A terrific day in the Algarve

Today, the weather forecast was for a much better day than it has been lately.

So we were up at the crack of dawn to take advantage of the weather. The crack of dawn in Portugal is around 9:00 AM. Around 9:30 we went up for breakfast. We go up because in this hotel, the lobby, bar, lounge and main restaurant is on the 5th level. Rooms are on levels 1 to 4 and the pool, other restaurant, lounge etc is on level 0. So we went up for breakfast.

The breakfast here that is included in the room rate is wonderful. Every thing you could imagine for breakfast except our type of coffee. There is expresso, cappucchino, white coffee and many others. So we purchased a jar of instant coffee and take that up with us. Not the best but better than the "on hand" stuff.

Around noon we walked to the beach area where there are lots of shops, restaurants, hills and narrow streets. We are finally able to travel away from the hotel without getting lost.

The 1st 2 pictures are from the scenic overlook just east of the place we were heading. In picture 1, you can see they have built an escalator to the top. It was not there 11 years ago. That is the only way we could have made it.

On our way to Fishermans Beach, we noticed there was a sand sculpture competition.
It's free to enter. Who could resist on a sunny day like today. Bonnie and I entered.
The gentleman in the middle is the one that we did.
The judging was later in the day, so we decided not to wait and headed for lunch.
We will find out the results tomorrow.

Over to the Cabana Fresca Restuarante for lunch.
We had something we hadn't had since the last time we were here.
Chicken Cataplana. It was excellent.
The picture below is the restaurant we had lunch at.

Back to the Sol e Mar and down to level 0 to sit in the comfy chairs and soak up the sun.
Sunset here is right around 6:00 PM, and I knew you all were waiting for the sunset pictures, so here they are. I would have included some earlier but the other days were completely overcast.
The 1st picture is from the beach area and the 2nd from our balcony.

Tomorrow is expected to another nice day. (sunny and a high of 17C)
We hope that is right.

The short way to old town

Our mission today was to find the short overland route to the old town restaurants.
You may think that it would be an easy task, as we are about 400 metres from the goal at our hotel.
How to get there was the question.
Well, maybe to the explorers among you, but to us it was a Herculian chore.

After breakfast, we were in the lounge area reading our books. Bonnie dozed off, so I headed off into the unknown. I left at 11:57, walked to the old town, took some pictures, and was back at 12:05.

I guess we over estimated the difficulty.
However it is downhill all the way. That means that when Bonnie comes with me, we may never get back to our hotel, as the hill is at a 45 degree angle

The first 3 pictures are on the way to old town, and the last one is at our destination.

We decided to try a different restaurant for dinner. We decided on The Beach Basket.
An excellent decision. We had the chicken piri piri. Good choice.
Our waiter was originally from Romania and has been in Portugal for 7 years.
His mother lives in Saskatchewan. He told us the temperature in Saskatchewan in January 2014 was minus 52. Apparently, colder than the temperature on Mars.

More cloud and rain tomorrow, so we will see what we will do. Sun should be out on Sunday.

Old Town Albufeira

Around 11:00 AM we decided it was time to trek to the old town.
We started off along the beach. The tunnel is apparently closed due to too much rain.
Halfway to our destination, we came across a river stretching from the tunnel area to the ocean.
All due to the rain over the last few weeks.
The "river" was at least 3 inches deep so we headed back to the hotel.

We thought we would take the overland route to the old town. After checking out a large number of small shops on the way we came to the conclusion that we were lost.

Finally, after an hour or so we arrived at the "Fisherman's Beach". The trip should take about 10 minutes.

The above pictures are from that area, and we remembered it well from 11 years ago.
It hadn't changed a bit.
Notice the clouds!!!!

We sat down at one of the restaurants for a drink and an order of nachos.
Just then it started to rain. The fellows in the restaurant had the large umbrellas and the canvas up in no time. All was well.

On the way back we took the beach route and with great difficulty managed to ford the river.

Tomorrow we will try to find the quick overland route to the old town. Stay tuned.

Legoland

No post yesterday from the Orada Apartments, aka Legoland, as there was nothing to say.

Orada was called Legoland by the locals due to the pastel colours of the apartments.

The rest of Portugal seems to be white stucco and red tile roofs. Orado broke the mold and due to the many pastel colours, the locals called it "legoland"
That name, apparently, remains today.

Back to the weather. It rained most of the day, so Bonnie and I stayed in the apartment, had a couple of wines and watched BBC.

