Portugal and Spain June 2019 – Week 4 Second Week in the Algarve and Lisbon

Sat June 22

Had a nice sleep in this AM!! The best part was that coffee had been made when I got up and the DW unloaded. That has been my job pretty much whole trip since I’m the first one up and need something to do while waiting for the coffee to finish.

Walked into town to get goodies for a BBQ tonight. We were a little later getting to the market so not enough fish, other than mackerel left. We grabbed the last of the big prawns (24 so only 2 each), huge big beautiful ones with the heads still on. Cost 20E but would have probably cost $50 at home. Produce in the market was good, so fresh and colourful looking….the red peppers are massive and gorgeous. Bought a big bag of huge beans to French, peppers, a couple large heads of lettuce and cucumbers and some apples…..came to 8E and the lady threw in a few extra goodies to boot! On to the little grocery store that has an incredible meat counter with 2 guys that were crazy busy…..as they have been every time we’ve popped in. Bought 4 skewers of marinated chicken wings (4 whole wings on each skewer), 3 skewers each of pork and beef kebabs and 3 of the bacon wrapped chicken ones. Also bought, because they looked so good, 3 chicken thigh medallion things (?) with the skin on. The total came to E18!!!!

Back home by 11. Everyone went off and did their own things. Brenda and I went down to our beach and had lunch at the “Yacht Club”…just a beach bar really but great food. Had a “hotdog” with cheese and bacon and a sangria (all v. good) 9E. Can’t beat that especially when you’ve got such a great beach and view. And an exceptionally clean bathroom!

Rented an unbrella with chairs and spent the rest of the afternoon reading, taking a walk and a dip in the water every now and again and people watching…..managed to somehow get a bit of a burn on my legs, which will hopefully just turn into a nice tan by tomorrow. Great afternoon…..just sitting and relaxing and no driving!

Back to the house just before 5. Cleaned up and started getting dinner ready. Potatoes, beans, salad and all the meat ready to BBQ. Lots of fun. Everyone busy doing something, even the big and little boys were in charge of getting the coals on the BBQ going…..some excitement with the started fluid but they all still have hair and eyelashes so all was good!

Tonight is Chris and Marie’s last night with us. They’re on their way to Lisbon tomorrow at the crack of dawn, so a bit of a celebration tonight…….12 of us survived a week together! Dinner was excellent and again the wind cooperated so we feasted outside. Tons of food…..all very good. Picked up an orange cake at the bakery in town…..this is a specialty of the area. Was very good too….an eggy cake rolled jelly roll style and soaked….really, really soaked…in an orange liqueur. One piece was enough though.

Everyone, except Chris and Marie was up very late tonight….after midnight before I went to bed. Such a great evening…..good food, good friends/family, good wine, lots of laughs and a beautiful evening…really could not ask for more.

Sun June 23

Busy morning! C & M were off just after 6AM. Rae, Glen, Jill and Larry are heading to Lisbon for 3 nights so they were out the door just before 10. Brenda, me, and M & N and the boys are here on our own for a couple days…..certainly a lot quieter!

Brenda and I took a walk into town via the beach. We really have the best beach…..not the most scenic but beautiful, fine sand, crystal clear water, a few interesting rock formations, a couple of restaurants and the castle. Into town to pick up a few things and take some pics of “downtown” Ferragudo. This place is really a prize…..not very big but a really nice place….such a good find. I think it’s the best place we could have stayed. The town is small, still a working fishing village but has pretty well everything that you could possibly need…..all within a 10-15 minute was from the house, the beach a 5 minute walk too. A very good bakery and grocer with an excellent meat counter, the daily fish and veggie market, some lovely artisan shops, a pretty square with cafes and restaurants….really quite the perfect spot. Ferragudo has managed to somewhat “contain” the touristy growth of the town. There are condos etc. but not right on the beaches and all the new seems to blend in quite well with the old. Some lovely old buildings and a church with pretty tiles and a few small windy, hilly streets. Right along the water the fisherman clean their catch and untangle their nets in the morning and then the same process happens in the evening around 7:30 when they come back in . Love the seagull feeding frenzy!

Brenda and I did a bit of exploring, had our cappuccinos before heading back. M & N and boys went off to Lagos, Brenda and I went to Praia Marinha….. https://www.algarvetips.com/beaches/lagoa/praia-da-marinha/ No problem getting there, took about 20 minutes. Parking was at a premium though with cars parked a mile up the road. We lucked out and found someone just leaving in the big parking lot at the top of the cliff. Before heading down the steps to the beach there are a couple of stalls selling clothes and purses and a few food trucks selling ice cream and hotdogs. We grabbed a couple of hotdogs and a drink. The young guy in the truck put on gloves to get our food ready. He said they do that because they have to take money too and don’t want to contaminate the food! I swear this is the cleanest place I have ever travelled too!

The view of the beach from the top is lovely but as you work your way down the very well kept, but windy stairs, the peek-a-boo views get even better and better. At the bottom there is one restaurant (with a bathroom) but no chair/umbrella rental places. The cliffs and rock formations are truly breathtaking. It’s not a huge beach but definitely pretty nice nestled in the surrounding cliffs and large rock formations just off the beach. The beach itself is not the greatest…..sand is quite coarse and it’s the first beach we’ve been to that had a ton of seaweed. Was extremely hot with no shade at all unless you were lucky enough to have gotten a spot smack up against the cliff face. Had our lunch and spent an hour or two there……much of the time was spent trying to give an injured seagull, who decided to join us, some water….poor thing didn’t have a hope but at least we tried. It started to cloud over a bit, which was kind of a blessing because of the heat.

Packed up and thought we’d check out Praia Benigal with the caves. It’s listed as the #1 beach!! https://www.algarvetips.com/beaches/lagoa/praia-de-benagil/ We drove but could have taken the trail at the top of the cliff at Marinha, supposed to be approx. 1/2 hour walk. Driving was a mistake. It’s a very small place and it’s crazy busy. The only road down takes you thru the small town where there is a very narrow hairpin curve at the bottom and basically only one way traffic because of all the cars parked on the side of road going up and down hill. At the bottom while waiting for the cars to come down the hill before we could go up, all you could see was a blanket of heads down on the beach….very crowded. We didn’t stop because there was just no place to park within miles, even at the top of the hill the roadside was lined with cars. I think probably the best way to see and get to this beach is from the water….or taking the trail. Hopefully we’ll see it on the boat trip on Thursdsay. Supposed to be pretty spectacular.

On the way home we found an “Apollonia” supermarket. Looked a bit upscale compared to the LIDL or Supermarche. The biggest and best wine selection, including wines from Italy and France, some at 99E a bottle! Picked up a white vinho verde and a rose…..at 10E a bottle.

Back home and just sat around reading, chatting and drinking our wine. We sent Mark and Natasha off to town for dinner and date night. Made the boys a frittata with all the leftovers…..they loved it! Played cards for a bit and then we all went off to bed.

Brenda moved into Chris and Marie’s room, so was kind of nice having my own room again. I’m sure she will also enjoy not listening to my snoring!

Mon June 24

Very socked in this morning with a thick marine fog. Cleared a bit by 10 or 11 but still couldn’t see too much of Poritmao across the river. Was warm but very muggy.

Brenda and I decided to go to Faro for lunch. Checked the directions on google maps before we left as our GPS seems to have become quite useless around here. Not sure if it just hasn’t been updated or what but more often than it not it takes us on a bit of a goose chase as opposed to the quickest and easiest way to get anywhere.

