Portugal Trip
Peter & Mary Hay
February 24, 2008 - March 17, 2008
On most trips Mary and I keep a journal of our daily activities. This one is quite long and tedious to read. However, if you are interested in Portugal it might shed a little light for you.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
11:00 We left the house in excellent weather and arrived at Rob’s apartment in Acton around 12:45. He has done a very nice job of making the place comfortable and attractive.
After saying our goodbyes we dropped off the car at the Holiday Inn East at 401 and Dixie Road and took the shuttle bus to terminal 3.
5:00 We were in the departure area for a while before our plane arrived. We remember our trip to the Dominican Republic last year when our plane arrived (from Portugal) three hours late and resulted in our boarding our ship at midnight instead of early in the evening. I think that had more to do with Toronto weather (clearing the runways) than the plane clearing out of Portugal.
7:20 We actually left a little early and were in the air by 7:35. The captain announced the travel time as 6 hours and 48 minutes. The flight took us over Plattsburgh, New York and then out over Bangor, Maine and over the Atlantic. The flight was uneventful and smooth. Sunrise was visible by 1:30 (EST) or 6:30 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) which we switched to in Portugal. There were only a few clouds as we approached the coast just off Cape St. Vincent. We could literally see the point of Portugal where the coast comes west and then abruptly turns north. I could pick out one major river along the Algarve coast as we descended into Faro. Flight time was excellent at 6 hours and 35 minutes. The landing was smooth; a nice conclusion to an enjoyable flight.
On the flight Mary and I sat beside a woman who was returning to Portugal for the seventh time and had some tips for us. She (Beverley) and her husband David (Russell) were also staying at Rocha Brava for three weeks before moving to Palm Gardens for another three weeks.
Feb. 25, 7:00 am
Faro, Portugal
Our trip across the Atlantic crossed five time zones so we lost five hours. I was expecting a small airport about the size of London but was very surprised when the terminal turned out to be at least five times the size of London. I believe London has more and longer runways but this terminal is huge. As we learned on our departure it has a plethora of stores and facilities that only Toronto has in Ontario. I assume this huge terminal has to deal with the thousands of people arriving from Europe in high season. We were the only incoming flight (low season) so customs was fast and baggage was quickly collected.
Upon exiting the arrivals area we were greeted by a JM Vacations representative who immediately took us to the Amoita car rental desk. The paperwork took about ten minutes and then the Amoita rep took a number of us to the parking lot and organized the cars. We were given a brand new Peugeot 107. After a brief explanation of the car and how to get to the A22 (expressway across the whole Algarve) they gave us a map and we were off. Since Portugal is left-hand drive there really wasn’t any problem and since I was used to round-abouts from England they didn’t pose any issue either. In any case I had my trusty navigator doing the map work; something she is very good at.
We immediately noticed that Portuguese drivers go very fast. Many were doing 160 on the A22 where the speed limit is 120 kph. We took about 45 minutes to reach the turnoff at Lagoa (I didn’t have a clue where I was going--I just follow the navigator) and after two round-abouts was on the N125 (which is the old trans Algarve highway) and just entering Lagoa. We rounded another round-about and then turned south in Lagoa and caught the road to Carvoeiro (Carve a euro). We were now on a narrower road with several tricky turns (thank the navigator) and four kilometres later we were headed down a long twisty village street (one-way). I was expecting a quaint little village with white houses, but was greeted with much higher multi-story apartmentos (that is what they call them). As we dropped further down the hill into Carvoeiro business and retail started to appear and then restaurants, etc. It took about a minute from the edge of town to the town square. At this point we were both unsure but Mary indicated that we had to make a left turn at the square and go parallel to the coast (there was no alternative except to do a 180 and back out of town) and go parallel to the coast. So I made a gingerly turn (lots of traffic) and headed uphill past another zillion restaurants and shops and then out of town. Immediately we were into sharp curves and steep hills on a narrow road which was lined with villas, hotels, resorts and very steep cliffs and ocean if you decided to leave the road. After two kilometres we saw the Rocha Brava sign and found reception just inside the gate. First impressions were excellent. The place looked beautiful with a cafe and grocery store right there. Unfortunately they didn’t have our apartment ready (it was 10 am) and wouldn’t have until 1 pm. So we did some driving around and exploring for while.
1:00
Rocha Brava
Our apartmento was on the upper foor of two. Everything in Rocha Brava is either one or two floors. The apartment was complete with kitchen (separate), bath, bedroom (14’ x 16’) and living room about 16’ x 18’. The sliding patio door led to a balcony about 24’ x 8’ with table, chair, chaisses and umbrella. Our view looked over three decorative ponds and many palms and other plants. Our apartment was located in a block of ten which in turn was located offset from another block of ten about 100’ across the garden. All of the buildings were designed to compliment the surroundings and each unit within each block is offset (staggered) from the others so that you are have privacy.
We were extremely tired and took about three hours to rest before heading for a large grocery store north of Carvoeiro (see map) that Walter Scott had suggested. It is the Intermarche. Shopping was quite easy as the price of ‘every’ item is clearly marked (this is true almost everywhere in the Algarve) in Euros ‘E’ with tax included. My first real surprise was wine. In addition to the store having a booze selection as big as the LCBO we found bottles of wine at 1.29E and after buying some we were really pleased with the quality. Euros are easy because a euro is simply 100 cents and they have 5 cent, 10 cent, 20 cent, 50 cent, 1E & 2E coins and 5, 10, 20 and 50E bills. We didn’t realize that the denominations were so simply until we were there a while. The biggest problem is trying to tell the difference between 5, 10 and 20 cent coins.
This store really caters to Brits and other tourists as almost all of the staff speaks english and most of the customers were British. It does take some getting used to the food selection, but after a few visits we got the hang of it.
On this first day we had a good chicken supper with Mateus (of course) and headed for bed. We slept for twelve hours.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Well, the crickets were singing last evening from about 6 pm - 8 pm and this morning there are several pairs of mourning doves calling their familiar tune. There is also a Macaw type sound in the mix. We are off to meet our JM representative this morning after we have our first try at making oatmeal which we purchased last night. At 9:30 we met with Bettina in the library/reception room by the Farol restaurant which is the only restaurant on the grounds. We spent an hour with her and she gave us some very good hints on getting along here. As she is the rep for Mega Tours we discussed the various excursions available to us. We will meet with her again on Thursday.
We decided to take a walk around the grounds and soon found ourselves going downhill toward the ocean. The middle front portion of the property drops away toward the ocean and they have placed a pool part way down which is situated so that several of the luxury apartments can see it. We descended to the pool and then climbed up the other side of the lower area (still well above the ocean and 500’ from it) and walked toward the ocean. The middle area drops to huge rocks next to the ocean but as you walk to the higher ground you come to cliffs dropping off to the ocean. The drop certainly exceeds 150’. There was a gentleman fishing from just below the cliff with a very long pole and line which he was casting to go out and down to the ocean. Close by us was an Algare or giant hole surrounded by a fence. The hole was about 25’ in diameter and fell all the way to the sea below. They are formed by rainwater merging with carbon dioxide which forms an acid that eats away the rock. The bottom eventually falls out and the sea can be seen below. There are many of these along the coast. Rocha Brava is a very attractive property. The building are well kept and roads, etc. are excellent and well lit at night. There are maintenance people trimming the palms and cleaning the water gardens and constantly pruning the flowers in preparation for summer.
When we finished our walk we had lunch and rested for a few hours and then decided to have a better look at Carvoeiro. As I said the actual town is quite small, centered around an ocean cove where there is a large sandy beach with steep cliffs on either side. Most of the town is built on the slope to the beach and the surrounding hillsides. There is a square next to the beach and the streets lead up the hill and away from the square and out of town towards Lagoa which is inland. Those streets have most of the shops. We both had a gelato and looked in some interesting shops and bought nothing for now. By 4:30 we decided to go to Intermarche again to buy a few more groceries. We bought some salmon and other goodies for 19E. We met some other Cannucks from Dartmouth and Picton in the fishmonger section. The store has an amazing variety of fish. After supper we went for a walk. Dark settled in about 7 with the temperature still about 20C and extremely clear.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
We slept in until 8:00 and had our oatmeal. We bought a fine grind of coffee and shelf milk which worked out very well. The shelf milk comes in a cardboard container and is not refrigerated until you open it. I was writing these comments as of 10:45 so you know we were moving rather slowly. Mary just came back from a walk and met a lady from Orillia. I can hear the chainsaw across the walk as a staff member trims the dead branches from the bottom of the huge palms here.
I tried to get on the hotmail account last night at the Rocha Brava cafe but couldn’t get through. I’ll try in town tomorrow. Today we are going on our first trip. We are going to start with Porches (like the car) and then on to Silves and maybe Montechiche in the mountains about 20 kilometres away. We headed towards Lagoa which is only about 5 km away and then east toward Porches on the N125. Porches revived the traditional art of tile pottery making in the 1960’s and now has several large pottery makers. We watched at one small firm as women handpainted the designs. These places are a lot like many roadside business’ in NA with a small cafes to tempt the traveller. There are simply thousands of items to choose from. Many Portuguese houses use the tiles as decoration on the whitewashed exterior. Many are very large scenes. Our main destination was Silves; the old Moorish capital of southern Iberia. Much of it was levelled in the 1755 earthquake so pretty much everything dates from that time except the original city walls and part of the cathedral. The city is topped by a solid Moorish castle upon which the government is spending millions to restore and improve access. We walked the walls which give a breathtaking view of the city and countryside. Silves is built on a high point within a valley and is surrounded by low mountains on all sides. We had parked at the low west end of town and climbed up through narrow residential streets to the cathedral and then down again to the city hall and square below. One of the original city wall towers acts as a gate to the castle.
At the corner of the square on Rui 25 de A bril a rather rotund restauranteur convinced us to eat in his establishment. When we checked our guide it was the Casa Velha Restaurante & Marisquieria; the very one recommended in the guide. Our coffee and couvert was excellent with a particulary cooked carrot which was delicious. We order tuna salad and the food was great. We had a few laughs with waiter and moved on after a relaxing hour on the sidewalk cafe. Across the street was a store selling only items made of cork. Cork is grown here and processed here. Apparently the bark of the cork tree is stripped every 9 years. They mark the date on the tree so they know when to strip it again. I took many pictures in Silves as it is a quaint example of an ancient town that must deal with the automobile.
