Val 3 dogs
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Must say I've never done it (surfing) but can see the attraction and imagine the "buzz". For me it would be a case of "feel the fear and do it anyway".
Here's wishing you many more stomach cleching waves.
Beech's 1st moho adventure
- Thread starter Helen Ariel
- Start date
Here's wishing you many more stomach cleching waves.
Dynastinae - Wikipedia
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Ah yes Rhinosarous beetle, makes sense!Dynastinae - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
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Put my specs on and looked again,,could be Rhinoceros Beetle,,I love beetles,,feel sorry for dung beetles though,,BUSBY.
Mikey RV
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Surfing is addictive. There is a saying only a surfer knows the feeling, which is so true. I love the ocean, but you must respect it at all times. Just to be near it the sound the sight the smell. Surfing, bodyboarding, body surfing,snorkelling just being in there does it for me. And my other passion is mountain biking also. If I ever meet up with you guys we have a lot to talk about. Take care out there in the water and enjoy. 
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Absolutely. It's certainly something to really take your time to get accustomed too. I feel like I'm learning so much each time I go out, reading the ocean and how it behaves at each beach/tide/day and not just charging in willy nilly and becoming comfortable being tossed about by the ocean and not panicking but holding your breath and relaxing.Surfing is addictive. There is a saying only a surfer knows the feeling, which is so true. I love the ocean, but you must respect it at all times. Just to be near it the sound the sight the smell. Surfing, bodyboarding, body surfing,snorkelling just being in there does it for me. And my other passion is mountain biking also. If I ever meet up with you guys we have a lot to talk about. Take care out there in the water and enjoy.
Hopefully meet up one day for some trails or waves. I can see us spending winters doing this as often as possible now!
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I was a bit hungover this morning after a few ciders and half a bottle of wine with homemade paella.
We had a night away from the campsite and stayed in the fort carpark for a change of scene and then after a slow start to the day drove out for a walk along the cliffs over looking Praia da Cordoana, a huge wild beach on the West Coast with 12 foot high white horses coming in endless sets. The sun has just set now.
Back to Sagres for takeaway pizza now. Night all.
We had a night away from the campsite and stayed in the fort carpark for a change of scene and then after a slow start to the day drove out for a walk along the cliffs over looking Praia da Cordoana, a huge wild beach on the West Coast with 12 foot high white horses coming in endless sets. The sun has just set now.
Back to Sagres for takeaway pizza now. Night all.
Mikey RV
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You two are having way too much fun in the sun while I am here in rainy overcast U.K. Are you sure you don’t want to adopt me. 
Nice photos.
Nice photos.
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Today we took Beech for a morning stroll along Zavial beach and it was low tide so we enjoyed a bit of rock pooling and found a cave with swifts or swallows zooming in and out which you can just see in the photo if your eyesight is good.
Popped to Lidl to top up supplies which we seem to do every few days as we are cooking at home so much and it's by far the best supermarket for it's covid measures. It has a traffic light at the door which keeps numbers inside at a safe amount, sanitation station by the trolleys and door and staff wipe down the conveyer belt after each customer.
Then we headed back to Tonel beach which had looked like it had some smaller surf than normal but by the time we got down there were some pretty big sets rolling in but a large rock in the middle of the beach does provide a slightly sheltered area where you can access a nice right hander from a relative place of safety but good timing is still required to avoid getting hit by the bigger stuff. Having felt very disheartened not getting a single wave in 2 hours yesterday I was determined to get at least one wave and gradually built up the courage to move out from the protected area in time to catch a moderate sized wave back to shore and called it a day.
A restful afternoon back at camp now.
Popped to Lidl to top up supplies which we seem to do every few days as we are cooking at home so much and it's by far the best supermarket for it's covid measures. It has a traffic light at the door which keeps numbers inside at a safe amount, sanitation station by the trolleys and door and staff wipe down the conveyer belt after each customer.
Then we headed back to Tonel beach which had looked like it had some smaller surf than normal but by the time we got down there were some pretty big sets rolling in but a large rock in the middle of the beach does provide a slightly sheltered area where you can access a nice right hander from a relative place of safety but good timing is still required to avoid getting hit by the bigger stuff. Having felt very disheartened not getting a single wave in 2 hours yesterday I was determined to get at least one wave and gradually built up the courage to move out from the protected area in time to catch a moderate sized wave back to shore and called it a day.
A restful afternoon back at camp now.