Took the slower, scenic route on N125 and made it to exactly where we wanted to be in Faro…..main parking lot (free!!) without putting the GPS on or using our phones. What a pretty, quaint place!! We found a nice restaurant in a square for lunch, Vila Adentro. We ordered the monkfish and prawn rice for 2. Came in a terrine and was served into bowls. It was absolutely delicious….tons of monkfish done perfectly and there had to have been at least 5 or 6 huge prawns for each of us, also done perfectly. Rice had onions, green peppers and tomato and maybe just a touch of olive oil. Very simple but tons of flavor. I had a glass of dry rose to go with it.

Went in search of the TI office for some information. Instead of doing the boat trip to the islands we decided just to wander and explore Faro. It’s really quite lovely. Very nice buildings, many painted yellow, or white with bright coloured trim, which makes everything look nice and open. A couple of great squares with cafes and restaurants. Lots of lovely shops. The walled city has a couple of big wide open plazas lined with orange trees and restaurants. A big clock tower at one of the entrance arches has 4 or 5 huge storks nests. In the new town there’s a large pedestrian only area also full of shops and cafes that have what look like large sails tied up between the buildings to provide lots of shade when you’re wandering. Back in the old town we went to the cathedral (3.50E), which also gets you up to the bell tower with incredible views of the city in every directions. You see the outer islands, some with little sandy beaches. The marina is huge with every kind of boat, big and small.

Lots of boat tour places and lots of boats just anchored out and about among the islands. Good views of the old walled port of the city and the rooftops. There are tourists but not a ton so no big crowds. Just a really pleasant place. The usual vacation condos and apartment buildings surrounding it but all seems to blend in very nicely. Faro also has an incredibly busy airport……at least 10 or more planes came in during the couple hours we were there. A really enjoyable lunch and afternoon!

It was about an hour drive each way but so worth the trip. Our plan had been to go into town tonight for dinner but we just spent the rest of the afternoon sitting around with M & N and the kids. Cheese, bread, olives and whatever else we could find in the fridge for dinner. A gorgeous warm evening with little or no wind and another beautiful pink sunset. Super day!

Tues June 25

Oh what a beautiful morning……had that song going thru my head for hours!! But it was…. so nice, bright, sunny and no wind.

Beach day! Brenda and I went down around 10:30. Got a front row umbrella and chairs. A bit of the usual marine cloud rolled in but otherwise quite pleasant. When the sun was out full blast it was really hot so didn’t mind the mix of cloud and sun at all. Went for a nice long walk down the beach and into the water just to cool off. Lots of groups of kids today……pre-schoolers I would say all with their bright yellow hats. Fun to watch. So impressed here with people on the beach…..kudos to all the women that wear anything, or nothing, and every type of bathing suit regardless of their bodies…..we really are so up tight and judgmental at home on appearances!

Reading, people watching, dozing, lunch again at the “Yacht Club”, more reading and a dip or two until around 4. A great relaxing day.

Brenda and I headed into town for dinner tonight. Decided on the Italian place. Not too busy at 7:30 but within a 1/2 hour it was full. Shared a pizza and a 1/2 pitcher of sangria. Both were very good. Great people watching in the main square. Will have to come back and try their “hot stone plates”. The ladies at the next table had them and it looked like lots of fun……you get a smoking hot stone that you put your meat on to cook, big to do made with the waiter putting a plastic bib/apron on you so nothing splatters on your clothes. Ladies were having a great time, lots of fun with a cute waiter doing the bib thing. We had another 1/2 pitcher of sangria and sat back and enjoyed the whole scene…..some entertainment too….a singer tonight. When they brought our bill they also brought out a bottle of some local almond liqueur and 2 shot glasses. Fun.

I think this would be a great place to come to on Thursday night , which is Mark and Natasha’s last night here. They are taking off to Rome and the Amalfi coast for a week. Rae and Glen are taking the boys to London and back home for them.

Stumbled our way to the bakery (which was still open at 10PM!) and picked up some pastries and a couple more bottles of wine and then home. M & N and the kids were all in bed!

Great day.

Wed June 26

Nice and sunny this AM. No fog…..yet! Pretty little cruise ship in this AM. The Sea Dream 1 Luxury Yacht….1 to 1 crew/passenger ratio $$$$’s !!

Off to pick up a couple of spatchcock chickens again for dinner and the rest of the goodies for MORE pasta and salad. Really love going into our little town in the morning….the fisherman sorting out their nets, the seagulls hanging around waiting for any bits of whatever, the restaurant guys getting the coals started on the grills. Best though is the little market with the fresh catch of the day, often mackerel along with sardines.

The small grocer (Amanhecer) that has the incredible meat counter, the bakery (Casa do Panito) with the fresh bread, pastel de nata, almond tarts, croissants and a small stock of some really great wines. The main square with the coffee shops…..lots of tourists long with locals having morning coffee. The view of the boats, big and small on the river, even with Portimao across the way. Life goes on here regardless of the condos, big houses and tourists. Throw in the great beaches and the castle….well, it’s just a perfect mix of everything you could want!

Booked our boat trip for 10 tomorrow! Can’t go if it’s too windy so fingers are crossed that the weather cooperates.

Home in time to make lunch…..that’s all we seem to think about here! Great bread, salami, brie and delicious tomatoes….and a nice glass of wine (or two!) to wash it all down. M & N and the boys headed off to the beach, Brenda went for a walk and I got my bathing suit on, grabbed my book and yet another glass of wine and settled in by the pool. Great to have the last 2 days just hanging around, relaxing. Just a great afternoon……lots of sun, nice and warm with a bit of a breeze every now and again just at the right time to cool you down.

Rae, Glen, Jill and Larry arrived back from their couple of days exploring Lisbon. They had a great time, rain and all!! Not a drop here! Gave us some good tips on what to see when Brenda and I head there for a couple of days on our way home. Got cleaned up and started getting our appies ready….bruschetta with tomatoes and sardines. Got the sauce for the pasta going and the chicken ready to go in the oven.

Dinner was outside again….another beautiful evening. The guys cleaned up! Sat around chatting and about our boat trip tomorrow. That really has to be the best way to see and appreciate the beauty of this coastline.

Thurs June 27

Beautiful this morning. No marine cloud or fog, just brilliant sunshine! Jill, Brenda and I headed down to the beach for coffee at the Yacht Club and a bit of a walk. Into town around noon for lunch before our boat trip at 2 to the caves. Started to get pretty windy around 1…..too windy to go out 😦 Our boat trip was cancelled and rescheduled for tomorrow morning at 10. Fingers are crossed that the wind behaves! Nothing like leaving this til the last minute! M & N are going to miss it since they’re off early tomorrow morning.

Ferragudo from across the inlet……just the greatest place!

Came back home and everybody spent the rest of the afternoon doing a variety of things……beach, pool, reading, napping and shopping. Jill, Larry and I drove into town to pick up a few last minute souvenirs/gifts and take pictures of the stork nests. Stopped by a little art gallery/shop that we’d passed just about every day….Studio Bongard….what an incredible place. Full of “fantasmagorical” pottery and ceramics, all displayed among plants, ponds etc. inside, outside and up on the roof!! Very cool place. https://www.studiobongardonlineshop.com/ J & L bought a ceramic sardine! Everything else was too delicate or too big to attempt to bring home.

Entrance to Studio Bongard

one of the hundreds and hundreds of storks nests….a full house!