About 3 pm we made the bad decision to go to Monte Chiche. The countryside was wondeful--full of orange groves and trucks full of almonds. Donkey carts dotted the farms for picking oranges. As we got further north the land becomes very mountainous although much of it is under cultivation. After miles of winding and fast road we arrived in Montechiche realizing that we would be leaving as dark closed in. We decided to come back another day and started off towards Portimao and then Lagoa taking the shortest toute back. In fact we were in Portimao in half an hour. We made one stop to buy oranges from a roadside vendor where we had some real interchange with friendly locals looking down the mountain some 15 miles to Portimao and the ocean. After several dozen round-abouts and some confusion were the A22 meets the N125 we landed back into Carvoeiro where we decided to take a steep road up the west side of the town to Monte Carvoeiro. The view was spectacular as the sun was setting. As we returned to Rocha Brava the maid had done our room up again and we slept until 8 Thursday morning.
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008
Although we arose at 8:20 and had breakfast, it was 10:00 before we met Bettina at the library to register for the trip to Seville, Tangiers and Gibraltar. The trip sounds like something out of a romance novel. Cost for the trip was $290.00 each. I’ll detail it more later.
We ate lunch in our apartment and set out for Praia de Benagil which is only ten minutes away. Benagil is a fishing village, cove and beach which like most of the places along the coast has become a vacation spot. Like many of these beaches it is located at the ocean end of a steep canyon coming from inland. The canyons formed when streams dissolved the rock over millions of years. We parked half way down the steep hill road. The cliffs are about 150’ feet high here so the road is very steep. The road goes down one side of the canyon and makes a 180 degree turn just above the beach and then goes back up the other side toward the top. Our little Peugeot 107 seemed ideal for the purpose. It is light and geared just right to take the hills. We walked down and walked the beach which was inhabited by thirty or forty sun worshippers; a few of which were topless. Although the sea was relatively calm there were some good size rollers crashing and I managed to misjudge how far the surf would come and got my shoes and socks wet. We stayed about an hour and then headed east down the coast to Praia Marinha. Incidentally, Praia means ‘beach’ and virtually all of the coast villages are known as Praia de ? The town sign for Carvoeiro is Praia de Carvoeiro. Marinhas beach is quite organized with beautiful stone steps and gardens all of the way to the bottom of the cliff. We decided to come back another day as it would take too long to explore. So we set off across country to Carvoeiro. Anyone would be amzed at the sheer number of villas and the number being built. In our area building was pretty much single family villas or resorts composed of one and two floor apartmentos. Over the two kilometre stretch between Rocha Brava and Carvoeiro the number of apartments would number around ten thousand with hundreds and hundreds of stand-alone villas of every size scattered along the roads as far back as two kilometres from the coast. Rocha Brava alone has six hundred and there are at least fifteen more major resorts along the coast road to Carvoeiro. However, very few are built close to the cliffs along the ocean. I don’t know if this is zoning or common sense. The most dramatic is the Tivoli Almansor hotel which you see from the road as one level. However it is ten or more apartment levels deep as it backs down the cliff behind. None-the-less the public has access to virtually the whole coast. You can apparently walk from Abufeiria to Portimao along the beaches and cliffs without challenge. Indeed the Algarve seems to have no gated communities and there is no attempt to keep anyone out of anywhere except for the decorative iron gates on many of the old villas. In spite of the number of apartments there are very few people here in the winter. I would estimate a 5% occupancy rate and most of them have grey hair and come from England, Holland or Canada.
As is normal here, the stores were closed from 1 - 3 so we headed for Smiler’s Bar on the square. We were told that Canadians were welcomed there every Thursday at 3 pm. Sure enough a few dozen were seated around a long table and the waitress (Geraldine--a Brit) was running the show. We immediately became fast friends with Len and Mary Ellen Lee from Milton and Charlie and Mary Clark from Mississauga. Geraldine ran a Canadian quiz and after the requisite ‘white’ coffee (expresso 1.20E) we settled into some conversation. Afterwards Len (who has been coming for years) showed me some local haunts and a good internet bar.
Later we did the stores and we bought some goodies. Then we hit the internet cafe and I sent my first email home. We spent another half-hour talking to Len and Mary Ellen and finally went back to RB by seven.
Friday, Feb. 29, 2008
We decided to go to Portimao this day. We lazed around until 11am and eventually got underway. As we crossed the river on the suspension bridge (beautifully designed bridge) we decided to go to Alvor first as Brian and Lynn Bishop had been there last year and Lynn wrote us an email saying ‘raise a glass to us while in Alvor’. So we did!
Actually we left Carvoeiro, up the steep cliff road on the west side of beach and after passing the requisite 1000 villas we arrived in Ferragudo across the river from Portimao (Por ti mo). We stopped below the old castle along the Arade River and had a good look at the marinas on the Portimao side. As usual these small villages can be confusing and we had some laughs sorting it out with locals after going down a few blind streets. The Portuguese are very quiet around strangers. We were told that they are not snubbing you at all; it is just their way and you will have better luck with them if you speak first. To do this we were gradually putting together our vocabulary. Obrigado (thankyou) goes further than any other word so far. It just takes a while for us to feel comfortable using it. However, after hearing them say it many times it comes quite easily.
We eventually found our way down to the Ferragudo downtown or Centro. Actually the word Centro refers to any major area including shopping malls. Here we found some interesting shops and harbour front. There were also several messequieria cooking fish orders right beside the waterfront. You order your fish (pay by the kg) and the waiter takes the fish over to the cook who scales and guts in and cooks it twenty feet from you. We saw fish of every size being cooked on a large series of grills. We inquired about the fish and the maitre de decided to bring out the platter of fresh fish (whole of course). Red fish, red snapper, bream, tamoril (a very ugly fish), grouper, cod, dorado. The restaurant we ate at was the Cafe Suesta. Mary had her long awaited sardines and I decided to try them as well. They give you six sardines which you have to gut yourself as you eat them. Personally I think the best way to eat them is to separate the head and tail and just devour the whole fish. Mary decided to fillet out the white meat but that appears to be about 10% of the fish. As with most meals we had couvert and they also served boiled potatoes. I think I have had my last sardine. As we were to discover the bill also came with the restaurants ‘card’. The better restaurants have very nice cards as a promotion item and remembrance of your stay. The Suesta’s card was postcard size and actually had a rip away postcard to send home.
The balance of the day we spent in Alvor after crossing the bridge. We visited the beach which seems to go forever and worked our way home through Portimao. We decided to return another day. On our way back we decided to try another grocery store that is apparently favoured by locals. It is called PLUS and it is in Lagao. We found the selection very poor so we visited the Intermarche again. Incidentally Intermarche is a chain along with other stores like Modello, although Modello has more hard goods as well as groceries.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Cool last night, but warmed up beautifully as we headed out enroute to Loule’ about 45km away to the east. We took the A22 to get there faster. Brochures indicate a market and specifically a gypsy market. The town is only a few kilometres north of the A22 on N396. It turned out to be a large town (25,000?) and much like the other towns we visited it was tidy and spotlessly clean. We drove right through the center of town past the main market building and central fountain and found a parking spot several blocks away. We found the market (forgot my camera) and it was very Arab in design but very new; just like much of the town. The market was mostly for locals (fish, fish, poultry, red meat and more fish). We eventually left the market and began exploring the narrow streets of the old town where we bought several items and had lunch in an exquisite old bar. White coffee is 1.20E and a tuna salad sandwich only 2.50E. Excellent coffee. We decided to leave after a few hours. As we walked back to the car we stopped in a paridia or bake shop and treated ourselves to some fig and almond cake. We ventured south through the town and I was gradually absorbing the subtleties of their pedestrian/auto laws. In Portugal the round-abouts are ubiquitous. You can do 10 in ten minutes or three or four in one minute. They get to be second nature and some of them are very attractive to look at. In towns however you have to be careful in pedestrian areas because the on and off road generally have white stripes. This means crosswalk and that means you bloody well stop. They observe it stringently as I suspect the fine for forcing your way past a pedestrian is significant. We heard from one of our new mates here that you must have your passport when you are driving and they collect the fine on the spot. He paid 40E for an illegal turn. Anyway, ten minutes and ten round-abouts later we were headed south for Quarteria on the coast. As we discovered in short order Quarteria is the Atlantic City of the Algarve. There are simply dozens and dozens of twenty story apartment hotels and too many tourist facilities to count. I suspect this area caters to the poorer holidayer who needs a hole to stay and a beach to swim in. As we moved another mile or so west the landscape changed as we entered Quinto de Lago, a luxury resort that seemed to stretch for two miles in any direction. Hundreds and hundreds or villas. This place has every type of accomodation from walkups to luxury villas to rival Conrad Black. Typical of Portugal however it is wide open. We saw no sign of any gated community and indeed their staff was very helpful with instructions on how to get out of the place.
At this point we decided to try and find Villamouro a few kilometres to the west again and where there is a marina. After revisiting the A22 we found it and followed the signs to the marina. This was no ordinary marina. Certainly there were boats. However the boats were everything from 100’ and under and the marina apparently holds about 800 of them. Moreover the marina is surrounded by luxury shopping, hotels, apartments and ubiquitous restaurants and cafes including Amercian chains. One of the apartments could pass for a cruise ship at night. The shape and lighting could fool you given that it was almost a kilometre across the marina. We sat and had another coffee before leaving. On the way out I lost my place and ended up back in Quarteria and turned the wrong way on the round-about and ended up near the airport in Faro. That was my biggest goof of the whole trip. After I pulled a fistful of hair out we managed to get back on the A22 and headed home without incident, arriving at around 4pm. Our maid arrived shortly after and I gave her a 5E tip for the week which I continued to do each week. A new microwave was also dropped off for our use. After one week we are gradually getting comfortable with the rudimentary phrases.
