Gafanha da Boa Hora

Odometer: 161295

After a full day of exploring the city, it was time again for the sea and beach.

After breakfast, we packed our things and continued heading south. Unfortunately, the targeted free parking spot was completely occupied. We simply drove a few kilometers further. Next to the area of a fun pool, a parking spot had been set up where we found a place. The park with pools and water slides was already closed; the season was over, but the camper site was well populated.

We got a spot next to a couple from Germany, whose three dogs curiously approached us as we parked. Ines immediately offered to pet the dogs after making contact, which they thoroughly enjoyed. The ice was broken, and even before we had properly settled in, we chatted about where we came from, what we were planning to do here, where the beautiful spots were, and so on…

The two retirees were from the greater Berlin area but had been living in their motorhome for over five years. In the summer, they were in the north and during winter in the south, always on the move and staying wherever it was nice for weeks or even months. A retirement life, as we had heard more often, between Norway, Sweden, Spain, and Greece. The freedom to travel in Europe made such a lifestyle possible.

When it was time for food with the five of us, we took a detour to the beach. It was just a few steps over the dune to get to the water, and there were significantly fewer people than in the past few days. Our swim was again very short today; with the water temperature at 15 degrees, the cooling off happened quickly. We just lay on the beach in the afternoon sun.

For dinner, we returned to Gary. Today we were having fried potatoes and fried fish. Just as the potatoes were in the pan, a guy with a scruffy beard, a hat, and a dog suddenly appeared at the door and said it was 6:00 PM and time for sunset, which was something to see here.

We briefly considered, turned off the stove, and followed him to the beach. For the next half hour, we stood with the guy and our neighbor on the dune watching the sunset; the window of the closed bar behind us provided a very beautiful reflecting surface. Then we received an invitation for a barbecue the following evening, simply because we hadn’t grilled since our departure, and we happily accepted.

As it slowly got dark, we returned and fried potatoes and fish.