The monotony of routine, the desire to discover new horizons, or even the difficulties of life are all reasons that push many people to get closer of life’s simple pleasures. Today, let’s discover the adventures of João and Mónica in their vintage motorhome Parreirinha! After getting married and going through some difficult times, they decided to take the plunge for a vanlife style and travel the roads of Portugal!
Presentation of the vintage motorhome Parreirinha crew
Hello you two! Through your social networks, we discovered that you are a couple who travel around Portugal in a vintage motorhome named Parreirinha. Can you introduce yourselves to the CaraMaps community and tell us why you chose this name for your vintage motorhome Parreirinha?
PARREIRINHA: Hello, we are Mónica and João, the owners of “Parreirinha”. We live in Almeirim and named our motorhome Parreirinha after our love story. Seven years ago we met at a birthday party of mutual friends in Almeirim, João’s hometown. I had never been to Almeirim and was joking with my friends about Parreira, a town relatively close to Almeirim. João came to talk to me at the birthday party and as I kept talking about Parreira, he finally said: “Don’t worry, tomorrow I’ll take you to Parreira! » The next day we went to Parreira for our first date and that’s how it all started!
Is it the first time that you travelled in a motorhome? If so, why did you choose this way of travel?
PARREIRINHA: Yes, Parreirinha is the first motorhome we have ever driven! Contrary to what we usually suggest to our community on our social networks – renting a motorhome before buying it to be sure that it is a vehicle they will enjoy travelling in and that it will be a meaningful investment – we bought Parreirinha as soon as we saw it! We both love to travel and having a motorhome has always been obvious for us, as João used to go camping with his family when he was younger. Today we know we made the right decision: the possibility of waking up every day in a different place with a beautiful view, the flexibility that this way of travelling gives us and the comfort of having everything at our disposal during our travels, is priceless!
Was there anything in particular that made you decide to take the plunge?
PARREIRINHA: Yes, after going through some very difficult times (João’s parents death and my father’s death, and my mother’s diagnosis of dementia), we realized that life was too short to keep putting off our dreams. In February 2022, after experiencing these losses and watching Ricky Gervais’ After Life series about bereavement, we decided to take action and went to look at motorhome ads. We planned a visit to see Parrerinha the following weekend and it was love at first sight!
What are your life and travel values that drive you as itinerant travellers?
PARREIRINHA : Our parents transmitted us very important life values that guide our daily lives, such as:
– the awareness that nothing is taken for granted in life and that you have to fight and work to achieve your goals;
-mutual respect and mutual help;
-not doing to others what we would not like them to do to us
As travellers, we follow these same values, respecting the legal rules and common sense associated with this way of life (e.g. dispose of waste and sewage only in appropriate places). We help our community who follow us on our Instagram page whenever possible, clearing up their doubts and giving them advice on travel routes.
What are the travelling habits of the crew of the vintage motorhome Parreirinha ?
We have noticed on your social media that you travel mainly in Portugal. Do you plan to continue your journey mainly in this country or do you plan to discover new horizons?
PARREIRINHA : Our aim is to get to know our country well with Parreirinha, either by doing routes we have never done before, or by revisiting places we have already been to, but in a motorhome. Portugal is a country that has a lot to offer in terms of tourism and we think it is important to know our own country well before setting off on new adventures! We also plan to start travelling abroad, starting with our neighbour ,Spain, as soon as we have the opportunity and the availability 😊
Do you have any rituals before or after arriving in a new place?
PARREIRINHA : Yes, when we arrive in a new region, we always look for the main tourist attractions, as well as the typical dishes and desserts of each region. We are gourmets and make a point of sampling the regional delicacies of each place we visit, as well as the local food, wine and liquor. It is a way for us to help local businesses and to get to know the culture and people of each region.
Are you more planner or improviser when you are travelling ?
PARREIRINHA :We prefer to plan the routes as much as possible, especially the places where we will stay overnight. We like to stay in campsites or farms found with Easy Camp for example (*the first network to welcome motorhomers in Portugal in agricultural areas), which implies organizing and making reservations. Of course, not everything goes according to plan, and that’s the beauty of this style of travel! If we don’t arrive in time to spend the night, we can always change the itinerary and stay elsewhere. We have discovered very interesting places in both cases: both on planned trips and when we have to improvise and adapt the itinerary.
On the adventures shared on your social networks, we also see that you prioritize natural spots. Why this choice?
