Wednesday October 31st, 2018
We land in Faro at lunch time. We would like to get the car we rented and go to lunch in a near town. But when we go out the airport it’s raining too much, so we change our plans. We have lunch at the aiport at Paul, a french bar with sandwiches (very expensive and not so good). But we are lucky, it stops raining, we get the car and go in direction of Albufeira where we have our hotel for the whole trip.
We stop in Almancil (found on our guide) to see the church Sao Lourenco, filled with azulejos. we have to wait few minutes for the opening time. After the church, we go to the hotel. We continue then to Alcantarilha, where there is the Capela Dos Ossos, a chapel filled with bones and skulls. We read on the guide there are some more in Algarve, but we won’t see any of them. Next town is Silves, probably the biggest disappointment of the trip. We expected something really nice, with some typical streets. The castles and the cathedral are closed (it’s getting late but it’s not yet so late). And around the streets there are few people. For dinner we decide to stop in Portimao, at Dona Barca (ok as restaurant and price). After dinner we go back to the hotel.
Thursday November 1st, 2018
Today it’s a sunny day, so we start to walk along the “Percurso dos Sete Vales Suspensos”, a path of some kilometers over the cliffs, with beautiful landscape on the sea and on the beaches. It’s possible to go down to some of the beaches. We decide to split the path in 2 different days. We go down immediately at the first beach, Praia de Marinha.
It’s morning, there are few people around, and it’s nice to walk on the beach and take pictures. We also see some “holes”, from above, the most famous is the Algar de Benagil. We reach the lighthouse of Alfanzina, where we leave the path to find a place to have lunch. Many of them are closed due to the holiday, but we found a bar where we have a sandwich. After lunch we walk back to the car. We go then to Portimao, walk a bit along the beach and wait for the sunset. We go back to Albufeira for dinner (we find a good restaurant, O David, near the main pedestrian street). The dinner is good, and pretty cheap.
Friday November 2nd, 2018
Today we go to Lagos. After parking the car we walk to the fortress (but we don’t visit it), and then enter the city from a gate in the walls. We walk in the pedestrian streets, pass by the main church, and relax. Before leaving the town, we stop at 2 beaches: Praia Dona Ana, where there are some cliffs in the sea and a nice beach. The other one is Ponta da Piedade, we see it from above.
There are many boats in the sea near the cliffs. For lunch we take a break in Salema (a summer town), near the beach at Bar Corsarios. There is a misunderstanding and instead of 2 big toastes, we get only a big one. A bit expensive considered the size. In the afternoon we go to Carrapateira, on the west coast. The sun is going away and many clouds fill the sky (but it doesn’t rain). Here we can see 2 spots, mainly appreciated for the surf: Praia do Amado and Praia da Bordeira. In Algarve there are beautiful sunsets, so for today we choose to see it near Sagres, at Cabo de Sao Vicente (the most western point of Algarve). There are some clouds, it’s not the best weather, but the sunset is nice anyway. We go back to Albufeira for dinner at the same restaurant of the previous day (tonight it’s the best dinner of the trip for me).
Saturday November 3rd, 2018
In the morning we complete the Percurso dos Sete Vales Suspensos, doing the other part. We see some more beautiful coast and cliffs. We go back to Albufeira to the Marina, where we have booked a boat tour for the afternoon. We arrive in advance, so we have time for lunch. At the short distance from the pier, there is Gate4 (good price, and good for the location). Then we get on the boat and go to see the dolphins first and then the caves (I expected something better for the cave part).
Due to the sea we cannot enter the Algar de Benagil, but we see it from the sea. We end the day visiting Albufeira. First the old part, then the beach. For tonight we choose a different restaurant, in the main pedestrian street (Tasca d’Alkhaz, also this one good price, and very good dessert). Then we go by car outside the town to look at the stars (it takes a while to find a dark place).
Sunday November 4th, 2018
Last day of our trip in Algarve. We start to see Loulé: S. Clemente, the castle, the town hall and the market are the main sights. We stop then in Estoi, where there is a palace, now transformed in hotel. We can see some common areas and the gardens. Then we reach Tavira.
We see the castle area with 2 churches, then the main street with the near bridge. We move to Faro, where we stop for lunch (Cervejaria Alianca, average food, average price) and then walk around the city, the old part, inside the walls with the cathedral and the Museu Arqueologico with a cloister (according to our guide, the best one of Algarve). It’s a bit early, so we decide to go to Olhao, but we don’t find anything nice, so we drive back to the airport and wait for our flight.