Thank you obrigada (f) and obrigado (m)
Good day bom dia
Good afternoon bom tarde’
Good evening bom noit
Excuse me deskoolpe
Hello ohla
Goodbye adeus
That evening we decided to have a look at Carvoeiro after dark. Well it wasn’t exactly jumping but the restaurants were busy with a minimal number of people on the street. We walked the back streets above the town searching for Algar Seco where Charlie and Mary said they lived. In spite of the quiet we felt comfortable and safe. This is a great place as most of the crowd is 50+. Even the restauranteurs are grey.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Sunday turned out sunny and clear and after we did our usual oatmeal routine (we cook it on the stove as opposed to microwaving at home) Mary decided to go for a walk while I vedged. Around ten o’clock we decided to go back to Praia de Benegil to see if the tide was in. It was about half way out and we decided to explore Praia de Marinha further east about a kilometre. Marinha is deep down the cliff like Benegil but there is no village; just a long winding series of steps with gardens. Once down you are surrounded by 150’ red limestone cliffs that have a soft clay element inherent in them. We wandered along to the west end where the rock forms another cove which is somewhat private. We stretched our towel watching a lone sailboat and the tourist caravel (from Portimao) come gliding in for a short peek for those onboard. I noticed several people taking the sun, some in bathing suits and a few women topless but usually very discreet about it. Another couple approached us and he went into the water. I turned my head to see a girl in a bikini with a giant tattoo from her shoulder, winding around her abdomen and down and around one leg. I kind of forgot about her for a few minutes when the next thing I see she is walking totally naked along the beach displaying her flower (take that however you want) for everyone to see. She was in and out of the water only 30’ away so there was no missing her. Interestingly they left as fast as they had come. By this time we were pretty warm as the sun was very hot and air temperature probably 30c.
On our way out we turned east and found another little beach and very posh resort spa another few kilometres down the coast. It is at the end of a long winding, narrow and very rough lane. The buildings were beautiful however and I suspect the lane was to discourage visitors.
Back at the apartment we had a few hours rest and decided to check the internet downtown, but it was closed. I thought we would look up Charlie and Mary Clark whom we met on Thursday. We found Algar Seco Parque and drove down along the cliff road and walked up through the resort. I went to receptions and they directed us to the cantranettis where they were staying. We found them in an absolutely beautiful setting overlooking the sea and a large well equipped one bedroom apartment. We spent an hour with them and promised to meet again.
After changing our clothes we went out for dinner to the Rochmar Restaurante which is just across from our resort. The atmosphere is lovely and the service was wonderful. We had a delicious couvert of Espargos/Manteiga (asparagus in butter). The wine was great and the waiter went to great pains to explain about their house wine (Vinho casa). Mary had sea bass (17E) and I had stone steak. Stone steak you ask? Well frankly I didn’t know what it was but the waiter suggested it. When it arrived I knew it was the right choice. It is a piece of flat stone about 8" square and very thick, heated in a pizza oven to a very high temperature. The stone sits in a wooden board which also had three condiment dips for taste. On the wood sit three succulent pieces of steak which you cook yourself on the stone. It takes about two minutes on each side and you will swear that you have died and gone to heaven after putting a little of their condiment on and taking your first bite. The condiments are garlic, schrimp cocktail and mayonnaise unique to that restaurante. The wine seemed to compliment the food beautifully.
As we finished, the owner (Vito) came over and spent ten minutes talking with us and telling us interesting facts about Portugal and his travels as an employee on a cruise ship thirty years ago. Wonderful experience.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Temperature 18 deg. C Clear with a few clouds gathering. Had our usual breakfast (we are a bit boring) and decided to walk the east side of Rocha Brava. We soon discovered beautiful stand-alone villas and even nicer ocean side apartments. We will certainly consider moving up next time we visit.
We decided to go to Monte Chiche again. We gased up in Lagoa with 30E (gas is 1.43E per litre) and headed down the N125 across the suspension bridge (I call it the Jesus bridge because it’s design is reminiscent of hands praying). It is all white and has gently flowing cables that remind me of robes. An interesting sidelight about Portuguese houses is their door knocker. The majority of them use a door knocker that is made in the shape of a hand. I liked them so much I bought one in a hardware store in Loule’ for 10E. I suppose you can conclude that a hand makes sense as a knocker but I rather think that the down pointed hand portends the hand of God as a protection for the house. This time we had an uneventful trip up to Monchiche and after driving around this very hilly town we parked above the square near a new square and the tourist office. It is out of the way and I doubt that most tourists even find it. The girl in the office was most helpful with information about directions, maps, local floral and fauna, language and where the best restaurant was. Well her directions made us walk down to the square and a long way up the other side of town but the restaurante was the best bario type we had seen. Very much a locals place. 12E each for full dinner and a boite of vinho. We spent an hour and a half just enjoying ourselves and watching the locals. As usual the waiter was great. All you have to do is speak Portuguese or ask about something and they are keen to talk.
From Montchiche we went higher to find Foia up on the mountain at 3000’. The view is quite incredible with hundreds of terraced farms below and Portimao twenty kilometres away in the distance. You have to be there to appreciate it. The drive back went uneventfully and we spent the balance of the evening inside as we were played out.
March 4, 2008
Very windy with high cloud and 15 deg. C. We are staying in today to rest for our trip to Spain and Gibraltar tomorrow. We have to be at the reception at 6am. We did go out to investigate some local places for future trips but didn’t go far. Mary bought a 5E phone card and we called Mike in Calgary and I sent an email home. That phone card never did run out. We spent over an hour talking to Canada on it. Mary did some washing and we had salmon for supper. We are both reading novels and I went for a walk after dark to check out some of the villas that exist on the end of every blcok. The evening has turned very cool and windy after a lovely warm day. We also went for swim in the heated pool which is only 150’ away from our apartment.
March 5, 2008 MEGATOUR
4:30am We set the alarm clock for 4:30 but I was up at 4:15 anyway, so we got our act together and made it to reception by 5:55am. The bus arrived and picked up six more from Rocha Brava and we went on to Abufieria where the bus eventually filled to 52 passengers. Interestingly this bus was limited to 100 kph by computer and the computer also records driver breaks, etc. If he does not take the required breaks and is stopped by police he will lose his license and 4,000E fine.
9:00 We crossed into Andalusia province in Spain over the Guidiana River and stopped for a break inside the Spanish border at a kind of bar/restaurant. They were not really equipped for bus tours. Nice place though. Then we were off again to Seville and on the way we passed unending groves of orange trees and eventually strawberry fields that were covered with white plastic greenhouses--acres and acres covering whole farms.
We arrived in Seville around 11:30 and Luis, our guide gave us a lot of information about Seville. Population of greater Seville is about one and a half million with Seville city at 800,000. The city is not physically large and we were into the core by the river very quickly. The bus toured along the site of the 1929 World Exposition which contained dozens of splendid period buildings. Most exhibit the Moorish influence and are simply grand. I was surprised that Seville is actually a seaport with freighters and cruise ships coming up the river with the tide. Seville was also the home port of Christopher Columbus and he is celebrated here. The bus let us off on the Avenida De Rua Constitution opposite the Alphonso Hotel (another work of art with 500E rooms. From there we followed the light rail transit line down the avenue to the Seville Cathedral. It is the largest cathedral in the world by floor area, shaped as a square because it was original moslem and taken over by the christians sometime around 1500. It had been started in 1184 by Ahmed. Before visiting the cathedral our guide took us on a tour of the old Jewish Quarter (pre 1500) and then on to a tour of the cathedral. The cathedral is the subject of a whole book in itself so I won’t expand on it here. The size, grandeur, detail, history, etc. make for a varied and complex subject. We then had a few hours to wander but we didn’t go too far as we didn’t have maps and were easily lost. This is a city that merits a visit in itself. We left Seville at 4:30 and arrived in Algeciras on the coast around seven o’clock after an interesting stop at a Spanish truck stop. Although my ideas about Spain and many other things changed within a few hours today; I wasn’t prepared for Gibraltar. Frankly my mental image of this outpost of the British Empire was totally wrong. I am writing this looking out our 6th story hotel window of the Al Mar Hotel in Algeciras, Spain overlooking the ‘rock’. I am looking at a huge harbour between Spain and Gilbraltar and it is totally different from all the images I have ever seen. Algeciras is a major container port across from Gibraltar whereas I had always envisioned Gibraltar as a rock outcrop of the Spanish coast with nothing else except a military harbour. In fact it is a rock outcrop native to the African side of the strait and sits out in the ocean by itself attached to Spain by a narrow causeway. In addition it has substantial land area on the inland side where the harbour lies and thousands of buildings making up the living and shopping area. It is relative small but very dense.
This is a marvellous experience. Where else can you visit three countries, travel 600 miles, cross the Straits of Gibraltar to Africa, walk in the Kasbah, have five dinners and two hotel nights with wine for a lousy $300.00.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Beautiful warm day and we are going to Morocco. We arose at 6:15 and had breakfast at seven and then on to the bus for our trip down the coast to the west to Tarifa. We are now on GMT -1 as we have travelled further east from Portugal. As we left Algeciras I could see Gibraltar in the distance directly across the bay from our hotel which in itself was fronted by hundreds of acres of container docks in the Port of Algeciras. The sun was just coming up on the right side of the rock meaning that we were in fact facing east. Gibraltar (the rock) is actually east of Aljeciras across an indented bay in the Spanish coast.