PARREIRINHA : It’s true, we like to travel to beautiful places where we have direct contact with nature! Perhaps because we work in the capital – Lisbon – and have been living there for a few years…Now we want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities and travel to quieter places. Nature gives us a lot of peace, and the possibility to have a picnic by the river or the sea next to our Parreirinha is priceless!
Sharing experience and advice
We also noticed that you are travelling with your companions 🐱 in your vintage motorhome Parreirinha. Can you introduce them and tell us how you manage the organisation of the trip with them?
PARREIRINHA : Our cats are called MacGyver (a 5 year old tabby cat) and Kitty Maria (a 3 year old white cat). They love each other and their owners, but they don’t like to travel on Parreirinha! For this reason, and to give them a good travel experience, we only take them with us on short weekend trips, when we go for a picnic in a park or by the river near our house. We want them to feel comfortable and enjoy a family outing with their owners, even if it’s a small one!
What advice would you give to people who want to try this type of experience?
PARREIRINHA : If you’re not sure whether this is the right way to travel, rent a motorhome for a short time before you buy it. This way of travelling is not suitable for everyone and it is important to be certain of your decision before making this investment. It’s important to know the different types of motorhome that exist, depending on the criteria that are most important to you, both from the point of view of renting and buying: ease of driving, the space and height of the vehicle, the existing equipment, the capacity in terms of the number of people, etc.
Then, it is important to learn a little about this mode of travel. You have to learn the applicable legislation, the good practices to be taken into account and the respect of other campers, the apps available to help you prepare your trip (where to stay, what services are available on each site, etc.) such as Caramaps, as well as the knowledge of the vehicle. It is important to pay attention to its dimensions and beware of balconies, trees, narrow streets and some tunnels!
Thirdly, it is very important to keep things in perspective! Not everything will go according to plan and it is important to remain calm so that you can continue to enjoy your motorhome trip! It is also through failures that we learn things about this style of travel and that we can improve our travel experience. For example, it was after spending the night in a park on a slope and spilling coffee on the kitchen furniture of our Parreirinha that we realized we had to buy levellers!
What is your best travel memory?
PARREIRINHA : What a difficult choice! All trips are unique and special, whether they are longer trips or weekend getaways! Since we only have to choose one… we’ll say the route of the National Route 2. This route connects Portugal from North to South and is a great way to discover our country and the culture, people, customs and traditions of each region. We have great memories of this trip!
We also have other wonderful memories:
-Participating in a student’s final year project about life in a motorhome, sharing some of our experience.
-Participating in the Tour of the Algarve with Parreirinha (João loves cycling and it was great to combine these two passions).
-The road we are currently following, the N114 which passes through some of our favourite places in Portugal, including Almeirim!
Do you have one or more unusual anecdotes experienced while travelling in your vintage motorhome Parreirinha to share with us?
PARREIRINHA : We have a lot of unusual stories! For example, during the journey along National Road 2, our Parreirinha had a problem with its brakes and we had to leave it overnight in a garage because the part needed to repair it didn’t arrive until the next day. The owner of the garage was very nice and lent us his car so that we could spend the night in a hotel, waiting for the repair to be done. We managed to get on the road without losing much time, stayed in a great hotel, had dinner in a wonderful restaurant with live music (actually it was just a neighbour singing in the window!). A stressful episode that turned out to be a very pleasant travel experience!
Another unusual story happened to us during a trip to the Douro wine region, one of the most beautiful regions of Portugal. On our trip to Penafiel with our friend Tino de Rans (a former presidential candidate whom we met on one of our trips 3 years ago), he recommended that we visit Encosta Rolão Peneda, a rural accommodation in Mondim de Basto. We hadn’t booked anything and we ended up having lunch with a very nice group, including two former Portuguese and Brazilian football stars! We even brought a pão-de-ló (typical Portuguese cake) and wine from the Quinta to dine in our Parreirinha! New friendships were made by chance and we promised each other to come back!
Are you familiar with the CaraMaps application? If so, in what situation do you use it?
PARREIRINHA : Yes, it is very useful for planning routes, knowing where to park, where to stay, what services each place offers, and all of that with the corresponding ratings and photos!
We wish good luck to travellers João and Mónica who are continuing their roadtrip in their vintage motorhome Parreirinha in Portugal and who may soon be heading for other destinations! Did you like the interview? We invite you to support them in their travel plans and follow their adventures directly on their Instagram account! 😊
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See also our other testimonies: “Cathy and Christophe tell us about their American trip in motorhome” “The radical change of life of Benoît Giffard” and many others!
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