s/v Milly: The Algarve

At high season the beaches nestled between cliffs near Lagos were crowded and lively. Not really our fave but fun to see.

We arrived on The Algarve, Portugal in August - high season. With the exception of our first anchorage in windswept Sagres, it was crowded with holiday makers with sophisticated beachwear, backpacks or boats. One could understand why they were there - it had a stunning cliffed coastline, clear blue sky, hot temperatures during the day and cool at night, delicious fish and shellfish, well-marked albeit short trails along the coast, reasonable roads for biking, proudly kept, ancient towns, and friendly and helpful people who could speak English as we spoke no Portuguese beyond "obligada". We were happy to have our first taste of the European continent.

Beautiful rocky outcrops and pillars in the very blue ocean near Lagos.

The gate into the old historic town of Lagos, a lovely place with meandering, narrow pedestrian streets lined with boutiques and eateries. But it was packed with people and, hence, rather unpleasant. I went to do a chore early one morning before the mainly British and German hordes arrived and it made all the difference. I could see what was around me and it was lovely. Don't go in August!

Picturesque houses far from the madding crowd - maybe it was the hill.

We walked from beach to beach through manmade tunnels for a couple of miles toward Ponta da Piedade.

The view from the point near Lagos down into caves and coves. Small boat tours going into these were very popular. We didn't do the tour but, alas, didn't find a day when we could take our own inflatable kayak. So crowded with motorized boats, swells and pointy rocks that we thought it unwise. Have to do it next time around.

Those lines are trains of kayaks being pulled by the tour guides who must have very strong arms! There were dozens of groups, motorized and paddled - the appeal of exploring this coast is obvious.

We had to stay longer than expected in the rather expensive Lagos marina awaiting the availability of boat service. The battery was replaced very quickly but the rigger required to replace our main halyard was on holiday. We chose to go along the coast to anchor and return when he was expected back.

The anchorage at the mouth of the Rio Alvor proved to be totally different than Lagos surrounds only a few miles away. Sandbanks were completely exposed during low tide showing a very small area deep enough for anchoring. The beds were alive with all kinds of shellfish - this is where we got our lesson on razor clam digging from a kind Portuguese couple (see the fishing blog). Mountains in the background provided the only real hill in an otherwise flat topography.

At high tide when the water covered the sandbanks, we were entertained by kiteboarders whizzing by.

Digging for clams in the tidal flats near the village.

Alvor, a dinghy ride away from the anchorage, was quaint and relatively tranquil compared to Lagos, although it, too, was crowded with tourists just on a smaller scale. This old boathouse for the rowing and sailing lifeboat is proudly kept up.

After the completion of boat repairs, we sailed east along the coast and anchored at Portimao, a large city whose man-enlarged beachfront is full of resorts. The town, built on a river, is not of particular interest. But across the river and dinghiable is a lovely, smaller town, Ferragudo, with waterfront cafes serving grilled sardinhas. This waterfront castle on prime riverfront real estate is privately owned!

Cobbled streets. Behind those doors, I'm sure there were lovely flowered courtyards.

Ferragudo from the dinghy, after a delicious lunch and walk through town.

We were finally able to get our bikes out of Milly storage and rode inland to Silves, an ancient town with hilltop castle. So good to get on our bikes again. We rode through orchards of figs, ripe and waiting to be picked. I stopped quickly and snagged two, feeling guilty all the while. This is not a well-to-do land. Although Portugal was one of the first to repay it's debt to the EU, austerity is still in effect and taking it's toll. People are obviously struggling with high unemployment. One couple who befriended us said that even though he was a practising neurologist, they had sacrificed holidays and moved into a small condo in order to be able to keep their older catamaran. I don't think the farmer noticed the two figs though.

This stork was one of several nesting on the top of a chimney - I guess it's a good view up there. It explains why most of the chimneys here have a distinctive peaked chimney cap.

Silves was set up for a medieval festival which did not get going until the evening. We couldn't stay but it was a sweet town with steep well-worn cobbled streets - and hence slippery in bike shoes - going up to the castle.