Up and away this morning as we head to the Sol e Mar hotel.

Our check intime was 2:00 PM and we were early so we drove around Albufeira.

These pictures are from a panoramic view to the east of old Albufeira,

This picture is of a small street to the east of our hotel.

We arrived at the Sol e Mar at 2:00PM and they were ready for us.
"Down" to our room and we are good to go for 4 weeks.

The office is on level 5 and all the rooms are on levels 1 to 4.

The room is very good (basic) and has a balcony that looks out on the Atlantic.
This picture is from our balcony at the Sol e Mar hotel.

We went down to the restaurant and bar on the ocean and had a Sangria.
Back to the room to prepare for dinner.

Off to the indoor bar and then to dinner in the hotel.

Back to the room and settling in for a quiet night.
Tomorrow off to "old Albufeira"

Travelling down the coast of Portugal

We left our hotel, after a terrific breakfast, and headed south.

The west coast of Portugal has some great views of the rock formations and the beaches.

We headed for Lagos and after 2 hour drive along the coast, we arrived. Now we had to find a restaurant and a bathroom. In downtown Lagos the streets are slightly wider than a car. We were lost on a group of narrow streets and after passing Joe's Garage for the 3rd time we thought we better get the hell out.
Lets head to Albufeira we said. As we exited Lagos we spotted, of all things, a McDonalds. We circled a couple of times and finally found the entrance. Time for a Big Mac.

On our way to Albufeira, we passed the Orada Apartments and Marina. This is the place that we stayed with our friends Doreen and Bob Collins, for 2 months, 11 years ago.
Who could resist checking it out.
We ended up booking in for 2 nights.

Once checked in, we headed to the restaurant area for, what else, a pitcher of Sangria.
We had many of those 11 years ago.

The Orada Apartments are close to Albufeira so we will check it out this morning.

Made it to Lisbon

Hey Y'all

Not the best start to our Portugal trip.

We purchased our tickets back in April and were confirmed in seats 12A and 12B for the flight. Nine months ago!!!. Arrived at the airport 3 hours early, checked our bags and received our boarding passes.
Headed to Gate 32 in a nice golf cart. (I think it was about 3 miles to gate 32)
We looked at our boarding passes and found we were sitting in seats 5E and 5F!!!.
We wondered where the hell 5E and 5F were. Well once on the plane we found out.

The plane configuration is 2-4-2. Well 12A and B were a window and aisle seat and 5E and F were seats 2 and 3 in the centre row of 4. Wow, what a difference, and remember, we booked 9 months ago and I have a sheet that says our seats (12A and B were CONFIRMED).
I talked to a fellow who had way better seats then us and I asked when he booked. He said thursday.
Yes, 2 days before the flight!!!

Oh well, we thought lets be optimistic, things can only improve.
Off we go taxiing out to the runway. We seemed to be going forever and I said to Bonnie. "I think we are going to Portugal by land". The next thing we knew we were back at Gate 32. The plane had to be de-iced.

Finally underway and we arrived in Lisbon.
Now the good news starts. (we hope)
Our rental car was upgraded to an Alfa Romeo. (score)

We headed for Sines, about 170 kilometers from Lisbon and except for the coast, there was no hotels worth staying at that we could see.

Off to Santo Andre where we found the Hotel Vila Park and Bonnie said. "This is where we are staying and I'm having a nap". (I admit, it was a long overnight trip)
We booked in and Joe headed for the store to get some wine.
1 euro and 79 cents a bottle for white (vino blanco) and a little less for red (vino tinto)

We checked with the folks at the Hotel Vila Park, to see if the restaurant was open for dinner and they advised that they usually close on Sundays.

The front desk said if we wanted to commit to dinner, they would open the restaurant for us. If we let them know in the later afternoon and they would open the restaurant.
We phoned at 5:30 to say we were in.
Wow, we were the only people in the restaurant, that held over 100 and were treated to an exceptional meal. Tapas, soup, salad and a duck casserole, 2 wine and 1 beer and all for 44 Euros.

Things are moving up.
Tomorrow we had for the Algarve.

On our way to Portugal

Well, as John Denver, or was it Aerosmith, would say (sing?).

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go.
We're leaving, on a jet plane.
We DO know when we'll get back.

March 1st, 2017

Our plane departs at 9:25 this evening and arrives in Lisbon at 9:25 Sunday morning.

More to come