The Algarve

We started the adventure in Portimão which is about an hours drive west of Faro Airport. Played golf with friends that we met in Thailand—Stephen & Bua. Took a drive into the hills north of the city. Learned a lot about cork (think wine stopper) and how it’s a very valuable industry in Portugal. 25 years before the first harvest and approximately every 10 years thereafter. Also, huge white storks are EVERYWHERE. Their nests are huge and built on the tallest thing they can find. They’re good for agriculture. See links below.

From Portimão we moved over to Salema. Thought we booked an ocean view condo but ended up overlooking the very noisy pool…“Wake up to breathtaking ocean views..” my arse. Bought a 3 round package at the nearby Espiche Golf course. Tough track. Lost a lot of balls and disappointed they didn’t mention the greens had just been punched when we bought 3 rounds. Lesson learned. Awesome restaurant in Salema—Em Lume Brando, which means the slow flame. GREAT service and gorgeous food. Caroline was a happy girl celebrating her birthday there!

Up next was Tavira (technically Cabanas da Tavira), on Mullingar friends’ recommendation. This is a lovely little town with lots of character about 8 miles from the Spanish border. Here we greeted Jack and Katy for a quick visit from the 12th to the 16th. Pretty casual with the highlight being 3 trips around the go-kart track. Once the kids left for Lisbon, we played some golf before packing up and moving north to Óbidos.

Liked the Algarve but had a little sticker shock compared to our last trip in 2021. Easy to get around. Cool architecture. Hospitality service is still as nonchalant as it was 3 years ago. 🫤

https://www.visitportugal.com/en/content/the-cork
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_stork

https://autodromodoalgarve.com/

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