Bodhran, Beer and Beaches

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Bodhran, Beer and Beaches
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- Sep 15, 2018, 7:09pm
- ☀️ 23 °C
- Altitude: 13 m
- Portugal Faro Olhão Jardim Pescador Olhanense 37.024837, -7.84338837°1’29” N 7°50’36” W
Day 11
Algarve - Olhao
September 15, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
It is going to be a quiet day in the Algarve. We are going local. I am up early but Laurie is sleeping in this morning. I read and relax, catch up on the news. When Laurie gets out of bed we have some coffee and head to the market. Olhao is home to the biggest fish market in the Algarve and on Saturdays it is supplemented with farmers from the surrounding hill towns who come in with various produce. We buy some berries and some honey for our friends who we are visiting on Monday. We take a look at the fish market - there is an interesting assortment of fish - lots of sardines, eels, mackerel, and fish I have never heard of.

Olhao is home to a fish canning factory and we head there after the market to pick up some anchovies and sardines to take home and then at the local bakery to pick up a loaf of bread.

A quick lunch and we head out for the western Algarve. We drive through the hills and arrive at Lagos, it is busy - much busier than Olhao and the eastern Algarve. We decide not to stay and make the journey back home. We relax and siesta until supper time.

Rested we walk down the end of our little street to the corner restaurant Mosse, it is quiet and we sit outside. They have two English menus which are in use by the other tourists, two families are having a meal - it is a microcosm of the area. The service is slow/relaxed, we enjoy a bottle of 100 Hectares Douro white with our salted cod and chicken vol au vent and when we leave our pocket book is barely dented.

The Algarve was meant to be a relaxing time in advance of the Camino. Day1 - mission accomplished.Read more
Traveler With all the hustle of the last few days Laurie had it right relax and snooze
9/16/18Reply
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Bodhran, Beer and Beaches
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- Sep 16, 2018, 6:07pm
- ⛅ 26 °C
- Altitude: 5 m
- Portugal Faro Santa Luzia 37.091522, -7.67328337°5’29” N 7°40’24” W
Day 12
Beach Birthday, Baby!
September 16, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
It is Sunday in the Algarve so it is time to head to the beach! After a leisurely breakfast we drive to Pedras d’el Rei. We are definitely not alone, it is likely 80/20 for locals to tourists as we walk the one km through this section of the Ria Formosa National Park. The Ria is a a unique coastal lagoon protected by five marshland islands with significant biodiversity including the Portuguese Water Dog a web footed poodle and hosts 20,000 birds during winter including several rare species - a person could have a Big Year just by hanging out in the Ria.

The walk is lovely, we see some birds, we don’t know their lineage. When we get to the beach we rent chairs and a cover for half a day and get comfortable. The water is very lovely - warm, aquamarine, it is the Atlantic but it feels like the Mediterranean. The beach is idyllic, soft, icing sugar consistency. The water recedes very gradually so you can walk out several metres before the water reaches above your head. Most everyone is properly attired - a couple of women are missing their tops, a few gentleman have “speedo’s”.

We have lunch at the Museu do Atum, the building was fashioned from the tuna (atum) fishing facilities on the island we are on. It is light, reasonably good and slightly overpriced.

After lunch we drive to Tavira which is further east, nearly at the Spanish Border. Tavira is an old Roman town and the Moors built a castle here during the time they ruled this part of Portugal. We explore the remains of the Moorish castle and wander the gardens inside before heading back to Olhao for some downtime, packing time and finally dinner time.

Dinner is at Terra i Mar a lovely seafood restaurant. The menu is predominantly fish and is all freshly sourced from the fish market that we visited yesterday. Laurie finds a steak to order and I have the bream it is served with the head on. It is a lovely and delicate white fish. We have ordered white sangria and some red wine with some tapas to start. A wonderful birthday dinner.Read more
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Bodhran, Beer and Beaches
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- Sep 18, 2018, 12:12am
- ⛅ 19 °C
- Altitude: 90 m
- Portugal Lisbon District São João de Brito Alvalade Museu Bordalo Pinheiro 38.75951, -9.15432438°45’34” N 9°9’16” W
Day 14
Faro Foodie Fun
September 18, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Today is the last day of our Ireland/Portugal trip. Tomorrow is the first day of our Camino. We have a busy day planned as we leave our little cube house in Olhao.

First a food tour organized in Faro. Faro is the capital of the Algarve region and it is a large city, but the central part of town is very historic, lovely and well preserved/restored. We park by the old city walls and explore the old town as we walk uptown toward the Mercado Centro.

We have arranged the tour through Air BnB which now does “experiences”, it is a clever new business line. Sali is our guide. She is a nutritionist who has traveled extensively with the UN, primarily Africa. It is just the six of us, the other three are young engineers from Denmark. We visit some of the stalls, talk to the vendors, many who have been there for decade. We sample their wares, learning about the culture, the history, and some of the traditions.

We then hit the streets, learning a bit more about Faro on our way to lunch at a traditional restaurant where we get to know each other.

After lunch we walk around a bit more, find a pastry shop and then finish with espresso. After the tour we go to About Wine (an amazing little wine shop) to pick up a couple of bottles for dinner with our friends Mitch & Lynn at their little villa.

I worked with Mitch a decade ago and we have kept in touch ever since. They happened to be travelling to Portugal with some friends at the same time as us. They are staying an hour north of Lisbon, we are flying out of Lisbon. It is a 3.5 hour drive from Faro. We have a lovely visit, eat some tapas and drink a small amount of very good wine, before heading to our airport hotel for an early flight.

This portion of our overall trip has been great. Ireland was more touristy and Portugal more local, both were lovely in their own right. The entire trip so far, has been somewhat overshadowed by the Camino which looms larger and larger.Read more
Traveler Faro fun is showing... I trust the both of you re read for the walk.
9/19/18Reply
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Bodhran, Beer and Beaches

Algarve - Olhao

Beach Birthday, Baby!

Faro Foodie Fun