Hotel do Lago Braga

... our beloved Vinho Verde (Euro 1.39 a bottle) Mmmmm.... It was off to bed, to awake to another wet day. Discussions over breakfast (boiled eggs perfectly done if you please) (Lymºs writing this by the way....Iºm just typing...) led to us both deciding it was time to break camp and head to the Algarve with all haste, we were beginning to believe that the sun was an urban myth...

... without the normal care and as we were going along we suddenly realized that the caravan had become detached. Fortunately the breakaway cable had worked. We reversed and reattached her, no harm having been done. We then had to do a 50 mile detour to get to the camp site. We spoke to other camper and caravaners who had had great ...

Een gevaarlijke haven volgens de Nederlanders die hier al 5 jaar liggen met een Etap 32: de mensen zijn aardig en het is niet al te duur: je blijft er zo maar liggen. Ze konden zo nog een aantal mensen aanwijzen waarbij dit was gebeurd. Wij hebben ook nog geen neiging weg ...

... any campsites around Porto. We ended up finding a great deal on a room in the Hotel Fenix in Porto. Once done with emails, we headed to bed - in the rain, of course.

The rain had also brought through a cold front - it was getting down below 50 at night. I was so glad to have my long underwear with me - to think I thought I wouldn't need them! It rained all night - the sound of rain hitting the tent made me feel like we were sleeping in a hyperactive child's maraca.

... and the sounds whales make when singing.  Kenny G would have been jealous of this degree of mastery.  I honestly was so intrigued I didn't have the heart to try and stop him --until after five minutes or so.  While listening to the crooning of whales, I had a rather ingenious idea; instead of trying to find the right kind of tent glue, the seam where the second tent separated could easily and effectively be fixed by velcro.  

So Kevin got up and charged the computer ...

... and sunny every day, and in fact the temperature gradually increased to the point where we were seriously considering swimming in the cold Atlantic! We weren't quite brave enough, but plenty of others were. We had arrived just before a bank holiday weekend, and the campsite, which was virtually empty when we arrived, soon filled up with Portuguese students celebrating the end of exams and families out to enjoy the ...

... agora com a volta às aulas. A Universidade do Minho também foi uma boa surpresa. Não esperava um campus tão grande e nem tão bonito, para quem estuda na Unesp de Franca (sem nenhuma ofensa, eu ainda adoro o predinho velho) tudo é muito monumental. A vida na universidade tem uma dinâmica bastante peculiar, os alunos do último ano vestem uma roupa tradicional e por essa razão devem seguir uma série de rituais (mulheres não podem usar maquiagem quando usam o traje, não ...

... Ponte de Lima dans un parc majestueux sous les platanes 5) Marche (foire marchande...pas facile sans les accents!) du lundi qui a lieu de puis l'an 1125 Top nul: 1) Marcher pendant 2 heures sur un bord de route style 112 ou 117 mais avec aucun accottement et des murs de Quinta en roche hauts et de 8 pieds de chaque bord 2) Ratter une fleche et se faire dire par une vieille madame que le chemin n est ...

So on thursday we came back to braga, again with another terrifying bus drive as we could see the drops in the light, Portugese drivers seem to drive in an invisible middle lane! However it did give some spectacular views. Once in Braga we found a room which is very nice and we got it at a big discount so even better. It is now draped with our wet clothes! Today we have ...

I returned to work last week after a long weekend in Porto in northern Portugal with friends and cousin. I didn't feel well for the remainder of the week and I suspect it could be from too much food and alcohol. Porto is extremely beautiful, especially the old town along the river, where I spent endless days eating and drinking and generally being merry. It was nice to see blue skies and feel the warm sun once again. I must admit that ...