Alentejo 🇵🇹 - Three Days of Mud
Sven Walther
Out of the city
Out of the city and into nature. We take a beautiful hike around the Lagoa de Santo André - and get absolutely everything: woods, fields, cows and even beach.
Around the Lagoa de Santo André
Afterwards we visit a workshop that finally fits the new alternator - the one we had shipped from Germany to Lisbon. Hopefully that also settles the business with the batteries never quite filling up.
Woods, fields and beach in one day
As a bonus we discover a small, fantastic restaurant in the village.
Alentejo
Then at breakfast the next adventure arrives: one bite of pastry, a crack - and a new crown is out and broken. Every dentist is closed for New Year. Perfect timing.
We cannot get out
On the way in the track still looked manageable - here is our drive down:
It rained heavily overnight. The gravel track looks worse than it did the day before, and the streams crossing it are suddenly carrying a lot of water.
A lot has changed overnight
We get through what we thought was the worst section at an angle that turns your stomach - we have to avoid a tree and drive alongside the track.
The spot we had been wary of
So you breathe out once - only to get stuck at a place you had not considered at all. There the track climbs steeply, round a tight bend, and the water is running along exactly that line.
And this is where it ended
Three days of mud, stones and gravity
For three days we dig drainage channels. For three days we haul stones. For three days everything is simply covered in mud.
Digging drainage channels
Straight after the first recovery an excavator helps us - but after three hours that is over, and the rest is done by hand.
The rest is done by hand
We spend the nights at an angle down in the valley. Showering is not really possible, the solar panels see nothing but shade, and Starlink is just about good enough for me to work.
Three nights at an angle in the valley
By the end of day three it is clear: tomorrow afternoon we have to try. After that more rain is forecast - and then everything only gets worse.
Decision day
Does the route look better? Somewhat. Does it look good? Certainly not.
There is still far too much water, and rather more stones would be welcome. But there is no way around it: now or never.
So, all diff locks in, low range engaged - and throttle, throttle, throttle.