Riding the Rails

(Posted by Ange written March 21st)
Well, we have completed all of our first class travel and I must say, I'm not really sure how I'm going to go back to coach come Friday when we board the plane.

Our first class train experience was fabulous. Keeping in mind I've never been on first class anything, this was definitely the way to go, in my opinion. That is once we figured out where the hell we were supposed to be on the train! Here is Ange and Dave's 1st Time Getting to First Class on the Alpha Pendular Train Experience:

Arrive at train station (Albufeira) at 6:30 A.M. to catch 7:06 train. Not knowing how it all works we figured we better be there early. So we were the first ones there. Apparently you don't really need to arrive until about 10 prior to departure time. Unfortunately the picture of me standing under the big clock that announces this god awful time is on Dave's computer or I'd post it here for proof that I was actually standing upright with my eyes open at that hour!

So, the train arrives. We have tickets but don't know what any of it means, so we figure "first class front of the plane, first class front of the train." (Later when we switch trains in Lisbon, we see the blatent labelling of "Conferto" and the carriage number on the side of the train.) We race down to the first train, barely getting our 2 enormous suitcases, 2 way to big duffel bags and 2 knapsacks (NEVER again will pack this much stuff!!) on the train before the doors close. Whew. We look around. This is not first class. Or it better not be! Dave goes to investigate while I wait with our ridiculous pile of luggage. 10 - 15 minutes later, Dave returns. Our first class seats are in the back, not near the back, but the last car. So we now have to lug all aforementioned luggage from the first car to the last car. I think there must have been 6 cars in-between, since we didn't sit down until 7:40, 35 minutes after we boarded the bloody train! Making your way with such luggage is no joke-the aisles are narrow and apparently all the friendly people in Portugal stay in the Algarve. I'm sure everyone hated us, but give me a break! Yes, lady, if you don't move your arm from dangling outside the seat my suitcase is going to hit it. Yes Mr. 250 pound heart attack waiting to happen, it might be considerate to MOVE instead of just standing between cars, carrying on your conversation with your equally ugly wife. It was unbelievable and by the end I was ready to tell anyone without common courtesy to Fuck. Right. Off. I'm not kidding when I say people coming toward (carrying nothing) us actually expected us to move somewhere (maybe they thought we could levitate or something). We had some very good laughs, but jeez!

Ahhhh... but we finally make it to our seats, leaving the riff raff behind. Although we have missed hot food service and magazine/newspaper give away, we do have seat service for light refreshments. We have so much space we don't even rub shoulders. My chair not only reclines for my back, but the bottom seat slides forward, so I am really chillaxin' here. We have coat hooks for our jackets (which I don't figure out until some time later, but I still think it's cool). There is an automatic blind should the sun be too bright or if for some reason we don't want to see the amazing scenery. And foot space! I am completely stretched out and my tray still comes down so I can have my tea. And the bathrooms... ladies you will appreciate this. So clean. They have toilet liners. The paper is softer than it was in my apartment in Albufeira. Everything is automatic. Yep! I'm liking this first class.

The scene between the Algarve and Porto is incredible, from vineyards, to cattle farms, forests, to flat plains, to the ocean with citrus trees thrown in everywhere. It's gorgeous and I don't sleep a wink of it. Although we are travelling at times over 220 km/hr, so it does rather wiz by, leaving me somewhat nauseous and with a bit of Vertigo for the rest of the day.

So now I am converted. Like I said, perhaps it is because I have never travelled first class anything, but in my opinion, first class on the train is one lovely experience and if I ever take a train again, it's first class all the way baby! And should I win the lotto, I'm moving on up to first class on the plane as well, which I picture to be somewhat similar. Look what Europe has done to me!!!

