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Published: August 13th 2023
Fun at Faro, Sensuality to Seville
-Piprey on wheels
Aug 2023
Faro and Olhao Missing the sun? Faro on the Algarve coast on Portugal was an ideal choice for a
short summer holiday. Faro is located on a
salt water lagoon on the Atlantic ocean, surrounded by many small islands.
I booked easyjet from London Gatwick to Faro and a hostel (Pirate backpackers, Faro) for a couple of nights. Flight was delayed by an hour and reached Faro in the dead of night but the airport, about 2 kms from the sea had such a lovely sea breeze and so alive!
The warm breeze greeted me with open arms as soon as I stepped out of the airport.
I checked uber and within a few minutes, the price hiked from 7 to 15 Euro. Better to wait for the bus and pay 2.5 Euro in cash as card was not accepted in Faro buses. With a little bit of getting lost in a new town, reached the hostel.
After a
lovely cup of coffee with a pinch of cinnamon powder, Portuguese style, at the little parlour of the hostel with the pleasant sea breeze and warm sun, I walked up to the Faro marina to join the free Guru walking
tour by a local guide which is tip supported.
Indeed, I thought I understood English very well but the Venezuelian accent was lost to me. I imagined 60%!o(MISSING)f what he said which was probably more colourful than the facts.
Faro was completely
destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. It was rebuilt with care.There are
evenly placed cobblestones of black and white, making pictures of
sardines, homes, flowers, rangoli decorations etc on the main street roads so that it is easy for illiterate people to identify. There is a
church where the bones of the monks where displayed and you pay 2 Euro in cash to see it. Next to it was Cafe Seu which served wholesome lunch buffet for 8-10 Euro based on weight of plate.
I chatted with the backpacker owner, who mentioned discrimination of white portuguese in London by calling them "Padre". Weird!
I took a 10 mins train from Faro to Olhao (1.45 Euro) and napped under a tree with the golden sun playing hide and seek between the green leaves. Pleasantly chatted with Bangladeshi shop owners over a cold Portuguese drink. Olhao is a laid back town of working people.
The town is pretty with decorated flower pots, artistic balcony grills etc and is less touristy.
I walked about the town and did a full circle without knowing it from the train station, town centre to the parade.
Indeed, I was going in circles 😊 The following
day was dedicated to idling away at the beach. I took return ferry for 3.75 Euro to Faro beach. The water maybe considered cold but so much warmer that Bournemouth (in June). Anyhow, I made the mistake of
not identifying a reference point. Hence, could not find my towel and bags on the sand. Without my glasses, I felt very helpless.
I walked up to the life guard and asked a couple of beach goers but no one could help. The life guard walked with me and looked through the binoculars but nothing as the
sand dunes did not present a flat landscape. My
eyes were burning because the suncreen had got into it. I started walking from the point I entered the beach and scanning. Within 10 mins,
I found my stuff on the lower sand dunes. Relief. Very important to have a reference point in big beaches when you are swimming by yourself and have poor eyesight 😊
It was lovely to take the ferry back and relax in the hostel. I stepped out to the train station to catch a train again from Faro to Olhao for the evening. This time, I took a
boat rode to Al Amorina island. There were about 450 people on the boat. The beach was full with happy beach goers.
I ordered dinner of Tuna but I got fried Durado fish with vegetables because of my zero knowledge of Portuguese. I was left wondering how on Earth, my local corner shop calls the orange, lemony chicken he prepares peri peri chicken.
Seville The next day, I walked up to Faro bus station to take 2.5 hours bus to Seville for 31 Euro. There is Flixbus or ALSA. You can book online. I had a very poor experience with Flixbus in London and hence chose
ALSA. It was a landscape of olives, lemons and other citrus fruits. The hills changed to plains as we neared Seville.
It was a dry hot meditteranean summer day of 38 degree celsius. No one on streets except tourists and the Sun shone brazenly.
I walked about 17 minutes from the
Plaza de Armas (Military parade ) bus station to the
Tirana backpackers across the river. The
river Guadalquivir divides the city into working class, Tirana and posh/old city,
Seville. The
Flamenco dance originated in Tirana. The
Tirana bridge is beautiful with bubble shaped on the arches, a landmark of the city. A watch tower,
Torre del Oro marked the boundary of old
Seville city square after 10 pm
Watching a young lady singing us beautiful opera to busy public in the squareSeville but the fortress walls are all gone now.
There were very few people about in the afternoon. Ate a lovely 3 course meal in a local tavern with an ice cold beer of
CruzChampo. The total meal deal was 10 Euro.
Later when I went to a bar, I asked for a beer sounding like Santa Cruz and the barman was laughing.
I was excited to explore famous tapas of Seville. With no knowledge of Spanish, the barman suggested and I gladly accepted a tapas of sardines on toast. When it arrived,
I saw two strips of raw sardines on brown toast. Somehow conveyed that it was raw and so it would not work for me. Pointing to the table next door, I ordered a lovely
tapas of fried brinjal/aubergine with shrimp and white sauce stuffing, Delightful 😊
To beat the heat, I set off by 10.30 am to UNESCO heritage center of
Alcazar. It was built by several kings, most importantly a Christian king inspired by his friend in Granada, a muslim king.
Andalusian architecture is 5 elements – metal, wood, columns, colour and bricks.
Indeed, the guide pointed to a famous old Andalusian hotel ( Alfonso 13). Somehow, whenever I saw Alfonso mentioned, it reminded me of juicy alfonso mangoes locally called Hapus in Goa, India and I could not help being amused.
