Saturday morning was ‘travel time’ and we started by leaving Evora and heading back toward the coast. We drove through Setubal, checking out the flea market as we drove past. On the coast road west out of town, we parked on the cliff edge to take a break and eat another picnic complete with a gorgeous view. The heavy sea mist was still hanging on the tops of the hills behind us, but they cleared as we set off again and we were so glad they did. The view along the N379 is spectacular. Along the way there are lay-bys with fabulous views over the Serra da Arrábida to the north and we could see Lisbon in the far distance. Other spots afforded stunning views all along the coast and far out to sea. It really was a lovely route to take us through to Sesimbra.
Late in the afternoon we checked in to Camping Forte do Cavalo, which was a really steep terraced campsite and happily we managed to grab a good spot with glimpses of the sea. Not quite as much of a glimpse as our GPS would have liked us to have, but we ignored her again at that point.
At breakfast time on Sunday the sea mist was back but we could feel the sun trying to break through it. So we strolled around the town for a while before heading up to Lisbon. It’s a town split in two with the marina and fishing boats up one end and a long sandy beach in front of all the shops, restaurants and hotels. Hardly anyone was around at 9:45am, but by 11 am when we sat on the promenade for drinks and pasteis de nata, the beach was getting quite busy and the mist was creating a wonderful effect in the sky.
We set off to Lisbon, a little concerned about where Gertie Garmin was trying to take us again. We put the GPS settings in, again and again, adjusted them a bit, tried the Ibis Hotel opposite the campsite, but she continually told us we had to drive 112kms. Weird, because we knew it was only about 15kms away. After her two previous interesting efforts, we decided that she was playing up and we would head into Lisbon just using the road map. We managed to get to Camping Lisboa without any problems and it wasn’t until we arrived that we twigged what was upsetting Gertie today. Our ‘no toll roads’ setting was active and she couldn’t find a way in to Lisbon without a huge diversion and an approach from the north because both bridges are toll roads!!! Doh. Operator Error, we’ll admit it……
So tomorrow, we’ll hop on a bus and investigate Lisbon in full, with just a map in hand, and see what this city has to offer.
