I wasn’t too thrilled to hear that we were moving on again, especially when I heard we were going to visit Lisbon, but it turned out to be not so bad. The trip alone was wonderful; long, unpopulated stretches of surprisingly lush countryside, eucalyptus forests (gosh, but they really smell fantastic after the rain!), miles of sand dunes, regular glimpses of the sea …. The highlight for me was the ferry trip across the Sado estuary from Troia to Setúbal….
We’d had a taste of things to come when we visited the cliffs of Cabo de São Vicente, but we still weren’t quite prepared for the unspoilt, rugged beauty of the south western coast of Portugal. The entire area is a national park (Paisagem Protegida do sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina – try saying that after a bottle of Blog wine!), and so the small towns and fishing villages are far and few between and there are none of the…
I am not the only Big Bird on the cliff. Since we arrived in Portugal, we have seen a large number of storks, many nesting on roofs, poles, chimneys, church belfries and derelict industrial buildings in towns and villages along the coast. They are quite a common sight which is not surprising, considering that the stork is protected in this country and it is against the law to demolish any structure on which storks nest. The lucky ducks! We poor…
Time to start hitting those famous Portuguese beaches! We’re going west and yet again, alongside the orange and lemon groves, the coast road is full of dilapidated buildings and graffiti. Already from the outskirts however, Lagos looks much better kept. We got hopelessly lost, looking for our Airbnb accommodation and so had a lengthy tour of this lovely coastal town – several times over. The old town centre is typical of the area, with its narrow cobbled streets. At one…
I’ve been promised sun, sea and sand but all I can see is snow. What’s going on? At least we are moving – by train to Vienna. Where’s all this sun the Oldies have been talking about? Ah! This is more like it! We are just landing in Faro, Portugal. Wonderful! From the plane window I can also see the huge mounds of salt at the salinas (salt beds), so the open sea cannot be far away. The sun is…