Vet visit – Quarteira, Algarve, Portugal

We were up early this morning to start our journey south. Firstly, we were aware through a friend of a planned Ironman event in Lisbon today. Plus a local taxi driver told us they would be closing the 25th April Bridge which was our route out of Lisbon unless we wanted an hour extra on our trip. We had an appointment at 11.30 this morning at a vets in Quarteira to get a European Pet Passport. They had been recommended by someone else plus they are opposite a motorhome aire and on route for our next stop to Seville.

We were on the road by 6.15am and got some iconic shots of the sun rising over the Tagus river as we crossed over the April 25th Bridge, thankfully still open. We then slightly surprisingly hit sporadic patches of fog. The sun doing its best to burn through even at this early hour. The forecast today according to the BBC is 23 degrees in Quarteira. By 8am it had already reached that and it was 28 degrees when we arrived. Happily though the roads were empty and despite a quick breakfast expresso stop we still arrived by 9.30am.

The pet passports went very smoothly at the vets who were absolutely the most friendly and helpful we have ever dealt with. Only €20 per passport versus £230 for an Animal Health Certificate from our vets which only lasts 4 months / 1 trip and will not let us go to Morocco.

I also took the opportunity to ask about a relatively recent black mole on Lizzy’s belly which seemed to have become more raised of late. The vet confirmed that this was really not a good sign, it may just be due to black pigmentation in her skin, she has black patches on her tongue since birth. However, it could also be a malignant melanoma and she would advice at the very least to keep it out the sun. Her preferred option though was to have it removed. She was so helpful we decided to stay an extra couple of days to get it done here as Lizzy loves sunbathing and we are going to be in the sun for some weeks yet. The vet was very happy to extend our appointment to take a blood test to check her suitability for anaesthesia straightaway. She then got her colleague out back to do the test and came back within 10 minutes with the results! All for 60% of the price we would pay in the U.K. for a 2 day test.

The receptionist managed to book us on Monday at 9.30 for the actual procedure when they will also check the tissue with the lab for malignancy. I know we have caught it very early and she has no other reactivity in her lymph nodes etc so we are not too worried about the results but will certainly be happier to have it removed.

So a quick trip to the supermarket for some fresh supplies and a late lunch in the sun on our deck chair chilling out by the van. We had a few busy days and it’s nice to slow down for the afternoon. We are all in the shade of the trees which are full of chirping birds and some green land beside us. Quarteira is definitely the less touristy end of the Algarve from a previous trip we did via Faro airport (one of two “international” charter flights you can take from our nearest airport in Newquay). So we will amuse ourselves for the next couple of days whilst we wait for Lizzy’s appointment I am sure.