Dinner at the Italian restaurant in the square. Had great dinner. Really good service with out waiter being very efficient at getting all ten orders right. Some of us had the “hotstone plates”. Lots of fun with the waiters putting on the platics bigs. I had the lamb chops, which were excellent. Used the sauces to baste them while they sizzled away. Took only about 5 minutes to cook them. Dropped one on the ground but found a doggy close by that got to enjoy it. I had a 1/2 litre of sangria to go with it. Such a fun dinner and evening.

Walked back home and sat around and chatted about the last two weeks. To bed around 11.

Friday June 28

Another gorgeous morning…..but a bit windy. M & N were out of the house by 7. Down to 8 now.

Into town for our boat trip…..walking in we all had our fingers crossed that it would be a go and it was. A bit of a struggle for Glen and Larry getting on the boat but the 2 ladies and the captain were very good holding the boat and helping them on. It was a little choppy right where we were getting on so good thing there were helpers.

Very nice leaving Ferragudo and getting a closer look at Portimao. Out passed our castle, the marina/harbor and our beaches.

I can’t even describe the coastline!! It is magnificient, there are no other words. The cliffs, the different colours of the sandstone and rocks, the beaches tucked into coves that would only be accessible by sea unless you rapel down and back up the cliffside. Many rock arches, some that we went thru with very little headroom to spare. We were able to get into quite a few of the caves some with skylights with the sun shining down through them that made the water a beautiful turquoise, some with small, pristine beaches, some the captain had to wait for the right swell and then we “jet boated” in.

The water along the coast, close to the shore and the cliffs, is crystal clear…..could see the bottom down at least 30 maybe even 40ft down. Very beautiful. Passed a couple of the towns that we’d visited over the last couple weeks. We were pretty impressed by some of the beaches on the land and even more so from the sea. Besides the towns, there are a few resorts built on the cliffs that have put in stairs/walkways to access the beach below. Some pretty spectacular homes. We saw people fishing from the top of the cliffs up at least a 100ft or more….extremely long, long fishing lines down into the water…..no rails either so hopefully whatever they were catching wasn’t too big or heavy and going to pull them off! In one of the small bays kids were jumping off the rocks into the water…..someone had carved a rough staircase out of the rocks for them to climb out and back up to do it all over again.

Finally the “piece de resistance” the Benagil cave. Initially from the water it looked just like all the other cave openings, not even that much bigger, until you get right up to it. Once thru it opens up into a huge cave the size of a football stadium. A big beautiful beach which the sun shines down on thru a big skylight……unbelievable. But unfortunately is was very crowded with tons of people on the beach, kayakers, paddle boarders, othere boats, including one small 30-40ft yacht! Would be incredible to see it with no one there.

notice the guy fishing on the right!

Benagil cave…..beautiful but crowded 😦

The boat ride back was a bit choppy, very windy and chilly. We were a bit further out so could really see and appreciate the coastline…..very beautiful. Great trip and well worth the 30E for 2 hours……you just cannot appreciate the beauty of it from the land. One of the best parts was seeing our little Ferragudo from the water. Such a pretty place…..they’ve done an excellent job of maintaining the small fishing village ambiance with the new conds and houses build around the outside of the old town.

Home for a quick change and to put a comb thru our very wind tussled hair and off to Lagos for lunch. Easy 1/2 hour drive. Just followed the signs to “centro” where there is street parking as well as a large multi-level parking garage.

Their annual beer festival was just winding down…..the main square was lined with local breweries, stands, tables set up and a stage with entertainment. The old town is lovely, very colonial…..reminded me of a Mexican/Spanish town rather than Portuguese. Nice cathedral and brightly painted buildings and stone patterned streets. A great main pedestrian street with lots of restaurants and shops.

Had an OK lunch and then wandered around, in an out of shops. Had planned on heading down to the water but was very, very hot this afternoon….almost unbearable really, that combined with our boat ride this morning I think everyone had pretty much had it after a couple of hours. Too bad, would have been nice to see the waterfront…..supposedly a “surfer type” place and some of the beaches.

Home to relax for a couple of hours before dinner at the tapas bar again and to do a bit of packing up.

Did our last walk into town…..I’m really going to miss this place! Sat outside in the street again at Tapas Sao Joao….such a beautiful evening….warm but with enough of a breeze to make is nice and comfortable. Only 8 of us now. Did the same thing as last time, everyone picked a few tapas. Had the peri peri prawns this time, which were delicious. Our waiter was great…..fun guy. Told us about the city selling “their” castle to a private party instead of keeping it for the people…..they weren’t too happy.

Everything was still open after dinner so wandered a bit, picked up some goodies at the bakery for the morning so we didn’t have to worry about breakfast.

Walked back home and finished packing up. Sat around and chatted for a while then to bed.

Sat June 29

Goodbye Ferragudo! We really could not have picked a better place. Great village with all the amenities and ambiance one could need, beautiful beaches, minimal hills….etc. etc.

The driver for R & G and boys arrived right on time at 7AM. They’re off to Faro for their flights back to London, where they’ll spend a few days before heading home. Jill and Larry followed them to the airport, they’re also off to London to visit family for a couple of days.

Just Brenda and I left….finished last minute packing and a quick clean up and walk thru, looking for anything that may have been left behind, and we were out the door by 9 enroute to Lisbon.

No problems at all getting on the the highway. Drove thru Alentejo area which was very nice. Quite different landscape as we went further inland. Very dry, lots of wheatfields and cork oak trees. Some areas made me think of what the African savanna would like (which I guess I’ll find out soon enough in Sept!) Stopped for coffee about 1/2 way to Lisbon. We’d hoped to arrive by noon, which we did, sort of. No problems driving thru the city. We put the GPS on just before getting to the city……entered the AVIS car rental drop off at the airport information….which you would think would take you directly there seen it’s their car/their GPS. Not so….took us down an industrial road on the wrong side of the airport to a place where the refueling truck enter the airport. Thought maybe we’d missed a turn off/roundabout somewhere so turned around and tried it again…..same thing. Back on the highway and thought we’d take a different exit which took us over the huge Vasco de Gama bridge, 15km long. Beautiful bridge, which was nice to see, but….. Stopped on the other side and used good old google maps, which took us straight there. Very congested rental return place. It’s right at the airport just past the departures with not the greatest signage. I was one of many cars in the wrong lane when you first see the sign, so lots of us having to cut over two or three lanes to get to the car rental one. No problem dropping the car off.

Grabbed a taxi to our hotel (metered taxi….approx. 18E). The airport is in the middle of the city so was a great drive (didn’t see much while I was driving to the airport). Some lovely buildings and streets….especially the treelined Avenida da Liberdade! Our hotel is the Augusta Boutique House right on Rua Augusta. http://augusta-boutique-house.lisbon-hotel.org/en/ It’s a main pedestrian only street that is many blocks long and takes you right to Praca de Comericio (sp??) and the waterfront. Hotel is great. Typical small room but facing out on the street with great views in either direction. Nice little rooftop terrace, with a view, for breakfast. The hotel is in the perfect location for exploring. Lots of shops and outdoor cafes, street entertainers….very lively.

Off to explore and grab a quick sangria and a snack at one of the restaurants. Great people watching but not the best place to eat. Expensive and mediocre food. We each had a sangria and shared a sandwich 20+E! Gal at the hotel said to have dinner at one of the places a block or two on either side of Rua Augusta….better food and better prices. Fun street though to wander down, in and out of shops.