Ooppsss....One More

I have been informed by my lovely friend Coralee that I neglected to say hi to her in my last blog. So this blog is dedicated sloley to my special friend Cor, who reads daily and can relate to me in ways so very few can. Cor...thanks for reading. And here is your 15 seconds of fame in the Euroroadtrip Blog world! Love ya! :)

Weekend Update from Portugal

(posted by ange written March 13)

Well, my moods are catching up with me, so my desire to sleep or lay about has begun to overcome my desire to sit and write about our latest exploits here in Portugal. However, since I know many of you are rising every morning and anxiously turning your computers on to find out if there are any new updates (hi mom, hi cathy, hi nicole, hi dad, hi kim, hi maj, hi lorri, hi helga, hi dave, hi muller, hi sue, and if i'm forgetting anyone who's told me they are reading constantly, hi to you too AND thank you, thank you) I thought I ought to at least give a brief update of the latest goings on.



Still sunny and blue skies, we headed out on Sunday to the western-most point of the Algarve, St. Vincente. Here the Atlantic Ocean meets the Straight of Gibraltar. I know I keep saying this about everything, but it was beautiful (although windy and just a bit chilly for me in my summer clothes!). I got out to see the sight, then retired to the car while Dave ran from one end to the other taking fabulous photos. From there we hit the road and drove up the west coast. I am told it was amazing. While Dave drove and stopped at sea side villages and view points along the way, I was sound asleep the whole time! Once or twice I tried really hard to wake up but just ......


Well, I just lost about 3-4 paragraphs of writing here and definitely don't have it in me to redo it. Damn! Well, at least you know what we did on Sunday! Hopefully I'll get a burst of energy some time soon and will have energy for both the rest of our trip and some more detailed writing here!

Only in Portugal...

...are you allowed to slip behind the bar of your favourite watering hole and start serving drinks. You are allowed to open a bottle of wine to refill your own glass. You can help yourself to a bottle of water from the fridge. You can take orders from paying customers and start pouring up drinks. Beer. Wine. Mixed drinks (which are generously free poured by the way... and I cannot emphasize generously enough!). SO, I got to play bartender for a bit last night at Steps. Much fun was had by all. I'm not sure who I entertained more, myself, Dave, the customers or Jason, our most special bartender and friend. If only we had brought the camera!

I Need A Day Off...

(posted by ange written March 10)

Today I just had to take the day off. Yes, I decided what I really needed today was some good old R&R. After spending the past few days driving here and there and everywhere, going from village to village, beach to beach, ruins to ruins, old city to old city, taking in a cornucopia of sights and sounds (well, not really sounds so much, but it flows better in the sentence), it was time for me to chillax, as we (Dave and I) say. So no travelling about for me today. As it happens, the weather here in Albufeira is quite nice. As in, grab your Ipod and tune out by the pool nice. So I spent some time in the morning by the pool with Dave. Had some breakfast. Then as Dave headed off on a castle hunt, I headed off in search of a lounge chair by the pool for some more sun time. I will definitely be bringing home a tan. :) Once soaked in sun for the day I puttered around the house, lazed on the couch and finally got myself showered up and dressed around 6:30. Aaaahhhh. A beautiful day.

This beautiful day followed an absolutely perfect day yesterday...the beauty of having a car...freedom. Freedom means never having to follow a plan. We set off for Lagos, the plan being to take a little boat ride around some rock formations we had heard about, maybe stop at a place where you walk down 200 steps to some beautiful beach or something (we were exactly sure, this information being gathered from a lovely Danish girl with a strong accent and imperfect English), and then spend the afternoon wandering around the town of Lagos. Well, we arrived at Ponte da Piedade, which happened to be both the site of the 200 steps and the little boat rides (which sit at the bottom of said steps). OMG! This place was amazing. We arrive atop a cliff, or cliffs, actually. Stunning. We look down at dozens of natural rock formations, amazing shapes and arrangements. We go on a photo spree. Eventually we make our way down the stairs, hire a boat and are taken about all of these formations and natural grottoes. It is absolutely breathtaking. Hugh Heffner - you don't know from grotto! This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Words cannot describe these formations, so you will have to wait for the pictures. After 45 minutes of tooling around such natural beauty and wonder, seeing a city just wasn't on the menu. We needed more natural beauty. So off to Praia Da Rocha...an absolutely stunning beach that is actually man made (which does not in any way take away from it's beauty). It is lined with rock formations and goes on forever. We kicked back here for a couple of hours to soak up sun before heading home. It was deemed to be the perfect day.

