Blogs from Algarve, Portugal, Europe - page 37

Wow what a trip! 4 nights at an amazing apartment with everything included as far as cooking untensils, a dishwasher, wash machine (that noone used), stove, oven, hugggge porch to hang out on, 3 bedrooms, a living room, dinner table, tv, two bathrooms, and 7 other amazing roomates! Plus a beach that I didn´t want to leave.. and it happened to be called playa de ana! So even though the trip took a little longer than expected it was well worth it! I started the trip off by getting in a taxi to make sure I didn´t miss the buss (I thought it left 15 minutes after it really did). Then Anthony cracked open a bottle of 4% champagne to toast the trip ¨yay for portugal¨or something really well thought out like that.. We also had ... read more

Meeting at 11, in Zuffo area, all happy to say good-bye to parents from the coach window... At last we started for this adventure, far away from Italy for 13 days!!! On the road for Milan-Malpensa, we laughed and joked, we listened to music and we had fun. When we arrived at the airport, for someone the anxiety started to grow; we waited still a bit of time before doing the check-in and later walked in the airport-shopping centre or to see the airstrip. Finally we got aboard the plane and in the take-off, someone held the arm of the fellow traveller and someone was quiet, but during the flight, nobody was scared. The landing didn't have problems, we got off the plane and went to collect our luggage, luckily there were all!!! 30 minutes later ... read more

We´re leaving our beloved village in two days. The month has gone by so very quickly. We´ve discovered so much more about this area than we understood last year on our first visit. Our favorite discovery is the beach/cliff walks that paralell the sea. The sea has changed greatly on this visit. We´ve had a series of easterly winds and storms. So, we´ve seen our quiet wave action turn into pounding surf. We now know why the rocks are so eroded--and beatiful. We´ve spent less time visiting sites mentioned in guidebooks and more time at places local people have told us about. We found a fabulous spa up in the mountains near Monchique. We probably would have spent more time using their facilties, but they are very expensive--unless you are a guest of their hotel. Maybe ... read more

We made two trips to Loule last week. The town is the largest in the interior of the Algarve (between the sea and the mountains) and is known as a great market town. Our first trip, however, was to go to their Carnaval! They have the largest carnival celebration in Portugal with a parade of 17 floats. The parade was around and around the same four long blocks in town where the street is separated by a wide plaza. All the floats had sound systems that were blaring Brazilian music and there was one Portuguese band that was playing as loudly as the could. The noise was just wild. There were people on all the floats dancing, and there were feathered dancers in the parade. The crowds were as much fun to watch as the parade. ... read more

My sincerest apologies for not writing sooner. There is something about this place that just mesmerizes us. Whereas in Funchal there was a definite beat to the city and I wanted a routine; here, there is no schedule, routine, or desire to make plans. We are just so happy to BE here. A word about where we are: The Algarve is the southern coast of Portugal, Western Algarve is the least developed area where cliffs dominate the coastline, but you can find lovely, unspoiled beaches; and Luz is the village we´re staying in that has a lovely beach. The landscape is rough and hilly. Right now the almond trees are blooming so everywhere you go you see clouds of pink or white. The ground is mostly green because of winter rains, but I suspect that come ... read more