Mar 16, 2012 - A bit of British in Gibraltar

As we were driving through the mountains to the coast suddenly the land levelled out to a flat brown plain and in the distance at the edge of this flat landscape the green and white Rock of Gibraltar stretched 426 metres up to the sky. It’s quite a sight. The Spanish had possession of the Rock from 1462 but the Anglo-Dutch invasion in 1704 changed Gibraltar to British control in perpetuity. We walked into Gibraltar, through passport control and then had to run the gauntlet of walking across the airport runway between landings and take offs...

Oct 30, 2011 - Sagres

What a beautiful beach. We think it may have been the last of the nice weather!!! This was a very popular spot for surfers and was truly picturesque. We only stayed long enough to soak in the view and have a coffee break before heading to our next destination.

Jan 20, 2011 - End of the World (Again)

And now to country number 19: Portugal. I have been before, but only to the coast north of Lisbon, with a couple of surfers, but that’s a story for another day. As we are renting another apartment from the 26th in the eastern Algarve (because very excitingly Mark and Heather are coming to visit us), we decided to spend a few days on the west coast of the Algarve so we wouldn’t need to cover that off at a later stage. So we did a long day of driving from El Rocio all the way along the entire southern Algarve cost to as far west as we could...

Aug 31, 2010 - Salema

Not much to say here, except I'm beat. Salema is a good place to end my research. It's a small fishing village which is at present overrun with Brits. Many buy condos on the hill above town and spend their vacations here. I spent my first 3 days here finishing up work and then had my last day to just lay on the beach and swim in the ocean. The water was the perfect temp, not too warm or cold. I slept about 10 hours my last night, which I guess I really needed.

Aug 29, 2010 - Sagres - the end of Europe

Sagres was once knows as the "End of the World" and it really feels like it. Located on a wind blown bluff at the southwestern tip of Portugal, it's pretty desolate here. You see lot's of Portuguese fisherman casting their lines over the edge of the cliffs and not much else. Henry the Navigator built a Navigation school here to train sailors, which you can still see remains of within the fort that stands there now.

Jul 13, 2008 - July 13 Sagres

July 13, 2008 We decided since we had an early start that we were going to take breakfast out. 30 minutes later we finally found a small café open on Sunday morning to serve us breakfast. Ham & cheese sandwiches, and water. We were then on our way to Sagres. On the way out of Albefuria we stopped at the gas station and gassed up the car. During the drive, the car started running a little rough, so just inside Sagres we stopped at th Citrol gas station. I ran through the owners manual and verified that it took gasoline, gasoleo. Did you know...

Jul 31, 2006 - Salema

Days 1-5, Salema: Our stay in the Algarve region of Portugal was extremely relaxing. The Algarve region is comprised of a bunch of little coastal towns facing the Atlantic Ocean along the southern end of Portugal. With the exception of Lagos, which is by far the largest town in the area and appears to be driven primarily by tourism, the majority of the towns are old fishing villages that over time have also become tourist destinations. We chose to stay in Salema, one of the last villages to be discovered by tourists (although, judging from...

Jun 8, 2006 - sagres

greatt! cheap; HUGE room, overlooking to ocean. had to pry tom off the beach - saw a lighthouse and a couple forts. lunch overlooking the beach (with a few topless old women - didnt help lunch go down any easier)....ahhhhh - too bad we cant spend the rest of the trip here!

Jun 2, 2006 - Aljezur, Portugal

The skies were blue and the sun was shining this morning when we made our way back to the beach. We spent a few hours relaxing and I wandered for a bit to take some photos. I have decided that there should be some kind of law to prevent men from wearing Speedos...and the European men just love them! We ate lunch on the balcony of our aprtment and headed back on the road after 1pm. We drove west to Sagres, the most southwestern point in Europe, where land ends cliffs plunge hundreds of feet into the ocean. For many centuries, this was...

Nov 12, 2005 - Salema

We have been in Salema, on the Algarve coast of Portugal for 2 days now. I can understand why this is one of Rick's favorite get aways. I love it here and wish we could stay a few more days, but we need to leave today in order to see Sevilla and Madrid before Walter heads home on Tuesday. Were staying at Pension Amare, on a hill overlooking the town with great views of the ocean. The place is run by a very nice Danish couple who prepare the best breakfast I have had so far on this trip, included in the price. I got up right at dawn this...

May 14, 2005 - Thank goodness for the Portugese shower......

We have finally made it down to Sagres - we managed to get their by 12.00 and found an awesome campsite under the pine trees just set back from the cliff lined bays! And we have found a place where you can turn on the taps for as long as you like! Had the best shower we have had all tour! Portugal rocks!It is a seriously impressive place. We took a drive down to the lighthouse and they had local artisans selling woolen goods, fruit and nuts grown in the region and the usual touristy cr*p you find along side these stalls. We found the beach...

Apr 18, 2005 - Vianna Do Castelo to Lisbon

We are now in Evora and have found a free internet in the city hall, so are taking advantage, although nowhere to upload photos. There is an internet somewhere inthe town so may be able to go there this afternoon. I'll update in two sections, although my memory is getting a bit hazy now on things that happened 2 weeks ago. Viena Do Castella AS I said before we left our bikes one side of the bridge and walked into town. we were glad that we did as the footpath was literally only a foot wide and every time a bus or truck came by we had to...