Portugal -24 Oct to 4 Nov 2007 (GR1 only)

Ola' from GR1 - to what seemed a quieter and more traditional country. Like Spain , the Iberians from North Africa first settled in the peninsular from 8000BC and the people are a mix of invasions by the Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Moors. The birth of thePortuguese Empire followed the Christian conquest in 1143, with the monarchy ruling until 1910 when the Republic was born.

We crossed Portugal 's eastern border through Parque Serra da Estrela and south to Tomar (home of the Knights Templar for da Vinci Code fans). Travelling via Fatima where our Lady appeared to Lucia and her 2 shephard cousins in 1917, we spent the night free camping in Batalha. The next day we appreciated the massive 1388 Gothic Cathedral with the tomb of Henry the Navigator and a short drive later, the 1178 Mosteirode Santa Maria in Alcobaca. Both very quaint easy going towns. Coastal Nazare had the beach setting to spend a leisurely afternoon enjoying traditional fish soup and cataplana. We spent the night a little further south at Campismo Colina do Sol in S. Martinho do Porto . After the usual chores and teaching, we were off south to Obidos, a tiny walled village which was a royal wedding gift from King Dom Dinis to his wife Isabela in the 1300's.

Then a great coastal drive to Twinkling Sintra, with palaces and gardens resembling a historical theme park. We needed 2 days to explore this UNESCO site - the 10 th century National Palace of Sintra with predominant Moorish architecture was initially the residence of Moor Governors, then in 1147 the Kings of Portugal. It's the only surviving royal palace from the middle ages and we could still walk through some furnished rooms. After a feel of the historic old town, we found a spot for the night in a lovely car park with views of the Palace. The kids first had to do their own tour of the Toy Museum called 'do Brinquedo' before we settled in for the night.

Saturday the 27 th October, we were immersed in the mythical-magical world heritage Quinta da Regaleira. The gardens decorated with symbolic statues, fountains, wells and caves is a synthesis of the spiritual memory of mankind and represents our voyage through life, an ascent of consciousness where one may spot references to mythology, Dante and the Free Masons. The Palace was equally impressive – a neo Manueline construction with Renaissance features. Our guide was amazingly knowledgeable on history, mythology, philosophy and many more.The afternoon we were again in awe of the 1840 Pena National Palace , with its colourful romantic architecture and filled with treasures of the period. We had to tear ourselves away from Sintra and just made it as the sun set over Cabo da Roca, the western most point of Europe where the earth ends and the sea begins. We ended up sleeping on the edge of a cliff with these views and of distant Sintra in the middle of no-where. We were comforted and inspired that we were camping at one of the 800 geographical points in the world dedicated to peace since 1989! The next day we drove via Estoril to Lisboa, one of the oldest capitals in Europe , rebuilt after the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 1755.

Lisbon seems to celebrate their history of naval exploration and golden age in the 15 th century with symbols like the Torre de Belem which is a naval defence tower and Monument to the Discoveries remembering Prince Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama and other explorers. The first night we spent in the car park at the foot of this striking monument before tackling the hectic bus and tram routes to experience the grand squares like Praca do Commercio, Praca Figueira and ancient twisted alleys with steep streets to Castelo de Sao Jorge. Spine tingling views greeted us from a castle that dates back to Visigothic times and where Vasco da Gama received his accolades on conquering a route to the east. By now we needed facilities for the usual chores and stayed at Camping Lisboa after enjoying great Portuguese chicken and seafood stew in the old town. The next day sped by with teaching duties and a visit to the massive Da Gama shopping centre at the former 1998 expo site, and before we knew it darkness forced us to overnight at the closest petrol stop. The 31 st October we spent on another one of Portugal 's architecturally rich towns, Evora, a UNESCO heritage site. Its old-fashioned good looks are due to the walled city's narrow alleys interspersed with the 2 nd century Roman temple of Diana , numerous medieval churches like the gothic cathedral where Vasco's Fleets flags were blessed in 1497 and the ghoulish Chapel of Bones constructed from the skulls and bones of several thousand people. The inscription in the chapel cynically read 'We bones that are here, We are waiting for yours'.

Following our 2 free night stay 'policy' we had great views that night in a car park just outside Evora's walls. Already 3 days over our planned stay in Portugal , we drove south to the holiday brochure heaven, the Algarve Coast . Our first stop was Sagres which was thought to be the end of the world in pre Columbus days and where Prince Henry established his navigation school in a fort perched high above the thundering surf. Just a bit further and we were at Cape St. Vincent, Europe 's south western most point with great views of the dramatic coastline. We spent 2 nights at the campsite in Lagos , a pretty fishing port leading into another walled old city with gorgeous restaurants and a great night time atmosphere. On our way east the next day, we tasted the vibe and chocolate churros at the monthly local market before visiting the coastal towns and beaches along the way - like Praia da Rocha, Carvoeiro and Armacao de Pera.

We only covered 30km before the sun changed the sky to orange and spent the night perched on a cliff at Praia de Pera with 180 degrees views of golden sand beaches. The great weather had us in bathing costumes and we spent most of the day on the beach before continuing east - only to make it to Tavira by nightfall - a mere 80km later, where we bush camped along the river. We unfortunately had to tear ourselves away from Portugal and its sunny coastline and eventually made our way back into southern Spain on the 4 th November 2007.

Obrigado Portugal !

Gary , Jo-Anne, Jade and Dane (GR1)