The sand, the sea and the goats

The southern Algarve has earnt a good reputation for amazing beaches. Ivan and Jane have been exploring the sand and the sea in their motorhome Daphne. This blog is a brief update of their journey so far and we hope you enjoy the photos of the amazing beaches: the sand; the sea and the goats!

Jane and Ivan at Armacao de Pera.

The beach sign at Sao Rafael

Wild camping on the cliff tops of the Algarve has been an incredible adventure. Every day we have found what feels to be hidden coves that no one else knows about, caves and beautiful sandy beaches. We love exploring and the beaches don’t disappoint. Adventures are easy when you are based in an amazing place, we don’t go back to a house at the end of the day, we are sleeping right here, waking up to a new dawn in our motorhome Daphne. We are here at the beginning of the day and when everyone has gone home at the end of the day, our favourite times to explore.

Daphne camping on the cliffs at Praia dos Arrifes.

The view towards Albufeira.

Ivan on a cliff top walk.

Jane living dangerously!

Beautiful empty cove.

Looking into the cave from the sandy beach.

Jane on a walk through the rocks.

Some of coves are only accessible if you get your feet wet.

Early morning coffee on the beach.

Ivan living dangerously!

The boardwalk from the beach at Sao Rafael.

Life on the road is not without its difficulties though, the weather so far in April has been a steady 19-20 degrees c and colder in the evening, however we have had some showers and heavy down pours. At times the wind has also picked up, at one point blowing our roof light off its hinges completely and shattering the rim leaving us with a big hole in the roof of Daphne. A temporary fix with tape and glue allowed us to get it back on and water tight for the time being. We were thankful the roof light had not blown down over the cliff we were parked on top of.

Rainy day pancakes.

Late afternoon between showers.

The rocks and the rainbow.

No roof light here, thankfully.

Portugal is a good mix of old and new and we like it here. We love seeing the modern twist and the old traditions. One day we were cycling back to Daphne after a trip to Vilamoura and stopped at Praia dos Tomates (Tomato beach), we think named that due to colour of the sand. We saw a Shepherd and his herd. He and his dog, and his crook were herding goats over the beach car park, it was a wonderful sight.

Goats having a feed.

The tomato cliffs remind us of the Isle of Wight.

We have come into Faro for some services and to explore this ancient town and beaches. We aim to be in Portugal until at least Easter and then Spain here we come.

Goodbye from Daphne and us. Thank you for reading.