The Praca do Comercio is a beautiful big plaza on the waterfront surrounded by yellow poritcoed buildings. You end up in the praca from Augusta thru a big white arch, crossing a busy street with the cable cars and buses. Cafes and restaurants on one side….very pretty. More street entertainment. You can see the redeemer statue across the river.

Started walking our way towards Alfama but decided to take a tuk tuk instead. 15E. Very bumpy ride over the cobbled streets. Up and up we went, not quite to the top but up high enough to get great views across the Tagus river. A few nice plazas with restaurants and cafes. The cathedral is lovely but wasn’t open. A few shops and a bit of a market with some nice stuff but also a lot of stuff made in China….the first we’ve seen since arriving a month ago. Had a drink (Sagres Lemon Radler…..very good!) at a café and came across our first really yukky bathroom! Wandered down the hill into the older part, small narrow cobbled streets, and a couple stairways, with chock-a-block old buildings.

Thought about going to Castelo de Sao Jorge since we were pretty close but was too late to catch sunset, so maybe tomorrow.

About a 15 minute walk took us back down towards Augusta to find a place for dinner. Went one block over and found a place called Bread 4 You Bistro that was just packed so figured it must be good…..and it was! Found a table outside. Had gotten a bit chilly when the wind picked up around 7. Brenda had the bacalhau (v. good) and I have the prawn rice, which came in a very hot cast iron pot……was delicious, second only to the prawn and monkfish dish in Faro.

10:30 at night and Rua Augusta was rocking!! Lots of people, lots of music. Hung out our window for a while watching all the activity. Great day, except for the car rental drop off. Thought we’d be “holiday-ed out” after a month but with only our little smattering of Lisbon, I now wish we’d decided on one extra day. Went to bed with the window open listening to all the fun.

Sun June 30

Great breakfast on the terrace. Very good. Nice tray with fresh squeezed orange juice, bread and croissants, meat and cheese, jam etc. Also a table set up with hard boiled eggs, coffee, toast etc. Great view of the castle up on the hill and the buildings surrounding the hotel.

To the train station, only a 5 minute walk, and to Sintra today. 5E return. Took 40 minutes to get there. Train was packed, we had to stand, so we were a little worried it would be crazy busy but it wasn’t too bad. Lots of people but also lots room to spread them out. Cute train station! Picked up some info from the TI office and armed with the pages from Rick’s book that Brenda had torn out, off we went to catch the 434 bus (6E) local but you can hop on/off at the various stops.

Sintra was where all the royalty and rich would head in the heat of the summer, much cooler for sure. Beautiful drive up and up. Very lush here, almost rainforest. Very pretty treelined and very narrow roads with lots of peek-a-boo views down towards Lisbon. Got off at Pena Palace and thought we’d walk up to the Moorish palace. Found the trail and up went went….nada or nothing we could see to know if we were close. Ran into some others on their way down because they’d found nothing either. So not sure if the trail was marked wrong or what….decided we didn’t have enough time to venture further.

Started walking down the road…..15 minutes back to town the bus driver said….NOT. You pretty much have to walk in the cobbled gutter because of all the traffic on the very narrow road, including buses. A rickshaw driver offered us a ride to the next bus stop for free! It took us to the Palacio National de Sintra and the main square where all the action was. Lots of shops and restaurants and lots of stairs! Some very nice shops with different and unique stuff…..beautiful handcrafted jewelry, scarves and local pottery artisans. Bought a bracelet and an olive dish…..but no scarf 😦 Really very pretty here, loved how restaurants would set tables outside on the narrowest little streets or alleys leaving just enough room to walk by single file, or the ones that set their tables out skinny little landings where one wrong move backwards in your chair and you be ass over tea kettle down a few steps. Lots of potted plants.

Lunch was at a cheap place with a big sign offering an 8E menu. Sun had finally come out for good so got quite hot but with just enough breeze to keep it comfortable. Lunch was excellent! I had a cheeseburger with friend onions and friends, Brenda had “prok” sandwisch with cheese, which was really a salami of some sort….very good though on a nice peasant bread. Glasses of wine to go with it. Great waitress and a terrific view of the Moorish Castle up on the hill. Total bill for both of us was 24E.

Walked back along the road admiring the views and having a look at all the vendors set up selling jewelry, leather and ceramics. Very pretty looking into the valley with views of the beautiful buildings across and down the valley. I can see why people would come up here to spend their summers…..cool, fresh air….or at least it would have been before all the buses and tour buses, cars and motorcycles. Definitely much cooler than down in Lisbon.

The info in Rick’s book about the trains back to Lisbon isn’t quite clear……says there are 2 trains an hour, which is true but one goes to Rossio station, which is where we wanted to be, and the other goes to Orientale station which is no where near our hotel or Rua Augusta. So really it’s one every hour to each station. Whatever….it worked out because we were at the station early enough to be able to get seats on the train on the way back. About 15 minutes before the Rossio train arrived masses of people converged on the station.

http://www.sintra-portugal.com/index.html

Quite an interesting train ride in both directions……an ancient viaduct (big and small parts), the demographics of the burbs, mostly apartment buildings along the route, not a lot of industrial or commercial buildings.

We left the train station out the side doors thinking we’d head up towards Bairro Alto and or the medieval ruins at the Carmo convent but was already almost 5 so just ended up doing some last minute shopping instead……even on a Sunday most stores were open til almost 10. I left Brenda in the Benneton store and went for a drink at one of the restaurants near our hotel. A nice big, at least 9 or 10 oz, glass of rose for 4E. People watched and looked at pics until Brenda came along and ordered a glass of red….same thing 4E……best deal in Lisbon!

Changed into long pants and long sleeves and grabbed my jean jacket for this evening. The wind had picked up and it quickly became a quite chilly. Toured around more of the streets in this area, the Baixa. It’s really very nice and only wish we had more time to explore some of the other areas……if you include Sintra in your plans you definitely need at least 3 or 4 days in Lisbon. I would have loved to have one more day to wander and work our way up to the castle for sunset….supposed to be beautiful.

Out and about sussing out places for dinner…..our last one here so wanted it to be a good one. Walked to the Santa Justa elevator and thought about going up but was a bit of a line up so didn’t bother and really as impressive as the view might have been at night, I think daytime would have been better. It’s really quite an amazing and quirky piece of architecture. You would think it was a rather recent addition to the city but no, it’s been around for over 100 years. It’s saved a lot of people a lot of steps up the hill. https://lisbonlisboaportugal.com/Baixa-Lisbon/Elevador-Santa-Justa-Lisbon-elevator-lift-guide.html

Many of the restaurants have guys standing outside trying to entice you in, which kind of bugs me and a lot of them have pretty much the same menu so when someone approached us waving a menu we told him we didn’t want to eat at these restaurants….he said but I’m from down that street. We had a look at his menu and it did look kind of interesting and different from all the others. The place was packed, so had to wait a few minutes for a table, people coming out said it was excellent. Busy and excellent sounded good. Tasca d’Lyon on Rua dos Sapaterios (no website)

Nice table by the window. Ordered a 1/2 litre of vinho verde and the prawn appie……hah, we said no to the bread and olives (too much, we thought!). Chatted with the big group at the table next to us…they were from Yuma, Arizona and here with a big JW convention….said this was the best service and food they’d had all week! The prawns came…..8 huge ones, in an incredible sauce…definitely some peri peri and lots of garlic and olive oil…..called the waiter over and asked for the bread to sop up every last bit of it. Absolutely delicious! Brenda had the peri peri chicken which came in a bowl with rice on the side. I had a little taste, really good with a hint of curry….very different and tasty. I ordered the bacalhau, which really was the best I’d had the entire trip….done perfectly, tender (no dry bits) and not too salty. Came with roasted potato and veg (delicious fat green beans). We also ordered more wine, a whole bottle this time, to celebrate the end to a great trip. Or bill was 40E.

