Picturesque Alte and border town, Vila Real de Santa António

Sonny (the motorhome) is parked up for our last day/night in Portugal on an aire at Vila Real de Santa António (N37°11’57.1”, W7°24’54.5”) looking east towards Spain and south towards Morocco.

We left Silves and headed for Alte and took the winding and scenic N124 road that traverses the Algarve without passing a single beach resort.  The roads in Portugal along the Algarve are bad so we were a bit apprehensive about what this mountain road would be like, but we needn't have worried as the road was perfect.  Alte is a pretty village nestled into the hillside with local springs – Fonte Pequena and Fonte Grande, where there is a rocky pool, old mill and a little stream running through where the local wildlife like to gather. 

The white-washed houses all have unique hand carved chimneys, that adds to its charm.

The bronze statue of Jose Cavaco Vieira is at the entrance to the village, he helped Alte maintain its Portuguese village look and make it the beautiful town it is.

Mel making friends with Jose Cavaco Vieira

Mel couldn’t resist an opportunity to take us for a scooter ride around the narrow, windy roads up here. 

Around the winding mountain roads near to Alte

We came across a lemon grove, which made a change from all the orange ones we have seen.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t anywhere to stop the night around Alte, so we dropped back down to the campsite at Moncarapacho (N37°11’57.1”, W7°24’54.5”), where we had stayed earlier on in our Portugal trip.

Back along the Algarve beach road it’s potholes all the way until we get to Vila Real de Santa António.   A short walk along the riverfront takes you to the central square, surrounded by orange trees and white buildings. 

You can get a ferry from the river front across to Ayamonte, Spain.  You can see the splash of white in the distance!

Ferry coming across from Ayamonte and down on the riverfront

Just a couple of kms down the road between Vila Real de Santa António and Monte Gordo is a mile long narrow bumpy road going out into the sea, looking south-east to Cadiz, Spain and Morocco, way, way in the distance.  There were a few motorhomers wild camping down here (Brits, Swiss and of course the French!).  A great spot to watch the sun go down.

A short scooter ride took us to Monte Gordo, where we sat a while at a beach café watching the fisherman prepare their nets for the next day and enjoy a nice cold beer.

To round off our Portugal trip we treated ourselves to a night out at a 'Di Vino' in Vila Real.  A lovely, intimate restaurant that only had 6 tables and was run by a friendly Portuguese couple, who spoke perfect English! I had Bacalhau à Bras, a famous Portuguese dish made with salt cod, potatoes and eggs (yummy!) and Mel had steak that you cooked how you liked it on a hot stone by slicing pieces off it as it cooked.

We have had a great few days in Portugal (another sticker added to our map) and will definitely be back again next year to explore the northern area and western coast.

Sally x