Alvor Village

... 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 ...

... in to the hostel, and then was planning to drive out to Sagres, the end of Europe. Kirsten and I decided to join him and away we went.<br><br>Alex liked to tell us that he wasn't a typical American. He spoke several languages, and had traveled the world. I found him vaguely annoying, but I was still happy to take a free ride from him. A 30 minute drive took us to Sagres. I don't want to bother trying to explain the beauty of Sagres ...

... in a country just over twice the size of Vancouver Island with a population of 11 million. Remote is relative I suppose.<br><br>Tonight, dinner is Daniella's gig. I'll help her out, but ultimately this is her opportunity to show me how things are done in her kitchen. She's frantic in the kitchen considering that she's only really cooking for 10 people. A beautiful kabocha pumpkin, my personal favourite, is blended with potatoes and an instant stock to create a basic soup. Its ...

... a patch of wild fennel. Back in the kitchen I find some white beans and a nice chunk of chorizo, now we're on a roll.<br><br>In my mind the meal comes together beautifully. The grilled hake is joined with a dish of white beans, sauteed fennel and sausage. A delicious pilaf provides the starch and a bit of colour comes from roasted tomatoes and red peppers. I am ...

... of Lagos, and many beautiful beaches of Barlavento of Algarve as Meia Praia, Praia D. Ana, Porto de Mós, Praia D. Maria, Burgau, Solária, Batata, beach of Estudantes, Pinhão, Camilo, Canavial, etc&#8230;. <br><br>Head on to the Cabo de São Vicente (Cape St. Vincent - the southwestern tip of Europe, and considered to be the &#8220;world&#8217;s end&#8221; in the Middle Ages), the trip continues towards Sagres ...

... fridge was well stocked with a nice variety of cheeses, and other dairy products and a shelf completely dedicated to beer was encouraging. But in the back lurked things of dubious histories; microwave pizzas, and other such evils. In the cupboards I found bags of rotting carrots in various states of decay, a crate of onion skins hiding a couple decomposing in the bottom, and no less than three rotten cabbages. I mean, cabbages have a half life of a ...

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 ...

The kiting in Alvor is supposedly one of the best spots in Portugal, because of a huge shallow lagoon, however the wind was in the opposite direction so we ended up kiting on the sea side in the waves. Exhausting, but very fun to launch off the waves. We met a wicked ...

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&#8217;re ...

... the lighthouse was closed on the day you would expect most visitors, so we didn't get to see the glass inside. Speaking of explorers and navigators - somewhere further along the coast is the fort and naval college that Infante de Henrique set up, I believe in the 1460s, to train all these new world adventurers. Not much was actually ...