April 27, 2013

We stepped confidently out this morning to be greeted by an icy, biting wind. Where did that come from? On went the long-sleeved tops and jackets. The wind was coming from the north (thank you in the UK for sending your weather here) and blowing straight into our faces. This slowed us down considerably. For the first time since leaving home territory in Malaga we are back in the mountains – long, slow climbs but great views at the top. In many ways this helps with the wind because there is respite when actually climbing as the hill in front of you generally shelters you from the wind. We’re well into the touring routine now so mountains don’t frighten us. We have planned a shorter route anyway today as there is a camp-site at Castelo Branco which is only around 50 kms from Nisa.

Finding the camp-site proves to be far from easy and by the time we do the wind is gusting more fiercely than ever. We hope it dies down as dusk comes as the camp-site is in the middle of nowhere, there is no shop, cafe or bar, and the wind is so strong we can’t keep the camping stove alight. Time for a snooze while we wait.

After sunset the wind is still howling, so we are standing in a corner behind the shower block to boil up our pasta and it’s so cold I’ve had to zip my leg extensions on – bet you wish you were here.

PS. If you’ve ever thought of drinking hot tea from an aluminium cup – don’t.

PPS.  Two nights ago I had WiFi but no electric and the battery on the computer was flat.  Last night I had electric but no WiFi.  Tonight I have neither electric nor WiFi.  So you’ll be reading these journal entries all together – hopefully, tomorrow.