Down Memory Lane

MANTA ROTA.

Wide awake at midnight caused by a combination of heavy rain (sounding like stones on the van) and voices and laughter in the car park. We sleep in until 9am as a result.

We head for Louie. We spent Easter 2011 here at Clive & Jane's villa. It's far bigger than Rosie remembers but a lot of the sites come back to me very quickly. We enjoy a coffee and a Pastel de Nate each. Rosie is concerned because she doesn't even remember the shops! We even find the restaurant on the roundabout that we used a couple of times.

From there we drive to Tavira. It is billed as one of the prettiest villages on the Algarve. We struggle to find the shops for provisions. Taking the wrong turn and, as a result, we cross the river. The view of the harbour is truly stunning. The supermarket is in a shopping centre so we collect provisions for the evening meal. However, we struggle to get out of the centre. Both the escalator and the lift only take us to the car parks. We are parked across the road on some rough ground.

The site is a short ride out of town. I pull up behind a Belgian van. The news is not good. The site has been privatised and now costs twice the book price. We wonder why the site is empty! Several sites are shown along the coast. We settle for Manta Rota, the Belgian drives off in the opposite direction. The site is 100 metres from the beach. We fill up but I make the mistake of paying for water, I didn't try the correct button.

What makes it an even better site is that we find a laundrette in the village. Walk along the beach as the washing cycle completes.

Enjoy a beer whilst the tumble dryer does it's job then dinner in the van. The site accommodates 80 vans. One of the larger ones we've stayed at but we'll organised.