40 days and 40 nights

It was 40 days ago when I arrived in mainland Europe. Far from home but closer to the sun. It's hard to believe it's been 40 days but I feel like it's been longer in many ways, the places I've been, the views I've seen and the people I've met make it all so amazing. After the Douro Valley I headed to Viseu which wasn't that great sonic continued to Aveiro (the venice of Portugal) which was super cute, touristy but cute and quirky. I explored the town and the beautiful canal lined with gondolas and colourful little buildings before continuing on to Costa Nova. This town, famed for its stripy, multi coloured houses 2as recommended by many along the way and I was so keen to see it. I got a great park up by the beach with a few other campers and explored the town the following morning. It reminded me of something you'd see In California, very alternative, quirky and totally different to anything I'd seen on this trip, or any trip really (apart from Curaçao(. After a morning of exploring I headed to Coimbra where I parked up at a great motorhome spot just a small bridge away from the old historical centre. There were tonnes of campers there but funnily I liked the community feeling of it all. The weather was lovely and the people around me were very friendly. I headed into the old town and explored the streets and the oldest university in the world which was really cool. I was planning to go see the university but I ended up not bothering and instead I left for Tomar even earlier to meet Dave a friend of mine I met almost 6 years ago in New Zealand. Tomar was awesome, the free campsite was so quaint, relaxing and ahead a community vibe with people staying for days upon days which meant we became familiar. Dave and myself mounted and set up my solar panel and also repaired the side of my van which had been damaged a few weeks back on the god awful tiny roads I found myself stuck on. People watched as we spent hours and hours for days, up on the roof with tools and spray painting the van. Luckily the town had a decent hardware and a huge china shop where I bought lots of handy gadgets for my home on wheels. Over the week, Dave and myself cooked lovely dinners together, chatted over beers in the sun and visited the coolest historical ruin- the knights templar castle. It was a strange feeling to leave Tomar, saying goodbye to my Donegal neighbours and the others parked around me. It's funny when you stay somewhere a few days in a van it seems like a lot longer than you'd imagine but in a good way. I was do thankful for these few days to have a familiar face around, to share travel stories and travel tips and to meet some new people who were travelling around too (albeit by fancy motorhomes). As I make my way down south following the sun, I am full of butterflies, the wanderlust kind, the ones that make me feel so happy to be able to live this life. Vanlife is like no other and I love every minute of it! 

Big thanks to Dave for all the help, truly grateful!!