James-Alex
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Lots of mussels on those rocks yum yum 
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We had a rather annoying experience yesterday when we drove over to our nearest beach, Beliche and parked in the carpark above the beach which we've been doing the last 4 weeks and so does everyone else in vans, cars and motorhomes and we'd not even stepped out of the van when the GNR pulled up and knocked on the door saying we were parked illegally and pointing out a tiny sign with a picture of a caravan down the road slightly. We explained we didn't realise as the sign shows a caravan and had just arrived and showed our campsite receipts to show that we had not been overnighting but they insisted we must pay a 30e fine and it had to be cash which we had none of so they followed us into town to go to a cash point. Rather disappointing when we had thought we'd been managing to stick to the rules around here. We found out later from a surfing buddy that he had been fined in the fort carpark where he is legally allowed to park his van during the day but they said he was over the lines which is mad as there are a few marked bays in this enormous carpark and the rest is unmarked free for all. Think they must have been given a target to rake some cash in off the tourists and feels like a scam but ho hum it's very cheap to live here compared to the uk.
We asked the cops where we could park in future and he indicted a dirt road just over the road which is in the national park and said but don't overnight there or it's 200e.
After a few hours at the beach we decided to wash away the annoyance of the morning with a couple of beers at a bar that some fellow body borders recommended and ended up sitting outside the bar and drinking far too many pints as it was a beautiful clear night with crescent moon and there was a great atmosphere and really friendly bar staff who made a fuss of Beech and she ended up taking herself off inside the bar to make friends and scrounge sausage from the barman.
All the excitement tired her out!
Today involved hangovers and a small bit of body boarding late afternoon.
We asked the cops where we could park in future and he indicted a dirt road just over the road which is in the national park and said but don't overnight there or it's 200e.
After a few hours at the beach we decided to wash away the annoyance of the morning with a couple of beers at a bar that some fellow body borders recommended and ended up sitting outside the bar and drinking far too many pints as it was a beautiful clear night with crescent moon and there was a great atmosphere and really friendly bar staff who made a fuss of Beech and she ended up taking herself off inside the bar to make friends and scrounge sausage from the barman.
All the excitement tired her out!
Today involved hangovers and a small bit of body boarding late afternoon.
That’s a shame with the police... leaves a bad taste...
but try and forget and enjoy the rest..
but try and forget and enjoy the rest..
James-Alex
Free Member
Sounds like you’re still having fun and making memories 
shame on the parking. It appears it’s a common issue everywhere for motorhomes. All the best James
shame on the parking. It appears it’s a common issue everywhere for motorhomes. All the best James
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A nice hearty macaroni cheese and zoom date with friends cured the hangover in the end.
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Well what a lovely weekend it's been despite having our 1st proper mini lockdown!
Lockdown consisted of staying at home (huge campsite) from 1pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Back to normal tomorrow but the government has announced new national measures as well as regional tiers for the next few weeks so for our region it's back to restaurants and bars open till 10.30pm and party of 5 max, night curfews 11 till 5am then national restrictions for the following 2 long weekends which are holiday weekends here and the only extra measure is no travel outside your borough. So we just have to stay local which we've mostly been doing anyway. Well pleased as I was expecting potentially a full lockdown for a couple of weeks.
The surf has been a bit smaller so we've been able to get out both mornings on Tonel beach which can be very intimidating normally but we were able to catch some really nice waves. The weather has been stunning, clear blue skies and 20ish degrees.
The colour of the water here when it's like this is just gorgeous and you see fish jumping out of the water when you're floating about out there.
Today when I duck dived the waves the wind was blowing spray off the back of it and forming a complete rainbow right next to me. Magical.
Beech has enjoyed a bit of beach time too and we spent the afternoons back at camp enjoying a leisurely lunch. Yesterday a bbq and today a lovely fry up.
Beech also got to enjoy a bit of fine dining as we got a bargain price for some horse mackeral so she had sushi for dinner.
The forecast is for a few degrees cooler next week and some rainy days coming so we are making the most of things now.
Lockdown consisted of staying at home (huge campsite) from 1pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Back to normal tomorrow but the government has announced new national measures as well as regional tiers for the next few weeks so for our region it's back to restaurants and bars open till 10.30pm and party of 5 max, night curfews 11 till 5am then national restrictions for the following 2 long weekends which are holiday weekends here and the only extra measure is no travel outside your borough. So we just have to stay local which we've mostly been doing anyway. Well pleased as I was expecting potentially a full lockdown for a couple of weeks.
