Portugese Supper

24th February

Good easy drive using A23 motorway up to a camp site at Fundao except that we had to go 30 odd miles extra to take in the GPL garage. This time we didn't close the bottles off and the effect was much improved. Only a little seemed to leak out.

An electronic peage system has just been introduced on the Portugese motorways and cameras record registration numbers. We were told about it by an ex pat in the Algarve who claimed that they couldn't do anything about foreign vehicles so to ignore it all, but we gather that if you enter Portugal via a motorway they give you a leaflet explaining that you have to pay for the useage at a participating garage. List not supplied or at a post office. There is an hilarious article on my motorhomes fun forum ( sad, I know), where a couple tried to pay a very frustrated garage attendant who explained that the system hadn't worked since they installed it, and then at a post office but were told you can't pay there. The leaflet explains the fine of €150 if you do not pay, but WHERE. We have decided to ignore it.

The camp site was rather grim with old statics around but we were able to sterilise our water tank ( the unmentionable thing that happened the other day) and also they had a restaurant which was next door to where we parked Wishstream. It was open. The menu was handwritten. 3 x fish meals, and 5 meat. Not one word of English spoken. There were 3 x gentlemen already eating. A large bone each in a bean stew, so I asked them what it was. With charades and Ponglais we identified it was pork cheeks. I looked at Jc and he shook his head. Ok, one meat dish down and 4 to go. One of the guys spoke better Ponglais than the rest and we understood that there was small fish, like sardine, Dourade which I know, and then a steak off a large fish, probably halibut. So, I chose the Dourade. We then got the adorable chef, who was not young and all dressed up in white chef gear including hat, to show me the meat for the other dishes. BEEF.? Non, LAMB, Non, all 5 meat options are pork! Various parts came out of the fridge. I chose some and returned to the table explaining that I had ordered the one that looked most like what we know.

The starter was a veg and spaghetti soup. Delicious. My fish came with boiled pots. Jc had .... Pork! Something, and we shared a nice salad. I had chocolate mousse, and he had home made creme caramel. Bottle of wine, 2 x ports, 1 x coffee. €20 job done!


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Location:Fundao