Sol Carvoeiro

... and hešs out too. Išll stop there, youšve got the picture, this surf donšt suit us!! Bring on Bozzy (Boscombe) artificialdom, we canšt wait to try that new manmade surf reef. From now on wešll stick to the mosh pit wešre used to - one with a live band and a load of exuberant front rowers! Ok, roger for Annabelle, Lymšs going to enlighten you on the rest of the day...

Tail between our legs, we head back to Luz beach, enjoyed our first ...

... 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 ...

Over the last couple days I've watched my shaky plan fall around me. I don't really know where to go next, and surprise bills are depleting my meager funds. Thankfully I'm stranded in Southern Portugal, its cheap and beautiful, indeed there are less desirable places to be stranded.

I decide to join a group of young kiwis heading to Lagos; partly for the social aspect, partly because I would like to see more of the coast. Faro ...

... arrives, probably in an hour or two.

Now I'm feeling a little remote. I'm pretty good at making the best of a situation, and dealing with the resources I have. As I haven't eaten yet today, I search a few of the nearby gardens for a bit of fruit to tide me over. Under the cover of early morning light I find a mature pomegranate tree loaded with fruit. I grab 5 of the plumpest fruits I can find and wander ...

I'm anxious to get to know Daniella and Frank, now that I've gathered a bit of info on them. They came in last night, but I never really met them.
This morning I met Daniella in the kitchen, she was already well into breakfast prep. I helped her finish up, then over our own breakfast of stale bread and cheese, discussed chores for the day. The first task is to make bread.

"I don't really like to make bread" she tells me, as she haphazardly dumps an unknown quantity of water ...

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 ...

... it was pretty tame until one of the toreadors almost got trampled by one of the bulls, the dude was lucky they dulled the tip of the bulls horns.


http://picasaweb.google.com /Jonny.D.Lawrence/20091016Albufeira?aut hkey=Gv1sRgCImA4oCXitDO5AE&feat=dir ectlink

... 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.

http://picasaweb.googl e.com/Jonny.D.Lawrence/20091012Alvor?au thkey=Gv1sRgCN_Jy47QxsiTwAE&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’re ...

... huge rock formations and the most magnificent scenery. We stayed at the Hotel Almansor Tivoli http://www.portugal-info.net/tivoli-alm ansor/index.htm, it was a little difficult for us to find, driving over dirt roads, through downtown, up and around hills with no signs. The hotel is located on top of a cliff and most of the rooms have a view of the sea. It's an excellent hotel, clean ...