Northern Portugal

We had a great time in Sao Pedro, cycling, swimming, beachcombing and watching a local go-kart competition which would have given the UK Health and Safety Executive a collective aneurism! Next we headed down to the surfing Mecca of Portugal, Ericeira. Gorgeous sunshine, clean, sandy beaches with wild surf. We camped for a couple of days and then headed to Ribamar, about 6km north for 5 days of luxury at a place we've visited before. Beautiful views, a pool to ourselves and a lovely owner who delivered carton after carton of ripe soft fruits from her orchard "just because I thought you might like these". The visit was only marred by England getting knocked out of Euro 2012 by Germany on penalties, aarrgghhhh! We went up to Peniche a couple of times, apparently this is the new surf Mecca of Portugal (according to a lifeguard in Sao Pedro who updated Paul on this fact, his main reason for rating it above Ericeira seemed to be that "the girls, they are better looking in Peniche"). After Peniche we started to head North. We spent a couple of hours in Obidos (the Rye of Portugal, very pretty but also very touristy). Next we headed for Figueira da Foz and Praia de Mira. Mira is a great beach town, very laid back. We saw Portugal lose to Spain at the campsite and the poor Portugese are very emotional about these events, lots of gesticulation and post match analysis, reminded me very much of home! Mira is a town on the north side of the mouth of the river Lima and we camped at a site to the south. There was a fab little ferry that took us and our bikes across to town to explore. Our next stop was Viano do Castelo, set in an area of Portugal called the Minho. Great rivers, wooded valleys and lots of greenery. A truly stunning landscape. Lots of agriculture and the people here are serious about preserving old traditions and customs. There was a dance festival in Viano, with men and women dressed up in traditional costume wearing clogs that looked impossible to walk in, let alone dance. We did a trip over to Guimaraes, inland. This is a mediaeval city known as the birthplace of Portugal. The architecture is really interesting and the grilled octopus that I ate there was delicious. It is the European City of Culture 2012, and it is easy to see why. Well worth a visit. The campsite there is up at the top of mount Penha, a 15 minute drive out of town. Once you are up there, you feel like you are in the clouds and there is an air-conditioned cable car that gets you down to Guimaraes in 5 minutes flat (only 2 Euros too). After Guimaraes we went to Vila Praia de Ancora (or Anchor Beach). So named because King Ramiro II had his unfaithful wife drowned here with an anchor tied around her neck! There was a sardine festival taking place there, so dinner was obviously sorted! The surf dropped off a bit whilst we were there, so I even managed to persuade Paul to accompany me out to visit Citania de Briteiros, an impressive Celtic hill settlement and apparently, one of the most important archeological sites in Portugal. It dates from around 300 BC and has streets, guttering, cisterns, a bath house and many circular and rectangular dwellings. It is thought that the settlement housed many thousands of people at its peak. We will stay here in Ancora for another day or two and then we are heading north into Spain. Portugal has been friendly, sunny, scenic and interesting. I hope Spain will be equally as good.