The Golden Sands of Albufeira

---

Oh, the sun, the golden cliffs, and the golden sand of Albufeira - what a contrast to Ireland. We REALLY enjoyed the sun and the warm weather, but not the cold Atlantic waters. Albufeira is a quaint seaside village where the lifeguards wear bright yellow T-shirts that say, "Matador Salvador" (Lifeguard), where people spend the entire day lazing at the beach, and then party until the wee hours of the morning.

Since I've written about Albufeira in the past, I'll concentrate on the very unique sand sculpture festival that we visited on my birthday. These were definitely the largest and most elaborate sand sculptures that we've ever seen. The festival theme was, "The Inventions of Mankind". It covered a variety of topics and historical periods. Funky jazz music was playing from concealed speakers which added a nice ambience to the event. The sculptures were created in early May and will be on display until late October. It's was truly a good show.

We are still in Switzerland enjoying the good weather when it comes, hiking as much as we can, eating lots of cheese and chocolate, and celebrating the 4th with fondue and chocolate. Hope your holiday is a fun one with good weather, good food, and good times.

RPM

---

Photos

Fiesa Sand Sculpture Festival
This very large festival had as the theme, "Man's Inventions". It covered a time period from pre-historic times to modern day inventions. It was truly remarkable.

The pier from our balcony
This is also feral cat central. There were at least 9 cats of various ages in residence in the field below our hotel balcony.

The new beach elevator
There are new escalators on the other end of the beach.

Comments

[Jennifer Mainey]

Portugal
This is Portugal, right? Guess we didn't cross paths. We ended up at Sagres, the SW tip of Portugal and also Sintra just north of Llsboa. Very nice. We were unable to spend as much time in Spain as we would have liked, did not get north. We loved Morocco and extended our stay there to go to the Sahara and stay over night. It was amazing. See you when you return. jen

[Dorothy]

Amazing
Wow how long does it take to create the sand sculptures and how long do they last. They are awsome

[Jane Laudano]

Thanks
Thanks so much for sharing your trip. You both looked great. I sure wish I could have been there with you. jane

[June Johnson]

Sand castles
I was in Oberhausen today.....looking at Sand Castles from my Hotel bedroom............I cant believe that we travel similar roads...but never cross. I DO so wish that Judy could come to Europe with you....

[Jeanne]

Belated Happy Birthday Pam! Every time we read your blog we celebrate your adventures with you; can almost taste the chocolate and feel the warm ocean breezes. Sand sculptures in Albufeira are amazing! Look forward to hearing more soon. Jeanne PS Recently met someone who was talking about an "obscure" town in Portugal he had visited; only reason I recognised the name was from your blog. So geography lessons and food reviews all in one.

[emma]

hey
ohh i went to portugal