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Published: December 28th 2010
Sagres to Pas de le Casa, the Algarve to Andorra – 22nd November to 21th December
Two weeks spent swanning around the sunny Algarve and then a few days Skiing in Sierra Nevada in Southern Spain, a weekend in Barcelona, then cruising the slopes again in Andorra. A lovely way to spend four weeks!
From popular opinion, hear say, and reading the odd travel brochure, the Algarve is not somewhere I’d have expected to like, other than the sun of course. I didn’t expect the countryside to be so picturesque, and I expected every town and village to be overrun by high rise blocks full of white haired British and German retirees. I was quite wrong, in part anyway.
There are a lot of towns which have been monopolised by high-rises. Some of which have been built for the incoming hordes of sunseekers. Others of which exist to house the local Portuguese population who can no longer afford anything else. These are fairly easy to avoid, or even easy to find if you need to find a bar to watch the odd footy game in.
With the minimum wage here being about €400 a month, and the
cost of living being about the same as the UK, many of the locals inhabitants cannot afford to buy, and instead rent flats in new apartment blocks which have been built in many old towns and villages. The lines of old and new are quite distinct. Silves was the perfect example of this where from standing atop the castle walls, you could look down and see a clear distinction between the old town and the new. It really is a shame, but the wealth of the immigrants has forced up prices, and left this as the only viable option.
Anyway, back on track, to the places visited on route. Sagres was the start point, and the drive along the coastal road took us to the following places; Ingrina, Alvor, Boco do Rios, Lagos, Silves, Armacao de Pera, Quarteira, Fuseta, Pedras D’el Rei, Loule, Poco Novo, Vilamoura, Sierra Nevada, Granada, Barcelona, and then Pas de le Casa in Andorra. I’m quite sure that list is not 100% complete, but it’s about as good as my memory gets!
Most of the overnighting was done at small beaches, either with or without towns. Not all places allow motorhomes, but there are
some beautiful spots that do, with many people spending a few weeks at each spot. We of course, did not have time for that.
The first stop was beautiful, Ingrina is a fantastic beach, surrounded by beautiful unspoilt countryside that you could spend all day walking around. The weather was fabulous, beautiful sunshine and clear blue skies. The only problem was no dogs were allowed on the beach, so it was not somewhere where we could stay long. It’s a perfect place for a sunny family holiday though.
We then zoomed all of about 20 minutes along to Boco do Rio. Not such a nice beach, but with a dog friendly beach, and still the lovely countryside to walk in we stopped here for a few nights with a multitude of other happy campers.
The hills and beaches on the Western side of the Algarve are fabulous and largely unspoilt by the tourists as they are far enough away from the airport and main tourist towns.
Lagos has been developed quite significantly over the years, but the old town retains its charm and is definitely worth a visit, unfortunately it rained on the day we visited,
so it looks a bit drearier than it normally would in the photos. It’s an old port town, from where many of the Portuguese boats used to set sail from in the days of Henry the Navigator. There are not too many signs of that now other than the odd restored building, but the sail boats are now tiny fishing vessels, but the fortified walls of the Pont da Bandeira fortress still stand, surrounding parts of the old town.
Silves has a fantastic Moorish fortress overlooking the whole town. Even in late November the restaurants are set out and the bars are busy. It’s supposedly one of the best examples of the Moorish fortresses in this part of Portugal for anyone with an interest in such matters. (Although nothing compared to the Alhambra which was visited later.)
Most of the other towns and villages kept on the same theme, either over developed or small and quaint. The Saturday market in Loule was worth a visit, with fresh fish from the mornings catch to locals selling fresh fruit, vegetables, and huge amount of chillis, all grown in their gardens.
After spending time with my Auntie and Uncle in
Poco Novo, we headed off to the Sierra Nevada mountains in southern Spain to do a few days skiing. Fortunately they’d had enough snow to make skiing conditions ok for a few days and of course the few customary hangovers.
The views from the top of the mountains were spectacular. The photos don’t do it justice, but you could see down to the Mediterranean sea and across the surrounding mountain ranges. You could stop and stare for ages, if the wind wasn’t trying to blow you off your feet that is.
It wouldn’t have been right leaving this area without visiting the Alhambra, so what I thought would be an hour and a half visit turned into over three, but it would be difficult to do it in much less, the place is enormous. It was home to the Nasrids for 250 years, and much of this time was spent building one part or another. I imagine in the summer it would be packed, as it was busy on a Sunday afternoon in December, but you have to visit if you’re ever anywhere near.
From Granada it was a sprint up to Barcelona, not that there isn’t
stuff to see in between I’m sure, but we don’t have time for everything. We did stop, by chance, in a small town called Morella. Only because it supposedly had a lovely place to park the van. And it was an excellent decision. The town, once conquered by El Cid of all people, looked fantastic. Built atop a large hill and almost completely surrounded by fortified walls. Morella is about a 2 and a half hour drive from Barcelona, in a north easterly direction. It’s definitely worth a detour if you’re passing, a really lovely sight.
Barcelona needs no introduction really, I timed it all wrong as Barcelona were playing away from home when we visited so couldn’t go and see them play at the Nou Camp unfortunately. The city is fantastic, although a lot smaller than I thought, only 1.5m people live there. And as my bike got stolen there I didn’t like it as much as I should have! Although wandering down La Rambla, which would be even better on a hot summers day I’d have thought, was interesting, with the stalls, restaurants, and street performers. A bit like Covent Garden really. The gothic ‘sector’ was lovely
to wander round, but as the streets are so narrow in many places it’s difficult to get decent photos of some of the buildings, so you just amble along taking it all in really. A place I’ll definitely come back to one summer weekend.
From Barcelona it was off to Andorra. It wasn’t the plan to drive there directly, but as the possible overnight stops were vetoed on the way past for one reason or another, Pas de le Casa became the destination. So with the sun setting, we arrived at the Aire there at about 5pm. A day on the slopes the following day was excellent. A full day on the slopes meant the legs were a little tired at the days end and looking forward to a nice warm van on the way home as temperatures dropped quickly, I guess it wasn’t the best time for the gas to run out…brrrrr!!
Au Revior et Bon Noel!
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madge
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Sounds as if you have seen some fantastic places. So is there anywhere you have seen that you think we should see? Somewhere we should arrange to meet you? Have to say Portugal does sound nice. Pleased that you are managing to stay in one piece when skiing! Lots of skiing to in the next couple of months. Speak to you soon.Mx