Spain and Portugal- 2013

Cap St Vincent, Portugal

Our second time into Portugal, concentrating on the southern Algarve area.  Day trips from our home base took us to the far reaches of this beautiful territory.  First of all, we enjoyed Capo St Vincent, looking out over the powerful Atlantic Ocean, crashing far below this rocky outcrop.

Surfing near Capo St Vincent- sunny and warm but everyone in wetsuits against the cold waters.   Shouts of joy from below as they caught the "big one"....well, not so big but great fun anyway!

Villages of the northern Algarve-  Giancarlo toured us about these gorgeous villages and their museums, castles, walled cities, markets ....Castro Verdi, Almodovar, Ourique....

Again, the overlap of cultures was evident everywhere.....Celtic, Roman, Christianity, Islam.  A museum tour in Almodevar which honours Rainha Dona Leonor had a multitude of artifacts showing these cultures

Always nice to stop and enjoy a coffee or cerveza or vino tinto!

The views from the walled village of Castro Verde was framed by this lovely wisteria vine behind the church.

Portugal Car Rally, 2013-   A surprise treat for Robert....and which I ended up enjoying....was stumbling across the preparations for the Portugal Car Rally.  Below you can see the sponsored cars for the under-23 teams,  each with a driver and a navigator, from many European countries.  

Here is a popular viewing area for the car rally.....cheers, talking, eating and yes!...a bit of drinking....even some BBQ's and tents set up as people settled in to enjoy the race.

Great environment at Giancarlo's farm.....a lovely home base for our explorations.  

Robert and Giancarlo in his orchard and vinyard......lemons and oranges, fig and nuts,  olive grove, several types of berries, some cork trees  Much work and love went into creating this beautiful farm.

Vila Nova de Milsfontes Beach- on our way to the coast we passed dozens, hundreds?, of stork nests.  Little ones poking their heads up from the huge nest with smaller birds fluttering around the lower parts of the nests.....fascinating symbiotic relationship.

What an area of Portugal!  HUGE rolling breakers, crashing on to the rocky outcrops, all part of the national linear park.    Above you can Robert walking out and there are fishermen on the farthest spot, dodging the waves....crazy.  Below is a beautifully located restaurant where we enjoyed a coffee....what a view.  

Milsfontes was built along the river, with exotic boats moored, ready for tourists and the fishermen.  

Fascinating stone formations....we speculated that a huge tsunami swept these boulders from upstream and then they were cemented in place on the shoreline.....what does the below geologist think?

Above is a close-up of the sedimentary layers that line the river's edge.  Below is a close-up of a tourist and her corn-husked buddy!

What a metal sculpture overlooking the ocean, Neptune comes alive!  

Tavira-  Such a beautiful coastal village just west of Faro, exploring the castle and many of the 37 churches and yes....complete with a Roman bridge.  

Ancient olive tree in the courtyard of the castle...with a young tourist!   Then we asked a local for a recommendation for the "best fish available".....he walked us to a great restaurant et voila!  the meal was superb.  

Olvera....the night before we left for Scotland from Malaga, we stayed here and enjoyed wandering the ancient streets, under the watchful eye of the castillo.   

View to the castle from our hotel balcony....

Ciao, Espagna y Portugal!   Hasta luego!!