BE PREPARED

(posted by ange written March 8)

To all those who just can’t wait to see our photos… Be prepared. Be very prepared. Be very prepared to sit down and make yourself comfortable for a long time. To date, 12 days in to our Portugal vacation extravaganza, between the two of us, we have taken over 1,000 photos. Yes, that’s 1,000 photos and we have 14 days left to keep on snapping! We figure we will have to hold a “Portugal Photo Exhibition”, perhaps a 2 day affair where we will set up rows of chairs in our living room and put on a Power Point presentation along with a slide show exhibition of our trip. Tentatively this exhibition will be held from 10 – 4 each day, with a short break for lunch, which we will not provide (we’ve just been to Portugal; we can’t afford to give you all lunch!). During this intriguing presentation, you’ll see pictures of old castles and ruins, doorways, alleyways, the ocean, cliffs, many a church, a chapel of bones (literally), all sorts of architecture and Portuguese scenery, as well as an array of other subjects yet to be determined.

So, who’s ready to sign up?

Bartender Refuses to Stop Service!

(posted by ange written March 7)

(no photo due to intoxication and inability to use camera - ha ha ha)

Last night Dave and I went out for a really nice dinner to a restaurant, Casa da Fonte, recommended to us by Jason, our favourite bartender at Steps Bar. We had an amazing meal, great wine and a delicious dessert. With full bellies and an ever so slight buzz from the wine and complimentary port we were given, we planned to stop by Steps Bar across the street for a (I emphasize a here, meaning one) glass of wine, a quick chat with Jason (our fabulous bartender and fast-forming friend) and call it an early night so as to get a fresh and early start on today’s excursion to the Gypsy Market.

It’s an absolute delight to be in the company of Jason, and some other new friends were at Steps as well, so we were completely enjoying ourselves. As we finished our wine, we requested to settle up, which normally means Jason immediately telling us how little we owe. Last night however, Jason would not let us leave. “Just another sliver…” Our protests went ignored and eventually I caved, “Okay, just a sliver”, thinking a few more sips. Ah no. Apparently a sliver is a whole glass. So sliver, after sliver, Jason continued to keep our drinks full and refused to take our money and allow us to leave. No, we were in for the long haul. It was the same for Mette, a tour representative who had to be at work at 7:00 a.m. The poor girl could not get an empty glass of beer! So drinks flowed freely, as did conversation and much, much, much laughter. Good times were most definitely had by all!

At one point we were finally given a total… 5 euro! (That’s $8) Now, we are certain that we drank at least one bottle of wine, possibly 2, certainly quite a bit more, and all Jason wants is 5 euro! We give him 10 and we have to argue with him to keep the change. After we are all settled up, the drinks continue to flow. We are finally allowed to leave at around 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. We clearly are not getting up fresh and early. If we make it out to the grocery store we will be satisfied that we did not waste a day of the car rental!

The morals of the story here are: 1. If you are friends with your bartender, he will call your drinking shots. 2. If you are friends with your bartender the cost of your drinks is arbitrary and will be even cheaper than it already is. 3. Plan for hangover – you will not be getting up early and you will most definitely not feel fresh!

P.S. – We did make it to the Gypsy Market, just as they were tearing down their tents. That’s okay. Basically it’s a bunch of gypsies traipsing from town to town trying to pawn off a bunch of CRAP! We did have a lovely day enjoying a bit of sun on the beach in Quarteira, and a drive through some very shi shi little resort towns. Tonight there will be no drinking, no visiting Jason and tomorrow we will arise early, fresh and ready for a trip to Lagos and some pretty crazy rock formations.

The Castle vs. The Windmills

(posted by ange re: March 6)

Today we took a drive to the top of the Algarve. Serra de Monchique is the highest point of the Algarve, with the peak being 2,960 ft. From the peak there are 360° views of the Algarve, from rolling hills and farmland around and out to the Straight of Gibraltar (At least I think it was the Straight of Gibraltar. It could have been the Atlantic Ocean. I don’t know which direction I was facing. Regardless, my point is we could see the ocean!). We got out for a photo shoot but, now don’t smile too big, it was freezing and windy as hell. I hightailed into the gift shop while Dave got some shots. Plan B: Let’s drive around to explore and take photos.

