November 13th to November 20th
Annie left on November 15th from Faro to Lisbon > which she thought was the worst flight ever. The plane was doing some extreme acrobatics leaving passengers grabbing for their barf bags and screaming hysterically. In any event, she arrived safely and the next flight to Montreal was normal. In Montreal, she met up with our daughter Ella, who flew in from Vancouver and they then drove to Magog for her sister’s Celebration of Life ceremony. One must eat regardless of the situation and Annie & Ella enjoyed their stop for some comfort food at La Belle Province near Bromont for “frites and chien chaud” …
For my part having returned from Faro a storm developed like I’ve seldom seen > relentless rain with an intense lightning show...a few days later Facebook “Reels ” showed the extent of the flooding in Albufeira’s Old Town as well as other towns along the Algarve coast. In the next few days, it was a bit of downtime for me although I joined the Unik Fitness Club for some spin classes > since my Portuguese is non-existent following the class was a tad challenging but fun to do anyway…
At first light on November 18th I left for Lisbon…the drive through the coastal mountains (hills) was ethereal with the fog in the hollows of the hills illuminated by rays of sunshine (did not stop for pics)…a bit of a gong show near Lisbon as I managed to ignore Google Maps commands and ended up on the wrong bridge … however a few good guesses and a smooth & well-timed pick up was engineered at the Lisbon Airport. We then hightailed it back to Albufeira (got on the right bridge this time), stopping for a picnic “aka sandwich on the go” in Alcacer do Sal under brooding skies…
…a nice rather sleepy town on the banks of the Sado River with a history dating back to the Phoenicians who founded it around 1000 B.C….
We then returned uneventfully to the condo in Albufeira both of us were pretty tired but looking forward to continuing our trip in the Algarve.
November 20, 2024
The day looks promising with sunny skies and a forecast high of 21C and we are off to Tavira about 70km east of Albufeira.
Tavira is set along the banks of the Gilao River and is considered one of the most attractive towns in the Algarve. Ruled by the Moors between the 8th and the 13th centuries, this influence is still visible today in the region’s architecture. Later, in the 17th century, Tavira became one of the main trading ports of the Algarve, shipping products like salt and dried fish. Despite a considerable tourist influx, it retains much of its traditional charm, with cobblestone lanes and whitewashed cottages straddling both sides of the river. The main attractions here are the churches, the castle walls and the stunning beaches around Ria Formosa.
The Igreja da Misericordia de Tavira was constructed between 1541 and 1551 with various modifications thereafter. It is a beautiful church and also serves as a venue for concerts…it would be an interesting experience to attend a performance in these surroundings…
We climbed the bell tower providing a panoramic view of the river, and the lagoons of Ria Formosa in the distance. The white mounds in the 3rd pic are salt which has been produced here since at least Roman times…
Not far from the Igreja da Misericordia, is the site of the Castello de Tavira. The old Moorish fortress was built to protect Tavira and its fishing port against pirate raiders. Now all that remains is a small garden and some of the walls which you can climb for good views of the Igreja de Santa Maria do Castelo and other church spires…
With the cultural stuff out of the way, we headed down to the river and grabbed a ferry to the Ilha de Tavira (5 Euros return trip for us both). It is about a 20-minute boat ride with one stop en route, not overly scenic, but pleasant nevertheless…
Once we reached the terminal we walked through a small pine forest, then a gauntlet of restaurants….it being low season many were closed but still, there were plenty of choices…
Once past the restaurants you arrive at the first beach, Praia de Tavira, being low tide it was simply enormous. A bit further are the beaches of Praia da Terra Estreita, Praia do Barril, and Praia do Homem, Homem the last being a nudist beach….for walkers it seems that you can go on forever. It is one of the nicer stretches of sandy beach that we have seen in a long while…
As an added bonus there was a ton of bait close to shore with the birds going crazy. As well, the local fishers got quite excited and even called in their friends who were out on a boat to get in on the action. It brought back fond memories of walking the beach on Manasota Key, Florida and searching for fish … boy did I yearn to have a rod in my hands at that moment!
All good things must end so we returned to the quay, waited for the “Captain” to finish baiting his octopus traps and settled in for the short cruise back to Tavira and then hightailed it back to the condo in Albufeira. A pretty decent day…
Thank you for the post. Enjoyed it