We left home last Thursday morning at 3:00 a.m. for a 6:00 a.m. flight from Bristol to Faro, which is the regional airport for the Algarve Peninsula. All went very well with the drive, parking, check-in, etc. Flight took off on time, smooth ride, arrived to sparkling sunshine and warmth. Which was a very welcome change from what we'd been having in England.
It was a touch confusing at the airport with 370-odd British tourists trying to find the right buses for their hotels. We finally found our bus and off we careered on a rather wild and jolting journey through Albufeira to the Alfagar Resort. First impression of Albufeira the city was that every building was white and boxlike; large buildings looked like children's building blocks, all white. Or maybe sugar cubes? But it wasn't a glamorous city; most of the buildings on the way were small businesses and many looked like they were struggling. And in a way they reminded me of Arizona and New Mexico in terms of the topography and suddenly I felt a pang of homesickness. Beautiful as England has been with its lush greenness and stone cottages, I realized that "home" is the Southwest for now and I miss it.
After about an hour we arrived at the Alfagar Resort. The Alfagar is an older resort, about 15 years old. It's built on the edge of cliffs with fabulous views of the ocean. The beach is a steep walk up and down but quite do-able. I got up every morning and headed down to the beach to do a half hour/two-mile walk every morning.
Not only was there this beautiful beach close to the resort, there were also four pools. We mainly stuck to the pool that was below our apartment.
Our one-bedroom apartment is to the far right in this photo; second floor, just above the
arched door. The apartment was simply furnished but comfortable. It could have done with a couple of ceiling fans because the nights were so hot and there was no a/c. We spent a couple of mornings on the beach--the ocean was very swimmable with a gentle surf and the water cool but not frigid--and most afternoons at the pool. No, that's not me in the photo in the bikini. Those days are long gone for me ;)
The front of our apartment block. Bougainvillea growing around this entryway. Aah, bright sunshine, warmth, water. This week was going to be fun! The following day, Friday, we met with the tour rep and chose two excursions that would take us away from our basking by the water: a sailboat trip on Saturday along the coast and something called "Best of the West", a coach tour to four landmarks of this part of the Algarve, Lagos, Cape St. Vincent, also known as "the end of the world," Monchique, a small town in the mountains and Silves, a Moorish city.
The next post will describe and display the sailboat trip.
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