Oleandro Country Club Albufeira

... of the trip, played some frisbee and then decide weºd go for an early evening stroll around Lagos old town; Annabelle splashes out on a new pair of fishbone earrings (made of silver!), we pop into the local Ecomarche, pick up 4 frosty ones and decide to sit opposite the marina on the esplanade and chill for a while. Then itºs back to base where we have a chat with some very friendly Belgian silver surfers, who inform us they have been camping ...

... 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 ...

... Imposing cliffs drop into the sea, and it has an "end of the world" feel to it. I forgot my camera, so you should just google some photos.

I returned to the hostel to check my emails. Good news for a change! I have a host in Seville through couch surfing, and a host in Badajoz willing to take me on for a couple weeks of olive picking. Life is good. I joined Kirsten for a celebratory beer, and a wander through the streets of Lagos.

A silent drive to the train station. Frank drops me off, and I don't say a word as I grab my bag and close the car door. Now what? North or South? I could likely stay with Luis again in Lisbon, but I hate backtracking. Its 6:30 in the morning, and the first train arrives at 7:00, heading North. I ponder for the 30 minutes, then when the train does arrive, I let it pass. I'll head South, to Faro. I'm not sure when this ...

... 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 ...

... we een keer of 5 verblijd met een groepje rond de boot. Ze komen van ver naar je toe zwemmen.
Minder blij waren we met de duizenden vliegende mieren. De overlast viel uiteindelijk erg mee.
En nog wat beelden van rond Alvor, een heerlijk oord om voor anker te liggen.

... not "surfers" but we we’re much less scared of getting tossed by the big waves this time. We also came to the conclusion that it maybe wasn’t us that, but that it’s the size of the board that was hindering our performance....

http://picasaweb.google.com/Jonny.D .Lawrence/20091011Sagres?authkey=Gv1sRg CMmMtI7egbGKvAE&feat=directlink

... been to Alsace? Almost everyone speaks German but where every notice and sign is only in French. There are of course recent historical reasons for this! Anyway, back to Perpignan. I visited the Palace of the Kings of Mallorca. In the early middle ages the Kings of Mallorca ruled over what is today Catalonia (and Mallorca as well of course) and built the customary number of castles and palaces to demonstrate their power. As one does. King James (1243) called himself King of ...