Friday 5 September: to Portugal

 We’re on the road at 9.20am and are heading across the border to Portugal. Initially the road takes us over the high plain which although flat is at 1000 metres. The landscape is filled with hill oak trees and occasional habitation in small deserted villages. We climb up and over several mountain ranges in the Sierra areas and the temperature drops a little. We join a large Aroad but find a picnic area to brew up a coffee and swap drivers. My turn now. A mainly empty A road leads us through Extramadura to the outskirts of Caceres where we visited last year. We then turn off onto a smaller road and eventually cross into Portugal at the base of the Sierra de Mamede. We gain an hour as Portugal is the same as UK time but the whole journey takes us 5.5 hours. We arrive at our campsite in the wilds of the Alentejo and are warmly greeted with a hug by Ronaldo a Dutchman who runs the site with his Brazilian husband Vitor. It’s certainly very peaceful and we pitch up in a hollow with views up to the castle at Marveo. Just a few tents and vans around and quite a few young people fir a change. We cool off in the small pool before a short cycle to Beira where we visit the ornate but now disused railway station. Back to relax. We’re eating en famille at the reception with home cooking by Vitor. 





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