritty groundsheet before pedalling away from Camp Sucksville in the early morning light.  We were on the lookout for anywhere that was open so we could get breakfast and went past the hotel I was looking at last night.  I said to Pete I’d just run in and see if I could book us a room.

From one extreme to the other - what a relief to get here!

There was a lovely lady on reception who said yes, we could have a room for 40 euro for the night including breakfast and we could check in right now!!  Not only that, but we could join the free breakfast crew this morning as well!!  Talk about a change in fortunes.  Pete was over the moon when I told him he would be the recipient of two free breakfasts in a row!  So we checked into Room 207 which even had a little balcony, hung our clean but wet groundsheet in the shower and went down for breakfast.  It was a lovely buffet breakfast and we happily tucked into coffee and croissants, bacon, toast and orange juice.

Went back upstairs intending to grab our togs and head back to the cliffs and scenic beaches, but there was a big black cloud rolling in, so we decided to wait until that passed over and blogged instead and did a bit of washing.

Both of us have received a number of mosquito bites in the past few days and at several spots we have stopped at, there have been these pesky flies hanging around which have been very annoying.  

Last night we had to be careful not to pitch on an ant’s nest as there were several at the campground and we have had this at a few campgrounds in Portugal.  So don’t go thinking it’s all dry flysheets and non-coin operated showers on this trip!

Pete here: Ah yes…the free breakfast….is there such a thing? I know there are certainly no free lunches in life. Having said that, it was a very nice serving and it was just nice to have my beloved in more enviable surroundings. Still…at least we stuck it out and got our money’s worth from our 10 Euro payment for Camp Sucksville. Only joking…..There is only so far you can take a joke and that was far enough.

Some people were wrapped up in jackets and actually had scarves on!  Not us, togs on, sunbathing and swimming.

So now that we are on the south coast of Portugal, the Algarve, with a chance to at last relax and the weather is rubbish.  Still, at least we have a hotel room to hole up in and get some tasks done.  Unfortunately a couple of items that we washed on our last rest day have been wet too long and developed a damp smell so we had to wash them again and chance leaving them out on the deck to dry.  The clouds made it look like an unwise decision, but they didn’t unleash any rain by lunchtime. 

At about 12.15pm, the clouds had abated and the sun had his hat on, so we went to swim at one of the beautiful bays we found yesterday. Took the bikes and parked them at the top of the cliff and commenced our hike down. There were already others down there, but not too many to spoil it for us. 

A little exploring......

and we found our own changing room......

with natural light and air conditioning

Lay on the beach for an hour trying to warm up, but the forecasted wind had also arrived and it wasn’t that warm. Decided to bite the bullet and into the water we went. It was beautiful and the warmest on tour so far. It also made you feel more buoyant than elsewhere we have swum, so if anyone knows why that may be the case, please feel free to comment. Ate some lunch, then sunned the other side, but now the wind was really blowing. As changing rooms are not that common in this part of Europe, it’s a case of drop em, or stay wet. Let’s just say, some folk should be staying wet.

Note the sign at the bottom warning of the danger of rockfall - I left that in the shot especially for you Anne.

Back at the top of the cliff, it was now howling and we were worried our washing might not still be on the balcony, so back to the hotel, via the shop, for a coffee. The washing was still there but we anchored it down to make sure it stayed there as the wind increased. We ventured into Lagos for a look around on the bikes, but it wasn’t pleasant. Here we are on the southernmost part of Portugal and the weather packs it in. I know… it’s autumn, but maybe it could have given us two weeks.

A few photos from around Lagos, but the beaches are the real stars.

Bought dinner and drinks to take back to our room and curl up with. It was nice. We found a lovely movie on tele, in English of course, about families and relationships. I must admit to thinking about mum a lot on this tour. Mum and I had a great relationship, but I still had things I wanted to say to her, nothing earth shaking, in fact it was probably just to hear her voice again with her reply. I am extremely fortunate. I have a family whom I love very much and I hope they feel the same. I have friends, some I see often, others occasionally, still others, usually because of where they live, hardly at all or even never. Relationships are complex. But time is short and we should make the most of whatever relationships we have.

After the movie, Ju posted yesterday’s blog whilst I tidied up and charged the camera, before we snuggled down for the night, without having to be on alert.