We saw lots of cool stuff, but two things take the cake in the cool department today: windmills and an old castle. Yes, two totally different sights…one new, modern, high tech, the other ancient, falling apart, no tech. Both very cool. But one cooler.

First, the windmills. I love windmills. I think they are the coolest looking things, especially when you drive by a whole “farm” of them. I’ve seen them a few times, but never as I did today. These windmills were up on Serra de Monchique, on a dirt road on the side of the hill, completely unguarded. We were able to drive right up to the damn things! I mean, right up… I was leaning against one! It was unbelievable! You could hear the whooshing of each turn. And they are HUGE! I was dumbstruck. I was soooo excited to be that close to these things, you would have thought I was meeting Dave Matthews! All I could think was that my nephew Markus would have had a conniption had he been with me, since the blades look like propellers, and I’m sure he would have thought they were some kind of airplane, and if you know Markus, well, airplanes are a BIG deal! I was giddy for the rest of the afternoon at being that close to those powerful harnessers of wind.

And then there was the castle. After driving around the hillside of Monchique, we went to Silves to see the old Moorish Castle. It’s quite amazing to think that these walls were built hundreds of years ago and are still standing today. We paid our 1.25 euro to get in and… well, we entered the inside of the wall and walked around the perimeter of the wall and so really got to see an old wall with a few turrets or minarets or whatever they are called here and there. The interior was pretty much hollow and in the process of being restored (although it didn’t appear they were following too much of the original plan, being that they were working on a restaurant and gardens, using wood panelling and plexi-glass, etc.). I don’t know, it’s neat, but without much context I couldn’t get all that excited about it. It sort of seems like it’s just a big wall to walk around, albeit a very old one. I felt a little guilty at not being a little more impressed, but I then I thought, maybe I’m just not an old-ruined-castle kinda girl. I’m probably more of an intact-old-castle-with-meaningful-stuff-inside-to-look-at kind of girl.

And so today, new, modern, high tech wins out over ancient, falling apart, no tech. Being up close and personal with the windmills totally kicked ass!

Road Trip!

(posted by ange re: March 5)

Today was our first day with the car… ROAD TRIP! Off to the Alentejo region… cork trees, almond trees, storks nesting, olive groves, old castle ruins, lemon trees, a village here, a village there, orange trees, rolling hills forever, herds of sheep, herds of cattle, flat plains… all this and I think there was more but my brain is drained after a drive that included so much beauty.

I am happy to report that Dave and I navigated highways, roads, streets, and cobblestone lanes with nary a problem. (I think I’ve had more difficulty trying to get out of Seattle!) Dave drove like a pro while I sat in the passenger seat overseeing the map and generally telling him where to go, something, as we all know, I’m tremendously good at! J

We made stops in the tiny village of Entradas; then Beja and Mertola. We were seeking castle ruins. We found such castles. Note to self: castles are closed on Mondays. Unfortunately, we were unable to penetrate these fortresses, for either they were closed on Monday, or were being restored and closed permanently. Sigh. Note to Foder’s Guide Books: Castles in Portugal are CLOSED on Mondays! Ah well, we still saw some pretty old looking buildings – very cool.

Also very cool… Storks’ nests. Imagine a nest the size of the swans’ nests at Lost Lagoon. These nests are perched atop telephone poles, storks nesting peacefully inside (presumably waiting for an infant to be dropped into its care and control to then be delivered to some expecting parents somewhere). It’s quite something to see and words alone cannot describe it. Pictures will follow when we drive that way again and stop and take some pictures.

Today was also our first day outside English speaking-land. There proved little difficulty, although I must admit that I am not so great at trying to figure out what someone is saying or what something says and secretly wished it was all in English so I wouldn’t have to think so much. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. Fortunately, Dave’s patience runs on forever and he has a gift of communication… apparently in any language.