We were off through the mountainous coast road to Tarifa where the ferry to Tanger (Tangiers) was waiting. As we rose higher we could see the Moroccan cosat about 6 - 8 miles away; again very mountainous. In the higher elevation windmills started to appear. At first there were twenty; then twenty more and eventually they numbered in the hundreds and hundreds. Tarifa is an ancient fortification where tariffs were charged to boats entering the Med. (the origin of the word tariff) Several big cats ply this strait ferrying people, cars and buses across. The crossing takes about 40 minutes as Tanger is west of Tarifa and there are severe winds and currents to battle with. . Our guide bought our tickets and we went through customs. The ship made the crossing and we arrived in the very busy port of Tanger. New buses were provided and took us up through grand neighbourhoods in the finer parts of the city. They stopped so some could have a camel ride and then we were off to the Kasbah. The Kasbah is nothing like I imagined. Owing to the fact that Tangiers is built on a mountain side off the bay the Kasbah is very hilly and rough. It is in fact a walled village or community of 27,000 people living in an area of about 4 acres. It is simply hundreds and hundreds of adjoining rooms and apartments with several stories having been added over the centuries as the population increased. There are hundreds of lanes and ways. It is primarily a residential area where membership is a previlege allowed by the government as it is a tax free zone. No income tax is collected from those living there; whether rich or poor. Barbara Woolworth once lived here. It has been there for 600 years and enjoys privileges that are not given to others--assuming you would want to live here at all. Crime is virtually unknown because the residents would know who the criminal was and act accordingly.
As we left the Kasbah we walked to a Moroccan restaurant in the Medina (shopping area next to the Kasbah) where we were welcomed by a small band and delicious soup, shish-ka-bob, baccla, coos coos and chicken. From there we entered the commercial district of the Medina which has hundreds of small shops 8’ x 5’ inset off six foot wide lanes. Many interesting occupations are here but we didn’t have time to look closely as the usual hucksters were driving us crazy. Our guides arranged two wonderful private demonstrations for us by a rug merchant and a chemist. Both were very informative and both were very good salesmen.
Back to Tarifa
We boarded the buses for the quick trip back to the harbour and had a rough trip back across the strait because of strong winds and mounting waves. As we left Tarifa we were struck by the sheer number of windmills located in the hills above the strait. There are probably thousands due to the strong winds in the area. We had a rest in our hotel in Algeciras and then a good supper and good conversation with John and Mary Anderson (of Kitchener) and John and Wilhimena Boots from Amsterdam. She spoke excellent English while he struggled with the language. However his English was better than my dutch.
After a good sleep we awoke again at 6 for a 7 o’clock
breakfast and then off to explore Gibraltar at 8.
Going Home
Friday, March 7, 2008
As we left Gibralter we turned north for the long ride back to Seville and Portugal. Again I was amazed at the farming in southern Spain. Everything from olives and oranges to bulls and strawberries thriving in a very dry climate with irrigation from the mountains not far away.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
The 300 mile journey was accomplished in six hours and after a twelve hour sleep Friday night we decided to drive over to Praia de Roche (Beach of Rocks which is a village and beach on the southern edge of Portimao. As we were told the site is beautiful from the walk 150’ above the beach or on the beach which is divided in two parts separated by a tunnel. We at lunch at a beachfront cafe called Claire’s and walked the beach and then walked around the Tivoli marinas and got a self tour of the Tivoli hotel complex which is composed of hundred of townhouses (2 storey) where your boat can be kept at your front door. The prices were not bad. We drove north through the old town of Portimao but were too tired to stop. Went to grocery store and home.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
We walked to the nearby beach at Centiane but otherwise we read novels all day. The trip had caught up with us.
Monday, March 10, 2008
As I write this we are planning a trip somewhere west of here. In the end we decided to go to Cape St. Vincent and visit Sagres and Lagos as well. We took the A22 just past Lagos and then the 125 to Sagres without stopping. Cape St. Vincent is just west of Sagres. This was considered the end of the world by the ancients as it is the most south western point of Portugal surrounded by the Atlantic on the south and west. Cliffs are 200’ and even although the wind was minimal the surf was crashing. However the surfers were not having much luck as the waves were only about 5 feet. We drove back to Sagres and found a small very local style restaurant. The restauranteur’s family were eating cataplana at the table next to us (sausage, tomatoes, clams, etc. cooked as a large stew). Sagres appears to be a very busy place in the mid to high season but most of it was closed today. We drove along the coast and into Salema, a small fishing village with several apartmento’s and villas. Although a tourist town the locals were still very much in evidence along with the ubiquitous fishing dory. Again we were tired and decided not to do Lagos today.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
I didn’t keep a journal of this day’s activities but we did meet John and Mary Anderson and Don and Joyce Wright for dinner at the Cafe de Bife. We had planned it last Friday on the way home. We spent two hours in the cafe and had a nice time. I had stone steak for the second time.
Aside: I have read 3 novels in the last week
The Lorimer Line
The Lincoln Lawyer
Illustrious (historical account of this aircraft carrier in WWII)
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Temperature about 20C but very windy. Ocean is choppy but sun is brilliant. Looks like a 22-24C day. We are going to the wine estate of Sir Cliff Richards (the old British crooner). It is at Guia and produces his ‘Vida Nova’ (new life) wine.
We were picked up by small van and taken along the A22 to Guia. The young fellow was making close to 160 kph and I was very uncomfortable. Fortunately he drove much slower on his way back.
We were impressed with the winery; however the wine left something to be desired. The estate has about 77 acres of vines most of which had only reached full maturity about four years ago. The tour was led by a middle-aged Brit export who loves Sir Cliff. Unfortunately she was a pretty lousy tour host.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
A very nice day in paradise. We decided to go to Lagos today and then visit Smiler’s Bar around 3 in Carvoeiro. Lagos (La goosh or La goach). Easy trip via N125 from Lagoa (Lagoa is a few kilometres north of Carvoeiro and Lagos is about 20 km to the west and is a larger town). Lagos in Nigeria (a Portuguese colony) was named after this small coastal town. Lagos turned out to be a very walkable town with many streets, shops, restaurants and beautiful river waterfront boulevard. It seems a little less touristy than some others with it’s nice harbour and marina. We ate (we love eating) at a very well appointed restaurant called O Cantinho Algarvio. We had vegetable soup, couvert, piri piri and coffee for 9E each. We then drove over to Praia de Ana a beautifully rocky beach where the town meets the ocean.
We made it home and freshened up before going down to Smiler’s in Carvoeiro. Charlie and Mary Clark were supposed to be there but only John and Mary Anderson. showed up. Geraldine did her weekly Canadian quiz and then we drove John and Mary home to their place at Palm Gardens. They took us in and showed us their very nice apartment. The real downside to their apartment was the lack of sunlight.
Friday, March 14, 2008
It is a gray day but 20C. A good day for apartment hunting for next time. We got an up close look at #499 and #500. Both are two bedroom and large. #499 is expensively furnished while #500 is average but complete with huge walk-in shower. We also saw #477 which is a one bedroom (two double beds) on aone floor.
We went into the sales office and discovered that 98% of RB is privately owned but rented out by RB property management. Later we checked around Algar Seco but decided that it is a little to close to suit us and no real amount of grounds to walk. We had supper at the Restaurante Jardin do Farol (lighthouse) just outside Rocha Brava gates. Mary had lamb and I had grouper. Both delicious and with great wine. Great service.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Decided to do a test trip to the Faro Airport (aeroporte) since we had to be there at 6:30 in the morning and I didn’t want any screwups. It took about 50 minutes to make the trip and we worked out the little hitches involved in threading our way through the street maze to the airport.
Then we headed north and west into the hills with the intent of finding some more little villages. We actually went through some heavy agriculture/commercial areas north of Faro before getting into the mountainous region. As we drove up and past the first range of small mountains/hills we started to drive through some interesting little villages and a virtually unending fields of oranges and terraced hillsides. They have been terracing here since Roman times and there are huge areas given over to terraces. We stopped in a town called Alte where the main road runs down in the valley and the town is higher up. We spent an hour in a very nice restaurante where we had very attentive service and good food. We decided to explore the town and ended up staying two more hours just exploring the place. The upper region of the town had some beautiful villas lining one street and a very large mill pond at the highest point in the town and what appeared to have been a mill at one time which was now being converted to a restaurant or home. Much of the life of the town was centered around this pond and the bridge that crosses it. Below there were dozens of small streets that we drove up and down through before parking and walking. When we had our fill of Alte we drove west to Messines and back south to Silves where we had spent a whole day earlier in our trip. We were back home by 4:30 and had an gelato at the Rocha Brava cafe. Nice day, great weather. Decided to have a frozen pizza for supper.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Well, this is our last day. Although we have been swimming in the pool and have been to many ocean beaches we hadn’t been swimming in the ocean. The weather was warm enough but the ocean is quite cold. I decided to give it a try and Sunday was warm at 25C. We packed up and made the short trip to Benegil Beach down amongst the cliffs. After relaxing in the sun for a while I made an attempt to enter the water but discovered that the five foot rollers were just too large for me. The beach drops off about two feet once you are in so you are quickly committed. Since I wasn’t used to swimming in surf I thought better of it. I was thoroughly wet but hadn’t actually been off my feet. By this time of year the sun is pretty hot and we had to protect ourselves from it with towels. We had moderate tans from being in the sun but were not going to push our luck on our last day.
We drove down the coast to the east for a last jaunt and ended up going further than we had before. In fact there is no coast road. There is just a dog’s breakfast of adjoining roads and round-abouts that go to and fro from the coast. It would be easy to get lost if it were not for the excellent signs that keep you oriented. Most of these roads are only twelve feet wide with sharp curves and soft shoulders. Anyway we suddenly arrived in a large metropolitan area and Mary was convinced it was Abufieria. I thought that is was Alabanderiera but there were not town signs. Eventually we figured out that Albufieria was much further way, so this must be Alabanderiera. We found a few very exclusive vacation estates there with beautiful golf courses. We ended our day with a relaxing ride back along the coast looking forward to an evening of packing for the trip home.
Monday, March 17, 2008
We were up at 4:30 and on the road by 5:30 after dropping off the key at reception. The trip to Faro was uneventful and we dropped off the car (we several others on the same flight) and met some of our new friends in the airport. The flight home took exactly 8 hours as we flew over Cape Cod and eventually over Niagara Falls. The pilot came on the speaker and suggested that the portside passengers would have a nice view of the falls. Then to everyones surprise he rolled the plane onto it’s starboard side giving the other side a good view. Easy descent into Toronto and great (but cold) weather. We had arrived in Toronto at 12:30 EST but since daylight savings time is now enacted earlier we go in at 1:00 and after having a meal at Swiss Chalet we made it home by 5:30 where we were greeted by a snow packed driveway. What else is new!
