We had been told about a coastal town in the Algarve called Tavira and wanted to take that in on our way. It is odd to be driving through these country borders with no more than a sign to show that you have crossed the line and we had hardly seen any police in Spain. So it was quite a shock to see a Motorhome pulled over by the Portuguese police and a group of them standing by the road a bit further down. We also encountered a road block on a major dual carriageway (going the other way, thank goodness) where it seemed they were searching every car! The tail back was miles. I have never seen that in the uk.
Found the campsite on the outskirts of Tavira and I went in to confirm the price and have a look. The Camping club book says they take our ACCI discount card which is capped at €16 and we are incredibly grateful to my sister's sister in law, Jill, who told us about it as we have saved a fortune with this. The receptionist explained the price and that whilst they took the card they didn't offer any discount because of it. Errr, well what is the point then??
Apparently they take it as identification!
So said we would be back later after visiting the town which was delightful. The roads are pretty narrow and there was a bit of a moment when we drove round the main square finding 3 roads in and one narrow cobbled lane out which disappeared around a corner. We both looked at each other and breathed in, until we got to the bend where the road opened up. We never found the big car park that our Scottish friends had mentioned and simply parked in two free parking places at the side of the road. The town is very attractive and straddles a large river. Good shops and cafes.
Whilst the plan was to stay in Tavira and move on towards Faro, I remembered seeing details of an Aire nearby. This was slightly back towards the border at Castro Marim, but it would be good to have a free night and we had water and gas, so no worries.
The Aire was full to bursting as was the enormous car park next door.
Apparently, there are many campers of all nationalities living in these Aires and car parks and we got talking to an english guy who told us about another one on the beach not far away. We had a very comfortable night and treated ourselves to a fry up at the local restaurant in the morning.
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Location:Castro Marim
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