Our drive today was a freeing experience. Dave and I both felt so free to be driving in a completely unknown place, having a general idea of where we want to go, but having really no idea about how to get there, only guessing at what highway signs may mean, looking out the windows and thinking that we are so lucky to be seeing something we’ve never seen before and that we will not see anywhere at home. That’s the beauty of a road trip… you get in the car with a destination in mind, but until you hit the road, you truly don’t know what you will see or where you will end up.

P.S.

Feel free to comment, either on the site or via email....i love to hear from everyone back home. :)

Quick Update

See Post Below (I'm too tired to figure out how to quickly move it up here!) :)

(posted by ange re: march 3)

Today was extremely tough. Sat around the pool for 3 hours. We are both getting a KICK ASS tan! I wrote a bit. We booked a rental car for next week so we car start seeing some other towns and get into the interior where it is less touristy. I'm here at the internet cafe updating the blog. Going to BBQ burgers tonight and then go out for drinks. Whew. Life. Is. Tough.

The weather is great. Warm durning the day, cooler at night, but always sunny and clear. We're really looking forward to doing some exploring outside Albufeira. We get our car on Monday and have plans for a number of different excursions, including both sides of the coast of Albufiera, up the coast of the Atlantic, Fatima (holy city), and into the Alentejo region to see cork trees, olives, and castles.

I'm posting some pictures here, but not labelling them as it is quite tricky and I'm getting tired of being at the internet cafe. These are all from yesterday and include the Albufeira Parish Church, Ruins of the old Communist Party building, Fisherman's marina, another church, the Sant'Ana Church (older looking one) and a few others. Hope you enjoy!

Night Life

(posted by ange written March 3)

Night life here in Albufeira is, well, quite quiet actually. Mind you, it is off season. We imagine that when tourist season begins the town is buzzing. How else does one explain bar, after bar, after bar, after bar…. You get the picture. There are a few big clubs, but mostly it is very small “locals”, run by the friendliest and most fantastic people we’ve met. I likened it to Cheers, when last night we walked into Steps Bar (where I had been on Monday) and Jason, the bartender, cried out “Canada! Canada! You’re back!” And then ran up to Dave and said “You had the jet lag, you couldn’t come on Monday.” (And then proceeded to laughingly tell him all about me asking tons of questions and writing everything down in my notepad! Yes, a place where everybody, or at least the bartender, knows your name, or at least where you’re from!

These bars are tiny. You walk in and the bar is immediately there. There are maybe 6 – 10 bar stools. And then there may be half a dozen tables or so and that is that. Some may have a pool table. The bartender gets to know you right away and everyone at the bar becomes fast friends. At Marmot Café, run by Jose, we had a great time with him and a fellow patron, Carlos, both of whom were happy to give us advice on Portugal, while at the same time kibitzing with each other. At Olly’s Bar the entire bar was in conversation…we had 2 Canadians (that’s Dave and I), an Austrian, a guy from Belgium, a Brit and Olly, the owner, from Holland. At Steps Bar we had our fabulous bartender Jason, from South Africa, who is both hilarious and a wealth of information on the history of Portugal. There we also chatted with a completely hammered Irish couple and a lovely woman from England who now lives here. It’s fascinating, meeting all these people, talking about all these different places, hearing people’s opinions from all over the world. This is what a bar should be. We absolutely love it and look forward to going in to say hi Jose or Jason or Olly or…

Tonight we’re hitting Flannery’s, an Irish pub which is supposed to be fantastic. Apparently when you walk in the bartender finds out your name and where you’re from and then picks up his guitar and sings you a song. I, of course, am going love this!

Enjoy the following good time photos….


