20 October 2022 - The half way point
Miles driven today = 30
Total Miles to date = 2,473
Today marks Day 45 of our time in Europe, so we are officially half way through our trip. But at least it has already lasted for longer than Liz Truss' premiership, which coincidentally started on the same day! It's a little bizarre to think that by the time we get back home the country will have had 2 different monarchs and (at least) 3 different Prime Ministers in our absence.
More heavy rain battered our van roof overnight and the forecast isn't looking to improve much for the foreseeable, so it seems that the traditionally rainy autumnal Portuguese weather has finally caught up with us. We were in no rush to leave the campsite in Lisbon so we utilised the time to defrost the fridge, top up tanks and make sure everything was charged so that we could survive offgrid for a few days if required.
We crossed the Tagus river via the impressive Ponte 25 de Abril, which we had admired from afar 3 days ago. The inside lane had a metal grill along the carriageway so all the way across our nearside tyres sang us a mournful tune.
We stopped at a supermarket for supplies near Azeitao and then found ourselves back among the hills and the winery quinta (several of whose' products were purchased at the supermarket for quaffage over the next few days) as we approached Setubal. Although we only travelled 30 miles today, Lisbon couldn't have felt further away.
We decided that Setubal might be worth a visit. Not because it happens to be the birthplace of Jose Mourinho and also where he started his managerial career. The Rough Guide describes it as a "bustling and fairly industrial port" but it does have what is reckoned to be one of the biggest and best fish markets in all of Portugal and we do love a good fish market.
So, we landed at the "Ecoparque Prof Jose Fernando Goncalves" at lunchtime and picked ourselves one of three available spots with a sea view. It's a smidge over €11 for the night. Hook up would have been another €3.90 but we have everything charged and our gas tanks are full so we are making do without.
I've still not actually worked out who the Prof was but there is a memorial plaque to him at the entrance and apparantly he passed away last year so, whatever his involvement, he has my respect for putting together such a lovely place. We are in the Arribida Natural Park and although there is a massive quarry and cement factory just up the road it feels as though we are in the middle of nature.
The toilet block is among the best I've ever seen at a campsite.
We look out onto the Sado Estuary. The town of Setubal is about 5km down the road.
It's obviously a fairly big port judging by the tonnage of shipping which passes in and out. Incidentally the buildings in the background are the resort of Troia which sits on a sandspit on the other side of the estuary. They are only a couple of miles away but I checked on Google Maps which reckons it would take you at least an hour and a half to drive the 102km you would have to cover to get there by road!
This afternoon we took advantage of a break in the wet weather to go for a stroll up the road towards the town. There's a nice little beach next to the campsite which is littered in lots of interesting pink coloured shells.
A bit further on is the Palacio da Comenda but it seems to be a private property so we could only view through the trees from afar.
We took a little side road which was lined by some impressively large eucalyptus trees.
Lisa got her foraging head on and spotted what we are fairly certain was chicken of the woods, albeit well past its use by date. We had no idea that it grew on eucalyptus but a little online research confirmed that indeed it does.
We had hoped to take one of the tracks which Google Maps showed heading off into the forest but unfortunately they were all gated and entry was very much verboten so we headed back via the cafe/bar next to the campsite, which only sells beer in 20cl glasses. I mean seriously guys, what is the point?!
When we arrived at the campsite earlier we were presented with an armful of leaflets about Setubal and the surrounding area and it seems there is a lot more to see here than may first be apparant. There's a resident pod of bottlenose dolphins in the bay for starters. Plus there are forts, convents and a quaint old quarter to explore. So having initially though we might move right along after visiting the market in the morning we might just hang around for a little bit longer and possibly even stay another night.
A 9 day "Salmonete" (Red Mullet) Festival starts tomorrow, so I reckon that will be lunch sorted.
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