Jeff: Portugal week 1

So we got up nice and early and got ready for the beach the next day and headed down to the port for the first boat of the day (with only one return to the van for sunglasses, we really would forget our heads if they weren’t screwed on). The boat didn’t take long but did have to stop at the other dock which was the other end of the town (where we could have also got on the boat if we had known). Once docked at the island we walked to the beach Praia de Ilha de Tavira which is the start of 11km of beach on the island. We walked to the far end of this first beach then sat down for a bit to watch the waves and read. It was a bit choppy to snorkel but we did manage to get in for a swim and Rich did a bit of yoga, after watching the pretty lifeguard do it. Once Rich got fidgety we walked about 2km down the beach to the next beach where we found a poor turtle who had sadly died and after sitting down for 5 minutes we realised you could smell it decomposing so continued on to the next beach, Praia do Barril, which was another couple of kms down. This one had no dead animals and was the busiest of them all. It had little restaurants and a section called the graveyard of anchors which is just an area of anchors displayed which was cool. We chilled here for awhile and had another swim before having to head back along the beach to catch the 5.30 ferry back. The walk back seemed to take a lot longer than the 40 minutes it had taken to get there but we finally got back and had time to have a shower at the beach before getting to the terminal with 5 minutes to spare….to find out the ferry was 5.15 and the next one (and final one for the day) was 6.30). So we found somewhere comfortable to sit and relaxed until the final ferry came- in our defence several other people appear to have thought it was also 5.30 and we were not the only ones waiting. Once back we had hoped to buy a couple more Portuguese custard tarts but the shop was shut so we headed back to the van for the evening.

The next morning we did our morning run and then decided to drive to Faro and we parked up about 20 minutes outside the town and walked in via the municipal market where we bought lots of local fruit and veg to keep us going the next few days. We walked around and explored Faro but quickly found we ran out of things to do. We visited the old town via the Arco da Vila and looked at the cathedral (but didn’t go in), we visited the Trem municipal gallery but it was literally one room with 12 pieces in it, mostly untitled so we quickly left and finally we tried to go into the Capela dos Ossos de Faro which is a room behind a chapel made up using the bones and skulls of a 1000 monks but they were closed due to mass taking place. There are a couple of these in Portugal so hopefully we can visit one in another city as they are interesting to see. After deciding we had walked most of Faro we headed back to the van and on to Gale which is a place we have previously been to on holiday. We found the beach we had been to before and set up there to watch the sun go down.

The next day was of course the dreaded Sunday but we had planned an activity which doesn’t need any thing open but the first thing we have found is most things in Portugal are open on a Sunday! Anyway we headed from Gale to Benagil beach where we were due to paddle board to the cave. This is a tour offered by loads of outfitters but as we have our paddleboard we thought it would be easy. They also offer boat trips, kayak trips and even bodyboarding trips. So first issue for us was that the road to the beach does not allow campers so we had to park 20 mins away and walk down with the heavy paddleboard, once at the car park everyone else uses we saw several campers and made the decision that on the way back I would stay with the paddleboard while Rich brings the van down. Anyway so we got the board down to the beach and were a bit concerned with just how choppy it was. The waves appeared to be quite big but we were there so we were going to do it and we saw kayakers heading off. We pumped up (royal we – all Rich) the paddleboard attached our stuff (which included our phones and keys in waterproof bags) to the board and started the walk to the sea. We watched the waves and when a calm lull came off we tried to go…. But majorly failed. We got the board in and behind Rich I saw a huge wave which totally wiped us out, sending the board upside down and us both under water. We quickly got up and tried again and this time managed to get on the board before being thrown off again. We got on once again and paddled like our life depended on it out to sea. We quickly saw how close the cave was to the beach (Rich kept saying that he could have swam there) and decided to go down the coast for bit before heading into the cave due to the sheer number of larger motorboats going in and out. It was an interesting paddle down the coast as the number of boats coming past was more than we have ever seen. It did take away from the beauty of the inlets, caves and location but it is a tourist attraction and we were there for the same reason. After traveling down the coast a little we headed into the cave and again had to tackle the waves. Just as we started heading in a family in two kayaks had decided to leave so not only did we have to try and avoid them, we had to avoid the rocks in the sea and countact the strong waves while trying to get the boat to the beach inside the cave and dismount without wiping out again. We managed it fairly well and were quickly off the boat and up the beach. Once in the cave we realised that the first wipe out had taken our third fin and that we now had no directional fin which would make it harder to steer the board (and had probably not helped when we were travelling down the coast trying to avoid the boats). We stayed in the cave for awhile and enjoyed the sun beaming through the sinkhole gap in the roof of the cave to warm us back up. After awhile we knew we had to brave the waters again and head back to the beach so we got the paddleboard, watied for a lull and paddled again like the clappers to get back out to sea which we managed to do and we paddled towards the beach. This was going to be the hard bit, getting back onto the beach without wiping out, but we decided to head in where all the tours entered and exited the sea as while it looked rough it was most predicable and with lots of paddling and a jump off the board when near the beach we managed to get ourselves and the board out with no other issues. We chilled on the beach for awhile to dry off and enjoyed watching other cocky people try and head out on their own boards in the same place and get wiped out. We could laugh at them as we know lots of people would have laughed at us. There was one particular couple who tried to go out and the guy managed it fairly easily but the woman got totally wiped out and ended up back on shore and it wasn’t for a good few minutes that the guy thought to check on his lady friend who was furious! He then tried to signal her to come in and you could see the tension building as he couldn’t understand why she wasn’t coming. It was a fight brewing that all of us have had in our time. He eventually came back to shore, they talked for awhile and eventually he went back off on his own to show her how easy it was. Eventually as we were leaving she was heading towards the water but stopped at the edge and didn’t look that confident about going in so we didn’t think she would and by the time we got to the top of the beach she still hadn’t ventured in so who knows.

