Clube Holiday Complex Carvoeiro

... and watches from the wings. Then sheºs in... battered and bruised as she battles those gladiator waves to enter the playground. Ok, letºs try again... getting past those rollers as they come into shore aint so easy... and they do it again... it was the washing machine effect and sheººs out for good this time. Lym grinning on the horizon for the next 15mins bobbing up and down as there are no waves out there, then he gets the Bold 2 in 1 ...

... since we left the UK). We learn that there is a campsite in the town centre. Initially we viewed this with some trepidation and indeed it was less than rural surrounded by apartment blocks, however, cheap (euro 10 a night) clean and run by a very friendly Dutch lady; ideal for a couple of nights of cosmopolitan living (Lym gets to put his jeans on for the first time since leaving the uk).

so Saturday night on the town... for starters we had a ...

... above the river Odeceixe which runs out to the Atlantic. This was an idyllic location and though the tide was all wrong to surf, we parked up on the river bank within sight of the ocean: an absolutely fantastic location which was all ours complete with open fire. We commented on how different the Portuguese attitude is to free camping; its almost part of their constitution!

... hostel in town, and B) located next door to the other hostel. The choice was obvious, and I quickly ditched the kiwis to join Kirsten next door.

By another random coincidence, I ran into an older American traveler who was staying at the hostel in Faro with us, and who I had talked to earlier that morning. Over breakfast I had made an effort to score a free ride with him to Lagos, but had been unsuccessful. He was just ...

... in a country just over twice the size of Vancouver Island with a population of 11 million. Remote is relative I suppose.

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 ...

An excursion to Lagos’s Marina followed by a boat trip to Ponta de Sagres (The most western point of Europe, from where the Portuguese sailors started the discovery of new worlds) will allow to enjoy the
natural beauty of the rocks, especially the famous and most impressive caves of Ponta da Piedade, wild beaches and the sea waves on the cliffs along the coast and also some of the ‘highlights ...

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’re ...

... road. OK, first hotel - closed. The next hotel was a large 'resort', surely they wouldn't be open at this time? They were, the price was (very) reasonable for the size and facilities and we booked in, settled in and enjoyed the wine, whilst watching the sea roll in against the cliffs below our room's balcony. Dinner was in the hotel dining room and then a good night's, comfortable sleep. Distance driven 221 kms ...