The Spring has Sprung

The Spring has certainly sprung in the sunny Algarve. Ivan and Jane are slowly travelling east towards Albufeira in their motorhome Daphne.

Having given up our jobs and living full time in Daphne we are now living a outdoors lifestyle and it feels like the coming and going of the seasons are really highlighted, so much more than when we were working full time in the UK.

 Jane enjoying a morning coffee on the pretty hillside near Alferce. Note the burnt trees, so much of the landscape has been devastated by last years forest fires.

 A selection of new spring flowers on the hillside

 The burnt trees amid new spring bloom

 Ivan's arty shot!

 More spring flowers and the blue skies

 

The orange blossom smells wonderful 

Thistles in bloom.

Jane at sunset amongst the daisies

Ivan at a cloudy sunrise 

We moved on from our campsite haven at The Chicken run and have been wild camping, staying in tiny village Aires and country campsites. We are walking and cycling a lot as well as trying out the beautiful mountain trails. We take picnics and flasks so we can be out longer. The weather has been just right, around 20 degrees c most days and cooler at night.

Daphne at home in the free Aire at Alferce

 The flowers in bloom at Carvoeiro 

 Ivan hiking and stopping for our picnic on Mount Foia 

 Jane at Barrogem de Arade, our home for one night

Ivan climbing a tree in spring time

 Jane at Benagil caves

We are currently at Mikkis place, a cross between a pottery, art gallery and garden centre. Mikki is certainly a very talented lady. 

Our camper place complete with astro turf

Mikki's pottery outside the Dove Cote.

We are looking forward to our stay here. The bar is open 😀.

Hope you enjoy our blog. Thanks for reading. 

The Chicken Run

Hola from the Algarve 😎.

We hope you like our Vlog. Ivan is showing you around our rural campsite called “The Chicken Run”  1 minute, 31 seconds. Today is sunny and warm 21 degrees c. We are in easy walking or cycling distance from 2 villages with bars and shops. Last night our 2 drinks cost 1.90 euros. It’s very friendly and laid back and a great place for exploring the local area.

Below are some photos from the Alvor estuary. We decided to follow an 8k circular route that started around a 20 minute cycle ride from the Chicken run. We took a picnic and spent the day down by the water.

 The Rocha Delicada route sign and Jane’s bike.

Ivan at the start of the route.

Jane cycling around the estuary.

The view looking north. Lots of migrating Flamingos and other birds.

A welcome glass of freshly squeezed orange juice from the trees at The Chicken Run.

See you again soon, Adeus

The wild Atlantic

The wild Atlantic sea on the west coast of Portugal is nothing if not dramatic. Ivan and Jane have taken their time travelling along the coast in their motorhome Daphne. We have slept in places many high end houses or hotels would have killed for views of and fallen asleep to the crashing of waves on the rocks. The beaches have been out of season and empty.

 The spit of land and beach leading to Troia.

Most mornings we have taken our morning tea out to the beach to watch the waves, listen to the sounds and take in the fresh sea air. The places and photos remind us of home, the Cornish coastline and New Zealand all at once. 

With our thermal cups on Comporta beach.

This week we decided to "wild camp" as much as possible. This means staying in areas away from it all and using all of Daphne's facilities to the full. So, we stocked up the fridge and the water supplies and headed to the coast. Its not hard to wild camp in Portugal, in fact we use an app called "Search for sites". It gives a detailed map and reviews of places to camp. In return we leave photos and reviews of our own.

A rare treat, coffee at the beach cafe. Great to use the facilities. Wifi and toilets 👍.

We are now keeping a tighter than tight budget. Everything we buy is written down in an app called "Money mgr". If we want to lead this lifestyle we have to stay within our budget and we cannot go over as we are relying on rent from our house to pay for our travel. Savings are helping to pay for garage rent, storage and vehicle maintenance and upkeep. It's harder than we both thought, however we have risen to the challenge and are recognising the luxury of the small things in life. The coffee out, the cold beer becomes even more enjoyable and somehow seems hard earnt.

Luckily the best things in life are free. To run on an empty beach, to watch the sunset and to wonder at nature is somedays all we need. At times we deliberately have "no spend days" and we are vitally aware of how lucky we are to have the time, opportunity and means to travel.

The lighthouse, cliff tops and beaches at Porto Covo.

Storks are on virtually every rooftop at Comporta village.

Sunset at Comporta beach.

Thank you for reading. We hope you have enjoyed our photos and updates. By the way, it's still too cold to go buck naked on the beach 😉. 

 The sign for the nudist beach on the cliff tops at Odeceixe beach next to our wild camping stop. 

The end of annual leave

Where to begin, Ivan and Jane have rented their house, sold, given away or stored the majority of their personal belongings, given up their jobs and are now living in a little over 6 metre long motorhome called 'Daphne'.

We have been travelling for just over 5 weeks, through France, Northern Spain and are currently in mid Portugal, heading slowly south. This is an adventure of a lifetime for us. When Ivan first mentioned going travelling and "getting away from it all" he was in a depressive state, off sick from work and exhausted by having to worry and care for Jane, now recovering from a serious lung condition. 2017-18 was life changing and a very difficult time for both of us. It was probably not the best time to be making life changing decisions as momentous as this. However it planted the seeds and from then on we could not shake them.

Both in recovery we decided life was too short. Let's do it! Our dreams of living, exploring and traveling in a motorhome was born and we worked hard to make it happen. 30 years of living in the same house and having micro adventures most weekends and holidays meant we were not only in a position to financially make it work by renting our house out, we also have the mindset to want to travel and see the world while we are still young and healthy enough to make the most of it.

In January 2019 we set off after the mammoth task of emptying our house. After a few weeks on the road we are happy and content to slow down, explore each place we visit as thoroughly as we can, meet different people and, most important of all, STOP, LOOK & LISTEN. We love taking in the air, wondering at the night sky and learning about nature, history and cultures. Each day we walk or cycle 3-4 hours, learn new things that astound us and make us thankful to be alive, eat healthy fresh food and have learnt to relax.

We hope to continue this lifestyle for a few years. We have a lot of things we want to do and places we want to see. Life for us had improved immeasurably and to cap it all, we dont have to ask for annual leave from work! This is our life now and its wonderful 😍. We will keep you posted.