Back over to Rua Augusta to see what entertainment there was tonight. Lots happening right down to the praca. Some really good puppeteers, a few guys dancing, some singers and a couple, her playing the violin and him the cello…..gave them the last of my euro coins. What a fun place even at 10:30 on a Sunday night! Stopped in the pastel de nada place but was just too full to manage even one. Our last night of a great vacation!

Packed up for the morning. Really regretting now that we didn’t book one more day here. Would love to have explored more of the streets and up the treelined de Liberdade (the Champs Elysee of Lisbon) with it’s upscale cafes and shops, so close too but just cannot see and do everything with so little time.

Mon July 1 (Happy Canada Day!!)

Up quite early…..no coffee on our tray!! Luckily I dug around my bag and found an instant decaf, which kind of held be over until breakfast at 8:30.

Another great breakfast on the terrace…..a mix of sun and cloud this morning so was glad I’d brought my sweater up.

After breakfast we had an hour or two to kill until we left for the airport. Took a last walk around and down to the praca on the waterfront…….was lovely as there weren’t very many people out and about at 9:30 on a Monday morning. Was surprised that very few shops, other than a couple of cafes weren’t open….not even the ones with table on the street. Brenda debated for a bit about getting some pastel de nada to bring home but decided that could end up being pretty messy, so no.

Checked out at 10 and walked a block or so to the taxi stand in the praca across from the train station. After driving up Avenida da liberdade, I was really sorry to say goodbye to Lisbon….oh well, next time!

Air Canada check in took forever, even with doing the online check in last night! Both security and customs and immigration had quite long lines but ran pretty efficiently. Terminal 1 is quite new and big so lots of walking, thru many, many duty free stores, to the gate. Flight was almost an hour late leaving so a little concerned about our connection in Montreal. Got a quick peek of the huge Vasco de Gama bridge as we took off……right out over the Atlantic. Very bumpy ride all the way. Served dinner and a snack.

Was a bit worried we wouldn’t make our connection in Montreal because we’d have to go thru customs and immigration but we somehow, bumps and all, managed to make up the time and arrived just a few minutes late. No issues going thru immigration and directly to our connecting gate without having to go thru security again. Another bumpy flight just about all the way to Vanc. Arrived on schedule just before 8

What a great trip! I absolutely love Portugal and cannot believe it’s taken until now to get there. Spain was great too and will definitely need to go back……a lot of territory to explore between Andalucía in the south and Barcelona up north. Roads in both countries were excellent….even the narrow windy ones, all nicely pave, no big potlholes. People in both countries are very friendly and welcoming (except maybe Olga!) The food and wine was excellent just about everywhere. Small markets are exceptional and groceries everywhere, even in the big stores, were very reasonably priced. And I don’t think I’ve ever drank as much sangria!

Portugal and Spain – June 2019 Week 3 – First Week in the Algarve

Sat June 15

Up early….just after 6. Finished packing up and cleaning up. Beatriz arrived at 10 as planned and called a taxi for us to get down to the parking garage with all our stuff. The only thing I won’t miss in Arcos is that walk back up the hill!

On the road to Portugal just after 10:30. Spain is very beautiful…..very sad to be leaving really. Must come back some day….so much more to explore! Would have been nice to get to Cadiz but also nice to not have big driving day…..I really am sorry we didn’t get there but I guess you just can’t see everything!

Had to head back towards Seville to get on the highway to Portugal but no problems getting around it…..great peripheral road that bypasses the city and once on the E1 it’s the same highway all the way to Ferragudo in the Algarve. The sunflower fields in Spain were absolutely beautiful…..and just no good place to pull over to get a good picture. I don’t think a picture could have done them justice anyway……really quite spectacular to see at this time of year…..field after field!

Sunflowers for miles……could not find a spot to stop to be able to capture the beauty of them.

Crossing from Spain back to Portugal down here was different than further north. Much more mountainous, forested and rocky/boulder areas up north and very little difference crossing from Portugal into Spain. Down here it’s rolling hills and you go from the very orderly and cultivated Spain into a very scrubby and wild Portugal. Not sure why, perhaps in Spain it’s all privately owned and in Portugal it’s not so less farming??? The closer we got to Faro it became much more developed. Stopped in Tavira for lunch, hoping to find a nice little place on the beach but was a very busy little tourist place with no clear access to the beach area. Found a nice pizza joint not too far off the highway…..good thin crust!!

Just passed Faro we found a “super mall” which included a huge grocery store and IKEA! Decided to bypass it and find something a little closer to Ferragudo.

Was getting close to 3 (check in was after 3:30) so decided we’d just head to Villa Marlena and wait for Chris and Marie to arrive. (They, Rae’s son and his girlfriend, had just spent a week biking near Porto and were joining us for the first week in the Algarve.) The directions we have for the house are absolutely useless!! Whoever wrote them up can not possibly have ever been to the house……no road names whatsoever once we left the highway. The final straw was when we had to “turn right at the crooked palm tree”. We put Villa Marlena in google maps and it came up……we had definitely turned at the wrong palm tree….one of hundreds around here!!

https://www.allure-villas.com/allure/component/villas/view/2382

The house is beautiful……..gorgeous views of the river Arade and the sea. Four great bedrooms, all ensuite, and a self-contained one bedroom suite downstairs. Lovely solar heated pool, which looked much bigger in the pics, but will certainly do. Very, very windy here, nice and sunny but not too hot unless you are sheltered from the wind. Brenda and I picked our room, got somewhat settled in and headed to the LIDL market in Ferragudo. Not the greatest…..no deli or meat counter and most of the veg are prepacked. Nice bakery though and some good wine! Didn’t stop today but looks like there might be a couple of nice shops in Ferragudo…..bakery and little grocer with a meat counter. Picked up some basics to get us through tonight and breakfast tomorrow. Will look for another bigger grocery store on our travels tomorrow before the rest of the group arrive. (Friends Jill and Larry and Rae’s other son Mark, his wife Natasha, and their two boys 8 and 10yrs old…..so for the first week there are 12 of us).

Chris and Marie had arrived by the time we got home. They got settled in one of the rooms and we sat around getting caught up on their travels.

Dinner tonight was a roasted peri peri marinated spatchcock chicken, fresh prawns cooked in a little olive oil and garlic and a salad with beets, goat cheese and almonds, and of course some good wine! Sat around chatting for a bit then to bed. Quite early for me…..just after 10 but a long day so very tired.

Sun June 16

Up very early…..tried not to disturb Brenda! Lovely sunrise. Made coffee and sat outside updating my journal, checking emails, FB and catching up on the news.

Everybody was up fairly early this morning…..breakfast and ready to go exploring by 9. C & M walked into town and Brenda, R & G and I walked to the beach, Praia Grande. Spectacular beach! Soft sand, great for walking. Protected by a jetty that separates the Atlantic from the river. There are a couple of restaurants and places to rent chairs and umbrellas. Hoping we get a couple of days to just sit and enjoy it! The beach carries on around toward the river and the old/new castelo Sao Joao do Arade (now privately owned and not open to the public), where it becomes Praia da Angrinha, another beautiful soft sandy beach with huge big rocks (limestone/sandstone?) with big holes and caves in them. Walked all along the beach and waterfront and right into the town of Ferragudo……took about 20 min.

