Monday 3 March - Armecao to Silves

The weekend did turn out to have mixed weather, both Saturday and Sunday starting off dry and sunny but deteriorating after lunch. Overnight some of the showers were quite heavy and the morning revealed that the sandy surface we were on turned quite muddy, despite having the Morocco mat deployed. Not particularly cold and we did get several opportunities to enjoy the sunshine. Walkies revealed the site as quite extensive with a large proportion of "semi-permanent" caravans which were in fact quite well used we noticed on Friday and Saturday nights. But much to our surprise there were also a few locations that were almost deserted although that may have been something to do with their proximity to the quite busy road. The bar, restaurant and swimming pools didn't appear to be busy though.

However we had decided on only three days here so Sunday afternoon saw us packing up what we didn't need to avoid the forecast heavy rain then on Monday up earlyish to do the rest between showers. Van serviced and bill paid we were away by 10.55 with no real idea of where we were going, just a thought that we needed some shopping. Terry had been perusing various locations further along the coast on the basis of wherever the best weather forecast was and chanced upon Silves. We had stayed at this attractive town early on in our motorhome travels but ever since had failed to find anywhere to stop, it being very popular. However it was still early in the day so we decided to take a chance and go direct to the Algarve Motorhome Parking site, just on the western edge of the town, only about 15km away according to TomTom.

Passing through the town we did notice the m/h stopover near the swimming pool closer to the centre was full to overflowing, many vans being parked up in the area outside the actual site, so did have some concerns, however the Algarve website did say they had 5 spaces and the barrier was up when we arrived. Luckily they still had two pitches left, one with and one without electric so we plumped for the electric one. Another van pulled in behind us and took the other and the barrier came down.........!

This is a commercial dedicated motorhome parking area with all facilities, though a couple, which we didn't need, were an extra small cost. Pitches of a good size on hardstanding laid out so that everybody got plenty of sunshine with just a few trees providing limited shade, not needed for now though. Very helpful receptionist who showed us everything we needed and unlocked the electricity for us, we got a good "vibe" right from the outset and therefore booked 7 nights. As we were staying longer we used the ramps to level the van - we don't always do this as long as it's only a bit off - then got the chairs out and enjoyed a coffee.

After a late lunch we wandered along the road about 250m to the big Continente supermarket to restock the larder before returning to settle down for some more relaxation in the sunshine. After all, this is what we came here for! We have no plans although will probably take a walk into the town when we're sure the weather has settled, however the mid-term forecast isn't particularly good.

As before we won't be doing daily updates so, see you next time!