The surf has been a bit smaller so we've been able to get out both mornings on Tonel beach which can be very intimidating normally but we were able to catch some really nice waves. The weather has been stunning, clear blue skies and 20ish degrees.
The colour of the water here when it's like this is just gorgeous and you see fish jumping out of the water when you're floating about out there.
Today when I duck dived the waves the wind was blowing spray off the back of it and forming a complete rainbow right next to me. Magical.
Beech has enjoyed a bit of beach time too and we spent the afternoons back at camp enjoying a leisurely lunch. Yesterday a bbq and today a lovely fry up.
Beech also got to enjoy a bit of fine dining as we got a bargain price for some horse mackeral so she had sushi for dinner.
The forecast is for a few degrees cooler next week and some rainy days coming so we are making the most of things now.
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Mikey RV
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I can taste that breakfast because it’s the same plates as we have.
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My dogs loved fish,,so good for them,,and us.BUSBY.
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We’ve had a great spell of weather lately, and consistent surf too however we both needed a day off so decided to head north to the little town of Aljezur for a change of scene. We’d heard good things from our neighbours and Helen wanted some new lightweight trousers so off we went.
We parked up behind the municipal market, then took a walk through the old part of town to the fort that dominates the skyline above town.
More lovely statues to look at as we wandered up the hill.
Stunning colours complemented by the azure sky.
We had the fort to ourselves which we’re getting used to now.
Nice view over the new part of town.
And the view towards the Atlantic the other way.
Another statue at the bottom of the hill in town.
We‘d driven through Aljezur on our way south to Sagres and Helen had spotted a “Sourdough Pizza” sign so we went there for lunch. Good pizza but expensive for what it was. Forgot to get pics.
After lunch we decided to visit one of the numerous beaches on the west coast as we both felt we’d “done” Aljezur. Pretty, but small & out of season meant there was little life about the place.
The beach at Bordeira made up for it though. An immaculate expanse of sand with only about 20 other people on it.
The other big news we’ve had is that we have both managed to get temporary Portuguese residency! This means that we should be able to stay longer than 90 days in every 180 in Portugal post Brexit. We both love it here and can see us spending every winter here for the foreseeable future. We’re celebrating by cooking curry for our neighbours tonight and have a couple of nice bottles of Portuguese red to enjoy with it.
Paul
We parked up behind the municipal market, then took a walk through the old part of town to the fort that dominates the skyline above town.
More lovely statues to look at as we wandered up the hill.
Stunning colours complemented by the azure sky.
We had the fort to ourselves which we’re getting used to now.
Nice view over the new part of town.
And the view towards the Atlantic the other way.
Another statue at the bottom of the hill in town.
We‘d driven through Aljezur on our way south to Sagres and Helen had spotted a “Sourdough Pizza” sign so we went there for lunch. Good pizza but expensive for what it was. Forgot to get pics.
After lunch we decided to visit one of the numerous beaches on the west coast as we both felt we’d “done” Aljezur. Pretty, but small & out of season meant there was little life about the place.
The beach at Bordeira made up for it though. An immaculate expanse of sand with only about 20 other people on it.
The other big news we’ve had is that we have both managed to get temporary Portuguese residency! This means that we should be able to stay longer than 90 days in every 180 in Portugal post Brexit. We both love it here and can see us spending every winter here for the foreseeable future. We’re celebrating by cooking curry for our neighbours tonight and have a couple of nice bottles of Portuguese red to enjoy with it.
Paul
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Thanks for the super pics that took me back to two of my favourite places in that area. The climb up to the castle is quite challenging! But worth it for the view. We had to come back early from Lagos due to U.K. lockdown 3.5 weeks ago,which messed up flights,so only had a week there............so am I jealous? Just a tad!!! 
.......that’s green with envy,not sick as a parrot!
.......that’s green with envy,not sick as a parrot!
You can’t throw that bombshell in without further explanation...
if it’s not too personal...
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Lots of visiting offices with various paperworks, being told we need one thing or another some blagging and we have our certificates. Took a few weeks and some tips from people who have already done it. We hope to spend a lot more time in Portugal in the years to come and probably buy property and retire here one day so fingers crossed this is a foot in the door before Brexshit rules apply.You can’t throw that bombshell in without further explanation...
if it’s not too personal...