Inside Steps Bar

Me and Jason in Steps Bar

Dave and the Austrian At Olly's

Me and Olly at his bar

Happy Couple at Steps Bar

Dave and Carlos at Marmata

Inside Olly's Bar

Me with Jose at Marmata

Dave and I at Marmata

Today I Prayed

(posted by ange re: march 2)

While out and about playing photographers again today, Dave and I stopped at church. Well, at first we stopped at a church to take photos. It is a beautiful church, as you can see. It is a landmark or reference of sorts, as you can see the bell tower from anywhere in the town square area. The Parish Church of Albufeira was built between 1782 – 1800, and was fully restored in 1993. The Bell Tower dates to 1869, with the bell being 72 stairs up a winding staircase (the Bell Tower Grind??). You can hear the bell toll today. Immaculate Conception is the Patron Saint and title holder of the parish. We, or should I say Dave, took some beautiful photos of the building and the bell tower and then carried on our picture snapping journey.

Later, as we passed the Parish Church of Albufeira on our way home, the church doors were open. We decided to check it out. I was struck by my experience as I entered the church. I immediately felt I could not take pictures (although I didn’t mind that Dave did). Candles for lighting were on either side and I was immediately compelled to light one. I felt that I could not enter without lighting one. Now, you don’t actually light a candle. You put a coin in a machine and a mechanical candle lights up. I put in my coin and lit a candle for my nana.

As Dave wandered, taking photos, I walked the length of the church, admiring its beauty. I then sat on a pew and said a prayer. Now, I do not consider myself a religious person. Spiritual, yes. Religious, no. I am a Catholic on paper only. In fact, this is the first time I had been in a Catholic (or any religion for that matter) church for anything other than a wedding or a funeral. But something came over me. I prayed for my own health and well being and for the care of those I hold dear. I don’t know exactly who I was praying to, but the experience was overwhelming. As I was leaving, I dipped my fingers in what I believe was the Holy water. Then of course I didn’t know what to do with it. So I rubbed it on my neck (hopefully this is not a major faux pas) and walked out into the fresh air. Feeling a tear, I put on my sunglasses and breathed deeply, wondering at what had just happened.

300 Year Old Door

(posted by ange written March 2)

There are many beautiful and interesting doors in the streets of old Albufeira. This door is 300 years old. 300 years. A door. This door is older than our dear country. We are not looking at some ancient historic church or other building. We are looking at a door. I know nothing about the building or what is behind the door. Only that this red door is 300 years old. How many times has someone knocked on this door? Pounded on this door? Can you imagine? Guessing that number is like looking at one of those giant jars of jelly beans and trying to figure out how many are inside. How many people have passed through that door? How many hands have touched this door? How many times has it been slammed? How many times has it been thrown open in great anticipation of the person on the other side? How many times has it gone unanswered? How many times has someone been locked out of that door? How many times has someone been carried over the threshold of this door? How many times has something been delivered to that door? How many times has someone stood at this door, wanted to knock, but walked away? How many times has someone wondered about this 300 year old door?

35 Year Old Mental Patient Discovers Potential Cure For Mood Disorder

(posted by ange written March 2)

From Albufeira, Portugal. A 35 year old Canadian woman believes she has found a CURE for Bipolar Disorder. While this is an unscientific, single subject study with no controls, she feels the results look extremely promising.

Ms. Simpson was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, a mental illness affecting a number of the population unknown to her at the moment (but it is significantly large). Bipolar Disorder is characterized by mood swings – manias, or highs and depressions, or lows. This is an extremely debilitating disorder, although it does not have to be with proper treatment and medical care. Many people find treatment quickly, stabilize and go on to lead relatively normal lives.

Unfortunately for Ms. Simpson, she is in small percentage of Bipolar patients that are “difficult to treat”. Diagnosed four years ago, Ms. Simpson is still working with her doctors to find a treatment that will work to provide her with long term stability. “I have tried so many different medications; I am beginning to lose count. Slowly I am running out of medications to try. We are beginning to look at unconventional treatment options,” says Ms. Simpson.

It is with all this in mind that she stumbled upon her own findings of a likely cure. Being unable to work, Ms. Simpson has the luxury of free time to plan long-stay vacations. After working hard to save what she could from her shamefully small disability benefit, and with donations from family, Ms. Simpson and her boyfriend booked a one month vacation to Portugal. While the excitement and planning of said trip caused a psychotic episode just prior to departure (and almost putting the whole trip at risk), arriving in Portugal seems to have provided the cure.

