Tuesday in Tavira

It was slightly cooler this morning when we headed out for a walk. Being very original in planning our walks, this time we decided to do yesterday’s walk in reverse.

Santa Luzia was pretty much the same as it was yesterday, very attractive on the building side of the street and very unattractive on the river side with the tide out. We kept going until we reached the walkway, walk bridge and railway line to Praia Do Barril, or Barril Beach. Unlike yesterday, when we decided that we didn’t need to see a beach, this time we decided to go in. It was about a 20 minute walk to get to the beach and associated restaurants. Originally it was a tuna fishing village, or community, inhabited for about four or five months of the year. This ended up being uneconomic so it fell into disrepair for a while until revitalised as a tourist spot. The beach is nice, and there is plenty of opportunity to eat. It must be busy in the summer season but was pretty dead today.

On the sand dunes is an Anchor Cemetery, where old anchors used in the tuna fishing business were laid to rest.

I mentioned the train line earlier. For those less inclined to walk all the way to the beach there is the opportunity to take a little train, saving about 15 minutes walking. This train also doubles as a freight train because there is no road to the beach and its buildings.

The return trip was slightly different to yesterday, but still included a long walk along gravel laneways with fruit and veggie gardens either side. Because of our trip to the beach we ended up doing about 13.5 kilometres, quite a good effort, and we were rewarded with coffee and waffles.

Our evening was very quiet, with dinner and an episode of “Vera” on British TV.Read more