Current Location: Ferragudo – Algarve Region – Portugal
On the Car Stereo Today:
Radio: Cadena Dial – RNE Radio 3 – RTP Antena 3 – RFM (not the same RFM as in France)
Spotify: Dolly Parton playlist
Burguillos del Cerro to Ferragudo
After a journey across Europe of 1549 miles, I have arrived in Portugal.
I am now in Portugal until next Wednesday, able to enjoy a few days with not too much driving to do.
It was so peaceful in the bungalow I stayed in last night – I really had forgotten I’d booked the bungalow and not one of the hotel rooms they have on site. I was the only guest – as I was in the B&B I stayed at in France on Monday night.
I set off from the bungalow this morning and drove in to the village, Burguillos del Cerro, where on top of a hill above the village is the castle. It was overcast (and very grey) this morning so I had the place to myself. I suppose I was the King of the Castle (could have done with one of those crowns from our work’s Coronation quiz a few weeks back).
Then I got in the car and set the sat nav for Portugal. My first of two destinations in Portugal is the Algarve. My visit to this particular area of Portugal was inspired by the book I read back in the spring, by Alyson Sheldrake, about her move to Ferragudo many years ago. Her description of Ferragudo made it sound better than what I thought the Algarve would be.
More than half the driving today was not on the motorway which made a nice change. I took the scenic route and stopped just once, at slightly over half way in to my nearly 4 and a half hour journey. (I broke my own rule of not driving for more than 90 minutes at a time and drove for 2 and a half hours at a time, then again for 1hr 44mins).
My stopping point was the city of Beja, in the Alentejo region of the country. I had a bit of a walk about and ate my packed lunch – then it rained and I rushed back to the car. As I continued on to the Algarve the rain fell harder, then it stopped, rained a bit more, then the sun came out, then it rained again…..
I reached Ferragudo late afternoon and was shown to my room. I am actually staying a few km out of the centre of Ferragudo. When I arrived there was some cloud around but the sun was shining – 25 degrees – pleasantly warm. Unfortunately I think it will rain for most of tomorrow, so I made the most of the sunshine while I could.
So what is Ferragudo and the Algarve like? Ferragudo sort of reminds me of Corfu. The quieter bits of Corfu, not the busy bits. I wouldn’t say it is as quiet as somewhere like Thassos, but it does have that Greek village vibe. It is kind of a shame that it overlooks Portimão, on the other side of the river – a city with high rise flat blocks, by the looks of it. (From a distance it looks very built-up but it is worth visiting).
I spent some time at the town’s main beach, the Praia Grande. Half of it is full of sunbeds, but go beyond the sunbeds and it is lovely. I took my chair from the car and parked myself at the water’s edge with my book.
My apartment is not completely self-catering: It has a mini fridge and some plates, knives, forks etc. so I can make a packed lunch and have breakfast – but for my evening meal I need to eat out (not done that yet this holiday, I’ve been self-catering all the time – or or had a cafe on the campsite).
So off in to the centre of Ferragudo I went. There’s a nice selection of bars and restaurants, catering for all tastes from tapas to Indian…I however opted for a pizza, and found somewhere in a side street which looked peaceful enough. The pizza was good and I am stuffed. Then I drove back to my room.
Although I look out on to the main road, at 10 at night there’s no one about – the odd pedestrian, the odd car, but mostly what I can hear is the wind amongst the trees and a distant dog barking (very like Greece).
If the weather’s bad tomorrow maybe not a day for going to the beach, or swimming in the pool (wish I had used that while I could today). I’ve heard that the nearby town of Silves is meant to be worth a visit. I could also wander over in to Portimão and visit some of the museums there.
I’ve now got that weird situation where I’ve been an hour ahead, got used to French/Spanish time, and now crossed in to Portugal where it is the same time as at home…..but I’m abroad so I feel like it shouldn’t be the same time as the UK. It also means that although it is only 10pm, to me it feels like 11 – and I will probably wake up incredibly early.
I suppose what time it is doesn’t matter when I’m on holiday….I could just leave myself on French/Spanish time and not worry about it. Its not like I can understand announcements on the radio or anything, and the only time I need to worry about is my ferry coming back home……
On that note I’m going to head off to bed now.
Boa noite,
FH.
Today’s Mileage: 213
Total Mileage: 1549