Since arriving in Portugal Ms. Simpson has felt excellent. She has had energy, her mood has been great, she sleeps well and she has genuinely been enjoying every moment of the day. She feels ecstatic to be in such a wonderful place.

Ms. Simpson believes the combination of leaving rainy Vancouver, coming to sunny Portugal, staying in a town where everyone is friendly, the scenery is beautiful, the beach is close by, the amount of walking is great, and the pace of life is slow have all worked together to cure her of her ailment. She recommends staying in an apartment with a pool, and spending a few hours each morning at said pool. A leisurely lunch should follow. The afternoon should be spent doing whatever you happen to feel like doing (i.e. a stroll on the beach; wandering through town) and same with the night (i.e. checking out bars, enjoying sangria on the patio). “Being away from it all, being here in this beautiful, sunny place where there are no cares and life is carefree… there is a sense of freedom and peace not found at home and I really believe this is the key to a happy mood,” Ms. Simpson says.

While she has not gone off her medication, she plans to submit her findings to her psychiatrist, along with a proposal to her disability insurer that such future trips be covered as a medical expense. She is also considering just sending for her things and recruiting other Bipolar patients so as to embark on a more scientific long term study: The Effects of Portugal on Mood in Bipolar Patients.

Are We In Another Town?

(posted by ange re: March 1)

As usual, Dave and I began our day lounging poolside. It seems we have a ritual now. Rise. Cup of tea/coffee. Hour or two by the pool. Lunch. Let the day begin. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I get home. I am either going to have or find an apartment that has a pool or go down to the Aquatic Centre every morning t o lounge around. But neither of those options really work because the WARM sun and tanning are sort of key to the whole ritual. Rituals can be hard to break so there is a good possibility I may not be able to return home until June. But I digress.

Today we were off to a quick stop at the Tourismo Office to get a bit of information about trains, buses, cars, travel agents, Fado, restaurants, you know, that sort of thing. Then it was down to the beach. OMG!!!! Did you hear me? OMG!!!! I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful it is. It stretches for what seems like miles. The sand is so soft and warm. The huge waves crash onto the shore in a thunderous fury. And the sea goes on forever. Nothing between us and Africa. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that! The entire beach is “lined” (for lack of a better word) with cliffs and rock formations formed by rocks that are 8 to 25 million years old! These structures are called algares. I wonder if that is where Algarve gets its name. I really have no idea, but they do sound the same. Anyways, there’s a little geology for you.

We entered at Fisherman’s Beach through a tunnel from the old town and were literally at one end of this beach. With each a camera in hand, we proceeded to walk to the other end, taking our time playing photographers. It was impossible to stop taking pictures and by the end of the day, we had taken 83 and 82 photos respectively. Dave, of course, is more the pro, as you will see when we get home and you see said photos. I’m on a photography course mission, and am snapping away, trying to take both beautiful scenic shots and some more “arty” shots. I think I might have one or two of those so far. Anyway, we lollygag our way down the beach and it feels like we’ve gone a long way. Like, a really long way. It’s nearing 5:00, time for a drink, and as luck would have it as we are almost at the end of the beach, and an oasis of umbrellas and bright yellow chairs awaits us. I am wondering how far we’ve come. We’ve walked for about 2 hours. I say to Dave “I wonder if we’re actually in another town now?” Dave says he doesn’t think so. I am still wondering.

We enjoy a pizza and a pitcher of the BEST sangria I have ever had. I am talking it blows La Bodega out of the water the BEST sangria I’ve ever had. I mean, I really wanted to just stay there and drink more sangria, if only the sun hadn’t been setting and us having a very long hike home. As we are getting ready to leave, I ask the bartender the quickest way back to Hotel Cerro Mar. He tells me “Walk 15 minutes down the beach to Fisherman’s Beach, where you go up to the old town and then you are there shortly.” And I thought I was in another town???!!! (Totally shaking my head at myself). Dave and I laughed our asses off at ourselves (well, more at me). Apparently if you stop and take 83 photos, it is longer than a 15 minute walk from one end of the beach to the other! Have another glass of sangria. Ha. Ha. Ha.