Peter & Mary Hay
February 24, 2008 - March 17, 2008
On most trips Mary and I keep a journal of our daily activities. This one is quite long and tedious to read. However, if you are interested in Portugal it might shed a little light for you.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
11:00 We left the house in excellent weather and arrived at Rob’s apartment in Acton around 12:45. He has done a very nice job of making the place comfortable and attractive.
After saying our goodbyes we dropped off the car at the Holiday Inn East at 401 and Dixie Road and took the shuttle bus to terminal 3.
5:00 We were in the departure area for a while before our plane arrived. We remember our trip to the Dominican Republic last year when our plane arrived (from Portugal) three hours late and resulted in our boarding our ship at midnight instead of early in the evening. I think that had more to do with Toronto weather (clearing the runways) than the plane clearing out of Portugal.
7:20 We actually left a little early and were in the air by 7:35. The captain announced the travel time as 6 hours and 48 minutes. The flight took us over Plattsburgh, New York and then out over Bangor, Maine and over the Atlantic. The flight was uneventful and smooth. Sunrise was visible by 1:30 (EST) or 6:30 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) which we switched to in Portugal. There were only a few clouds as we approached the coast just off Cape St. Vincent. We could literally see the point of Portugal where the coast comes west and then abruptly turns north. I could pick out one major river along the Algarve coast as we descended into Faro. Flight time was excellent at 6 hours and 35 minutes. The landing was smooth; a nice conclusion to an enjoyable flight.
On the flight Mary and I sat beside a woman who was returning to Portugal for the seventh time and had some tips for us. She (Beverley) and her husband David (Russell) were also staying at Rocha Brava for three weeks before moving to Palm Gardens for another three weeks.
Feb. 25, 7:00 am
Faro, Portugal
Our trip across the Atlantic crossed five time zones so we lost five hours. I was expecting a small airport about the size of London but was very surprised when the terminal turned out to be at least five times the size of London. I believe London has more and longer runways but this terminal is huge. As we learned on our departure it has a plethora of stores and facilities that only Toronto has in Ontario. I assume this huge terminal has to deal with the thousands of people arriving from Europe in high season. We were the only incoming flight (low season) so customs was fast and baggage was quickly collected.
Upon exiting the arrivals area we were greeted by a JM Vacations representative who immediately took us to the Amoita car rental desk. The paperwork took about ten minutes and then the Amoita rep took a number of us to the parking lot and organized the cars. We were given a brand new Peugeot 107. After a brief explanation of the car and how to get to the A22 (expressway across the whole Algarve) they gave us a map and we were off. Since Portugal is left-hand drive there really wasn’t any problem and since I was used to round-abouts from England they didn’t pose any issue either. In any case I had my trusty navigator doing the map work; something she is very good at.
We immediately noticed that Portuguese drivers go very fast. Many were doing 160 on the A22 where the speed limit is 120 kph. We took about 45 minutes to reach the turnoff at Lagoa (I didn’t have a clue where I was going--I just follow the navigator) and after two round-abouts was on the N125 (which is the old trans Algarve highway) and just entering Lagoa. We rounded another round-about and then turned south in Lagoa and caught the road to Carvoeiro (Carve a euro). We were now on a narrower road with several tricky turns (thank the navigator) and four kilometres later we were headed down a long twisty village street (one-way). I was expecting a quaint little village with white houses, but was greeted with much higher multi-story apartmentos (that is what they call them). As we dropped further down the hill into Carvoeiro business and retail started to appear and then restaurants, etc. It took about a minute from the edge of town to the town square. At this point we were both unsure but Mary indicated that we had to make a left turn at the square and go parallel to the coast (there was no alternative except to do a 180 and back out of town) and go parallel to the coast. So I made a gingerly turn (lots of traffic) and headed uphill past another zillion restaurants and shops and then out of town. Immediately we were into sharp curves and steep hills on a narrow road which was lined with villas, hotels, resorts and very steep cliffs and ocean if you decided to leave the road. After two kilometres we saw the Rocha Brava sign and found reception just inside the gate. First impressions were excellent. The place looked beautiful with a cafe and grocery store right there. Unfortunately they didn’t have our apartment ready (it was 10 am) and wouldn’t have until 1 pm. So we did some driving around and exploring for while.
1:00
Rocha Brava
Our apartmento was on the upper foor of two. Everything in Rocha Brava is either one or two floors. The apartment was complete with kitchen (separate), bath, bedroom (14’ x 16’) and living room about 16’ x 18’. The sliding patio door led to a balcony about 24’ x 8’ with table, chair, chaisses and umbrella. Our view looked over three decorative ponds and many palms and other plants. Our apartment was located in a block of ten which in turn was located offset from another block of ten about 100’ across the garden. All of the buildings were designed to compliment the surroundings and each unit within each block is offset (staggered) from the others so that you are have privacy.
We were extremely tired and took about three hours to rest before heading for a large grocery store north of Carvoeiro (see map) that Walter Scott had suggested. It is the Intermarche. Shopping was quite easy as the price of ‘every’ item is clearly marked (this is true almost everywhere in the Algarve) in Euros ‘E’ with tax included. My first real surprise was wine. In addition to the store having a booze selection as big as the LCBO we found bottles of wine at 1.29E and after buying some we were really pleased with the quality. Euros are easy because a euro is simply 100 cents and they have 5 cent, 10 cent, 20 cent, 50 cent, 1E & 2E coins and 5, 10, 20 and 50E bills. We didn’t realize that the denominations were so simply until we were there a while. The biggest problem is trying to tell the difference between 5, 10 and 20 cent coins.
This store really caters to Brits and other tourists as almost all of the staff speaks english and most of the customers were British. It does take some getting used to the food selection, but after a few visits we got the hang of it.
On this first day we had a good chicken supper with Mateus (of course) and headed for bed. We slept for twelve hours.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Well, the crickets were singing last evening from about 6 pm - 8 pm and this morning there are several pairs of mourning doves calling their familiar tune. There is also a Macaw type sound in the mix. We are off to meet our JM representative this morning after we have our first try at making oatmeal which we purchased last night. At 9:30 we met with Bettina in the library/reception room by the Farol restaurant which is the only restaurant on the grounds. We spent an hour with her and she gave us some very good hints on getting along here. As she is the rep for Mega Tours we discussed the various excursions available to us. We will meet with her again on Thursday.
We decided to take a walk around the grounds and soon found ourselves going downhill toward the ocean. The middle front portion of the property drops away toward the ocean and they have placed a pool part way down which is situated so that several of the luxury apartments can see it. We descended to the pool and then climbed up the other side of the lower area (still well above the ocean and 500’ from it) and walked toward the ocean. The middle area drops to huge rocks next to the ocean but as you walk to the higher ground you come to cliffs dropping off to the ocean. The drop certainly exceeds 150’. There was a gentleman fishing from just below the cliff with a very long pole and line which he was casting to go out and down to the ocean. Close by us was an Algare or giant hole surrounded by a fence. The hole was about 25’ in diameter and fell all the way to the sea below. They are formed by rainwater merging with carbon dioxide which forms an acid that eats away the rock. The bottom eventually falls out and the sea can be seen below. There are many of these along the coast. Rocha Brava is a very attractive property. The building are well kept and roads, etc. are excellent and well lit at night. There are maintenance people trimming the palms and cleaning the water gardens and constantly pruning the flowers in preparation for summer.
When we finished our walk we had lunch and rested for a few hours and then decided to have a better look at Carvoeiro. As I said the actual town is quite small, centered around an ocean cove where there is a large sandy beach with steep cliffs on either side. Most of the town is built on the slope to the beach and the surrounding hillsides. There is a square next to the beach and the streets lead up the hill and away from the square and out of town towards Lagoa which is inland. Those streets have most of the shops. We both had a gelato and looked in some interesting shops and bought nothing for now. By 4:30 we decided to go to Intermarche again to buy a few more groceries. We bought some salmon and other goodies for 19E. We met some other Cannucks from Dartmouth and Picton in the fishmonger section. The store has an amazing variety of fish. After supper we went for a walk. Dark settled in about 7 with the temperature still about 20C and extremely clear.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
We slept in until 8:00 and had our oatmeal. We bought a fine grind of coffee and shelf milk which worked out very well. The shelf milk comes in a cardboard container and is not refrigerated until you open it. I was writing these comments as of 10:45 so you know we were moving rather slowly. Mary just came back from a walk and met a lady from Orillia. I can hear the chainsaw across the walk as a staff member trims the dead branches from the bottom of the huge palms here.
I tried to get on the hotmail account last night at the Rocha Brava cafe but couldn’t get through. I’ll try in town tomorrow. Today we are going on our first trip. We are going to start with Porches (like the car) and then on to Silves and maybe Montechiche in the mountains about 20 kilometres away. We headed towards Lagoa which is only about 5 km away and then east toward Porches on the N125. Porches revived the traditional art of tile pottery making in the 1960’s and now has several large pottery makers. We watched at one small firm as women handpainted the designs. These places are a lot like many roadside business’ in NA with a small cafes to tempt the traveller. There are simply thousands of items to choose from. Many Portuguese houses use the tiles as decoration on the whitewashed exterior. Many are very large scenes. Our main destination was Silves; the old Moorish capital of southern Iberia. Much of it was levelled in the 1755 earthquake so pretty much everything dates from that time except the original city walls and part of the cathedral. The city is topped by a solid Moorish castle upon which the government is spending millions to restore and improve access. We walked the walls which give a breathtaking view of the city and countryside. Silves is built on a high point within a valley and is surrounded by low mountains on all sides. We had parked at the low west end of town and climbed up through narrow residential streets to the cathedral and then down again to the city hall and square below. One of the original city wall towers acts as a gate to the castle.
At the corner of the square on Rui 25 de A bril a rather rotund restauranteur convinced us to eat in his establishment. When we checked our guide it was the Casa Velha Restaurante & Marisquieria; the very one recommended in the guide. Our coffee and couvert was excellent with a particulary cooked carrot which was delicious. We order tuna salad and the food was great. We had a few laughs with waiter and moved on after a relaxing hour on the sidewalk cafe. Across the street was a store selling only items made of cork. Cork is grown here and processed here. Apparently the bark of the cork tree is stripped every 9 years. They mark the date on the tree so they know when to strip it again. I took many pictures in Silves as it is a quaint example of an ancient town that must deal with the automobile.
