After Christmas Day and 3rd Christmas Day, the last hugs are given to the family. I can say it is tough, but it cannot be otherwise. Time to continue our adventure, but now the southern part is starting, Africa is calling us. We have decided to drive until we find the sun again and we succeed quite quickly. Of course it would not be us if the sun alone is not enough, there must also be some temperature. So we are going to drive a little further South, France, Spain and yes, in Portugal it’s hit, sun and temperature. That is roughly 3 months ago that we felt the sun shine on our face, and it was time that it happened again. In 14 days phoca and crew will take the boat to Morocco and there are still 1200km ahead. I don’t think that’s going to be a real vacation. We enter Portugal at Castelo Mendo, here we were just 5 years ago on the same date, how coincidental it can be.
We cross Portugal from Castelo Mendo to Aveiro at the coast and we continue south. One last city trip in Lisbon, actually a bit of enjoyment. We like Lisbon and especially now that the weather is nice
After Lisbon the journey goes further south towards the Algarve. Once arrived in the Algarve it is no longer what it used to be and especially the part of the Algarve where it is the most beautiful. Free camping is no longer possible. Traffic signs everywhere that make it clear that campers and caravans are prohibited. Just whole village centers are forbidden access and also the parking places are forbidden for campers and caravans. Well, the fun is quickly gone.
So we drive a little closer to Tarifa where we take the ferry to Morocco on January 17. But due to the motorhome ban on the Algarve we arrive a little earlier than expected, oh well, why not, we are going to visit Gibraltar. we drive towards Gibraltar and stand there 500 meters from the border with Spain and Gibraltar, at a mega large marina. Nice to see a marina again, and even more fun is the nice people we meet there, two couples from England from the island man, and another couple from Austria.
Day after arrival we visit the rock Gibraltar where we take a nice walk in the nature park with of course the monkeys, that’s why we did it for. The next day we drive to Tarifa to take the boat to Morocco on Friday, January 17th. The crossing to and the journey through Morocco is for the next part of our travel story.
