Post #3 Portugal up to February 7th

January 30th.  

As we left the area we drove through the little town of Isla Cristina with its typical white buildings and crossed a bridge by the marina.

This region is the Algarve and it runs the southern width of the country.

As we crossed the border there was a sign for all foreign cars to pull over, so naturally we did. Brian inserted our debit card to pay for the toll roads and the license plate was photographed. This toll road is unmanned as there is an electronic system in place and as we travel it takes a photo of the license plate, front and back, then it calculates which class of vehicle we are and how much to charge. We later found out that the road was built with European Union money and was not to be a toll road so if we hadn't stopped we could not have been fined. Live and learn!

We rented a car for three days in Lagos , which was our next destination, and the Budget guy told us that if we drove on any toll roads we must wait 24 hours after we incurred a charge then go to a post office to pay. This seems a quite ridiculous system and I am sure not many tourists abide by the rules. We stayed on the free roads! 

We are at a terrific site where we have met a few Brits in the bar and restaurant, here for the golf. We even met a Canadian couple. The facilities are very good and it is well run by the hands-on owner, Annes.  Turiscampo 

                                                                      

Free to travel the smaller roads in our Fiat Punta we took trips to the outlying areas. Lagos (pronounced Lagosh) itself is a town built of narrow, cobbled stone lanes up the steep hills and has implemented a confusing one-way system. We managed to become lost in these back streets and the GPS became more confused than usual so we gave up our attempt to find a Vodaphone store in which to buy 2 SIM cards for the iPad and computer. We accomplished that on foot a couple of days later. 
We are close to the beaches and the rock formations. These are examples of what we saw on our outings.

 

Sunday morning flea market

This was the first white stork we saw. It was in right Lagos town. We have seen numerous ones since in the countryside. Strangely, they will also nest on structures that are only a few feet off the ground.

The Algarve is a major surfing area so it was no surprise to see the surfers out on this sunny day. The waves weren’t spectacular but the boys and girls were having fun.

Pottery store - the inside failed to deliver the promise hinted at by the outside. However, I did manage find a few lovely items.

 Each time I look 

at this sculpture I see something new.

 




 

Luz: A sweet little village on the ocean with British bars, an

Indian shop, other boutiques and a church.  We had a beer and coffee in a bar where the 6 Nations Rugby games were on TV.

                                          The gilded church altar.

 A sculpture in the middle of a round about

After the 3 day car rental was over we changed campsites so we could see more of the area. We only travelled 42 kms and chose the campground as at its entrance we could catch a bus into Albufeira. It is a good size town with an expansive pedestrian shopping area and a beautiful square. These are the Ecuadorians we listened to as we had a coffee and beer in the square.  Brian bought one of their CD’s.

From the square 

 

Tiled street sign

This is Fishermans' Beach. Until the 60's Alburfeira was a small fishing village, then tourism descended and completely change it.

We didn't care for the new site so....After one night we came back to the one we prefer. We'll stay there for a while and watched the weather patterns.

Goodnight Angus!

Until next time - Bom dia (good day)!