Had coffees and picked up a few goodies (pastel de nata) at the bakery and checked out the little grocer…….very little from the front but fantastic meat counter tucked away in the back!! Picked up a few more things for dinner tonight at the daily veg market. About a 10 minute walk back to the house.

Did pop out for what should have been a quick trip across the river to Portimao looking for coffee pot!! All we have here is a medium size French press, which isn’t going to work once everyone is here. 12 minutes according to Google to get to the SuperU…..hahaha. One wrong/missed turn and it took 1/2 an hour. Portimao is not a great city to drive in. It seems to have been added on and added on over the years without much thought to proper city expansion planning….you can see the street you should be on but can’t get to it! Argh!!! Did manage to get back across the bridge and into Ferragudo to check out the Staples and a home/hardware type store….nada, no coffee pot.

Back home for a quick lunch and to relax around the pool. Had a few dips, read, drank some wine…..beautiful afternoon. No wind! C & M had gone for a run and down to the beach.

Bread dipped in, or drizzled with olive oil and a small sprinkle of salt is so good. We watched people in a restaurant do it so thought we’d try it…..delicious chorizo from the market.

Dinner tonight was pasta, with some of the sausage we bought at the Ferragudo grocer and veg from the morning market and thru together a salad. Something simple and could be ready whenever everyone arrived.

J & L arrived just after 7 (at little later than planned!!) Chatted and got caught up on their adventures…..one of which was finding this house!!

C & M had picked up some goodies this morning and put together a great appetizer……crostini with tomatoes and sardines….(very, very good) and melon wrapped in ham.

Was so pleasant tonight without the wind we ate outside…..great dinner, great wine, great friend and fantastic views.

Sat around the rest of the evening until Marcus and Natasha and boys arrived around 10. Their flight was late……they had NO issues finding the house using google maps!

A bit of chaos after they arrived……after getting themselves organized in the suite downstairs they came up for their dinner. Natasha went back down for something and found that the door had locked!! It automatically locks when it closes….who would have thought that! And of course the key was inside. Called the local manager and he had to bring a spare set of keys. Took an hour or more for him to get there! He could not explain why the door automatically locks, other than perhaps for security purposes. We now have a spare set of keys just in case someone forgets to take their key with them. That’s actually a bit dangerous….what if someone had fallen in there, or there had been a small child inside, or, or, or……

Brenda and I just got out of the way and went to bed. C & M had already disappeared……so assuming all ended happily!

Mon June 17

Full house here now….12! Everybody up and about by 7:30. Lots of places, inside or out, at this house to enjoy your morning coffee…..either on your own or with company.

I was up first as usual so thoroughly enjoyed watching the sun come up, the fishing boats returning to Ferragudo and the baby seagulls on the roof across the street!! And the quiet time! Must look up seagull nesting habits later…..I see nothing on that roof that resembles what I think of as a nest. During the hottest part of the day the babies (2) just seem to tuck themselves into a crevice between the tiles and the gutter or wander around aimlessly squawking until mommy brings them food. You would think they’d cook up there! We have a couple on our roof too but can’ts see them of course…..certainly hear them though!

Tavira today! At least for some of us. R & G and J & L and Brenda and I. M & N and the kids are doing a beach day, C & M are heading off on a cycling trip near Tavira somewhere. We have 4 cars between us, which is definitely needed for this many people.

Brenda, Glen and I (the driver) took our car, Rae went with Jill and Larry as she feels they’re directionally challenged!! The plan was that they would follow us…..and it worked!! That usually does not happen….someone gets too far behind, takes a wrong turn, misses a turn….thank goodness for cell phones….but this morning was non-eventful.

Tavira is a lovely little town/city. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tavira Had originally planned to take the ferry over to Ilha Tavira, a nice beach sandspit just off shore to check out the beach and have lunch there but decided to just wander around Tavira since it was market day. Very cute place, along the river or inlet, with lots of shops, restaurants and the main square market, a castle, churches and a mosque or two. The town is on both sides of the inlet with a couple of bridges connecting it….one is a beautiful old roman or possibly moorish bridge from the 13-15th c. (depending on what you read!!) Lots of history here. Great place to wander around. Lovely friendly people. Bought a fun little black sun dress and the lady “hid” a gift in the bag for me…..a silver (coloured!) and blue stone necklace. Bought a pair of comfy linen pants (15E!!!) and they threw in a cute little bracelet!

They were setting up for some celebration that was starting this week…..Saints Festival. Would be fun to come back and check it out…..lots of music, food stalls, dancing etc.

Had a great lunch along the main square/waterfront…..skewered grilled peri peri prawns and monkfish with fries. The skewer hangs from a little contraption dripping over the plate of fries…….fun! The monkfish was delicious! I’ve heard it referred to as the “poor man’s lobster”…..and it really could pass for it!! A big jug of sangria and coffees and lots of people watching…..could have sat there all afternoon!

Reluctantly we got up and did a bit more wandering around…..crossed the bridge and walked along the river/inlet. Very pretty on both sides but could really use a bit of cleaning up here and there but overall a pretty little place. Lots of old buildings but also lots of new condos everywhere…..definitely a resort type destination. Had hoped to find a local beach but was told not to waste time and head to Ilha Tavira. Which we didn’t do as we’d spent too much time at lunch!! Great place though and definitely worth a visit.

Larry needed an extra pillow!! And there was limited bedding for the kids on the sofa beds downstairs so the logical place to stop….IKEA! It was on the way (passed it on the way in the other day) in a town called Loule. What a great parking lot!! They have red/green lights at the end of each aisle telling you how many free parking spots there are in it…….then as you’re driving down the aisle each spot has a red/green light indicating where the available spot is!!

Every IKEA in the world should have this system!!

We need this at our IKEA at home…..on the weekend you spend as much time finding a spot as you do shopping!! Got all the goodies we needed and picked up a couple packs of their meatballs (one chicken…Natasha doesn’t eat beef!) for a quick dinner and back on the road home.

No problem finding the house now…..have found a quick and easy way thru town to get there. I really think the people that own this place have never actually been here because the directions we got were really pretty ridiculous considering that we’ve now found the very simple, right way to get here!!

Everyone was back home by the time we got there. Dinner was great! Did some roasted potatoes, onions, peppers, carrots and mushrooms to go with the meatballs….was all delicious and quick. Wine and bread and a couple of local liqueurs and a brandy that C & M had picked up on their travels today.

It’s lots of fun getting dinner ready…..thank goodness the kitchen is big enough for at least 6 or 7 people……cooking, yakking, drinking wine…..what could be better!

To bed around 10:30…..another great day!

Tues June 18

Rain!!!! Very misty and socked in this morning…..couldn’t even see across to Portimao. Only rained for a 1/2 hour or so then around 7 started to brighten up a bit. Had breakfast…..everyone on their own each morning for breakfast whenever they get up.

Rae, Glen, Brenda, Jill, Larry and I and the boys walked to town for MORE coffee…..drizzled again a little when we got there…..just enough to friz my hair. Picked up a few more veg and fruit and spent time watching the fisherman untangling and rolling their nets back up. Even at 9AM the big charcoal grills are going and they’re grilling up some of the fish! Really beautiful, fresh fish in the market, which you have to be really quick to get ……great produce too….all local!.

