After the introduction of the Euro from the year 2002 we decided that now the time had come to pay a visit to our neighbouring country, Portugal. The distance from our home in Ciudad Quesada is about 450 miles by autovia. As temperatures  in southern Portugal is similar to those of Costa Blanca we decided that early spring would be a good choice for a visit. Not too many tourists to induce high prices for accommodation. On the internet we had studied possible accommodations and had printed a list of suitable hotels/hostals and pensions. Except for the Ibis hotel in Evora which was recommended to us by our Italian friends Gloria and Ricardo accommodation was found upon arrival.

We started out from Quesada early a Wednesday morning (13.of February 2002) after having left Bianca in a nice Kennel, Las Palmeras. Indeed we had chosen nice weather for our trip, sunshine all days and max. temperatures in the range 18-22 degrees C. On the map below our route is indicated. We had accommodation in Albufeira (2 nights), Evora (2 nights) and Merida (Spain, 1 night). On our way south we passed the Sierra Nevada mountains which were covered with snow on the tops. A beautiful sight in the sunshine. From Huelva to the Portuguese border a new autovia had just been opened and we crossed the wetlands of the Guadiana river on a nice new bridge. Everything was free of charge, bridge and motorway. And no inspection at the border. In contrast to most of the arid and dry landscapes of southern Spain the hillsides were green covered with small pine trees and other vegetation.

Our trip indicated in blue color