Orbitur Camping Valado - Portugal

We arrived here at around 5 pm, having stopped on the way to eat at a roadside café. Food was basic, but cheap (18 euros which included coffee, beer and wine.)
We chose this campsite because of the write-up in the Alan Rogers Guide to camping and caravanning in Spain and Portugal. The site is as stated, undulating, and it is quite difficult to get a flat pitch, but the shower and toilet block is superb with hot showers, and a marvellous baby bath arrangement in both the ladies and gents shower block. The site is close to Fatima, which is the object of our visit here.

Fatima
We arrived at around 2 pm, and had no trouble at all parking. The town is famous because of the visitation of an angel and Our Lady to three little children. There is a huge basilica which houses the remains of two of the three visionaries who died in childhood, shortly after the apparition, and a small chapel built over the place where Our Lady appeared. Around the basilica there are numerous cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops offering everything from statues of the Virgin which glow in the dark, to Rosaries, pictures of Christ which appear to open or close his eyes, large statues of holy personages, or one beautifully carved wooden Pieta, which I would have happily brought home if I could have afforded it, or indeed, had the space to house it.

We saw numerous pilgrims crossing the great square on their knees, praying the Rosary as they went, and in the Visionary Chapel itself, we were awed at the sight of a grandmother carrying her small grandchild, who orbited the chapel at least three times on her knees, praying as she shuffled along. The mother of the baby walked alongside her. It was a reminder that living in this secular world of ours, there are still people steadfast in their Christian faith.

On the way to Fatima, we passed a huge Monastery and church at Batalha, which we were only able to snatch a fleeting visit, as the main church was not open. We are going back today because it was just one of the most amazing buildings we have ever seen.

Batalha
The monastery and church were well worth visiting. It was built by King Joao I because of a vow he made to Our Lady following his victory over the Castillian army in 1385. After the dissolution of the Portuguese religious orders in 1834, the monastery was abandoned and therefore became dilapidated. In 1840 King Fernando II started the restoration which has continued to the present day. Unfortunately in his desire to return to the purest Gothic form, centuries of artistic expression was obliterated. The Tympanum and archivolt of the main door are decorated in flamboyant gothic style with countless figures from the Old Testament. There are also unfinished chapels which despite their amazing decoration are open to the elements. The cloisters are very beautiful indeed, and there is a huge fountain in the gardens bordered by them. The decoration of these is in a style called Manueline after Manuel I who reigned at the time. The tracery between them and in the stained glass windows throughout the church and monastery echo the pure Gothic, but also foretell the baroque.

We ate in a small restaurant close by, but once again, although this was obviously a high class restaurant, the food was very disappointing in content, although no complaint could be made about the quantity.

From Batalha, we went on to Alcobaca which also has a church and monastery, but we arrived too late to be allowed into the monastery and had to content ourselves with visiting the church only. The church consisted of a high central nave with two lower naves adjoining. There are a number of statues within the little chapels off to the side of the naves, (polychrome on wood) in a baroque style and one very old pieta. The church is noteworthy because it contains the bodies of two star crossed lovers.

From there, we went back to Camping Valado, and made ready to leave the following morning.

Evora
This is a mediaeval walled town, which we drove round inside the walls, but as the streets were very narrow and not suited to a motor home at all, we gave up and headed off to the next campsite on our route, Camping Markadia. We passed an Intermarche supermarket on the way and stocked up, and were able to buy food already prepared. We then had a magnificent lunch in the car park!
We drove through the plains of Portugal and along its wine route. Although I have tried very hard to find a palatable wine here, apart from Mateus Rose, the rest have been undrinkable. In fact, I have thrown better down the drain!

Camping Markadia - 1st April
First impressions are very favourable. We have a lovely pitch overlooking the very large lake and the owners have been very friendly and helpful.

This is by far the nicest site we have found so far. There is plenty of space between pitches, and the owners are dedicated to keeping the nature reserve theme very much to the fore. We have a rare type of magpie, (and lots of them) coming down to pick up bread which we have thrown for them, and to my astonishment, I have seen my first Hoopoe. Apparently they are common to this part of Portugal, and their hoo-hoo-hoo cry was heard all day and competed with the cuckoos which also seemed to abound.
Michael had no luck fishing, but enjoyed himself nonetheless. It has become very hot here, with the sun absolutely blazing down. I think it reached 27 degrees, but when the wind dropped, it felt much hotter. I got quite badly burned just walking to a little bar restaurant not far from the campsite. We had ham and cheese sandwiches served with a delicious salad, gin and tonic and beer which cost us 13 euros. Washing facilities at the site are excellent with very large shower compartments, plenty of hot water, and all very clean. On our last evening, the campsite restaurant opened and we had a super meal there - it was a dish of cod, potatoes, leeks and onions, topped with cheese. As is usual in Portugal, this was accompanied by a delicious salad and olives, bread and butter etc. Again we had beer and Gin and Tonic and the whole lot cost 27 euros. The view as the sun was setting was magical.
We stayed an extra day because of the wonderful weather, and the peace and tranquility of the site and reluctantly set off for Lagos.

The drive down was easy and we passed through some beautiful countryside. Here and there were high poles which had been established so that the local storks can nest on them. We were able to photograph one complete with sitting bird. When we saw them walking the fields, we were amazed at the size of them. After a couple of hours driving, we started looking for a place to eat and found a truck stop offering a menu with a dish of the day. We had chicken, chips and a really nice salad, two desserts, one coffee, one beer, one gin and tonic and a large bottle of water all for the sum of 15 euros!
We know where we shall be stopping next time we need to eat when on route.

On a general note, the campsites here in Portugal are very much cheaper than their counterparts in Spain. We intend to try some municipal sites when we get into mainland Spain to check out what is offered and compare the cost and quality to those we have already found courtesy of the Alan Rogers book.

Camping Turismo Bungalow Park
This is more of a holiday camp site with a lively restaurant and bar area, a very nice swimming pool and a shop which is open all year round. The reception staff are exceptionally helpful, and we have eaten in the little restaurant at lunch time. The dish of the day is 7 euros. This is excellent value for money, but if you go into the town of Lagos, the dish of the day there can be as low as 5.5 euros. However, the cost of the taxi must be borne in mind (about 10 euros one way). There are many shops, restaurants and bars, and street entertainment is quite abundant.