Chris and Marie are doing dinner tonight! Fun to take turns doing that. Rae is making dessert with some beautiful meringues from the local bakery and fresh strawberries…..Eton Mess! https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/eton-mess They have great figs here too, the two bite size ones, that are not cloyingly sweet. Popped in and out of some of the little shops. Bought a cork watch….cute. They had a really cute pair of shoes too but did not need. Had another coffee and pastel de nata then home with our goodies. Finally started to see bits of blue sky.

Carvoeiro for lunch today. https://www.algarveuncovered.com/carvoeiro/ Very close to us, only a few minute drive if you don’t take a wrong turn! Very pretty place tucked in between the cliffs. Nice little beach at the bottom of a very big hill that we parked at the top of. Street parking down the hill but every spot was taken…..did find a “mall” underground parking lot but didn’t bother trying to find a spot in there. Great walk down the main street. Lots of nice shops mixed in with the usual souvenir and beach toy places. Tons of cafes and restaurants all the way down to the hill right to the main square and the beach. Many restaurants right on the square just before the beach…..all a bit pricey but you pay for the view right? We chose “O Patio” https://www.praiacarvoeiro.com/portfolio/o-patio/ Great view. Had a prawn and avocado salad, sparkling sangria…..was all really good, good service too.

Walked on the little beach a bit. Huge waves, only a few people braving the water. It’s set in a nice little cove…..sort of like a mini Positano. Quite pretty. The beach had very grainy sand, not like our lovely soft sand beach. Lots and lots of vacation apartments and a few, what appear to be, very expensive hotels, all sort of stacked up and tumbling down the hill surrounding the beach. A very nice boardwalk on the east side of the square….you go up and up and then walk along the top of the cliff for a 1/2 km or so. Great views.

The sun had come out just before lunch so made for a great afternoon. Bought an air mattress and some other floatie toys for our pool.

Home just after 4. Gave Lucas (Rae’s grandson) 3E to blow up my air mattress!! Had time for a bit of a swim and some fun in the pool with Jill and Lucas…..air mattress races!

While we were having fun Chris and Marie were putting together a great dinner. Bacalhau and chicken soft tacos…..absolutely delicious! They made guacamole, salsa fresca, corn etc. Had Rae’s Eton Mess for dessert.

Lots of fun today. Sat around until 10:30 or so making plans for tomorrow. Possibly up to the mountains to Monchique…..views right down to Cabo Sao Vincente, on a clear day…..but that will be weather permitting….possible showers tomorrow 😦 . If so we’ll save till Thursday.

Wed June 19

Nice slow start this morning……everyone was up so Larry made his “famous scrambled eggs”, which were very good. Marie made French toast with yogurt and honey, also very good. Don’t usually all manage to eat breakfast at the same time so was fun today.

Weather was still a little iffy with the mountain looking a bit socked in at the top, so Lagos was our original destination today. All the kids, big and small had gone off so the 6 old adults headed out in our two car convoy. Managed to get separated this time even before we left Ferragudo! After a number of phone calls and pin pointing where the other car was, we decided that Alvor https://www.algarvetips.com/beaches/portimao/praia-de-alvor/ would be a good place to regroup because they’ve got a nice big parking lot. Rae, Brenda and I were in one car, Jill, Larry and Glen in the lost car.

We had a nice walk on the beach, checked out a few of the restaurants. Alvor has a spectacular beach! It must be at least 3-4 km of very nice, fine, soft sand. Fantastic! Cliffs and a big rock island at one end and I think Lagos at the other. Big waves. A few places that rent chairs and umbrealls and a couple of beachfront restaurants. There’s a boardwalk along the dune that seems to go on forever. Had a few more phone calls with the lost car….they now seemed to be heading in the right direction and will have one more go at finding Alvor, if not they were just heading back home so we decided to have lunch. Rather forgettable unfortunately and pricey too……but that beach view was amazing! I had a hotdog……what could possibly go wrong with that!! Rae and Brenda had burgers, which were OK but basically just the bun and meat….no tomato, lettuce, onion etc. Fries were good though. BUT…..the sangria was pretty special. Each drink came in a little jug with a dollop of lime sorbet, which the waiter stirred in with lots of drama! Very good.

Just as we were finishing the lost car crew arrived!! Lots of stories to tell about their adventure…..asking directions at a police station was the highlight! Jill had her phone but would not turn it on to use Google maps because she didn’t have a data plan!! The waiter quite nicely made room for them and we sat and enjoyed another sangria while they had their lunch.

Nice hour or so walk on the boardwalk after lunch……very hot though. Alvor is pretty much a resort town but they’ve done a great job of protecting the beach and the dune. Lots of hotels and condos but all on the other side of the boardwalk so none extend right on to the beach, which is really nice. A number of umbrella/chair rental kiosks all along the middle part of the beach but that seemed to be it. Really a lovely unspoiled beach! Enough excitement for today, so Lagos another day.

Back home via an unplanned detour through Portimao…..took the wrong exit. There really doesn’t seem to be any rhyme nor reason to how the streets work in that city. Even using the GPS and Google maps, you get taken through funny little alleys and lanes, even a parking lot or two……and a very narrow one way street with a medieval arch that our car barely fit through!

Mark and Natasha are cooking tonight! Larry, Brenda, me and the boys played cards…..taught them how to play Garbage (fun, quick, easy game….) Dinner was a delicious pasta with seafood, salad and really good bread. Pasta is really a lifesaver meal when feeding masses of people!! Throw in whatever you’ve got laying around and you really can’t go too wrong….and it’s always good! No wind tonight so we were able to eat outside….beautiful evening.

Thurs June 20

Everyone on their own for breakfast today. Chris and Marie left early for their 5 hour hike on Serra de Monchique….the highest point in the Algarve and the dividing line between it and the Alentejo region. The rest of us (10) left a couple hours after them to drive up, tour around a bit then meet up with them for lunch up there…..everything and anything in peri peri sauce is the area specialty. We managed to pile into 2 cars. Mark, Natasha, Brenda and Ollie came in my car. LOL, I warned Mark to not complain about my driving, and he didn’t! (I’ve known Mark since he was 2!!) We all managed to stay together the entire way……only because there is really only one road up! Weather was still a bit questionable when we left, so hoped for the best.

Up and up you go, thru the little towns of Monchique and Foia. Was a very pretty drive on a good but very twisty road with lots of cyclists going both UP and down (at mach 1 speed!) Directions were pretty good until we hit the centro of Monchique where our little caravan entertained the old guys just sitting/hanging out at the bus stop by going around the roundabout 2 times and then pulling the same U turn a second time…..they laughed and thru their hands up in the air!!

The road continues up and up further still past a few restaurants that had great views right to the coast. Stopped at a lookout……amazing views!

Down thru the hills/mountains, all the towns below and right out to the water…..pretty spectacular. An old couple were set up selling cookies and “natural” spring water. We all bought cookies (almond and sugar, v. good) and Natasha tried the water…..said it was better than Starbucks!!??

Up we went still further, right to the top of the mountain. A couple of the trailheads start up there. Great views in all directions. Quite windy and definitely a good 10 degrees cooler. Nice local artisan shop, a coffee shop/restaurant and gift store with some really nice stuff….beautiful sweaters, all made locally. Found a nice blown glass Christmas ornament. Wandered around to take in the views from all directions. There is a huge rock that hangs over a precipice that people were climbing on, apparently you get an even better view…..the kids climbed it but looked like potential broken ankle stuff to me. Big parking area with very few cars……a bus load of tourists arrived just as we were leaving…..good timing!