I was searching for wood in the hotel architecture when another customer mentioned the trees. We had a hearty laugh.
To make
it more economical,
colourful ceramic tiles were elaborately used to decorate the palace walls. The layout, the gardens, chapel, symbols etc seemed like the Agra Fort but these had exquisite carvings of plaster of paris. The floor had hand painted tiles. The ceilings were always beautifully decorated because the people rested in the hot afternoon and had to look up at the ceilings.
Cordoba Awestruck with Andulasian architecture, I took the 2 hours train ride for 22 Euro return from Seville to Cordoba to see a
Mesquita- cathedral, a
spectacular double arched massive mosque cum cathedral. Inside, it was cool and softly lit. The Mary in the cathedral had a bold composure. There was a fountain outside and I quenched my thirst with the cool, tasty waters which was heavenly on such a hot day. I crossed another bridge on river
Guadalquivir (meaning big river). I took a bus back to the Cordoba train station. Had a nice Chinese lunch and tried a new beer called Estrella del sur at Cordoba.
Tirana and Seville Tirana walking tour was about the
lively working class neighbourhood. The river used to flood and destroy the houses. It was
Alcazar and garden
With 13.50 Euro entry, it was totally worth it. only in the last 2 centuries or so that proper embankments were created. There used to be a bridge made over boats for centuries. (Who would like the poor to easily come into the city walls of rich Seville)
A show replica of the boat which Magellan used to sail to the spice islands ( Indonesia) was floating on the river.
Seriously, I do think that the sailors were crazy. Of the 350+ people who sailed in 3 boats, only 1 boat with 18 people returned after 3 years. Magellan was killed in Cebu, Phillipines. Remember, Christopher Columbus also sailed from here. The
zeal to spread Christianity was strong. The
infamous inquisition to torment poor women, rich jews etc happened in Tirana/Seville.
There is a joke that Tirana is so self contained that people who visit Seville say that they are going on a trip!
The cicada in the trees were constantly buzzing and loud. My guide mentioned it was because of the heat.
Since I was the only customer, I tipped her well because it was more like a private guided walking tour. The local church was famous for brotherhood. During carnival, a massive procession was taken out in the city which had been captured in James Bond/Mission Impossible movies. In April, they have a
big cattle fair. Everyone wears their traditional dress and celebrate with drinking and merry making.
I ate fresh meal of Jamon sandwich and a typical Spanish drink of red win with soda and ice at
Mercada de Tirana near the Tirana bridge. It
was fresh, tasty and reasonably priced. The meal cost me 7 Euro.Chatted with a friendly American while I ate lunch, standing at the counter. (
Never met an unfriendly American)
In the
hot peak sun,
I did a mini adventure of walking half an hour, with my backpack to Ibis style hotel as the hostel was full over the weekend. Rewarded this effort with afternoon siesta like the typical Spanish.
It was a treat to watch the
Flamenco dance museum and enjoy a spectacular dance performance of 2 women and 1 man supported by 2 singers and a guitarist. Passionate, soulful, strong, elegant, poised and graceful, they touched the hearts of the audience. It reminded me of the folk singers of Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India.
Flamenco had its origins from the gypsies who brought their traditions from the Indian sub continent.
I saw some
budding Flamenco artists performing at
Place de Espana (like India Gate in India or Covent Garden in London where tourists flock around).These artists would have easily been mistaken for Indians.
I drank a cold, spicy tomato soup called
Gazpecho followed by spinach with chick peas and grilled pork with wine and garlic for 13.9 Euro in central, touristy Seville. Witnessed some excellent opera singing in the main square
by the Alcazar palace by budding artists. So much life in Seville!
Indeed, Seville was cosmopolitan because it was the epicenter of trade for the new world.
It had a
huge tobacco factory protected by moat where
women worked because they had
nimble fingers and were cheap labour. Most of new Seville was built in
1929 for the Spanish- American exhibition of international friendship and solidarity. The avenues and roads were broad and well lined with trees. On the darker side of history, all stolen silver and gold from South America was brought here to be re-distributed in Europe.
Back to Faro I took ALSA bus from Seville to Faro Airport. Unfortunately, there was no sign at Santa Justa estacion (Seville railway station) for ALSA bus (the bus company operating in Spain and Portugal). I asked a few people but no one could guide me. Finally, a railway station operator said it was outside, across McDonalds.
At Faro airport, while I was waiting for bus to the Faro beach,
I got friendly with another young girl who was finishing her day at the airport and heading to the
Faro beach for a swim.
We used Google translation and then used broken English and gestures.
We changed and swam in the ocean chatting about fabulous men in Brazil, Spain and England. I
ate
two cream filled doughnuts and sunbathed. Indeed, the Faro govt decided to build a new bus stop but the construction will not finish till autumn when the tourist season will be over. Till then, we had to walk the mile from bus stop to the beach and back.
Flying back to London Luton, I took a cab back home for 65 GBP because of train strike and late hour. The driver was interested in good holidays. I gave him my number so that he could plan a great trip to Egypt.
Happy to have had a such a great holiday and sad to see it finished.
London was misty, like being in a hill station.
While I was washing and ironing my clothes, I remembered my fun times in the
beautiful Iberian peninsula. Here I come to Gibraltor and Malaga in the next season.
Fun to Faro, Sensuality to Seville- please accept my humble Flamenco bow.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
The beauties of Spain
This is a lovely shot.