Hotel Cartaya Garden

... and the detritus of 21 century life. The town was pleasant and we watched across the river Spain slowly appeared out of the mist. We also visited what was billed as a Market of local produce on a Sunday morning. It was quite large but only sold underwear, socks, towels and nightwear, so our hope of finding something tasty for our supper was dashed, so we decided to travel back to Spain and visit Sevilla.

Op de rechteroever slaat de torenklok een keer vaker dan op de linkeroever: in Spanje is het een uur later.
Drie stukjes film: weer dolfijnen, de eerste die we in de Algarve tegen kwamen, blijft voor ons erg leuk, ik hoop voor jullie ook. Dit keer een wat grotere varieteit. Het tweede stukje film is uit de zoutwinning bij het plaatsje Tavira waar kluten, reigers en lepelaars fourageren. Het derde stukje film zijn wat beelden in en rond de Guadiana, de grensrivier.

... from staying here, was lovely and quiet in the day time and very busy in the evenings, when lobster-red foreigners wandered the streets looking for dinner in one of the many characterful restaurants. Being careful not to judge the entire Algarve without having visited it, we did notice a standoffishness and a reluctance to communicate using Portanol. Too many Spanish tourists perhaps? In almost every bar, shop and restaurant, people were more keen ...

Our time in Tavira has gone quickly. We´ve enjoyed soaking in the local flavour whilst sitting at our favourite pastelaria (pastry shop but really a cafe) in the Praça Dr. Padinha. We've had fish a few times - Chris has been more adventurous than Tony in this department! On Wednesday we caught the ferry for the short journey to the beach on the Ilha de Tavira. Our first swim in ...

... s centre streets are cobbled, narrow and one-way. We´ve spent Sunday afternoon & evening and Monday just walking around the town, exploring and soaking up the atmosphere. Lots of coffees, pastries and beer. Food and drink is really cheap (expresso $1.10, beers are about $2.20 for a stubby).

We´ve been practising our very limited Portugese - I think we can say about 3 expressions so far! Locals seem to find our efforts amusing! :-)

Adeus

... to see so many people taking advantage of the cycleway to get in their early morning walk, run or cycle. On glancing back towards the docks on the east bank I was surprised to see shipbuilding going on. Much of the original docks were built by English engineers for the loading of copper ore carried down from high up in the Sierras. Once on the west bank I picked my way through heavier traffic than I had anticipated (which remained the case for most of ...

... found a nice corner bar. I sat outside and sipped a couple of glasses of Rioja until disaster: I hadn't quite finished the second glass when I accidentally tipped it over and spilt the remaining contents. Before I could move a waitress appeared and wiped it up, before reappearing seconds later with the bottle and refilling my glass at no cost! Now THAT's what I call service! DISTANCE FOR THE DAY: 87 km TOTAL SO FAR: 2223 km

ARRIVED from Huelva ariived here kinda late (no train to lisbon until morning) so, sleep outside the train station with the gypsy family right next to it and get a train in the morning, or spend most of my dwindling funds on a night bus to Lisbon? i had ...

... br>Samuti oli just Lagos see koht, kust 1578.a läks Dom Sebastião koos Portugali, Hispaania, Hollandi ja Saksa "õnneotsijatega" (ingl k buccaneer) Põhja-Aafrikat kristianiseerima. Milline kül oleks Aafrika täna ilma selle sündmuseta..?

Praeguseks oli jõgi suhteliselt kokku kuivanud, linn väsinud. Tegime seal väiksed tiirud vanalinnas, jõime (laste)kärarikkas kohvikus cappuccinot ja soetasime paar köögirätikut.

... spa, sunscreen, lots of beachtime, walking, reading tons, sunburn, beer, cardgames, host family time. The best part was it was totally undeserved. This is the kind of trip you take after a terrible semester, not after an easy first week of spanish class. I've given in to the guilt I was feeling about not deserving any of this experience, and have decided to enjoy every moment. It's great. Well, that's all I have for now. Keep me posted, everyone! Megan