Woke up this morning with a rare craving for a good old Derbyshire brown dinner, the kind that my lovely Mum in Law, Wendy, serves up, i.e. Meat and tater pie! A few weeks ago I mentioned to our friends Kev and Annie (Kev of the cheesy jokes and Annie, fellow disco ninja), that I loved mushy peas! No sooner had I got the words out of my mouth, they presented me with a rare gift, not easy to come by in Portugal!!

So, I decided to get the flour out and managed to rustle up a pretty awesome chicken, leek and bacon crumble for supper. So that’s the Pie-a sorted, now for an afternoon at the Praia!! Our new pal Russ has recommended a series of little coves just a short walk away so we are once again packing a picnic and off to explore a bit more of the Gale coastline. En route to the beach we notice several caterpillar nests in the pine trees. Worrying for dog owners. They are the processionally caterpillars, borne of the silk moth. When the wind blows they fall to the floor and scatter before burrowing into the ground, leaving behind them invisible hairs that can be fatal to dogs and indeed dangerous to humans too. They cause paralysis on contact. Unfortunately for pooches this is usually their nose or mouth. Immediate veterinary attention is essential.

Today’s beaches are just paradise. Almost deserted, we hardly saw a soul. It has been a cloudless hot day. Again the rock formations are amazing here. Mistletoe and samphire grow in the dunes and rocks. It’s breathtakingly beautiful.

Topped the tan up nicely today!

Paid a return visit to the very lovely Apolonia Supermarket, Gale’s answer to Waitrose, on the way back to camp, to stock up on more goodies 🙂. Now back at the van getting giddy for my posh pie and peas. To add to my excitement, I’ve just found a bottle of Hendersons in my store cupboard, (looks to sky and mouths “thankyou God”). All my Yorkshire buddies will relate to my joy!

It’s been another fabulous day dear chums. The sun is setting, the sky is ablaze and I’m off to scrub up.

Lotsaluv ❤️