Well hello you beautiful people, hope you’re having a great day wherever you are in the world. Our travels today are taking us a stride or two further south to the surf resort of Peniche, via Obidos. A truly beautiful little hilltop town we discovered last year. I won’t harp on as if you look back on here, you’ll see it has its very own chapter. What I will say is, if you are in the area, definitely visit. It’s a thoroughly charming little place, I adore it. The whitewashed town is enclosed by medieval walls. The houses are draped in bougainvillea, it’s just so pretty. Ok, I’m harping, I said I wouldn’t. The Aire is next to an impressive viaduct structure. It’s €6 per 24 hours with easy access even for bigger vans. It has an impressive castle. Try the bar with the flaming sausages and buy some Ginjinha d’Obidos, the local cherry liqueur. Nuff said.

Moving swiftly on, another great Aire very close by is at Foz do Arelho next to the Obidos Lagoon. It has a lovely sheltered beach and you can sit and watch the fishermen tending their nets on the lagoon itself. Very nice spot.

We are going to spend a few days at the ASA Aire in Peniche as it has laundry facilities and electric hook up. My laundry bag is bursting. The van needs a damn good clean and we think we can get the punctured wheel fixed here. We visited Peniche last year and didn’t feel we gave it enough of a chance. We stayed on the Bombeiros free Aire by the river which is lovely but has a distinct fishy smell due to the close by fish processing plant. This year we are going to try and see things through different eyes (and maybe a peg on the nose?!).

It’s a good Aire. It’s fully enclosed and secure, spotlessly clean and the staff are friendly. No fishy stink, bonus! It costs about ten euros to get your clothes washed, dried and ironed. I am in for a day of domestic detention. Ho hum life can’t always be a bed of roses (mine isn’t far off to be fair!!).

Peniche is a strange combination of traditional fishing town and funky surf resort, latter trade coming from its several amazing sandy beaches and consistent waves. The old fishermen still sit out in the squares mending their nets. The outskirts are pretty ugly and built up but inside the old walls it’s very typical and quaint. You can eat out quite cheaply. They specialise in fish, obviously, and it is really good. The fortress in the old town now houses a museum. Take a bike ride around the coast to see the lighthouse etc. or jump on a boat trip from the Marina to the Ilha da Berlenga, brilliant snorkelling there apparently. The indoor food market is daily, top tier for fresh fish! Great prices. Crocheting on every tree and lamppost!

The nice chap at the Aire has told us where to get our tyre fixed. We can easily drive the van there but no, Wadders is not one for taking the easy option, he decides to wheel it there (it’s bigger than me, WTF?!). I follow on my bike so I can laugh at him. He’s bloody black bright by the time we get there but it was jolly good entertainment and let me tell you, that boy can swear for England!! We got it sorted. It was a failed valve not a puncture, how bloody annoying on top of the range purpose made tyres. Cost was €20 so happy enough with that. Now let’s see him push it back up hill!! 🤣🤣🤣

There are a couple of nice bars with sea views just a short walk from the Aire. The beach bar at Gamboa does great coffee and cake and a mean cocktail. The other one serves good food, sorry I can’t for the life of me remember its name. The Prata do Dia or dish of the day is around €8. The sea bass cooked over coal is simply delish. Best I’ve ever eaten actually. Mark had the mackerel which was also excellent.

So we’ve done 5 nights here and it’s now time to move on. We’ve enjoyed it. The weather has been a mixed bag of sunshine and cloud but at least it has been warm and the rain has fallen at night. We’re all clean and charged, just need to fill up with LPG and diesel at the BP garage on the way out of town.

If you find yourselves in this neck of the woods and you are into the ocean, you really should see Nazare. The waves there are some of the biggest in the world. The parking is a bit tight for our big bus but it’s well worth a look. Google it, the pictures are amazing.

Think we may head to Sintra next. There’s a rather special castle there that we saved for another trip as we saw the palace last time which took us a whole day.

Ok then, wagons roll! Hope you enjoyed the pics chums. Do join the fun next time if you can make it. Praying the sat nav is in a good mood today, I seem to remember a bit of unpleasantness en route to this site last year.

Love and our best to all. TTFN ❤️