On the 24th of April
Today I woke up to the sounds of life coming from the neighboring camp pitch. Next to us, there was a guy camping (who knows for how many nights), whose morning routine differed from that of the others. He pulled out an unopened bottle of vodka from his gear, poured a generous splash into a mineral water bottle, followed by water. He repeated the same process with a soft drink bottle. Half of the big vodka bottle remained, presumably for later use. I didn’t notice him having any other breakfast. His slender figure hinted at the length – and possibly the recurrence – of his regimen. He was friendly and very sociable. He immediately came to help when we were maneuvering Tellu out of our camp pitch, which was bordered by a crookedly grown tree. It was quite a tight fit! The guy was enthusiastically involved in the task and bid us a cheerful goodbye when we left.
Another person I observed at breakfast was a middle-aged woman traveling on a motorcycle, staying in a tent across from us. She seemed to have quite a few miles behind her. She handled everything like a pro, every item had its place and went into the saddlebags in just the right order. Respect for such skill and dedication.
We did manage to have breakfast after a thorough shower. Oh, what a shower – a warm one – is an excellent thing. The morning soundscape, interrupted only by our neighbor’s chatter and the occasional passing vehicle, was filled with birdsong. I recognized the sparrows among our feathered friends, but the more ornate tunes came from birds I didn’t know. And I didn’t call my brother Matti to ask for enlightenment on the matter.
Salema Eco Camp was excellent in terms of services and facilities. If there are more places like this on the trip, it starts to lean towards luxury! However, we decided to first head out to explore the village of Salema. We drove along narrow, steep roads to the village, where our exploration was limited to a drive-through. We couldn’t find a parking spot there for our vehicle – so we continued on our journey.
The port city of Lagos offered us a fishing port and quite a display of pleasure boats. After walking around the port, we stopped at a beach bar to enjoy a small glass of beer and watch the passing boats. The bar had a specialty: sausage cooked in an exciting clay dish. They poured pure vodka into the bottom of the dish, lit it, and it nicely warmed the sausage placed above it. I told them that in my home country, some travelers might consider such a cooking method a waste of good material! That got me thinking, would there be 96% vodka available in slightly larger quantities? I might try cooking sausage like that back home!
From Lagos, we drove to Faro, where there is a rather unique sandy dune-like island. The tourist-packed area was full of people. Those who know us better can imagine that staying there for a longer time didn’t occur to either of us. But dining was definitely enjoyable. We compared prices and found them to be quite mainland-like in the first highly praised restaurant. We turned away and walked towards the van. Along the way, there was a slightly less refined-looking diner where locals were also sitting. That’s usually a sure sign of good value for money. We sat down and ordered prawns, clams, toast, and French fries – and of course, two local beers. The food was 30% cheaper and absolutely excellent. The seafood was probably today’s catch!
We hurried back to the van, set a new destination in the navigator, and headed towards the Spanish border. Goodbye, Portugal. A beautiful country, wonderful people, magnificent sea, and endless beautiful beaches. One could come here again. A warm recommendation for those planning their vacation trips.
As we entered Spain, we noticed the poor condition of the highway pavement. In a relatively new road, there were surface damages almost the entire over 100 km stretch, dodging them sometimes felt like skiing slalom! One had to constantly glance at the mirrors to know where the van could be maneuvered when avoiding potholes. Such road section was a real tire killer.
Before dusk, we reached the accommodation area, which is free – the only service being a water tap, from which the resourceful water sellers here also filled a large number of various-sized water bottles, which they probably then sell to those in need somewhere!
You can sleep quite well for one night in the parking lot by the football field. At least we can! Hopefully. Good night to everyone equally. That’s all from here this time.