Portugal 2009

We have just returned from three weeks in Portugal once again. Our experience last year was so good that we wanted to do it again. This year the time seemed to fly by and three weeks was not long enough.
We stayed at Rocha Brava again. Anabela gave us a ocean view townhouse villa complete with two bedrooms and three bathrooms on two floors for a good price. Our immediate neighbours were Ian and Heather MacDonald from Ottawa and a Dutch couple from Amsterdam. A few days after we arrived we decided to do a day trip to Alvor (only 20 minutes away). Alvor is a old fishing village surrounded by modern resorts but we found it extremely charming and had dinner there. As usual with the fish restaurants they cook outside and my Sea Bream and Mary's chicken was cooked on a barbecue in the street. The whole fish was brought to the table and was professionally boned right in front of us. Beautiful.
Over the three weeks we made several minor and two major excursions. The first was a driving trip to Evora in the Alentejo region which is a large province first used by the Romans for growing wheat on its rolling prairie land which is quite devoid of trees and much like western Manitoba. Evora is an old walled city of 50,000. We stayed at one of Portugal's many poussadas (Inns with character)called Dos Loios which in fact is an old monastary. Immediately adjacent is the Roman temple of Diana (see picture)from around 100AD. The town is small and has numerous points of interest including the 15mile aquaduct coming in from the hills. It is virtually intact and comes right into the city over the highway. We had a good time eating at some excellent restaurants and exploring. On the way home we stopped at Beja, a hilltop town where the very old meets modern in the middle of a Portuguese prairie. I should mention that Portugal has excellent roads including a beautiful expressway through the mountains of the Algarve and all the way to Lisbon.
During our second week we met up with John and Mary Anderson and went out to dinner with them. They are an interesting and well travelled couple who always have a story to tell. We tried to hook up with Charlie and Mary Clarke during this time but didn't manage that until our last week in spite of the fact that both couples were staying at Algar Seco in Carvoeiro (a very nice resort).
On the second Sunday we took an organized tour to Lisbon which included a tour of the harbour and a tour of the mountain town called Sintra near Lisbon. In the evening we went out to a Fado club. Fado is a particularly Portuguese music known for its melanchony. We spent about four hours and enjoyed a good meal and as usual, lots of wine. Our hotel was downtown and the next day our guide loaded us onto one of Lisbon's archaic but lovely trams which make transport in the downtown so convenient. The trams are old but extremely efficient and are a joy to ride as they transverse up steep grades and around tight corners. Our driver was a gal of about 30 who was immaculately dressed and wore a big smile. As she drove through the streets people on the street waved and she waved back. A very civil society it seems. The trolley tooks us to a high point over the harbour and our guide took us on a walking tour of the Alfama; an old and charming area of Lisbon. At 12 she let us go for three hours and we had a great time shopping and eating downtown. A 3 the bus picked us up at the hotel and we had a pleasant 120 miles ride back to the Algarve.
We ate out on several evenings enjoying the local cuisine, including one evening with Ian and Heather at Algar Benegil overlooking the ocean at Benegil beach. I even got to order 'stone steak' again which is one of the Algarve's lovely treats.
During our last week we drove out to Aljezur and Monchique on separate days and enjoyed the beauty of the ocean and the mountains. I have to mention the wonderful meal we had at a lonely beach on the Atlantic near Aljezur. The olives were to die for and the main course was exceptional for an outpost in the sandy dunes of this wild area. Typical European excellence.
Finally we had to get up at 4am to catch the plane home. The eight hour ride is the part we like the least but we arrived home at 11:45am and had lots of time to collect the car and have a meal before driving home. All in all a very good trip.