About 3 pm we made the bad decision to go to Monte Chiche. The countryside was wondeful--full of orange groves and trucks full of almonds. Donkey carts dotted the farms for picking oranges. As we got further north the land becomes very mountainous although much of it is under cultivation. After miles of winding and fast road we arrived in Montechiche realizing that we would be leaving as dark closed in. We decided to come back another day and started off towards Portimao and then Lagoa taking the shortest toute back. In fact we were in Portimao in half an hour. We made one stop to buy oranges from a roadside vendor where we had some real interchange with friendly locals looking down the mountain some 15 miles to Portimao and the ocean. After several dozen round-abouts and some confusion were the A22 meets the N125 we landed back into Carvoeiro where we decided to take a steep road up the west side of the town to Monte Carvoeiro. The view was spectacular as the sun was setting. As we returned to Rocha Brava the maid had done our room up again and we slept until 8 Thursday morning.
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008
Although we arose at 8:20 and had breakfast, it was 10:00 before we met Bettina at the library to register for the trip to Seville, Tangiers and Gibraltar. The trip sounds like something out of a romance novel. Cost for the trip was $290.00 each. I’ll detail it more later.
We ate lunch in our apartment and set out for Praia de Benagil which is only ten minutes away. Benagil is a fishing village, cove and beach which like most of the places along the coast has become a vacation spot. Like many of these beaches it is located at the ocean end of a steep canyon coming from inland. The canyons formed when streams dissolved the rock over millions of years. We parked half way down the steep hill road. The cliffs are about 150’ feet high here so the road is very steep. The road goes down one side of the canyon and makes a 180 degree turn just above the beach and then goes back up the other side toward the top. Our little Peugeot 107 seemed ideal for the purpose. It is light and geared just right to take the hills. We walked down and walked the beach which was inhabited by thirty or forty sun worshippers; a few of which were topless. Although the sea was relatively calm there were some good size rollers crashing and I managed to misjudge how far the surf would come and got my shoes and socks wet. We stayed about an hour and then headed east down the coast to Praia Marinha. Incidentally, Praia means ‘beach’ and virtually all of the coast villages are known as Praia de ? The town sign for Carvoeiro is Praia de Carvoeiro. Marinhas beach is quite organized with beautiful stone steps and gardens all of the way to the bottom of the cliff. We decided to come back another day as it would take too long to explore. So we set off across country to Carvoeiro. Anyone would be amzed at the sheer number of villas and the number being built. In our area building was pretty much single family villas or resorts composed of one and two floor apartmentos. Over the two kilometre stretch between Rocha Brava and Carvoeiro the number of apartments would number around ten thousand with hundreds and hundreds of stand-alone villas of every size scattered along the roads as far back as two kilometres from the coast. Rocha Brava alone has six hundred and there are at least fifteen more major resorts along the coast road to Carvoeiro. However, very few are built close to the cliffs along the ocean. I don’t know if this is zoning or common sense. The most dramatic is the Tivoli Almansor hotel which you see from the road as one level. However it is ten or more apartment levels deep as it backs down the cliff behind. None-the-less the public has access to virtually the whole coast. You can apparently walk from Abufeiria to Portimao along the beaches and cliffs without challenge. Indeed the Algarve seems to have no gated communities and there is no attempt to keep anyone out of anywhere except for the decorative iron gates on many of the old villas. In spite of the number of apartments there are very few people here in the winter. I would estimate a 5% occupancy rate and most of them have grey hair and come from England, Holland or Canada.
As is normal here, the stores were closed from 1 - 3 so we headed for Smiler’s Bar on the square. We were told that Canadians were welcomed there every Thursday at 3 pm. Sure enough a few dozen were seated around a long table and the waitress (Geraldine--a Brit) was running the show. We immediately became fast friends with Len and Mary Ellen Lee from Milton and Charlie and Mary Clark from Mississauga. Geraldine ran a Canadian quiz and after the requisite ‘white’ coffee (expresso 1.20E) we settled into some conversation. Afterwards Len (who has been coming for years) showed me some local haunts and a good internet bar.
Later we did the stores and we bought some goodies. Then we hit the internet cafe and I sent my first email home. We spent another half-hour talking to Len and Mary Ellen and finally went back to RB by seven.
Friday, Feb. 29, 2008
We decided to go to Portimao this day. We lazed around until 11am and eventually got underway. As we crossed the river on the suspension bridge (beautifully designed bridge) we decided to go to Alvor first as Brian and Lynn Bishop had been there last year and Lynn wrote us an email saying ‘raise a glass to us while in Alvor’. So we did!
Actually we left Carvoeiro, up the steep cliff road on the west side of beach and after passing the requisite 1000 villas we arrived in Ferragudo across the river from Portimao (Por ti mo). We stopped below the old castle along the Arade River and had a good look at the marinas on the Portimao side. As usual these small villages can be confusing and we had some laughs sorting it out with locals after going down a few blind streets. The Portuguese are very quiet around strangers. We were told that they are not snubbing you at all; it is just their way and you will have better luck with them if you speak first. To do this we were gradually putting together our vocabulary. Obrigado (thankyou) goes further than any other word so far. It just takes a while for us to feel comfortable using it. However, after hearing them say it many times it comes quite easily.
We eventually found our way down to the Ferragudo downtown or Centro. Actually the word Centro refers to any major area including shopping malls. Here we found some interesting shops and harbour front. There were also several messequieria cooking fish orders right beside the waterfront. You order your fish (pay by the kg) and the waiter takes the fish over to the cook who scales and guts in and cooks it twenty feet from you. We saw fish of every size being cooked on a large series of grills. We inquired about the fish and the maitre de decided to bring out the platter of fresh fish (whole of course). Red fish, red snapper, bream, tamoril (a very ugly fish), grouper, cod, dorado. The restaurant we ate at was the Cafe Suesta. Mary had her long awaited sardines and I decided to try them as well. They give you six sardines which you have to gut yourself as you eat them. Personally I think the best way to eat them is to separate the head and tail and just devour the whole fish. Mary decided to fillet out the white meat but that appears to be about 10% of the fish. As with most meals we had couvert and they also served boiled potatoes. I think I have had my last sardine. As we were to discover the bill also came with the restaurants ‘card’. The better restaurants have very nice cards as a promotion item and remembrance of your stay. The Suesta’s card was postcard size and actually had a rip away postcard to send home.
The balance of the day we spent in Alvor after crossing the bridge. We visited the beach which seems to go forever and worked our way home through Portimao. We decided to return another day. On our way back we decided to try another grocery store that is apparently favoured by locals. It is called PLUS and it is in Lagao. We found the selection very poor so we visited the Intermarche again. Incidentally Intermarche is a chain along with other stores like Modello, although Modello has more hard goods as well as groceries.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Cool last night, but warmed up beautifully as we headed out enroute to Loule’ about 45km away to the east. We took the A22 to get there faster. Brochures indicate a market and specifically a gypsy market. The town is only a few kilometres north of the A22 on N396. It turned out to be a large town (25,000?) and much like the other towns we visited it was tidy and spotlessly clean. We drove right through the center of town past the main market building and central fountain and found a parking spot several blocks away. We found the market (forgot my camera) and it was very Arab in design but very new; just like much of the town. The market was mostly for locals (fish, fish, poultry, red meat and more fish). We eventually left the market and began exploring the narrow streets of the old town where we bought several items and had lunch in an exquisite old bar. White coffee is 1.20E and a tuna salad sandwich only 2.50E. Excellent coffee. We decided to leave after a few hours. As we walked back to the car we stopped in a paridia or bake shop and treated ourselves to some fig and almond cake. We ventured south through the town and I was gradually absorbing the subtleties of their pedestrian/auto laws. In Portugal the round-abouts are ubiquitous. You can do 10 in ten minutes or three or four in one minute. They get to be second nature and some of them are very attractive to look at. In towns however you have to be careful in pedestrian areas because the on and off road generally have white stripes. This means crosswalk and that means you bloody well stop. They observe it stringently as I suspect the fine for forcing your way past a pedestrian is significant. We heard from one of our new mates here that you must have your passport when you are driving and they collect the fine on the spot. He paid 40E for an illegal turn. Anyway, ten minutes and ten round-abouts later we were headed south for Quarteria on the coast. As we discovered in short order Quarteria is the Atlantic City of the Algarve. There are simply dozens and dozens of twenty story apartment hotels and too many tourist facilities to count. I suspect this area caters to the poorer holidayer who needs a hole to stay and a beach to swim in. As we moved another mile or so west the landscape changed as we entered Quinto de Lago, a luxury resort that seemed to stretch for two miles in any direction. Hundreds and hundreds or villas. This place has every type of accomodation from walkups to luxury villas to rival Conrad Black. Typical of Portugal however it is wide open. We saw no sign of any gated community and indeed their staff was very helpful with instructions on how to get out of the place.
At this point we decided to try and find Villamouro a few kilometres to the west again and where there is a marina. After revisiting the A22 we found it and followed the signs to the marina. This was no ordinary marina. Certainly there were boats. However the boats were everything from 100’ and under and the marina apparently holds about 800 of them. Moreover the marina is surrounded by luxury shopping, hotels, apartments and ubiquitous restaurants and cafes including Amercian chains. One of the apartments could pass for a cruise ship at night. The shape and lighting could fool you given that it was almost a kilometre across the marina. We sat and had another coffee before leaving. On the way out I lost my place and ended up back in Quarteria and turned the wrong way on the round-about and ended up near the airport in Faro. That was my biggest goof of the whole trip. After I pulled a fistful of hair out we managed to get back on the A22 and headed home without incident, arriving at around 4pm. Our maid arrived shortly after and I gave her a 5E tip for the week which I continued to do each week. A new microwave was also dropped off for our use. After one week we are gradually getting comfortable with the rudimentary phrases.