Back down the twisty road to find a restaurant that could handle 12 of us for lunch….which we did, O Luar da Foia (no website but excellent Tripadvisor reviews). C & M met us there after their hike, which they said was great but a bit chilly. The restaurant managed to seat all of us at two tables across from one another. The views from there are spectacular……and luckily much warmer just this much further down the mountain. And the food was really good…..not cheap but you are paying for the view. Had the peri peri/piri piri prawns which were huge and full of delicious meat…..right into the head. Came with what looked like plain old rice but was also really good with herbs and garlic. It also came with a salad that was pretty much just lettuce, pea shoots and orange wedges in a really tasty orange dressing.

There were lots of storks up near Monchique too……they are everywhere here in the Algarve. They build huge nests on anything and everthing that is tall, like chimney stacks, telephone/electric poles, church steeples etc. All appear to have babies right now which are pretty darn big to start! You see at least 2 or 3, sometimes more, in each nest. Amazing birds and fun to watch.

A quick stop at a super market in Monchique town on the way down…..it takes a lot of shopping to feed 12 people! Was interesting to say the least with 10 of us “shopping”!! Plan was to only pick up a few things, but as at home, that was not the case. Toilet paper for 12…….48 roll packages on sale so we grabbed that and honestly they think of everything here….that great big pack at home would mean poking a hole in it somewhere to be able to carry it but here they have plastic HANDLES on the big packs!! Scotties you really need to step up to the plate at home!!

The weather was a bit iffy today. Started out a little cloudy, but could still see the mountain off in the distance so gave it a go anyway…..glad we did. Maybe just marine fog but windier this morning and not terribly hot. Cleared up quite a bit and got warmer but as we climbed up the mountain it got even windier and was damn cold at the top. But was definitely worth it.

Back home around 3. Had warmed up nicely and no wind!! Kids went for a swim, we sat around yakking and enjoying a couple of glasses of wine.

Jill and Larry decided they were doing dinner tonight…….ordering pizza!! That worked for everybody. They would deliver but the house really did not have an address, and they weren’t familiar with the name of the place, so Brenda, Jill and I drove down to pick them up. Today was the Corpus Christie bank holiday so “downtown” Ferragudo was just rockin’. Cafes and restaurants were full, a guy entertaining with magic tricks in the square, another singing…..lots of fun. Pizza from “Delizia”, crazy busy too. Still ended up waiting 45 minutes for it. Just as we were leaving home there had been a mass “flyover” of seagulls. There had to have been hundreds of them coming from every direction heading to town…..the fishing boats were coming in for the evening! We found them in town! The fisherman were cleaning their fish and throwing the guts etc. back in the water which created a seagull feeding frenzie. Quite something to see. Also managed to get a couple of great pics.

The pizzas were excellent…..nice thin crispy crust with lots of toppings.

More cards and chatting and bed. Great day.

Fri June 21

Salema and Sagres today…….a three car caravan, which did not disappoint in comedic relief! I was in the lead (probably the least directionally challenged of all of us….and that isn’t saying much!) Rae and Jill were my navigators. After checking google maps, it appeared to be quite simiple…..only two roads to get to Salema, our first stop. No problem getting out of Ferragudo, bypassing Portimao completely so that was good. Mark and family were in the second car and Larry, Glen and Brenda in the third. Larry is not a fast driver so I was constantly slowing down to keep him in sight pulling up the rear. All was good until the second roundabout when Larry had fallen too far behind and too the wrong turn off……seen him do it, so got on the phone right away. Tried all their numbers but NONE of them answered their phones! Oh well…… Found a nice big parking lot at a stadium to pull into and phone again and got Brenda who said they were actually going in the total opposite direction, heading to Faro!! I started laughing so hard I could hardly breathe……kept them on the phone until they got turned around and were finally heading in the right direction. Told them where we were and that we’d wait until they came by……you just could not miss this spot, right? Waited and waited and waited. No sign of them after almost 1/2 and hour. Phoned again and they said there were seeing signs for Salema, so would just meet us there. Told them to look for “praia parking” signs and follow them.

Off we went, on a bit of an adventure of our own. Took the “a” exit, which was one exit too soon. Checked google to make sure we could still get to Salema from there and carried on (only 4km away). What a beautiful drive. We went through a very nice touristy town/development called Luz. The road then takes you thru some big dunes and inland through farms, cobbled roads and beautiful rockly hillsides and another place called Burghau (sp?) …..a bit of a detour but a very nice one! And Mark followed all the way….no problem.

Finally made it to Salema. https://www.travel-in-portugal.com/beaches/praia-da-salema.htm Parking in Salema is a bit limited, right in the main part of town at the beach. It’s very tiny with a couple of shops, restaurants, lots of condos but very scenic and a gorgeous beach. We parked and went off to explore the little town. Had coffee and walked on the lovely beach. 45 min later and still no sign of car 3. Called again and said they were now seeing signs for Lisbon!! More laughing!! Almost an hour later they’d managed to get turned around again and arrived safe and somewhat sound!

Found a busy little “chippy shop” right on the main drag that could seat all 10 of us….two separate tables but it worked. Frozen fish and chips but good enough and a nice glass of rose. Did a bit more exploring with the late arrivals then on to Sagres.

Chris and Marie had headed off surfing somewhere……they never sit still!! Thought we might see them at Sagres.

Sagres was only a 15-20 minute drive. Three beaches here that we know of….Praia Mareta and Tonel, which supposedly are very touristy and crowded, so we picked Praia do Beliche instead. Parking is a bit helter skelter at the top of the bluff but there was quite a bit so no problem finding a spot. Parked at the edge, no guardrail so made sure I left at least 15 feet in front of the car…..could be very scary because there is nada to stop you from just going right over!! The view of the beach from the top is beautiful.

Quite the walk down the stairs, which are a bit steep near the bottom with no handrails so you kind of have to find rocks and cliff bits to hang on too if needed, but so worth every stair (down and back up!) and probably why it’s less crowded than the other beaches . There are no words to describe the beauty of this beach…..a beautiful crescent with soft, fine sand and golden red cliffs surrounding it, small caves to duck into to get some shade. There are no facilities down at the beach of than an umbrella/chair rental place and a restaurant/café/bar with NO bathroom! This was by far the most beautiful place we’ve seen so far. Spent an hour or so on the beach, just walking from end to the other. Would love to go back for a beach day with a picnic. My pictures just do not do this place justice!!

https://www.algarvetips.com/beaches/sagres/praia-do-beliche/

Drive home was uneventful……everyone was on their own to find their way back. At one of the Ferragudo roundabouts there’s a big field and today it was filled with storks…..there must have been a 100 of them. First time we’d seen them on the ground. Interesting to watch, thought maybe they were teaching the babies something.

All 12 of us headed into town for dinner at Tapas Bar Sao Joao. The guy set up a big long table for us in the middle of the street….fun! Worked out really good. Everyone ordered a variety of tapas dishes, which we all shared. Chicken wings (v good) mushrooms stuffed with cheese and bacon (v good), calamari (really tender and v good), mixed seafood fritters and veggie skewers, all washed down with big jugs of a great sangria. Was lots of fun sitting outside but lucky the streetlights came on when they did or we wouldn’t have been able to see! Sat there for a few hours…..was a great time. The bill came to 15E per person, which really wasn’t bad at all considering we were all very full and all a bit tipsy.

Prawn traps ready to go in the morning…..notice the wine bottle stuck in one of them!

Back home…sat outside with more wine and lots of talking and laughing. Everybody was feeling pretty good by the time I went to bed around 11:30.

Just another great day! Can’t believe a week has gone by already!