December 1, 2024 It was an overcast morning as we packed our bags as our stay in Albufeira and the Algarve was over…Miguel, from the property management firm, Be Cherish arrived promptly at 09:30 to collect the keys and return our deposit. We have only good things to say about this company and Miguel, in…Continue Reading “Albufeira ….. to Evora, Lisbon and eventually home”
November 27th, 2024 Our remaining days in Albufeira are numbered. Today, being nice weather-wise, we decided to visit Loule, a hilltop town about a 40-minute drive east of Albufeira, and some beaches close to Albufeira… Loule has a rich history dating back to the Phoenicians and Romans, who established it as a trade hub. The…Continue Reading “Albufeira….a visit to Loule, some nearby beaches communities, a search for flamingoes and a wrap”
November 25th, 2024 Another decent day, a slightly overcast morning, but with a promise of sunshine later in the day and a high of 21C. Today we are heading inland to Silves a historic town that was the ancient capital of the Algarve. During the Moorish era (9-12th century) it was a major stronghold and…Continue Reading “Albufeira ….day trips to Silves and Sagres (again)”
November 21, 2024 We had talked about a boat excursion and today seemed like the perfect occasion…from our perch on the hill above the Albufeira Marina we could see the sea was flat and the skies cloudless, with a forecast for a high of 21C. We hustled down to the marina and booked with Algar…Continue Reading “Albufeira….a lovely day for a boat trip”
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…Continue Reading “Albufeira….a day trip to Tavira”
November 12, 2024 It was a pretty nice day with temperatures expected to reach 22C. Having quite enjoyed our visit a few days ago, we are returning to the same area, this time to Benagil Beach, one of the trailheads for the 7 Hanging Valleys Trail. The plan is to walk a portion of this…Continue Reading “Albufeira ….another walk on the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail”
November 10, 2024 The previous evening we wandered into the Old Town for dinner at the Restaurante Solgamba which features a traditional menu… pleasant interior with ambient lighting (we hate overlit restos) and a friendly waiter. Curiously we found featured on the menu Ukrainian food > it turns out the waiter was the owner and…Continue Reading “Albufeira to Sagres….a day trip to the most southwestern point of Continental Europe”
November 6 & 7, 2024 We awoke to a decent day but as we looked at the U.S. election results we felt totally deflated…. I consider myself to be a relatively liberal conservative on policy issues, by Canadian standards, however, I do not vote slavishly for one party or the other. Obviously, by U.S. standards…Continue Reading “Albufeira….some U.S. election thoughts and a day trip to Lagos to escape reality for a day”
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…Continue Reading “Lisbon to Albufeira, Portugal”
October 31/ November 1, 2024 Tonight we are flying to Lisbon for a 5-week stay in the Algarve region of Portugal. We had thought long and hard about Mexico but ultimately concluded the value proposition was better in Portugal….we shall soon see! Our flight is an overnight flight to London with a second flight to…Continue Reading “Vancouver, Canada to Lisbon, Portugal…..and a “rest” day”