Thank you obrigada (f) and obrigado (m)
Good day bom dia
Good afternoon bom tarde’
Good evening bom noit
Excuse me deskoolpe
Hello ohla
Goodbye adeus
That evening we decided to have a look at Carvoeiro after dark. Well it wasn’t exactly jumping but the restaurants were busy with a minimal number of people on the street. We walked the back streets above the town searching for Algar Seco where Charlie and Mary said they lived. In spite of the quiet we felt comfortable and safe. This is a great place as most of the crowd is 50+. Even the restauranteurs are grey.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Sunday turned out sunny and clear and after we did our usual oatmeal routine (we cook it on the stove as opposed to microwaving at home) Mary decided to go for a walk while I vedged. Around ten o’clock we decided to go back to Praia de Benegil to see if the tide was in. It was about half way out and we decided to explore Praia de Marinha further east about a kilometre. Marinha is deep down the cliff like Benegil but there is no village; just a long winding series of steps with gardens. Once down you are surrounded by 150’ red limestone cliffs that have a soft clay element inherent in them. We wandered along to the west end where the rock forms another cove which is somewhat private. We stretched our towel watching a lone sailboat and the tourist caravel (from Portimao) come gliding in for a short peek for those onboard. I noticed several people taking the sun, some in bathing suits and a few women topless but usually very discreet about it. Another couple approached us and he went into the water. I turned my head to see a girl in a bikini with a giant tattoo from her shoulder, winding around her abdomen and down and around one leg. I kind of forgot about her for a few minutes when the next thing I see she is walking totally naked along the beach displaying her flower (take that however you want) for everyone to see. She was in and out of the water only 30’ away so there was no missing her. Interestingly they left as fast as they had come. By this time we were pretty warm as the sun was very hot and air temperature probably 30c.
On our way out we turned east and found another little beach and very posh resort spa another few kilometres down the coast. It is at the end of a long winding, narrow and very rough lane. The buildings were beautiful however and I suspect the lane was to discourage visitors.
Back at the apartment we had a few hours rest and decided to check the internet downtown, but it was closed. I thought we would look up Charlie and Mary Clark whom we met on Thursday. We found Algar Seco Parque and drove down along the cliff road and walked up through the resort. I went to receptions and they directed us to the cantranettis where they were staying. We found them in an absolutely beautiful setting overlooking the sea and a large well equipped one bedroom apartment. We spent an hour with them and promised to meet again.
After changing our clothes we went out for dinner to the Rochmar Restaurante which is just across from our resort. The atmosphere is lovely and the service was wonderful. We had a delicious couvert of Espargos/Manteiga (asparagus in butter). The wine was great and the waiter went to great pains to explain about their house wine (Vinho casa). Mary had sea bass (17E) and I had stone steak. Stone steak you ask? Well frankly I didn’t know what it was but the waiter suggested it. When it arrived I knew it was the right choice. It is a piece of flat stone about 8" square and very thick, heated in a pizza oven to a very high temperature. The stone sits in a wooden board which also had three condiment dips for taste. On the wood sit three succulent pieces of steak which you cook yourself on the stone. It takes about two minutes on each side and you will swear that you have died and gone to heaven after putting a little of their condiment on and taking your first bite. The condiments are garlic, schrimp cocktail and mayonnaise unique to that restaurante. The wine seemed to compliment the food beautifully.
As we finished, the owner (Vito) came over and spent ten minutes talking with us and telling us interesting facts about Portugal and his travels as an employee on a cruise ship thirty years ago. Wonderful experience.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Temperature 18 deg. C Clear with a few clouds gathering. Had our usual breakfast (we are a bit boring) and decided to walk the east side of Rocha Brava. We soon discovered beautiful stand-alone villas and even nicer ocean side apartments. We will certainly consider moving up next time we visit.
We decided to go to Monte Chiche again. We gased up in Lagoa with 30E (gas is 1.43E per litre) and headed down the N125 across the suspension bridge (I call it the Jesus bridge because it’s design is reminiscent of hands praying). It is all white and has gently flowing cables that remind me of robes. An interesting sidelight about Portuguese houses is their door knocker. The majority of them use a door knocker that is made in the shape of a hand. I liked them so much I bought one in a hardware store in Loule’ for 10E. I suppose you can conclude that a hand makes sense as a knocker but I rather think that the down pointed hand portends the hand of God as a protection for the house. This time we had an uneventful trip up to Monchiche and after driving around this very hilly town we parked above the square near a new square and the tourist office. It is out of the way and I doubt that most tourists even find it. The girl in the office was most helpful with information about directions, maps, local floral and fauna, language and where the best restaurant was. Well her directions made us walk down to the square and a long way up the other side of town but the restaurante was the best bario type we had seen. Very much a locals place. 12E each for full dinner and a boite of vinho. We spent an hour and a half just enjoying ourselves and watching the locals. As usual the waiter was great. All you have to do is speak Portuguese or ask about something and they are keen to talk.
From Montchiche we went higher to find Foia up on the mountain at 3000’. The view is quite incredible with hundreds of terraced farms below and Portimao twenty kilometres away in the distance. You have to be there to appreciate it. The drive back went uneventfully and we spent the balance of the evening inside as we were played out.
March 4, 2008
Very windy with high cloud and 15 deg. C. We are staying in today to rest for our trip to Spain and Gibraltar tomorrow. We have to be at the reception at 6am. We did go out to investigate some local places for future trips but didn’t go far. Mary bought a 5E phone card and we called Mike in Calgary and I sent an email home. That phone card never did run out. We spent over an hour talking to Canada on it. Mary did some washing and we had salmon for supper. We are both reading novels and I went for a walk after dark to check out some of the villas that exist on the end of every blcok. The evening has turned very cool and windy after a lovely warm day. We also went for swim in the heated pool which is only 150’ away from our apartment.
March 5, 2008 MEGATOUR
4:30am We set the alarm clock for 4:30 but I was up at 4:15 anyway, so we got our act together and made it to reception by 5:55am. The bus arrived and picked up six more from Rocha Brava and we went on to Abufieria where the bus eventually filled to 52 passengers. Interestingly this bus was limited to 100 kph by computer and the computer also records driver breaks, etc. If he does not take the required breaks and is stopped by police he will lose his license and 4,000E fine.
9:00 We crossed into Andalusia province in Spain over the Guidiana River and stopped for a break inside the Spanish border at a kind of bar/restaurant. They were not really equipped for bus tours. Nice place though. Then we were off again to Seville and on the way we passed unending groves of orange trees and eventually strawberry fields that were covered with white plastic greenhouses--acres and acres covering whole farms.
We arrived in Seville around 11:30 and Luis, our guide gave us a lot of information about Seville. Population of greater Seville is about one and a half million with Seville city at 800,000. The city is not physically large and we were into the core by the river very quickly. The bus toured along the site of the 1929 World Exposition which contained dozens of splendid period buildings. Most exhibit the Moorish influence and are simply grand. I was surprised that Seville is actually a seaport with freighters and cruise ships coming up the river with the tide. Seville was also the home port of Christopher Columbus and he is celebrated here. The bus let us off on the Avenida De Rua Constitution opposite the Alphonso Hotel (another work of art with 500E rooms. From there we followed the light rail transit line down the avenue to the Seville Cathedral. It is the largest cathedral in the world by floor area, shaped as a square because it was original moslem and taken over by the christians sometime around 1500. It had been started in 1184 by Ahmed. Before visiting the cathedral our guide took us on a tour of the old Jewish Quarter (pre 1500) and then on to a tour of the cathedral. The cathedral is the subject of a whole book in itself so I won’t expand on it here. The size, grandeur, detail, history, etc. make for a varied and complex subject. We then had a few hours to wander but we didn’t go too far as we didn’t have maps and were easily lost. This is a city that merits a visit in itself. We left Seville at 4:30 and arrived in Algeciras on the coast around seven o’clock after an interesting stop at a Spanish truck stop. Although my ideas about Spain and many other things changed within a few hours today; I wasn’t prepared for Gibraltar. Frankly my mental image of this outpost of the British Empire was totally wrong. I am writing this looking out our 6th story hotel window of the Al Mar Hotel in Algeciras, Spain overlooking the ‘rock’. I am looking at a huge harbour between Spain and Gilbraltar and it is totally different from all the images I have ever seen. Algeciras is a major container port across from Gibraltar whereas I had always envisioned Gibraltar as a rock outcrop of the Spanish coast with nothing else except a military harbour. In fact it is a rock outcrop native to the African side of the strait and sits out in the ocean by itself attached to Spain by a narrow causeway. In addition it has substantial land area on the inland side where the harbour lies and thousands of buildings making up the living and shopping area. It is relative small but very dense.
This is a marvellous experience. Where else can you visit three countries, travel 600 miles, cross the Straits of Gibraltar to Africa, walk in the Kasbah, have five dinners and two hotel nights with wine for a lousy $300.00.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Beautiful warm day and we are going to Morocco. We arose at 6:15 and had breakfast at seven and then on to the bus for our trip down the coast to the west to Tarifa. We are now on GMT -1 as we have travelled further east from Portugal. As we left Algeciras I could see Gibraltar in the distance directly across the bay from our hotel which in itself was fronted by hundreds of acres of container docks in the Port of Algeciras. The sun was just coming up on the right side of the rock meaning that we were in fact facing east. Gibraltar (the rock) is actually east of Aljeciras across an indented bay in the Spanish coast.
We were off through the mountainous coast road to Tarifa where the ferry to Tanger (Tangiers) was waiting. As we rose higher we could see the Moroccan cosat about 6 - 8 miles away; again very mountainous. In the higher elevation windmills started to appear. At first there were twenty; then twenty more and eventually they numbered in the hundreds and hundreds. Tarifa is an ancient fortification where tariffs were charged to boats entering the Med. (the origin of the word tariff) Several big cats ply this strait ferrying people, cars and buses across. The crossing takes about 40 minutes as Tanger is west of Tarifa and there are severe winds and currents to battle with. . Our guide bought our tickets and we went through customs. The ship made the crossing and we arrived in the very busy port of Tanger. New buses were provided and took us up through grand neighbourhoods in the finer parts of the city. They stopped so some could have a camel ride and then we were off to the Kasbah. The Kasbah is nothing like I imagined. Owing to the fact that Tangiers is built on a mountain side off the bay the Kasbah is very hilly and rough. It is in fact a walled village or community of 27,000 people living in an area of about 4 acres. It is simply hundreds and hundreds of adjoining rooms and apartments with several stories having been added over the centuries as the population increased. There are hundreds of lanes and ways. It is primarily a residential area where membership is a previlege allowed by the government as it is a tax free zone. No income tax is collected from those living there; whether rich or poor. Barbara Woolworth once lived here. It has been there for 600 years and enjoys privileges that are not given to others--assuming you would want to live here at all. Crime is virtually unknown because the residents would know who the criminal was and act accordingly.
