Hot or What? - Portugal

My first memory of Portugal was sitting for many hours in a queue at Santander ferry port, after an energy-sapping week in the Costa blanca with temperatures in the mid-high 30s. We were in the old Volvo with no air conditioning, while all around us people sat with their engines running making it even hotter and filling the air with noxious fumes. I got chatting someone in a nearby car, and they were returning from Portugal where the temperatures had been above 40°. Can't imagine why that made us think it might be a good idea to visit. But shortly afterwards, visit we did.

Unfortunately, I didn't keep many records of our brief stay in Portugal in July 2004, it was only a couple of days in a smart hotel with a fabulous outside dining area and an excellent pool. We travelled the 395 miles from Santander, a journey well over 5 hours, but by then we were in the Land Rover Discovery, with air conditioning and a DVD player to keep the kids happy while Bri drove. Because of the distances involved, and the need to get back up to North Spain, we didn't venture too far from the Portuguese/Spanish border, certainly nowhere near the Algarve. Two days chilling by the pool was just enough to recharge batteries before the 339-mile/5-hour trek up to Ovio (near Llanes and our beloved Beach of Caves) for a week before returning home on the 24-hour cruise via the notorious Bay of Biscay.

For some reason my memory insists associating this with the time Chris pulled the curtains closed and their bedroom and the whole thing fell down. Poor lad got teased unmercifully for years afterwards. In particular the jibe was don't pull the curtains in the cabin or you'll sink the ferry. Talking of being teased unmercifully, which I guess is what families do, I was never allowed to forget one of our visits to Spain when I asked for a cafe au lait instead of a cafe con leche. The waiter frowned, because I guess he heard café ole, and when hubby figured is confusion it became a standing joke. I do remember, however, how similar Spanish and Portuguese were, so if I couldn't think of the word, or find it in the dictionary, I would try the Spanish word instead.

Back in June, I mentioned playing cards in the commodore lounge – this was a hack we learnt fairly early on. With 2 adults and 3 kids, the normal 4-berth cabin was horribly cramped and no way to spend an entire day. You pay a chunk extra, but for that you get around 3 times the floor space with room for a couple of chairs and a table, a TV with (back then) video player, 4 berths (the girls were small enough to share) a fridge stocked with juice, water and, if memory serves, a couple of lagers, also a breakfast of croissants, bread juice and tea/coffee/chocolate. One of the big benefits was an outside window and access to the commodore lounge – there was no food or drink when we went, but a calm space away from the hoi-polloi. Well worth its weight in gold.

The ships sported several shops, a couple of tiny cinemas, apparently a swimming pool, although we never bothered, and great facilities for kids including a play area with its own cinema and several organised activities throughout the day. They had numerous cafes, and a posh restaurant (booking essential) and at least 3 bars, the main one having a dance floor and providing several acts throughout the evening, almost always ending with a disco after the magic show and band. After a dozen cross-channel ferry crossings, we figured we’d found our sea legs and we ended up doing this 20-hour mini cruise to Spain and back 14 times between 1993 and 2007, and only once can I remember the Bay of Biscay being so choppy it cost me a meal!