Route During Week Five

Something that we’ve both loved about Spain is the relaxed attitude to rules and regulations. The approach seems to be ‘these are the rules, do what you can with them and don’t’ stress too much’. It's been a refreshing change from the UK and one we hope continues in Portugal.

As we approach Portugal the earth turns to the orange so typical of the cliffs of the Algarve and everything is much greener almost as soon as we cross the border.  This part of the world isn’t completely new to us, we have visited a few times before and we’re first of all heading to Tavira to spend some time with an old friend (longstanding not aged!) Gill.

We book into a campsite for a few days and have a lovely time with Gill fine dining in the motorhome...

...and walking the dogs on the beautiful local beach around Rui Simeão.

Rui Simeão is a salt-producing area where 95% of Portugal's sea salt is gathered manually from the salt pans - a big draw for many species of birds, including flamingos.

Much to the dogs' disgust, Nick tows them with his bike in their special 'chariot' for the road section of the return journey!

Tavira is a lovely town, full of character but gentle and laid back.  The weather is superb, at one point it was too hot for us to sit in Gill’s garden!

Last but not least, while in Tavira we head to the vet AGAIN, this time to get EU Pet Passports - the dogs are going to find it easier to travel in the EU than we are!

Silves

Next stop - a place close to our hearts, Silves. 

We've visited before and we love it here; it’s one of our favorite places, with narrow cobbled streets, little cafes and restaurants, an ancient castle, a cathedral, a river, and gigantic storks nesting all over the place, what’s not to like? 

This is one of the places where we always look in the estate agents’ windows although our girls would say we do that everywhere we go and that a holiday isn’t complete without us arranging to view at least two properties! 

We hadn’t visited the castle or the museum before but we do so this time and they are both fascinating.  Silves has been occupied since prehistoric times and the museum takes visitors through the history in a very engaging way.  The castle has been part of both the Muslim and the Christian kingdoms and what a mighty fortress it is.  

Praia de Faro 

We are indecisive about where to go next but finally decide on an aire on the Praia de Faro.  The city of Faro is not directly on the coast, the Ria Formosa, a series of saltwater lagoons, and a sand spit separate it from the sea.  Our aire is on the sand spit and it is an incredible location. 

We can walk directly out across the dunes onto a beach that is deserted and goes on for miles.  We walk out to the end of the spit and marvel at the skills of the kite surfers who are our only companions.

We walk back on the lagoon side of the spit which is entirely different from the seaward side.  Here there are primitive shacks, some made of corrugated iron held together with rope which seem to defy the elements to remain standing; they are occupied by clam fishermen who comb the shore at low tide and sell their catch to local restaurants.

High up on the water tower at the aire is a massive piece of artwork, it is a seahorse made from plastic waste found in the Ria Formosa. In 2001, the Ria Formosa had the highest seahorse population in the world. Today the number has dropped by a shocking 90%, a  combination of habitat destruction and pollution.

The dogs had a lovely time today, their favorite outing is chasing a ball on the beach so we have two very satisfied spaniels although they did manage to lose their ball!  We do a walk today of 5.5 miles, so a glass of wine in a beachside bar while watching the sunset is most welcome!

We stay on an extra night at this aire to enable us to catch the ferry across the Ria Formosa to Faro city.  It’s a bargain at about £3 return and it delivers us directly outside the walls of the old city.

The old part of Faro is lovely, with cobbled streets, historic buildings, and a lively street cafe scene. 

The Igreja do Carmo is a beautifully ornate church the rear courtyard of which houses the extraordinary Capela dos Ossos, Chapel of Bones,  The bones of more than 1.200 monks who were exhumed in 1816 from the city's overcrowded graves line every surface of the chapel and even makeup designs and patterns on the walls!

We end the day visiting Faro Cathedral within the ancient city walls that encircle the old city. The view from the top of the tower was worth climbing the 65 steps to get there!