Beech's 1st moho adventure

I am sure you two would much prefer to be here in Devon, 2ft onshore surf, grey sky’s, raining, start of storm Bella with the wind picking up. I would take some pics but you would not be able to do anything after looking at them because you would be laughing so much. :tmi: Keep the pics coming and are you sure you don’t want to adopt me.(y)
 
Happy New year! Not feeling that happy about the culmination of the last 4 years but ho hum will make the best of it.

Had a lovely evening out with new friends from all over Europe, pizza and a few beers and home in bed by 11pm is my kind of NY!

Walkies at low tide on Zavial and a day relaxing, listening to Radio 4's 70th anniversary of The Archers..my Gran would be proud 😊
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Hoping 2021 brings more positivity for everyone x
 
Hello. Long time no post but what with the cold snap and not really doing anything new and exciting it hasn't seemed worth it.

The most exciting thing in the last week to report is we moved pitches as we negotiated our January stay with electric included so moved to access an electric box.

Not quite as scenic as our last spot but we get good sunlight which is hard to find here with all the trees.

I'm glad we've got it because it had been pretty cold for over a week now. 10 degree max and lows of 6 so we've been able to have the heating on lots and enjoy a bit of a Netflix binge.

The last couple of days it's started to warm up and has been stunning clear skies so quite warm when you're in it.
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We've had some lovely walks and a few surfs after buying thicker wetsuits to cope with the colder sea temps.

We've also made the most of having a few restaurant meals out as we hear there is a national lockdown coming from Thursday. Sadly after the ill advised Christmas free for all and freezing temperatures further north hospital admissions and deaths have risen so it's finally catching up with us.

Tomorrow will be the announcement letting us know the extent of the lockdown so we're waiting to hear how restricted we'll be.
 
Well I don’t think you could find a better place in which to enjoy lockdown.

By the way,I meant to let you know that there is a webcam at Praia do Porto do Mos that you can look at to see how the sea is for surfing. You mentioned going there to surf a while back. It’s Skylinewebcams.com

I dont do surfing............I’ve found lots of easier ways to drown!!! But quite a few go there to learn,I think. It’s generally tamer there than the bays further west.

Enjoy!:giggle:
 
Podney said:
Well I don’t think you could find a better place in which to enjoy lockdown.

By the way,I meant to let you know that there is a webcam at Praia do Porto do Mos that you can look at to see how the sea is for surfing. You mentioned going there to surf a while back. It’s Skylinewebcams.com

I dont do surfing............I’ve found lots of easier ways to drown!!! But quite a few go there to learn,I think. It’s generally tamer there than the bays further west.

Enjoy!:giggle:
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Yes thanks we do check on the surf cams where available and we're just crossing our fingers we'll still be allowed to surf but if not then long walks, rides or stuffing our faces with bbq food will suffice.

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Helen Ariel said:
Hello. Long time no post but what with the cold snap and not really doing anything new and exciting it hasn't seemed worth it.

The most exciting thing in the last week to report is we moved pitches as we negotiated our January stay with electric included so moved to access an electric box.

Not quite as scenic as our last spot but we get good sunlight which is hard to find here with all the trees.

I'm glad we've got it because it had been pretty cold for over a week now. 10 degree max and lows of 6 so we've been able to have the heating on lots and enjoy a bit of a Netflix binge.

The last couple of days it's started to warm up and has been stunning clear skies so quite warm when you're in it.
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We've had some lovely walks and a few surfs after buying thicker wetsuits to cope with the colder sea temps.

We've also made the most of having a few restaurant meals out as we hear there is a national lockdown coming from Thursday. Sadly after the ill advised Christmas free for all and freezing temperatures further north hospital admissions and deaths have risen so it's finally catching up with us.

Tomorrow will be the announcement letting us know the extent of the lockdown so we're waiting to hear how restricted we'll be.
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Brrrr 10° ..
That big rock is pretty interesting .... where's that?
 
Northernraider said:
Brrrr 10° ..
That big rock is pretty interesting .... where's that?
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Thankfully temps going back up to 18 by next week! It's been the coldest spell in over 18 years apparently.

