Pomarao

En route to Portugal we stop off at Gibraleon for a night and only manage a walk to the local Mercadona and a very cheap gin joint...

Quite a few vans at 'Pom' so we move on down by the river in to a very peaceful spot on our lonesome

With a nice view of the Guadiana river

Looking skywards...

We've come here solely to meet up with Ean, our friend who's been coming here for many years and can remember a time when it was unknown to the travelling motorhome fraternity

The guy is of a certain age at which he prefers to slip in to anonymity and keeps just a few friends anywhere near close to his thoughts so no photos of him or his 'Rig' are allowed and we respect that

(Russ & Lynne will no doubt chuckle)

Every day is spent ambling to his favourite spot under the rubber tree in the local cafe at 4.30pm and its from there that the fat is thoroughly chewed

The days are spent walking the local tracks

Our nearest hamlet

One of just a handful of residents

A friend of Ean joins us for an amble in the hills in search of this place

The small village of Picoitos yielded a tiny bar ran by a very old guy and we were so grateful for the beers he sold us

Further down the Guadiana, and back in Spain, lies Sanlucar and after a shopping trip on Max we call in and have coffee overlooking Portugal 

An hour back in time...

The weather is set to turn alas and Ken bids farewell to us all to relocate down on the coast

This is his Triumph Thruxton which fits nicely in the garage of his van

Time then to have a belated birthday lunch at the Cafe do Cais with Ean at which we try out this Portuguese speciality of clams and pork

Having said our farewells we give up on the idea of progressing further northwards in to the Portuguese interior as the weather is set to be poor with much rain for several weeks so relocate down to Sanlucar

We manage a short ferry trip across to Alcoutim

The view of Sanlucar with those clouds forming ominously

Its at this time that news of an 'Arctic Britain' reaches us and the poor weather expected here is part of the weather system affecting Blighty

We are saddened at changing our touring plans but intend to visit Northern Portugal one autumn when the weather is guaranteed. Walking in rain and temps of less than 10 degs is no fun TBH so we turnabout and head for what we now know to be the most reliable area of good winter weather in Iberia, namely South East Spain...