Monaco Hotel Faro

... I talk briefly with a receptionist in a Best Western hotel. She's actually quite interested to hear my story, and takes my email in case she knows anyone that needs a bit of work done in exchange for room and board. This is the only beacon of hope, in an otherwise very bleak situation. <br><br>I eventually find the Youth Hostel, and thoroughly abuse their complimentary internet service. We'll see what tomorrow holds.

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 ...

... not "surfers" but we we&#8217;re much less scared of getting tossed by the big waves this time. We also came to the conclusion that it maybe wasn&#8217;t us that, but that it&#8217;s the size of the board that was hindering our performance....<br> <br>http://picasaweb.google.com/Jonny.D .Lawrence/20091011Sagres?authkey=Gv1sRg CMmMtI7egbGKvAE&amp;feat=directlink

... about the Qantas, Jetstar or Virgin Blue self check in system. Unlike BA, if you were booked to fly together then generally when you go to check yourself in all call up your booking, the person that your are travelling with also appears. But at BA, the idea seems to be if you don't go and start checking in 24 hours before your departure, then they will allocate you seats at random, so not taking into account that you are travelling with your significant other and may ...

... 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 ...

... discovering a gem of a local restuarant with amazing bbq chicken. 6 euro for dinner!!<br><br>The next day to fill in time before departing we looked at the Chapel of Bones, which was built from the bones of the monks from the local cemetary. Over 1200 skulls. Definite goosebumps eh!

... br><br>Looduspark koosneb 60km pikkusest laguunide kogumist, kus elavad mitmesugused linnud ja loomad. Kuna seal oli ukse peal silt, et töötajad on messil, siis võtsime endale voli ikkagi parki jalutama minna. Kokku läks u 1,5h. Radade juures on aeg-ajalt infotahvlid, kus seletatakse mingi looma, linnu või taime päritolu kohta. Mõnusa jalutuskäigu ja linnulaulu otsinguil soovitan sinna minna küll :)<br><br>http://www.olhao.web.pt/Parqu eNatural.htm

... open. It's almost 11pm. I feast on that and 2 beers. Next stop, beer purchasing. As I'm walking around, the guy that told me about the hostel runs into me. He's on his way home etc etc. I figure, I'll ask him where I can get some beer. He starts giving me directions and and than says he'll drive me if I want. I now break my second rule, I get into a car with someone I don't know. Somehow he just seems harmless. He owns a bar in ...

... knowing the cars will stop - but we find ourselves triple checking even as other pedestrians are halfway across. Must_trust_road_users_again. Must be strong. I realise the early part of the above paragraph infers an ability to communicate in Portuguese that in truth in no way exists. Our Portuguese communication is based on my high school pidgin-French being transplanted into pidgin-Spanish before being mangled into some possibly Portuguese sounding ...

... came out (great win rate I think). Neighbouring groups looked on enviously as toddled off with a bottle of Cinzano Rosso (blerk!) and a hideously glazed monkey-styled decanter. Lucky us. Fortuntely we didn't drink too much because early next day we hit the waters around Faro for some serious kayaking. Happily stable in my slow but sturdy plastic job, we ...