WHen

19.11.19 - 23.11.19

WHERE

Porto, Portugal

Coimbra, Portugal

WHAT

This weekend marks 1 month since we started our full-time vanlife and 20 days of free camping off-grid. As the days go on we are working out our little routines and roles in our tiny home. Pat usually does coffee and breakfast while I prefer to cook dinners. We are getting used to what goes where and are finding there is enough space for us both without feeling cramped. There are a few small things we still want to change for aesthetics sake, but the van is so liveable these are more of a want than a need. Parking up each night has been quite straight forward since getting to Europe thanks to our park4night app. We find there are always a few other nomads around, all on the southern migration for the winter. Since being in Europe we have really noticed the difference in attitudes towards camper vans. Similar to New Zealand, cities and towns are very camper friendly and there is a strong sense of community between vans and motorhomes when parking up.

Most of this week was spent in Porto parked up at a free park and ride 10 minutes from the centre of the city. The weather has been a little unpredictable and the van has endured a deluge of rain almost every night (happy to report we have stayed warm and dry within). Each morning we caught the metro into the centre of the old city and spent the rest of the hours walking up and down the winding stone streets past brightly coloured buildings and Azulejo Tiled facades. Pat was extremely focussed on hitting every bar that Anthony Bourdain had visited in town, and you can read more on this here. All of this walking demanded (excused) more calorific treats to keep us going. Pasteis de nata’s along with a few other sweet treats were accompanied by meat, bread and cheese heavy traditional dishes throughout the week and, just to make sure we were getting the full experience, Port every day. Also, the coffee, wine and food in town was really, really good. Read more about that here.

We did do other things besides eating and drinking: A few hours spent walking through the incredibly verdant Jardins do Palácio de Cristal (Crystal Palace Gardens) which winds around the edge of the river boasting sweeping city views, walking across all three of the bridges that connect Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia on the south side of the Douro in search for the many UNESCO world heritage listed sites across the city and climbing the arch of the Arrábida Bridge, the only bridge climb in Europe. More details on our best bits here. Before we knew it, the two days we had planned for Porto became a week and we have found ourselves a little smitten with Portugal and its people. However, this is one of the best things about having the van, go where we want, when we want and stay for however long we want.

After an early morning jaunt around the city Friday morning, we decided on the recommendation of a few local bar tenders and baristas to head to Coimbra. Admittedly we had not ever heard of the countries medieval capital and planned, like most, to head straight to Lisbon. After parking up at the river front overlooking the ancient city early Friday evening, we wandered into the old town for a traditional local dinner and drinks at a phenomenal wine bar. Read our favourite spots to eat and drink here. It’s early Saturday morning as I write this and we plan to explore the historic city all day in the sunshine!

Pit

The deafening rain at night

Peak

Porto Bridge Climb