Before leaving the South of Portugal, we stayed in small town called Porto Covo. In the 18th century Porto Covo was simply a small fishing village, activity was limited by the Atlantic climate and the port’s inaccessibility during bad weather; in 1843 there were no more than 20 residences recorded. Tourism eventually took over fishing in the 1990s and during the summer these days it is said that the population increases ten fold with holiday makers, surfers, bathers, boaters and sporting fishermen descending on the regimental white and blue rental properties in the town. The town is well known for its festival at the end of August, a religious festival for Our Lady of Solitude, culminating in 1000’s of people camping on the beaches for the weekend! Until recently the festival encouraged locals to bring their herds of cows and sheep too, this activity is not encouraged nowadays!!

1920s photo of people walking through the village streets to the beach for the August festival.

The campsite we stayed on is a fairly new one, owners are investing a lot of money to create a 4 or 5 star venue; they are most of the way there and hope to finish renovations within 18 months. It’s on a hilltop, the sounds of the waves can be heard during the day and at night (if the frogs and owls are not too noisy) and the sea can just be seen over the perimeter fencing. The beaches nearby are lovely, beautiful sandy sheltered coves with bars in some, rocky outcrops create some spectacular scenery at night.

We had a very close encounter with the Castle wall at the nearby town of Sines, thanks to TomTom, who directed us through a small nearby town and without the help of locals moving their vehicles and directing us through, we would not have made it through the square without taking one of the castle perimeter walls with us!!! Note, picture below, one way street, and we had to do a sharp left before the castle!

Sines is a larger town, home to Vasco da Gama, he was born in the castle, he built himself a church nearby, and had streets and a church named after him. The town is on a hilltop, overlooking a lovely bay, it’s also home to a very large oil refinery so tankers came and went all hours of the day.

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