As we left the Kasbah we walked to a Moroccan restaurant in the Medina (shopping area next to the Kasbah) where we were welcomed by a small band and delicious soup, shish-ka-bob, baccla, coos coos and chicken. From there we entered the commercial district of the Medina which has hundreds of small shops 8’ x 5’ inset off six foot wide lanes. Many interesting occupations are here but we didn’t have time to look closely as the usual hucksters were driving us crazy. Our guides arranged two wonderful private demonstrations for us by a rug merchant and a chemist. Both were very informative and both were very good salesmen.
Back to Tarifa
We boarded the buses for the quick trip back to the harbour and had a rough trip back across the strait because of strong winds and mounting waves. As we left Tarifa we were struck by the sheer number of windmills located in the hills above the strait. There are probably thousands due to the strong winds in the area. We had a rest in our hotel in Algeciras and then a good supper and good conversation with John and Mary Anderson (of Kitchener) and John and Wilhimena Boots from Amsterdam. She spoke excellent English while he struggled with the language. However his English was better than my dutch.
After a good sleep we awoke again at 6 for a 7 o’clock
breakfast and then off to explore Gibraltar at 8.
Going Home
Friday, March 7, 2008
As we left Gibralter we turned north for the long ride back to Seville and Portugal. Again I was amazed at the farming in southern Spain. Everything from olives and oranges to bulls and strawberries thriving in a very dry climate with irrigation from the mountains not far away.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
The 300 mile journey was accomplished in six hours and after a twelve hour sleep Friday night we decided to drive over to Praia de Roche (Beach of Rocks which is a village and beach on the southern edge of Portimao. As we were told the site is beautiful from the walk 150’ above the beach or on the beach which is divided in two parts separated by a tunnel. We at lunch at a beachfront cafe called Claire’s and walked the beach and then walked around the Tivoli marinas and got a self tour of the Tivoli hotel complex which is composed of hundred of townhouses (2 storey) where your boat can be kept at your front door. The prices were not bad. We drove north through the old town of Portimao but were too tired to stop. Went to grocery store and home.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
We walked to the nearby beach at Centiane but otherwise we read novels all day. The trip had caught up with us.
Monday, March 10, 2008
As I write this we are planning a trip somewhere west of here. In the end we decided to go to Cape St. Vincent and visit Sagres and Lagos as well. We took the A22 just past Lagos and then the 125 to Sagres without stopping. Cape St. Vincent is just west of Sagres. This was considered the end of the world by the ancients as it is the most south western point of Portugal surrounded by the Atlantic on the south and west. Cliffs are 200’ and even although the wind was minimal the surf was crashing. However the surfers were not having much luck as the waves were only about 5 feet. We drove back to Sagres and found a small very local style restaurant. The restauranteur’s family were eating cataplana at the table next to us (sausage, tomatoes, clams, etc. cooked as a large stew). Sagres appears to be a very busy place in the mid to high season but most of it was closed today. We drove along the coast and into Salema, a small fishing village with several apartmento’s and villas. Although a tourist town the locals were still very much in evidence along with the ubiquitous fishing dory. Again we were tired and decided not to do Lagos today.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
I didn’t keep a journal of this day’s activities but we did meet John and Mary Anderson and Don and Joyce Wright for dinner at the Cafe de Bife. We had planned it last Friday on the way home. We spent two hours in the cafe and had a nice time. I had stone steak for the second time.
Aside: I have read 3 novels in the last week
The Lorimer Line
The Lincoln Lawyer
Illustrious (historical account of this aircraft carrier in WWII)
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Temperature about 20C but very windy. Ocean is choppy but sun is brilliant. Looks like a 22-24C day. We are going to the wine estate of Sir Cliff Richards (the old British crooner). It is at Guia and produces his ‘Vida Nova’ (new life) wine.
We were picked up by small van and taken along the A22 to Guia. The young fellow was making close to 160 kph and I was very uncomfortable. Fortunately he drove much slower on his way back.
We were impressed with the winery; however the wine left something to be desired. The estate has about 77 acres of vines most of which had only reached full maturity about four years ago. The tour was led by a middle-aged Brit export who loves Sir Cliff. Unfortunately she was a pretty lousy tour host.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
A very nice day in paradise. We decided to go to Lagos today and then visit Smiler’s Bar around 3 in Carvoeiro. Lagos (La goosh or La goach). Easy trip via N125 from Lagoa (Lagoa is a few kilometres north of Carvoeiro and Lagos is about 20 km to the west and is a larger town). Lagos in Nigeria (a Portuguese colony) was named after this small coastal town. Lagos turned out to be a very walkable town with many streets, shops, restaurants and beautiful river waterfront boulevard. It seems a little less touristy than some others with it’s nice harbour and marina. We ate (we love eating) at a very well appointed restaurant called O Cantinho Algarvio. We had vegetable soup, couvert, piri piri and coffee for 9E each. We then drove over to Praia de Ana a beautifully rocky beach where the town meets the ocean.
We made it home and freshened up before going down to Smiler’s in Carvoeiro. Charlie and Mary Clark were supposed to be there but only John and Mary Anderson. showed up. Geraldine did her weekly Canadian quiz and then we drove John and Mary home to their place at Palm Gardens. They took us in and showed us their very nice apartment. The real downside to their apartment was the lack of sunlight.
Friday, March 14, 2008
It is a gray day but 20C. A good day for apartment hunting for next time. We got an up close look at #499 and #500. Both are two bedroom and large. #499 is expensively furnished while #500 is average but complete with huge walk-in shower. We also saw #477 which is a one bedroom (two double beds) on aone floor.
We went into the sales office and discovered that 98% of RB is privately owned but rented out by RB property management. Later we checked around Algar Seco but decided that it is a little to close to suit us and no real amount of grounds to walk. We had supper at the Restaurante Jardin do Farol (lighthouse) just outside Rocha Brava gates. Mary had lamb and I had grouper. Both delicious and with great wine. Great service.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Decided to do a test trip to the Faro Airport (aeroporte) since we had to be there at 6:30 in the morning and I didn’t want any screwups. It took about 50 minutes to make the trip and we worked out the little hitches involved in threading our way through the street maze to the airport.
Then we headed north and west into the hills with the intent of finding some more little villages. We actually went through some heavy agriculture/commercial areas north of Faro before getting into the mountainous region. As we drove up and past the first range of small mountains/hills we started to drive through some interesting little villages and a virtually unending fields of oranges and terraced hillsides. They have been terracing here since Roman times and there are huge areas given over to terraces. We stopped in a town called Alte where the main road runs down in the valley and the town is higher up. We spent an hour in a very nice restaurante where we had very attentive service and good food. We decided to explore the town and ended up staying two more hours just exploring the place. The upper region of the town had some beautiful villas lining one street and a very large mill pond at the highest point in the town and what appeared to have been a mill at one time which was now being converted to a restaurant or home. Much of the life of the town was centered around this pond and the bridge that crosses it. Below there were dozens of small streets that we drove up and down through before parking and walking. When we had our fill of Alte we drove west to Messines and back south to Silves where we had spent a whole day earlier in our trip. We were back home by 4:30 and had an gelato at the Rocha Brava cafe. Nice day, great weather. Decided to have a frozen pizza for supper.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Well, this is our last day. Although we have been swimming in the pool and have been to many ocean beaches we hadn’t been swimming in the ocean. The weather was warm enough but the ocean is quite cold. I decided to give it a try and Sunday was warm at 25C. We packed up and made the short trip to Benegil Beach down amongst the cliffs. After relaxing in the sun for a while I made an attempt to enter the water but discovered that the five foot rollers were just too large for me. The beach drops off about two feet once you are in so you are quickly committed. Since I wasn’t used to swimming in surf I thought better of it. I was thoroughly wet but hadn’t actually been off my feet. By this time of year the sun is pretty hot and we had to protect ourselves from it with towels. We had moderate tans from being in the sun but were not going to push our luck on our last day.
We drove down the coast to the east for a last jaunt and ended up going further than we had before. In fact there is no coast road. There is just a dog’s breakfast of adjoining roads and round-abouts that go to and fro from the coast. It would be easy to get lost if it were not for the excellent signs that keep you oriented. Most of these roads are only twelve feet wide with sharp curves and soft shoulders. Anyway we suddenly arrived in a large metropolitan area and Mary was convinced it was Abufieria. I thought that is was Alabanderiera but there were not town signs. Eventually we figured out that Albufieria was much further way, so this must be Alabanderiera. We found a few very exclusive vacation estates there with beautiful golf courses. We ended our day with a relaxing ride back along the coast looking forward to an evening of packing for the trip home.
Monday, March 17, 2008
We were up at 4:30 and on the road by 5:30 after dropping off the key at reception. The trip to Faro was uneventful and we dropped off the car (we several others on the same flight) and met some of our new friends in the airport. The flight home took exactly 8 hours as we flew over Cape Cod and eventually over Niagara Falls. The pilot came on the speaker and suggested that the portside passengers would have a nice view of the falls. Then to everyones surprise he rolled the plane onto it’s starboard side giving the other side a good view. Easy descent into Toronto and great (but cold) weather. We had arrived in Toronto at 12:30 EST but since daylight savings time is now enacted earlier we go in at 1:00 and after having a meal at Swiss Chalet we made it home by 5:30 where we were greeted by a snow packed driveway. What else is new!
posted by Peter | 4:57 PM
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