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Published: August 3rd 2013
Pose 1
Remember how I mentioned Rachel mimics every statue. Here's a few more from our first day in Portugal (Monchique).We took a vote last night to decide which beach was our favourite and Arrafina won! So, that is where we headed today for our last west coast beach day. It was busier than last time for a few reasons: 1) It was a Saturday 2) It is now August and according to the people we have met here, on August 1st (could be any day of the week, it doesn't matter), the Algarve suddenly fills up with tourists and Portuguese from the north on vacation. We have definitely noticed an increase in traffic since the 1st. Having said that, we have yet to really deal with any slow downs whatsoever. Traffic here has never been a problem, even today. But the beach was definitely a lot busier. Still, we got a good parking spot and made our way down the 6 switchbacks to the beach. We set up in a great spot and I got a beach run in before we all hit the waves. The waves were even bigger today but this also meant more surfers. They are cool to watch but it means you have to be very careful when swimming. Although there are designated areas for the
Pose 2
Who is holding up whom? surfers and the swimmers have a designated area too, the surfers sometimes get carried away on a wave and although they bail in time, their board often flies another 10 feet which can come close to the swimmers. So, Nigel and the kids were being very careful and didn't stay in as long as there were so many surfers today. We still had a great time and soaked up the sun and the scenery (again, this is a gorgeous beach). There was even a vendor selling jewelry on the beach today (another sign that it is busy season).
Back home, we did more swimming and ate a delicious seafood pasta dish on the back patio. We also enjoyed some Sangria (which meant I almost didn't stay awake to blog......).
Note from Nigel - We took Lori's camera to the beach today. When I downloaded her photos I found a few from earlier in the trip that I've included. Scroll down for more photos (20 total) and click them to enlarge.
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Catharine
non-member comment
Correction
THIS is the best blog yet. Great adjective choices, great photos - including the much requested family beach shot (at least the clothed photos), amusing captions.... You'll have to extend your vacation by another week - you are finally getting in the swing of this blog thing.... Hmm... Maybe it was the sangria! Nice! From Newcastle.