17 October 2022 - Gas problem solved.  On to Lisbon.

Miles driven today = 44

Total Miles to date = 2,443

I must admit I had a rather fitful night's sleep last night.  It wasn't the dreadful band in the bar next door.  They finally knocked it on the head at about 9:30.  And it wasn't the heavy shower which battered the roof at some point.  I was just a tad concerned that we might not be able to get our gas pipe problem solved, which might not necessarily mean curtailing the trip but would certainly restrict our movements to overnight stops which predominantly allowed us to hook up with mains electric.  I needn't have worried.

We headed for a motorhome repair outfit called MCamper just outside of Estoril.  We parked the van and approached the guy who looked like he was the boss based on the fact he was holding conversations on two seperate mobile phones when we arrived.  We used google translate to relay what our problem was and he said "OK, 40 minutes".

Good to his word, 40 minutes later there was a tap on the door and we showed him the offending piece of pipework.  He looked at it.  Shook his head and said "no good".  He then said something about "2 weeks" and my heart sank until I realised whe was actually saying that he had dealt with a similar situation on another British motorhome 2 weeks ago.  He could in fact replace the pipe with one which had a much more robust and suitable elbow joint so we gave him the thumbs up and within half an hour we were €120 poorer but back on the road.

So now to finally get those LPG tanks filled up.  We put one filling station into the sat nav but managed to take the wrong slip road heading in completely the wrong direction and ended up having to pay an €0.85 toll as a result.

We tried again with another filling station which was now closer to our position and Yes!  There it was, a bright gleaming "GPL" pump with just enough room to squeeze the van in next to it if we ignored the one way arrows.  I screwed in the adaptor, pulled the trigger to lock the filler hose into place and pressed the button on the pump.  Nothing happened!

I had to go into the filling station with my tail between my legs to ask for assistance and eventually got a very nice young lady to come to our aid.  She checked everything was in place.  All seemed fine,  Then she asked me "did you press the red button?" "Err, yes" says I sheepishly.  

It seems the red button is in fact the emergency kill switch and the whole system had to be reset before the pump would finally spew forth its gassy goodness.  I can't tell you how relieved I was to finally see those numbers going round.

What is more we've actually used even less than I had previously thought.  A mere €25 worth in 6 weeks of travelling.  It might still be 20 degrees outside but I feel like putting the heating on to celebrate.  Because I can!

So after all that drama we could finally get on with doing some fun stuff.  We picked up the N6 coast road just outside of Cascais and turned left towards Lisbon.  It has been another stunningly sunny day and all of the golden sandy beaches and high class resorts along this south facing stretch of coastline looked very inviting.  

After a short lunch stop in a car park overlooking the mouth of the Tagus we decided to head straight for the campsite.  We are at Lisboa Camping and Bungalows.  It's the only campsite within easy reach of the city centre but it's absolutely huge and very well appointed.

We had pre-booked online for 3 nights costing €72 with hook up but when we got here we were told that the pitch we had booked was probably a bit "bumpy".  We had a look.  They weren't joking.  But after flashing our ACSI card they gave us a fully serviced hard standing pitch and only charged us an extra €4 so all things considered a tad over €25 a night isn't too bad for a city site with all amenities.  We've also got a couple of Brit neighbours so we have a nice little enclave here for a few days.

So that's all the boring stuff.  "Where are the pictures?" I hear you cry.  Well after getting ourselves plugged in and level we hopped on the 714 bus which took us down to the Belem district where there were a few things to have a look at.  

Firstly the Belem Tower or the "Tower of St Vincent" to give it its correct name.  Completed in 1519 it was originally designed as a defensive structure to protect Lisbon from seaward attacks.  Subsequently it bacame known as a point of embarkation and return for various Portuguese explorers.

The tower used to sit on an island close to the shore but nowadays, as a result of seismic activity, the river's course has been altered and you can walk right up to the walls at lowtide.  

We did fancy having a look around the inside too but unfortunately it's closed to the public on a Monday.

Heading east along the waterfront we came across this new (2022) monument to Gago Coutinho & Sacadura Cabral which celebrates the centenary of their first flight across the South Atlantic.

On the left here is the Padrao dos Descombrimentos.  Also the Ponte 25 de Abril and on the far shore is Santuario de Christo Rei, the Portuguese version of Christ the Redeemer.

Details of the carvings on the Padrao dos Descombrimentos.  This was originally created in 1940 but made a permanant fixture in 1960 to commorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator.

We took a stroll across the adjacent plaza with its enormous compass design.

And on to Jeronimo's Monastery, which was erected in the early 1500s close to the launch point of Vasca da Gama's first journey.

The explorer's remains were reburied in the monastery in 1880 alongside the monarchs who were on the throne when he was away exploring the globe.

Both Jeronimo's Monastery and the Belem Tower were classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1983.

Despite last night's rain it has been another cracking day.  How often do you get to cook al fresco on a mid-October evening?  But the weather is predicted to take a turn for the worse over the next couple of days with Wednesday looking particularly soggy.  So our thoughts at the moment are to go and see some of the sights of Sintra tomorrow and sort out some indoor activities in Lisbon for Wednesday if the forecast remains as dire.

18 October 2022 - Sintra