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So a rainy, grey day yesterday meant we decided to take a drive out East to Portimão partly to give our batteries a good top up as we've been managing without hookup and only have the one solar panel and we had a look at a campsite out that way that we've heard is popular, Miki's just for possible future stop off but it didn't take my fancy at all. Rather boring flat fields surrounding it and very close pitches and with everyone a bit hemmed in.
DH had also planned a surprise visit for me to the British supermarket so I could resupply with Marmite and I'm embarrassed to say I ended up buying up quite a few home comforts including mince pies, pork pies, Waitrose pork and leek sausages and crumpets to name a few. This unhealthy buying spree may have had something to do with the hangover I was suffering after our celebratory meal with our neighbours.
Today the sun was shining again although it's a bit fresher at 16 degrees and we finally got around to visiting the fort in Sagres. 3 euros each very well spent as it's a big place with multiple great views and vantage points as you walk around the defensive walls.
Then we walked right out to the end of the spit of land the fort is situated on. Can you spot the two very different boats in this picture below?
There were more surprises out here including a blow hole surrounded by a maze and once inside and standing over the metal grate above the blow hole the roar of air coming from below ground was actually quite scary.
Yet more natural wonders that mesmerised us were a sea cave where the ocean was forcing itself inside and then a huge blast of spray would come exploding back out and the beautiful white horses with rainbow manes galloping in to Tonel beach.
DH had also planned a surprise visit for me to the British supermarket so I could resupply with Marmite and I'm embarrassed to say I ended up buying up quite a few home comforts including mince pies, pork pies, Waitrose pork and leek sausages and crumpets to name a few. This unhealthy buying spree may have had something to do with the hangover I was suffering after our celebratory meal with our neighbours.
Today the sun was shining again although it's a bit fresher at 16 degrees and we finally got around to visiting the fort in Sagres. 3 euros each very well spent as it's a big place with multiple great views and vantage points as you walk around the defensive walls.
Then we walked right out to the end of the spit of land the fort is situated on. Can you spot the two very different boats in this picture below?
There were more surprises out here including a blow hole surrounded by a maze and once inside and standing over the metal grate above the blow hole the roar of air coming from below ground was actually quite scary.
Yet more natural wonders that mesmerised us were a sea cave where the ocean was forcing itself inside and then a huge blast of spray would come exploding back out and the beautiful white horses with rainbow manes galloping in to Tonel beach.
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Lenny HB
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I think BreweryDave reported last year it had gone down hill.
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Internet flaky just added more sea pics with closeups
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Mikey RV
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It went down hill years ago, one minute it’s being closed down then open. Shame really because they had some good ideas just trouble putting them in practice.
You obviously visited the fort at the right tide time, we didn’t get any wind at the blow hole and it was tough getting in there on a wheelchair..
I noticed a few vans in the big carpark, are they staying the night there or are they getting moved on..?
lovely sunny but frosty day here in Cornwall too ... can you spot the surfers...
I noticed a few vans in the big carpark, are they staying the night there or are they getting moved on..?
lovely sunny but frosty day here in Cornwall too ... can you spot the surfers...
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Yes they are brave! Brrr. The fort carpark had been packed with vans overnighting for our 1st 3 weeks here and we stayed a couple of nights but the cops came through fining people about a week ago and now it's really empty also there was no good surf today so less reason to be there. Our van is in the pic. Parking allowed till 10pm.You obviously visited the fort at the right tide time, we didn’t get any wind at the blow hole and it was tough getting in there on a wheelchair..
I noticed a few vans in the big carpark, are they staying the night there or are they getting moved on..?
lovely sunny but frosty day here in Cornwall too ... can you spot the surfers...
View attachment 443818
BreweryDave
LIFE MEMBER
Without wishing to rain on your parade.......
but you do know you will be driving your van illegally now
As a Portuguese resident you can only drive a U.K. vehicle you own if you have started the matriculation process. You’ll also have to exchange your driving licence ( before 31/12
) and will lose your C1.
if you already started all of this, apologies! If not........you have been warned
but you do know you will be driving your van illegally now
As a Portuguese resident you can only drive a U.K. vehicle you own if you have started the matriculation process. You’ll also have to exchange your driving licence ( before 31/12
) and will lose your C1. if you already started all of this, apologies! If not........you have been warned
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Not the info we were given. Apparently we just have to register our uk license with the imt which we have 60 days to do. Obviously different rules will apply once permanent residency is applied for.
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