A hike along the coast with spectacular views. I was surprised by the topography of the Algarve. The flat lands on top of the cliffs were unexpected, the mountains only being visible far inland and only on a clear day. I now know that I prefer the mountainous coastlines but the cliffs of soft sedimentary rock were beautiful.

There are countless old towers along the coast in Portugal and Spain. Every promontory or high headland seems to have one. They acted as watchtowers, the watchers signalling up or down the coast to alerting to invading pirates or navies. There were many invaders over the centuries from all around the Mediterranean whether Phoenician, Genoese, Roman, Moors or later Spanish, British.

So many lovely vistas!

The soft sedimentary rock of the cliffs were spotted with caves. When they were above the tide line like this one, they often seemed to serve as shady respites for sunbathers if the beach was accessible. If the entrance was below the water line, we saw small tour boats entering for a look see.

Views from the sea are so different then from on land. Coastlines are always beautiful no matter the vantage point but we had biked to this crowded town and somehow it looked much prettier from the peaceful water than from the hectic beach.

Small beaches are dotted all along the coast, nestled between points and backed by cliffs. Some look completely inaccessible but are colourfully spotted by determined sunbathers.

A successful attempt to keep a pristine beach pure - small returnable cups for cigarette butts. Great idea! This seemed to be a local community initiative which desperately needs to be copied....everywhere.

Still Portugal in high season but this beach which went for miles was on Ilha da Culatra, a carless, roadless island with sandy paths winding through a village to this magnificent beach on the ocean side, accessible to tourists who made the effort to take a small ferry. We spent several days anchored in the lagoon, enjoying the sunshine and water.

We traversed the lagoon at low tide squelching through the ankle deep, fertile muck.

People and birds digging for clams.

Our walk took longer than expected and the tide came in requiring a wade out to retrieve anchored TomTom.

The market at the closest town on the mainland, Olhao. A lively, colourful collection of everything edible on the waterfront.

Lupini beans are served in bars all over Portugal including the Azores. These yellow, buttery beans are soaked in water overnight and then in a salt and vinegar, sometimes red pepper flakes and/or garlic mix. They have an outer heavier peel that you pierce with your teeth and squirt the bean out with combination action of teeth and tongue. Reject the peel and eat the salty, soft bean. Or you can add fibre to your diet and eat the whole thing. They are served free of charge along with an order of beer.

You can get everything at this market. Not sure if these were to be stroked or eaten.

Very cool graffiti in action. Not sure how he could see what he was doing - the painting was enormous.

We spent much longer than expected enjoying the market and tiny town streets and this time the tide left us high but not quite dry. We had to drag TomTom quite a long way through sandbanks. Not really a hardship!

The larger, more sophisticated, neighbouring town of Faro with a walled Cidade Velha (old town). The arch of the cathedral in this photo has a stork perched on his/her untidy nest.

Under the Schengen agreement, I am allowed 90 days in 180 days in Schengen countries (much of Europe). We had a date with friends and family in Spain over a month in the fall and so had to manage my Schengen time carefully. It was important that I got a passport stamp, clearing me out of Portugal to end my current Schengen countdown. Although Faro was supposed to be a city where "formalities" could take place, no one seemed to be able to direct us. The port authority didn't know what we were talking about and sent us to a large gov't building where we had to first figure out which counter to go to - luckily some kind soul who spoke English could see our confusion and took us to the right place - and then take a number and wait. When we finally arrived at the counter, the very accommodating guy sent us back to what we understood as the Port Authority and from where we had come. On returning, the Port Authority wrote up some custom form for Milly at high cost and then sent us back to the gov't office where the guy we had seen was on lunch. When he arrived, I broke all protocol and hustled over to see him. We had gone to the wrong port - instead of the marina port authority we had to go to the commercial port. We walked a long way through deserted industrial land to the deluxo building above and again waited on the curb with some friendly but wild dogs for the official. The interior was sparce and just as rundown as the outside. He had never cleared a yachtie out before. The beginning of our Schengen dance.