What more can you dream of than an extended family trip to the beach? Okay, I could think of a few other things (sorry family :P ), but it sure was a nice idea. We were 7, which makes for a proper crowd. And it was very enjoyable :-) Not only the weather, but the whole trip.
We had chosen a place to stay that was a little inland, but where some of us had been to before. A very nice spot run by a lady who had made Portugal her home a long time ago. We were the only guests, so we had it all almost for ourselves. Portugal itself is a rather dry place and so was this spot. We enjoyed the sun however. The daily routine: Breakfast on the terrace, cuddles for the three dogs, trip to the beach, spending the evening outside. Well, roughly. It was a very lazy trip . Exactly what a vacation should be like from time to time :D
Even though we went to the beach a lot we also visited the region a bit (no, not only the supermarket…). The Algarve has its own feel for some reason. Maybe it’s the yellow-red sandstone along the coast, maybe it is the look of the cities, maybe it is the people. I am not sure. But it is nice. It seems a lot slower-paced than at home in many ways.
But let’s not babble too much. Here are some impressions for you…
Cloudy and rather cold in Germany… 
… warm and sunny in Portugal. 
We always had to drive a bit to our vacation home… 
…where Minnie Mouse waited for us! 
…some of the way was not optimal for vehicles (and horses apparently)… 
There were some interesting plants at that place… 
…flowers… 
…more flowers… 
…cactuses… 
…and palm trees. 
But most importantly we had some pet company! Two cats actually… 
…Alma the herding dog… 
…who obviously needed a lot of sleep… 
…but never got tired of being petted… 
…and Domingp who has the happiest face… 
…and Bornetto who always carried stuff around, be it a leaf… 
or a piece of wood ;-) 
I especially liked the geckos… 
…who were most active at night. 
Doesn’t this one look happy? 
On to the beach, but beware… 
…there are actual trains crossing! 
We were rewarded with… 
…many… 
…many… 
…many… 
…many… 
…many…(seagull!)… 
…many… 
…many… 
…many… 
…many… 
…many…(Oh! A stone!)… 
…many… 
…many… 
…and many… 
…hours of at the sunny beaches. 
And there were surfers as well… 
…and nice sand… 
…and waves… 
…and surfers surfing the waves… 
…and… actually, this is not a surfer. 
Sometimes there were really big waves! 
Not when this nice sailing ship came along though. 
Once we took a little boat ride on a motorboat to see some of the coast… 
…with brigdes… 
…and real bridges… 
…and elephants… 
…and camels! Awesome! 
A water shoe someone lost. 
A replica of a Portuguese ship that went to discover India (maybe). 
To get to our dinner one night we had to cross the mighty railway again… 
…but we made it to the beach and enjoyed our food there. 
On one day we went to Lagos. 
Lagos has some streets laid out with tiles… 
…narrow streets… 
…and colorful buildings… 
…lots of houses… 
…and hands for door knockers… 
…and art… 
…more art… 
…almost art… 
…dangerous snakes… 
…and crazy-looking fish! 
Of course we went to watch a sunset as well… 
…just like these two lovebirds… 
…and this dude… 
…and it was just pretty! 
Pretty! 
See? 
All in all it was nice and time passed quickly. See you soon, Algarve!
