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Today we hired a car and drove to see our friends Carl & T at Villamoura marina. Everything is much cheaper in Europe than the UK. The car hire was 20 euros a day for a new Peugeot 206.

The drive along the coast of the motorway was fine and took 30 minutes. We left the motorway at the junction that was clearly signed for Villamoura, and then nothing. No signs at all. When a road ended as a dirt track we’d turn around and try again. We repeated the process until we found Villamoura.

The town is actually a purpose built holiday resort and reminds us of the USA. We arrived, parked, moved the car as we realised the parking was expensive, parked again somewhere for free (and nearer their boat!).

We had a brilliant day chatting with them and catching up on what we had both been up to over the last few weeks, they having visited cold England recently. During our walk round Villamoura, to build up an appetite for lunch, we realised Lagos was a much better choice for a long term stay than Villamoura with its Blackpool “rock shops”, and no original town. Lunch was served onboard and was a good old traditional British favorite, baked potatoes with baked beans and English cheeses, followed by sponge pudding and custard, a real treat.

We drove back and collapsed into bed after a really enjoyable day.