That geological formation was on Bordeira beach. Amazing to think of the forces involved to twist that rock into that pattern!
 
Enjoying reading your thread - not wishing to hijack it, but regarding your residency, how difficult/expensive is it to matriculate your motorhome onto Portuguese plates? We know that when you exchange your driving licence you lose the C1 category, would you still lose it if you'd taken a test to get the C1 on your UK licence (as opposed to having the C1 on your licence through Grandad rights)? Could that be a way round still being able to drive a 4500 tonne motorhome on a portuguese licence?
 
Oscar said:
Enjoying reading your thread - not wishing to hijack it, but regarding your residency, how difficult/expensive is it to matriculate your motorhome onto Portuguese plates? We know that when you exchange your driving licence you lose the C1 category, would you still lose it if you'd taken a test to get the C1 on your UK licence (as opposed to having the C1 on your licence through Grandad rights)? Could that be a way round still being able to drive a 4500 tonne motorhome on a portuguese licence?
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Sorry no idea as not looked into it yet and we're under 3.5 tonne plus i don't have c1 anyway.
 
So it's been a bit of a rubbish week for me. Last Thursday I developed an agonising tooth infection which lasted for 3 days so hardly any sleep despite strong painkillers, pain so intense I could do nothing like read or watch tv. Thankfully I got a dental appointment after the 1st terrible night, rang at 9am and seen by 10.30am. Sadly it's a large upper molar that I had complicated root canal on over 10 years ago so the tooth is being extracted today now that the strong antibiotics they prescribed have brought the infection down.

If it had to happen I'm glad it was here and not back in the UK as it was a nightmare getting an appointment in normal times and I've heard it's much worse and more expensive since the pandemic. Only cost 70 euros here.

On top of that Portugal has started a national lockdown because the Christmas free for all combined with the highly transmissible variant has caused cases and deaths to rocket here. Luckily though surfing is still allowed so DH had something to do while I convalesced.

We also have the deadly processionary caterpillars to watch out for so Beech's freedoms to wander the campsite visiting her friends have been curtailed also.
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Off for some more torture soon so a few days of rest and soft food to follow but it's not so bad as the sun is shining and it's 17 to 19 degrees in the shade all week.
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Hope your tooth extraction goes well. Good news that you can stay where you are and it’s warm. Watch out for them catipillers, they do travel. Stay safe and catch a wave for me. (y)
 
Oscar said:
Enjoying reading your thread - not wishing to hijack it, but regarding your residency, how difficult/expensive is it to matriculate your motorhome onto Portuguese plates? We know that when you exchange your driving licence you lose the C1 category, would you still lose it if you'd taken a test to get the C1 on your UK licence (as opposed to having the C1 on your licence through Grandad rights)? Could that be a way round still being able to drive a 4500 tonne motorhome on a portuguese licence?
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A MH is not too expensive to matriculate. Cost me €1200 in tax, plus €€6-700 in fees and admin, using an agent. ( that was on a 30k value 2012 van).
You can drive a MH up to 4250 on a Portuguese car licence, anything over needs a C1 which you must actually have passed a test for.
If you’re a resident, you must matriculate your vehicle and exchange your licence, it’s illegal as a resident to drive on U.K. plates and a U.K. licence. ( unless the matriculation process has been started)
All the above was pre B, now as a 3rd country national, things may have changed and got more complicated 🤪
 
Mikey RV said:
Hope your tooth extraction goes well. Good news that you can stay where you are and it’s warm. Watch out for them catipillers, they do travel. Stay safe and catch a wave for me. (y)
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Thanks! It was worse than I expected to be honest. Took an hour and a half nearly of tugging, drilling, pulling, all accompanied by occasional cracking noises and felt at times like my jaw bone was being pulled out. The dentist got out of breath even! Still at least it's over now and I'm off to get under the duvet and watch a film.
 
