Regina Apartamentos Faro

14 Nov<br>we awoke early and decided to go for a stroll along the river bank to the point where it met the ocean (NOTE AT TIME OF WRITING, we have an entry for Odeceixe to insert). En route we had a quick wash using water that was effectively run off from the hillside. Proceeding on at the beach, we were greeted by two sea otters, happily frolicking in the surf; a wonderful pre breakfast feast for the eyes. As the tide was running very low, surfing ...

... demographic. As the kiwis marched forward I walked with Kirsten, a tall blond policewoman from Hanover. She laughed a lot, and spoke fluent Portuguese. I must admit I'm not the best traveler in the world, I often can't be bothered to learn the most basic of phrases in the local language; but I'm pretty darn good at traveling with good travelers. <br><br>We arrived at the hostel to find that it was A) 7 Euros more expensive than the ...

... to the station. I sit on the bench and pick away at the ruby red fruit. Pomegranate is similar to sunflower seeds, in that psychologically you are eating, but physically you are consuming so very little. <br><br>I arrived in Faro early in the day, located the nearest internet cafe and sent out a flurry of requests to both Couch Surfing and WWOOFing hosts. I wander the streets, hoping to accidentally find the youth ...

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 ...

... tons of mussels on the bottom, also not fun. The road to get to this lagoon was really sketchy, there's a video in the link below so you can see for yourself.<br><br>http://picasaweb.googl e.com/Jonny.D.Lawrence/20091012Alvor?au thkey=Gv1sRgCN_Jy47QxsiTwAE&amp;feat=di rectlink

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 ...

... closed and the last small town before the Portugese border was 'Ayamonte', which at least had people around who seemed to live there. It was mid afternoon when we arrived and although we found a hotel, it did not look appealing, so we decided to drive on. The weather now, although dull, was at least dry. Just up the road was a magnificent road bridge over the 'Rio Gaudiana', we crossed it and were in Portugal. The search for a hotel ...

... different in each place. Porto seemed like a classic city where it seems little has changed over the centuries. Coimbra is very well organized and is remarkably beautiful everywhere you turned in the maze that is the old city or greenspace with its romantic history. Lisbon is absolutely crammed with an intense history that may be the reason why Portuguese culture is still so dominant here ...

... trying to wake her up in several passive aggressive ways. I realized the only way I was ever going to get any sleep that night was to abandon ship. I got up with the plan of stealing into an open room with an empty bed, only to find them all locked witj the exception of the one to the terrace. Exhausted, I stumbled out into the moonlit terrace and discovered that the sunbathing chairs had Sandra-sized cushions on them. So I stealthily made off with a few and made a bed for ...

... of culture, so I'll be very interested in seeing Lagos and Sagres in the next couple of days. Hope you join me then. Good luck to both Portugal and England in the game tonight (I'm torn at the moment and better not mention any affiliation to England ;-)!. Words from the Wise #62 "Come on - you will have plenty of time to rest when you're dead." Alexandra la Valletta