Alto Do Moinho Albufeira

... last day in Luz proves to be flat in terms of surf and we decide just to float til sunset, when weºll head to the Bull for the magnificent view there at that time of day, followed by a yummy dinner in Luz (Lymºs night off from slaving at the stove). Our last night in Portugal, so time for a typical dish portugesio stylee....

»»»apologies for lack of pics, we hope to upload either in Granada or La Manga.....«««««

... have proved very difficult, hence we decided to move on. We continued to hug the coastline checking out the waves as we went. Nothing tempted us to jump in (the weather being poor also), however the coastline proved absolutely stunning between Odeceixe and our next destination Lagos. We were continually overwhelmed by the rugged beauty of the coastline coupled with the power of the ocean; we have some wonderful images which we will add to this blog ...

... demographic. As the kiwis marched forward I walked with Kirsten, a tall blond policewoman from Hanover. She laughed a lot, and spoke fluent Portuguese. I must admit I'm not the best traveler in the world, I often can't be bothered to learn the most basic of phrases in the local language; but I'm pretty darn good at traveling with good travelers.

We arrived at the hostel to find that it was A) 7 Euros more expensive than the ...

... arrives, probably in an hour or two.

Now I'm feeling a little remote. I'm pretty good at making the best of a situation, and dealing with the resources I have. As I haven't eaten yet today, I search a few of the nearby gardens for a bit of fruit to tide me over. Under the cover of early morning light I find a mature pomegranate tree loaded with fruit. I grab 5 of the plumpest fruits I can find and wander ...

... br>"How was that for you James?"
She's serious. Apparently she thinks I should be excited about my upcoming two weeks with them. I tell her what I'm thinking about their whole little scheme. I wouldn't say that I sugar coated it for her. She's surprised, and I demand to talk to Frank. Frank sees this whole volunteer program as a great source of free labour, its just unfortunate that we like to eat three times a day.
"This is the way we've always done it. If you don't like ...

... the kingdom of Dom Manuel I, the headland already had a beacon kept lit all night by the Capuchin friars. With a range of 95 kilometers, the present-day lighthouse is one of the most powerful in Europe. From the fortress of Sagres a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean is unforgettable.

Night show at Hotel Algarve Casino was spectacular. The dancers and the light show were truly unforgettable.

In Albufeira, we went to a Portugese bullfight, not the real deal as in they don't kill the bull, rather they stab them in the back with a bunch of arrows. I thought it was mean, especially the first bull because it was pretty much still a baby and looked scared instead of angry. Jon ...

... there, he was hilarious and exactly like a euro version of an American beach bum.
We also went to check out the lagoon, I got out for a couple tacks, the wind was super light and I crashed my kite and it deflated... fun. I had to walk my kite back through shallow water ...

The west and south coast of Portugal is pretty much a long stretch of beaches surrounded and separated by huge red cliffs and you can get from one beach to another by crawling through caves in the cliffs (I also think that's where the bums sleep at night...) We did some surfing at a small secluded beach that I had been to 4 years ago with my family. We’re ...

... I dropped him in and let her rip. I watched the poor little guy swirled helplessly in a torrent of toilet water and submerge into the depths of the piping. When the water was still, I sighed and hoped he was in a better place. Then suddenly he resurfaced little arms flailing in fright underneath the water. I apologized profusely for my botched attempt as I fished him out with the cantaloupe spoon, explaining that I didn't have a lot of experience in these sorts of things with his ...