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Algarve Sideroads - A Cigar in Sagres
October 2010The charm of the Algarve is hat it is still very much untouched and traditional, more so away from the beaches and the few ugly spots such as Vilamoura, Quarteira or Albufeira. Inge & I decided to spend a day touring the Algarve to show some attractive places to our friends, there for the first time. We started at the quiet village of Silves and its Church and Fortress with the indoor cistern dating from the Moors. Then up the mountain to Monchique, stopping to enjoy the tranquillity of Caldas de Monchique before continuing to a viewpoint almost at the summit of the 902 meter high Mount Foia, from where we enjoyed a great view over the western Algarve. Over the mountain tops and Eucalyptus forests we continued via Marmelete and Aljezur to the Atlantic Ocean, turning left down the Costa Vicentina to stunning Carrapateira Beach. Then on to Sagres, the south-westernmost point of Europe, looking across the pond to America. Impressive Fortress, the old Seafarer's Academy from where most of the world was discovered and mapped, a stunning lighthouse and beautiful, windswept rocks. A place I love. Lunch in the protected fishing harbour of Sagres at our favourite restaurant "A Tasca" enjoying tons of fresh seafood, oysters, sardines, prawns, all just hauled in from the cold Atlantic waters. No way I would go for a German sausage here - not even if it's the last before hitting the Big Apple. But nice to see the ingenuity and savvy that people can develop - and their Bratwurst is famed. We returned late afternoon via Lagos and Portimao happy and well fed but couldn't keep our hand off some lamb chops at Ti Costa for dinner. Life's good.
Nino
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