A few images from a trip up the west coast to the fishing town of Nazaré, famous for big wave surfing and bad-ass old ladies who wear loads of skirts (all at the same time). I didn´t get any photos of the ladies, but next time I will.
Tag: road trip portugal
Alcaçovas | Alentejo
Most of my husband´s family is from the Alentejo and half of them still live out there, in various towns scattered across the countryside. This works out perfectly as we are always visiting one house or the other and the Alentejo just so happens to be my favourite part of Portugal. This is Alcaçovas, where we spend our Easters.
Berlenga Island | Peniche
Last summer we hopped on a ferry boat in the fishing town of Peniche to spend the day on Berlenga island, off the west coast of Portugal. The Berlenga archipelago is a nature reserve so the “human footprint” is quite limited… apart from a few houses at the harbour, the lighthouse and the fort, there isn´t much here apart from seagulls and clear blue seas. We only spend the day but I loved the wildness of this place and would definitely like to come back and spend a few days here.
Juncais | Serra da Estrela
Being a freelancer and working from home has it´s pro´s and con´s, like everything else in life. Pro´s include being able to work when the inspiration strikes, whether it´s during the “real world work hours” or at 3am and conversely, being able to take time off on a Tuesday afternoon because the weather is great and you´d really just like to be on the beach right now. It also means that you can spend the entire day in your pyjamas which may or may not be a good thing… I´m on the fence about that one. The crappy part, however,…
Marvão | Alentejo
Marvão is a small town in the northern region of the Alentejo, very close to the Spanish border. Like many other border towns with ancient origins, the purpose of it´s existence was to protect against invading enemy troops which is why it is heavily fortified and perched on top of a hill with an unobstructed view for kilometres in every direction. It seems I have a bit of a thing for these border towns and it´s fascinating to visit them spread out from north to south along the border… their reasons for existence are all the same but the way they´ve been…
Van Life | Costa Vicentina
Last autumn, right before we jumped on a plane to Brazil, we hired a camper van and did a little road trip down the Costa Vicentina, the south west coast of Portugal… half in the Alentejo and half in the Algarve, this coastline is without a doubt one of my favourite parts of Portugal. The campervan is all part of a bigger plan that we have, to take some time off work and travel around Europe… it´s all still a work in progress and I´ll tell you more about it once we have a more definite idea of when and…
Peneda Geres National Park | Portugal
In March this year, towards the end of winter, we took a drive up north to spend some time with friends and explore a part of Portugal we don´t know very well… the Minho region, more specifically, the Peneda Geres National Park. We spent the weekend at Sobrenatura in the tiny town of Gração, just outside of the national park and spent our time hiking and eating and drinking and sitting in front of the fireplace and eating a bit more… The food here is incredible and when you travel with Portuguese people, you know that you´re going to be eating…
Tavira | Algarve
Tavira is another little gem in the Algarve region that, while it´s still a lot more touristy than the Ilha do Farol, it certainly isn´t over-run with the drunk, obnoxious type of tourist… or at least, it wasn´t when we were there (thankfully!) The whitewashed walls and splashes of colour are reminiscent of the Greek isles, although the ubiquitous patterned tiles make it unmistakably Portuguese. As with many of our explorations around Portugal, we were travelling more for work than holidays so this little town left us lots to discover next time, when we aren´t on a tight schedule…
Beach camping at Praia da Galé | Portugal
We spent a few days this summer at Praia da Galé, on the Alentejo coast just south of Comporta… it´s one of our favourite spots to camp in Portugal and I always feel like we never have enough time while we´re there. This environment, these photos, brings out the dreamer in me… makes me want to drop everything and hit the road indefinitely.
Mértola | Alentejo
Mértola was one of the first places I visited in Portugal, back in 2007 while here on holiday for the first time. I remember being fascinated by the tiny white houses and mismatched roof tiles, so very different to what I was used to back home… but the thing that made the biggest impression, that took my breath away quite literally, was the heat. So much heat. No wind, no shade, just hot white light reflecting everywhere and a cloudless blue sky burning down from above. So keeping that in mind, try not to visit in the peak of summer… not…
Kerry Murray 