They say every great adventure starts with a single step—or in our case, a single blog post. Before we officially began our trek through country number 11, we had to take a 20-minute “happy detour” to a very special place: Rota, Spain.

The City That Planted the Seed

It was surreal to drive into Rota. Over a year ago, Kasey came across a blog post from Poppins Smoke about the beauty of this naval town. That one suggestion—“What if we lived there for a couple of months?”—was the spark that ignited our entire 18-month “Schengen Shuffle”.

We reminisced about the early days of planning, back when we thought we’d just do a month in an Airbnb. We eventually realized that flying back and forth from the US didn’t make sense for the budget, which is how we ended up with our beloved housing-on-wheels, Holly.

Crossing into Country #11: Hello, Portugal!

After a quick scenic drive through the gorgeous old buildings of Seville, we finally crossed the suspension bridge into Portugal.

Our first stop? Faro. We headed straight for the tourism office to pick up a special piece of gear: the N2 Passport. Portugal has its own version of “Route 66” called the N2, a “Mother Road” that runs the entire length of the country. We’re doing it a bit backward (South to North), but we can’t wait to collect all the stamps along the way!

Caves, Sand, and… Fish?

Portugal’s coast did not disappoint. We took a boat tour out of Benagil and explored ten different caves, including the famous “Eyes of God” and “Smuggler’s Cove”. We even saw the only inhabited castle in Portugal!

Before leaving the coast, we stopped at Sand City, an incredible (and slightly touristy) outdoor exhibit featuring thousands of detailed sand sculptures—from the Simpsons to ancient Egypt.

The Highlight of the Week: Kasey braved a “Fish Foot Spa”. While she started out screaming like a little girl at the big fish, she eventually graduated from the “beginner pool” with baby fish. Her feet were smooth, even if her nerves were a bit frayed!

The Reality of the Road: Detours and Cinnamon Bread

Our first day on the N2 brought us some classic “real travel life” moments. We climbed into the mountains only to find the entire road blocked with no warning and nowhere to turn around. After a 50km back-track and a successful detour, we landed at a fantastic municipal site.

The best part of that stop? The Bakery Bike. A local baker rode through the campsite blowing a horn, and we treated ourselves to some of the best cinnamon honey bread we’ve ever tasted.

It’s these small, sweet moments that make the long miles and the roadblocks worth every second.

Stay tuned as we continue our journey North on the N2!
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