Beautiful beaches, sunshine and surf

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From Lisbon we're drawn South, lured by talk of desolate golden sand beaches, uncrowded surf and warmer temperatures. The more well-known Algarve area is on Portugal's Mediterranean coast, but we're heading for the Atlantic southwest coast.

We follow the sea route through the Alentejo, with its attractive tidy brightly painted villages, nice beaches and headlands. Its finally time for our first swim - refreshingly cool with a wee shore break to play in. Its a novelty to have a backdrop of an island with roman ruins and a 16th century fort. Overlooking the town of Aljezur we find the remains of a 10th century Arab fortress, a great spot to listen to the cowbells and watch the sunset.

Ever wondered where cork comes from? We discover the source by accident, stopping for a snack in the shade of some lovely big trees. The trunks are barkless with numbers painted on them. Suddenly the penny drops (the cork pops). The bark of the trees has been harvested for cork. I bet we won't find any locals supporting screw caps on wine bottles.

This area is also famous for its wine and we pass plenty of grape vines growing in the dry landscape. With these and the olive trees are numerous plantations of eucalyptus, reminding us of parts of Australia. And, believe it or not, we see purple-flowered heather growing in the sand dunes, reminiscent of Scotland.

Ah, at last the beaches we've heard and dreamt about. The pearl of these for us is Praia Bordeira. Great viewpoints, golden sand, good surf, interesting birdlife and dusty dirt roads to thin out the crowd. The next few days are all about sun and surf and there's plenty of both.

We explore some of the Algarve, find 11th century fishing village remains and soak up the history and bustle of Lagos and the beautiful clear water and dramatic headlands of the coast. Extreme fishing seems common here - we see rod and reel fishers dropping lines from the top of over 100 metre cliffs. Radical.

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Photos

Aljezur
From a 10th century Arab castle

True Keith heaven
Praia Bordeira