Belem & Sesimbra

We left Cascais and headed south. Chris & Steve covered a lot of ground and went straight to the Algarve, but we wanted to visit some other places along the west coast before. Just prior to arriving in Cascais we’d began to hear a strange rhythmical knocking sound coming from the back of the van and we started to hear it again not long after getting back on the road. Our original destination had been Sesimbra but as the noise got a bit louder as we drove towards Lisbon we decided it would be best to take the opportunity and pull off close to a big city so that we stood a better chance of finding a mechanic to take a look at the van for us. We saw a sign for Belem, which is just on the outskirts of Lisbon, and we knew there was an Aire where we could stay the night for free, so we headed there.

As we came to Belem we missed our turning on the highway as we tried to find the Aire, but as we were driving down a small side street to get back on track we passed a guy on a street corner who waved and cheered at the van, giving us the thumbs up. This isn’t rare with Charlie so we beeped and waved back at him but noticed he was stood outside a mechanics! We stopped the van on the street and ran back to find the guy. In the garage we asked who it was who waved to us and a guy who we now know as Felip spoke up and said it was him. We asked if he could help us and he kindly obliged and came outside to look at the van. He was really impressed with Charlie and told us he owned 2 VW Beetles and loved working on classic cars. We couldn’t believe our luck! His garage was just about to close for the day so he said we could bring Charlie in tomorrow and he’d be happy to have a proper look, so we left Felip and soon found the Aire close by and went for some dinner and a few drinks overlooking the river, the huge suspension bridge and the Torre de Belem.

Belem is famous for being the home of pastel de natas, so the next morning we went to one of the cafes and had some for breakfast. Outside one cafe was a long queue of people outside waiting to buy fresh ones from a place which claims it makes the original and most authentic pastels in Portugal, but we decided against queuing for an hour and went next door instead. On our way back to the van we passed by the huge and really impressive monastery and gardens that sit alongside the river.

When we arrived back at the garage we found Felip and he said he could take a look at Charlie for us straight away. We took him for a few laps around the block and soon the noise started again and he worked out that the sound was coming from the back wheel so he tightened the wheel a bit and sure enough the noise disappeared. He was such a friendly and cool guy that we even had to force him to take some money as he refused to be paid for being our hero. He even gave us some tips of places we should visit in the south. We left Belem in good spirits, once again so grateful to Charlie for helping us to meet the nicest people on our travels. We crossed over the big suspension bridge passing the Christ the Redeemer figure stood on the other bank of the river and headed towards Sesimbra.

We arrived in Sesimbra and found a campsite closish to the beach. We had some lunch at the site and then walked down to the beach where we spent the afternoon. Sesimbra is a fishing port and we could see the fishermen bringing in the nets in the boat yard which was close to where we were staying. The beach was really busy but nice and the sea was cold, but much calmer than what we’d been used to on this coast. As the sun went down we left the beach and went onto the beach front for a few drinks and a seafood dinner. We had a nice walk back to the campsite looking out to an almost full moon shining brightly above the sea.