Travel day to Faro

An ardous day for travel. Up at 4 to catch a plane at 6. I drop the rental car key in the lock box, half an hour later I realize I left my passport in the car. Panic. I run back, how to get into the car? Well I didn't lock it, lol, that was lucky.

The flight into Lisbon is out into a holding pattern, windshear is gusting 41 knots, the pilot does an excellent job landing the plane, but this was one of the top 10 hardest landings I have experienced in 60 years. Now that I'm a glider pilot I can appreciate this so much more.

I kinda laugh at the people wearing COVID masks. Come on that's over with. And we'll see about that 🫣. In Lisbon I get to go into the lounge courtesy of United. Great free food and drinks. I have just an hour. But departures are delayed. With airport snafus I end up catching the later plane. In the airport quite a few people are coughing and sneezing. I had been noticing that.

The A319 to Faro is dealing with this weather still. Just four rows from the back I get shaken sideways so much I wonder if we are going to exceed the structural strength of the vertical stabilizer and I wonder if the pilot of over controlling the rudder. He is flying with a joy stick and I can't imagine how much finesse you can have with that. It's a bit harrowing including the few hundred foot sudden air pocket drop.

In Faro there is an amazing sunset on arrival, birds are singing in a bougainvilla, and I walk around the small downtown filled with restaurants and old history.

These two months on the road started on a huge high. The small towns of the Camino are such wonderful places. I kept that high going despite using rental cars and cities in the Azores, Flores was great and I could have stayed there for 4 more days, especially with the people that were there at the pink house.

Faro is different, Algarve is a beach resort and that comes with lots of traffic and stretched out residential areas. Here you need to be in the marina on a boat.Read more