Fog, Sun, and an Unforgettable Evening

Mileage: unchanged

In the morning, the weather was dreary, with light fog hanging over the campsite; it was windy, humid, and quite cool. We took our time hoping it would clear up. When, after a while, it still looked the same outside, we faced the reality. It would remain foggy all day today. So be it.

After breakfast, we packed our backpack and walked along the beach toward the town we had visited yesterday. When we reached the free campsite that had been fully occupied yesterday, we could see that the weather seemed to determine how attractive the spots were. Today, the site was half-empty.

We returned via the wooden path above the dunes. Ines wanted to see the high water mark at our beach. Over the last several hours, the water had risen, and the wind had made the foggy sea wild and loud. It was impressive and daunting.

Then we headed back to Gary to prepare a salad with rice for the next day. If the barbecue didn’t work out tonight or wasn’t enough, we would have a ready-made addition with the salad.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at Gary's, as the weather just wouldn't clear up.

As it approached 6:00 PM, we packed our jackets and walked over to the barbecue area and the community house. There we were surprised to find almost twenty people already seated at the tables, and the barbecue was in full swing. The host had three brick ovens in operation. We found a spot and ended up right back with our campground neighbors, shortly after, another solo traveler with a dog joined us, who, like us, had taken a break from work. Then the feast began, so abundant that it was impossible to eat it all. There was meat, vegetables, fish; everything was included. There was even a sound system ready in the community house. When the host struggled with the equipment and couldn’t get any sound from the large speaker, he asked Sebb for help, and within a few minutes, the music was playing. By 8:00 PM, it had become cold and damp, so we moved into the community house where the fireplace was already burning.

Many stories were shared; we received countless tips on when and where in Spain and Portugal was most beautiful, where and how to eat well, and so forth...

We also learned that there were quite a number of German dropouts of all kinds on the Iberian Peninsula. Some were retirees, others lived with their families in motorhomes and worked digitally. Some lived nomadically in motorhomes, while others had established communities on leased or purchased land and lived in stationary caravans; some had built a livelihood here, owning a car repair shop or becoming campsite operators.

When we went to bed that night, not only had we packed leftover wine, bread, fish, and meat in foil, but we had also met many wonderful new people.