November 3, 2024
We wake up to a beautiful day but with a sombre overtone. Following a filling breakfast we take an UBER back to the airport to pick up our rental car. Dreading the normal upselling hassle we are happily surprised to have no issues picking up the car …we used a British aggregator ZEST and so far so good….the proof in the pudding will be when we return the car.
It is about 250km to Albufeira with most of the trip through rather uninteresting terrain although the last stretch crosses the coastal mountains and provides a welcome change of scenery. Within 2.5 hours we arrive without incident (the car is equipped with a transponder that automatically bills you as you pass through the pay booths on the highway) so no worries about correct change and lane!). We are met at the condo by Miguel from the Be Cherish rental agency who gives us a tour of the property (located close to the Marina and on the outer edge of the Old Town) and the unit … all is good. We are quite happy with the condo which inter alia has a wonderful terrace with a distant ocean view…prom pics from their website but they did leave us a welcome bottle of wine!
Having picked up some groceries en route we are happy to stay in the condo and enjoy a delicious dinner of cold cuts and cheeses …It has been an emotional time and the jet lag hasn’t helped, we feel pretty drained. Tomorrow is another day.
November 4, 2024
A bit of a cloudy morning but we feel somewhat refreshed. As well, we have decided that Annie will fly to Montreal, meet our daughter, Ella and drive to Magog for the Celebration of Life ceremony later this month…it will be a road warrior type of trip as she will be crossing the Atlantic twice in three days.
Today is mostly about housekeeping > groceries (Aldi/Lidl/Intermarche/Pingo Doce etc) > great selection and considerably cheaper than prices at home, cash (ATM) there is a need for cash as many places prefer cash over a credit card. Later we do a walkabout the Albufeira waterfront which is about a 13-minute walk and a longer hike back to the condo as it is all uphill. The town is beautifully situated and, not surprisingly, super built up with condos, hotels etc. There are a good number of tourists mostly British, German with a sprinkling of French…though it is hard to imagine what this place would look like in the high season…but I think it would be a rather ugly scene!
November 5, 2024
The weather looks good today and we are going on our first-day trip…..the idea for this trip was to situate ourselves in a central base and then explore the Algarve Coast in a series of day trips minimizing the check-out/check-in process which we have found consumes almost a full day when you change locations, even when the distances between towns are relatively short. Driving on the secondary is easy (speeds are slow, with moderate traffic) and the highways are a breeze, with virtually no traffic so progress is swift. It is roughly 40 minutes to the trailhead from which the Benagil Caves can be reached…easy parking with a straightforward trail through the barren and rugged landscape to the edge of the cliffs overlooking the ocean….simply spectacular, our weather was slightly overcast and we could only imagine how a clear blue sky would make the cliffs standout…
Following back to our car (a Suzuki Arrana > about 6 litres to cover 100km, pretty decent mileage) then a short drive to Carvoeiro. It is a small picturesque resort town with a pretty beach and adjacent to many water and land activities. Our activity is lunch, my fresh grilled sea bass, salad and fries were great…so enjoyed it that I forgot to take a pic. Then back to the hacienda …a full day! Tonight (well we will be sleeping) the U.S. elections…we do not have a great feeling about the outcome…tbd.
