“Wet or fine, the air of Portugal has a natural happiness in it, and the people of the country should be as happy and prosperous as any people in the world.” – HG Wells

Having spent a fantastic 24 hours in Ronda Spain , we headed into Portugal intending to travel through to Northern Spain and the Pico’s for Easter. We knew from the outset that the route through Portugal would not see us stay there for very long , but this tour is about the Camino routes and the Portuguese Way is a significant part of the network of Camino’s Pilgrims take.

The places we stayed at were significantly linked to the Camino routes. Another blog to come will explain in more detail the reasons for our Camino journey but for now I crave your patience and summarise by saying we like to travel with a theme.

We stayed at the following locations which were selected due to their relevance to our quests and one with the added bonus of catching up with friends.

Evora
Tomar
Fatima
São João de Areias
Ponte de Lima

Stop Over No1 Evora - pronounced eh·vuh·ruh

What three words ///hints.eternity.onion

We stayed on a campsite within walking distance to the ancient town of Evora. The campsite address is here . We would describe the site as adequate , the staff were extremely pleasant and they sold quality beer and wine at reception. The site is ideally located and allows for a 30 min walk into the city of Evora.

Evora was truly delightful, with it’s Roman history and beautiful square in the city centre. The Chapel of Bones is unique, albeit a little macabre and the city square is an amazing place to sit and watch the world go by . Three rivers meet here , which has a lot to do with the Roman’s selecting the location. Our VLOG below shows you around the beautiful city and should you want to see more images our free to view gallery is here https://www.behance.net/gallery/141160987/Evora-Portugal

Below is our VLOG from this location where we share more details about our experiences here.

Stop Over no 2 - Tomar

We stayed at a free Aire called Camperplaats Tour which was a good place to stay , it wasn’t the best Aire we have stayed on, but it was safe, clean and convenient for where we wanted to be.

What three words locations ///returns.stocks.slip

We read about Tomar on the Visit Portugal blog - it said ‘ the former seat of the Order of the Knights Templar, Tomar is a city of great charm for its artistic and cultural wealth, whose greatest expression is in the Convent of Christ, one of the chief works of the Portuguese Renaissance’. We looked at each other and immediately broke camp and headed there. We love history, castles and Knights Templar included, and this was also on the Camino route. The Vlog below will show you more.

The sunset photography at Tomar was a great opportunity and the free to view image set is here

Below is our VLOG from this location where we share more details about our experiences here.

Stop Over 3 - Fatima

The site of the Cathedral allows for parking and overnight stay. It is free with a concrete surface and mostly level.

What three words ///remembrance.underfunded.unravels

Fátima is a central Portuguese town that's home to the Sanctuary of Fátima, and a Catholic pilgrimage site. The Capelinha das Aparições marks the spot where the Virgin Mary appeared in 1917 according to Catholic teaching.

Below is our VLOG from this location where we share more details about our experiences here. Please note it is not our way to pass comment on the validity of such claims , but to respect the religious freedoms we all enjoy and we ask that you do the same on our forums

Below is our VLOG from this location where we share more details about our experiences here.

Stop Over No 4 São João de Areias

What three words ///scabbard.coolest.pinned

The most relaxing of stop overs , it was a great weekend not doing much other than walking in the countryside and eating pizza. The location features in the second half of the Fatima VLOG. (link above)

Stop Over No 5 Ponte de Lima

What three words ///perpetually.page.configured

Ponte de Lima is the oldest vila in Portugal. It is part of the district of Viana do Castelo. The population in 2011 was 43,498, in an area of 320.25 km². The town itself has about 2,800 inhabitants. It is named after the long medieval bridge that passes over the Lima river that runs next to the town. Hard facts dealt with ,this is the sweetest of places , you immediately feel at home here. People are classy and friendly and walls of the building ouze sophistication.

It is true that the place is a must stop over in it’s own right , providing free parking at the Expolima Centre and it’s also true that the Camino walk goes through the town and over the bridge on it’s way to Santiago de Compostella, both of these are reason enough for us to be excited about visiting, but we came here mainly to catch up with these two , friends from Norfolk. It taught us something about VanLife travel to , its a fairly solitary event and we so enjoyed sitting down and chatting to friends, something we hadn’t done for a while.