Our first day in Portugal was more like a meeting of the United Nations:  Swiss, Italian, Hungarian, British and even the occasional Portuguese – we met them all (and ate most of their food), but more on that later.

We travelled to Portugal by bus, mainly because we couldn’t figure out any other way to do it.  We wanted to hire a car, but the rental company would not let us do a one-way trip to a small fishing village in the south of Portugal!  The last time I travelled by long-distance bus was in the late 1980s, Rockhampton to Brisbane (or something like that).  Anyway, the trip to Portugal took about 5 hours, and was a bit of a milk run (stopping regularly along the way), but it was scenic and relaxing, and at 20 Euro each ($30Aud) it was unbelievably cheap. And they took American Express, so everyone was happy!

We are now based in the coastal village of Albufeira, in Portugal’s most southern region, the Algarve.  To say the coastline of southern Portugal is beautiful, is a vast understatement. It’s  imposing, wild and dramatic, yet tamed in parts with whitewashed villages and cliffs lined with villas, hotels, bars and restaurants.  The crystal blue water of the Atlantic Ocean lies to our west, edged by dramatic orange cliffs that contrast against the sandy bays and the whitewashed buildings.  The sky is impossibly blue and it’s hard to tell where the ocean ends and the sky begins.

Back before Christopher Columbus, they thought the south of Portugal was the end of the world, and it was, as they knew it.  Of course, young Chris then sailed west and “discovered” America in 1492, ruining that particular theory.

There’s a few bland holiday villas and tacky resorts, reminders of the 1960s when tourism transformed the sleepy fishing villages.  But for the most part, the whitewashed buildings and the old town retains its charm, and the narrow cobbled streets are full of interesting little shops and tiny family-run businesses.

Our two-bedroom apartment is on top of a cliff, so every destination is downhill, which is good.  Coming home however is a different story, usually done in silence (on account of the ragged breathing) involving steep climbs along narrow cobbled laneways and sometimes, stairs hewn into the rock. I think Ross enjoys those precious, silent moments!

On the east side of the beach plaza, there’s a set of open-air escalators from the beach. I KID YOU NOT!!

We had lunch at the most beautiful Italian restaurant, chosen not for the food, but the location.  It opened just 3 weeks ago, and features a sun-drenched deck that overlooks the ocean.  It was a bonus that the pizza was fantastic as well!

We spent the night at a “Jam and Goulash” event at the Arte Bar in Albufeira.  It was basically a jam session for anyone who wanted to play, plus an enormous pot of goulash, made by this big bloke with a beard and silver ponytail.  I love it that we just find these weird little places (Ross found it on Facebook) and embrace them!  Arte Bar is in the middle of a residential area near the port, with just a convenience store and an Indian restaurant for company.  Everyone there was a ‘local’, so it was a bit like walking into a Portugese episode of “Cheers”.  There’s a big international population here….they’ve moved here from all over the world to become residents of the Algarve.  It was a super fun night, the goulash was delicious, the music was great, and we made lots of new friends.

After a huge day of travelling, long walks and much socialising, we’ve decided that we really love Portugal.  Can’t wait to explore some more. x