Ooer,doesn't sound nice at all. Not sure of the dentist situation here currently,as last year dentists were not doing drillings due to covid risks. Not sure if that is still the case in the Uk.
Your 70 euros is probably on par with UK NHS costs for an extraction. Trust the pain eases of for you (y)
 
I had a wisdom tooth out years ago and the dentist had his knee on my chest tugging at it, it eventually shattered and then spent ages digging out all the bits, I looked like I had an orange in the side of my mouth for days after....

warm salty mouth rinse’s will help...👍🏼

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I dread having dental problems when away from home,but had a tooth out in Lagos about three years ago and it was a doddle.......despite the fact the dentist spoke hardly
any English,and my Portuguese is very poor.

Another vote for salt water. Hope you feel better soon.
 
Hi everyone, hope you’re all well and enjoying the snow that lots of our friends & family seem to have back in the UK, just as it’s warming up here. Forecast to be 19c this week which will be nice.
Surf forecast is much better too as we’ve had strong westerlies all week which have blown the surf out.

We‘ve been back in lockdown here for about a week again, where we are still able to shop for food, and visit the beaches in the municipality to surf as part of our exercise routine. To be honest it’s not really meant a massive difference to us apart from not being able to have the occasional meal out, or go for a drink in the evening. We don’t park up in the fort car park for the day ‘apres surf’ now, but do head straight back to the site so as to minimise our lockdown time off-site.

As Helen mentioned previously we moved pitch to get more sunlight and also to hook up to the site electric as we got a great deal from the site due to the fact we’ve been here for almost 3 months. If you’d told me that we’d be on the same site for that long at the start of our trip I’d never have believed you.

Luckily the site is only at about 10% capacity so there’s never any issues with distancing, and it’s nice to be part of a community again. Our new neighbours on all sides are very social and there’s a real ‘lockdown’ spirit on site. We have 2 younger German couples who we’ve become very friendly with, as well as an older Welsh gentleman, an older German lady and another German gent. Throw in the 2 Italian guys and our friend Paris (Aussie n Switzerland) and we’ve got a great mix!

In terms of life admin/van maintenance, we managed to buy some more citric acid so have flushed the entire water system out including the boiler. I’ve still got to pull my finger out and resolve the 12v fridge issue. I‘ve narrowed it down to the element or the D+ wire though... As we’re hardly driving it’s not too much of an issue just now.

Anyway, here’s a load of pics that I’ve taken over the last couple of weeks, including Lotta and her donkey Jonny who travels around in her van.

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She’s written a book about that time they walked from Berlin to Vienna, as you do.

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The hairy highness (not) loving her shower this morning after a walk to the beach.

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First thing she did afterwards was roll in the sand...

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A walk on Castelejo beach with Sophie & Andy, our new neighbours.

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Stunning day at Tonel last week. Some of the surf has been fantastic. I’ve really pushed my comfort zones a couple of times!

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The GNR have evicted everyone from the fort car park after finding them €60. Some of the vans were cracking in their own way!

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A different view of Tonel where we do most of our bodyboarding.

Cheers & stay safe, Paul
 
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Helen Ariel said:
Hi everyone, hope you’re all well and enjoying the snow that lots of our friends & family seem to have back in the UK, just as it’s warming up here. Forecast to be 19c this week which will be nice.
Surf forecast is much better too as we’ve had strong westerlies all week which have blown the surf out.

We‘ve been back in lockdown here for about a week again, where we are still able to shop for food, and visit the beaches in the municipality to surf as part of our exercise routine. To be honest it’s not really meant a massive difference to us apart from not being able to have the occasional meal out, or go for a drink in the evening. We don’t park up in the fort car park for the day ‘apres surf’ now, but do head straight back to the site so as to minimise our lockdown time off-site.

As Helen mentioned previously we moved pitch to get more sunlight and also to hook up to the site electric as we got a great deal from the site due to the fact we’ve been here for almost 3 months. If you’d told me that we’d be on the same site for that long at the start of our trip I’d never have believed you.

Luckily the site is only at about 10% capacity so there’s never any issues with distancing, and it’s nice to be part of a community again. Our new neighbours on all sides are very social and there’s a real ‘lockdown’ spirit on site. We have 2 younger German couples who we’ve become very friendly with, as well as an older Welsh gentleman, an older German lady and another German gent. Throw in the 2 Italian guys and our friend Paris (Aussie n Switzerland) and we’ve got a great mix!