After all this fun we headed to the car park and Rich fetched the van so we could put everything away before we started the afternoons trip (I know that was an awful lot of excitement just for the morning!) which was a shortish hike to one of the worlds best beaches Praia de Marinha via the Seven hanging valleys trail. The trail is also supposed to be one of the best hikes in the world and our plan was to do the majority of the hike (a total of 6km each way) tomorrow but we wanted to spend time on this beach so we thought we would do the Benagil to Marinha section today. The hike was good and gave us the opportunity to see the top of the Benagil sink hole as well as a couple of other sink holes. Once at the beach we chilled for a bit and Rich did a bit more yoga and had a swim before we hiked back to van and moved to our camperstop for the evening. We were all settled down for the evening and all was quiet when something (and we have no idea what it was) came running past the van with a snuffling sound and heavy hooves. Was it a large dog or a wild boar we weren’t sure but Rich was sure that he wasn’t getting out to pee that night!

Next day was overcast with drizzle with a threat of downpours later in the day so we hot footed our way back to the beach car park, strapped our hiking boots on and marched on our walking tour of the coastline. Having done a part of it the day before we had approx. 6km to walk there and 6km back. The hike which was at times a choose your own path adventure took you close to the edge where I’m sure some cliff divers have ventured off in the past. We came across many a sink hole and lots of little caves. Not to forget we also walked by the 2^nd largest Cactus (As pinned by Google Maps). Not sure where the largest one resides and not sure why this one was highlighted out as it wasn’t awe inspiringly large by any means. A lot of the beaches we passed were seaweed invested and given the dreary weather we decided to give them a miss. With only1km to go and after a twisted ankle (Catherine) I (Richard) took the executive decision to not complete the return journey but instead order an uber back which is very unusual for us but in fairness it cost less than 5 Euros. Back at the van we took full advantage of the bad weather day and found a highly rated, cheap camper stop to service Jeff and to both have hot showers in a real shower! We were lucky to get the last pitch with Electricity as many campers came after us being told they would have to wait until tomorrow before they could get a pitch with Electricity. We scoped out a run for the next morning by walking down to the beach and quickly decided it wasn’t ideal terrain for running so blew that off.

Next morning we got away early and escaped the Algarve making our way up to Sines with a pitstop on a reservoir (Santa Clara) which boasted a swimming pool on the reservoir. As the paddleboard was half sand, half seaweed from our cave adventures we took it as a great opportunity to get it cleaned in some fresh water. The water was completely empty and we had a great time messing about on the paddleboard and swimming. I (Richard) attempted some tree poses but got wet. I did however master the surfers pop up technique which I will be trying again in the wavy seas of west Portugal! We got to Sines and scoped out the nearest Telepizza as Catherine has been craving pizza for days! I was not adverse to the idea. Sines is a swing and a miss of a city to visit, not much to see, not much to do but sitting here full of pizza in a supermarket carpark, I’m glad we came.

Next morning we decided to explore the beaches situated on the west side of Portugal which are meant to be great for surfers. We ended up at Praia da Aberta Nova. The weather is noticeably cooler now but in the sun its still lovely. The sound of the waves alone was enough to terrify us and when we got down to the beach we were faced with 6ft constant waves smashing the shoreline. Was great fun to watch but we dare not venture in. We chilled out for an hour, did some breathing exercise (Rich) and some Yoga before heading back to the van for a homemade Acai bowl! We continued to head north and parked up at a camperstop in Comporta and grabbed the bikes for a cycle to Praia Troia Mar. It looked really close on the map but was actually 16km away. It’s a massive holiday resort with a port, casino and expensive looking hotels. The beach was stunning despite one area with a strong sulphur smell and the massive concrete plant across the water. By the port we came across a cat colony who had no interest in our need to fuss them! 16km back and we decided we needed padding for our saddles especially if we want to complete our 100km cycle later on. We arrived back to a stray cat who was more than happy to receive belly rubs! We plan to spend the night here and then venture further north tomorrow.