Villa Vitoria Carvoeiro

... and heºs out too. Iºll stop there, youºve got the picture, this surf donºt suit us!! Bring on Bozzy (Boscombe) artificialdom, we canºt wait to try that new manmade surf reef. From now on weºll stick to the mosh pit weºre used to - one with a live band and a load of exuberant front rowers! Ok, roger for Annabelle, Lymºs going to enlighten you on the rest of the day...

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

... but did some paddling! for lunch we headed 5km up the coast to Luz. A wonderful sunny afternoon and towards the end of it Lym did venture into what turned out to be rather too powerful surf tho he is now feeling more confident about trying to get "out back" beyond the white water, albeit usually unsuccessfully... more pracise required. Still, another day spent in mid20s temperature, few crowds and stunning scenery.

... above the river Odeceixe which runs out to the Atlantic. This was an idyllic location and though the tide was all wrong to surf, we parked up on the river bank within sight of the ocean: an absolutely fantastic location which was all ours complete with open fire. We commented on how different the Portuguese attitude is to free camping; its almost part of their constitution!

... t the most inspiring town, and after two days its time to move on.The kiwis have a plan, they've got a hostel lined up, and a group of friends meeting them, so why not?

A two hour bus ride to Lagos was longer than expected, as we got off the bus we met up with Kirsten another traveler who was staying at the same hostel. Together we all walked to "The Rising Cock" hostel, the clever name suggesting that I perhaps was not its ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

... a aventura. "Desenvolve-se dos dois lados da ribeira de Seixe que faz fronteira com o Alentejo. Praia de Bandeira Azul, tem banhos de mar e de rio. Na vazante aconselha-se a prudência, pois formam-se correntes perigosas, sobretudo nos dois extremos da praia. Na baixa-mar pode andar umas largas dezenas de metros com pé. A ribeira que desagua no topo Norte da praia proporciona ...