In terms of life admin/van maintenance, we managed to buy some more citric acid so have flushed the entire water system out including the boiler. I’ve still got to pull my finger out and resolve the 12v fridge issue. I‘ve narrowed it down to the element or the D+ wire though... As we’re hardly driving it’s not too much of an issue just now.

Anyway, here’s a load of pics that I’ve taken over the last couple of weeks, including Lotta and her donkey Jonny who travels around in her van.

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She’s written a book about that time she walked from Berlin to Vienna, as you do.

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The hairy highness (not) loving her shower this morning after a walk to the beach.

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First thing she did afterwards was roll in the sand...

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A walk on Castelejo beach with Sophie & Andy, our new neighbours.

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Stunning day at Tonel last week. Some of the surf has been fantastic. I’ve really pushed my comfort zones a couple of times!

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The GNR have evicted everyone from the fort car park after finding them €60. Some of the vans were cracking in their own way!

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A different view of Tonel where we do most of our bodyboarding.

Cheers & stay safe, Paul
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Well a donkey has tk be the strangest thing yet ive seen in a camper lol but there you go 🤣🤣
 
Nice photos ,enjoy the 19 degs.
When you park up for your beach surfing/walks ,have you had any problems with the police moving you on or are you able to explain your just parking up for your surfing and going back to the campsite? Are they tolerant of that?

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Jimbohorlicks said:
Nice photos ,enjoy the 19 degs.
When you park up for your beach surfing/walks ,have you had any problems with the police moving you on or are you able to explain your just parking up for your surfing and going back to the campsite? Are they tolerant of that?
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We have had zero interaction with them at all since this new lockdown started. We’re staying as local as possible and obeying all the rules. We love it here and want to do the right thing.
 
Helen Ariel said:
We have had zero interaction with them at all since this new lockdown started. We’re staying as local as possible and obeying all the rules. We love it here and want to do the right thing.
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That's good to hear,I asked because you advised that the vans parked up in the castle car park had been fined and moved on. With you seemingly "wild camping",to someone just passing the beach, as it were ,and in view of the new Portugese camping laws.
 
We were told today,by a resident in Lagos,that ”all the beaches are closed”,as are the beach car parks there. Seems unlikely that it would be different where you are,although of course the population density there is much lower. Surely if the beaches where you are,are open,but those at Lagos are closed,the folks there would drive the half hour to get there? Have you noticed them becoming busier?

Seems odd to me. Not saying you are wrong,but maybe worth checking if you haven’t already.(y):giggle:
 
Podney said:
We were told today,by a resident in Lagos,that ”all the beaches are closed”,as are the beach car parks there. Seems unlikely that it would be different where you are,although of course the population density there is much lower. Surely if the beaches where you are,are open,but those at Lagos are closed,the folks there would drive the half hour to get there? Have you noticed them becoming busier?

Seems odd to me. Not saying you are wrong,but maybe worth checking if you haven’t already.(y):giggle:
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Local municipalities can close their beaches if they feel they’re getting too busy.
 
Jimbohorlicks said:
That's good to hear,I asked because you advised that the vans parked up in the castle car park had been fined and moved on. With you seemingly "wild camping",to someone just passing the beach, as it were ,and in view of the new Portugese camping laws.
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We have had them drive past us on the road in a convoy of 3 vehicles with no 2nd looks. They also had a checkpoint set up in the fort car park but again, no issue. We carry our IDs and masks in case we need them, or are stopped.
There are very few vans around Sagres just now.
Just to clarify that we’ve been on the same camp site for 3 months now, and have not been wild camping apart from a couple of visits to Lagos & Fuseta pre-lockdown and before the new laws came in.
 
No intermunicipal travel unless essential so really hoping people don't travel from Lagos/Portimão and ruin it for us. There is a small population here in proportion to the number of beaches. It helps that we are basically a foot shaped bit of land sticking out into the sea with beaches on all sides so loads of room for everyone.

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