Arriving in Portugal and being forced to strip off layers of clothing at Faro airport was an absolute pleasure. After whispers of Winter from London, the balmy 24 degrees just shy of midnight was very welcome. Even waiting 1.5hrs for our hire car in the wee hours of the morning followed by another 25mins to get our newest Sat Nav mate to play ball (Tom Tom AKA ‘Tommy’) didn’t dampen our spirits. Overheating with a sheen of oil on your skin and 5 blissful days ahead of absolutely nothing only meant one thing – holidays!
Knowing very little about Portugese culture we felt ill prepared for our journey to the Algarve. Fearing the ignorant tourist title, I set about cramming some basic facts and language skills on the drive from the airport to our resort. Very sadly, we returned without knowing all that much more than when we arrived….welcome to Brits abroad folks. English menus and English translations on every piece of signage with barely an echo of Portugese language to be heard. We hunted down the local culture as best we could during our stay but it wasn’t all that easy I’m disappointed to say.
Whatever disappointments we felt about our search for the real Portugal, our expectations when it came to the coastline were well and truly met. Stretches of golden sandy beaches against backdrops of imposing red cliff faces were a little mirage-like for a couple of Aussie battlers who’ve been craving a real beach. Having salt encrusted hair so stiff you could almost snap it was actually a pleasure, as was the smell of roasting skin on the bottom of your feet from the stinking hot sand. Working through the sun cream application logistics every morning followed by the sun burn assessment in the evening became an enjoyable routine. Ah yes, this was very familiar territory.
The Algarve has hundreds of beaches across it’s 200km stretch of coastline. All with varying degrees of commercialism, surf-ability, swim friendliness and expanses of white sand. We stayed in the idillic town of Carvoeiro which is roughly mid way along the Algarve coastline between Faro and Sagres. The town is fronted by a small beach which leads onto the main square – a popular spot for bands and middle aged tourists to re-discover their dancing legs. Winding, narrow, roller coaster-ish streets dotted with restaurants and cafes offered plenty of variety in cuisines. Two restaurants stood out for us – ‘Onze’ which did a modern spin on Greek food and knocked our socks off, and ‘Happys’ which treated us to some excellent local cooking – well and truly worth the third visit it took to get a table!
In addition to a plentiful supply of eateries, the beachside bars nestled into the sand dunes and cliff faces provided spectacular spots for cheeky afternoon drinks. These were the real heroes of the town for us with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, complimented by a magnificent sunset and brilliantly fresh food. Staring out to sea as the sun faded behind the cliff at O Stop Beach cafe, Justin and I often found ourselves in a bit of a trance like state. Life was pretty good….with it’s little tables propped up in the sand and super cheap cocktails it would’ve been rude not to go back the following afternoon!
We stayed at Monte Santo Resort which was a 3min drive from the town centre. The apartments were spacious, modern and exceptionally clean but sadly that was about the extent of the so called ‘5 star’ luxury. Catering for families it was impossible to find any peace close to the main part of the resort and we found ourselves hiding around the back of the pool trying to escape the little screaming tackers and all their energy. Smuggling some beers poolside helped to ease the pain a little and we managed to find times that the kiddies appeared to have worn out their batteries to pay the pool a visit. Not quite the indulgent relaxing experience we were hoping for..but lets face it, not too shabby either.
During our stay we ventured up the coastline to check out some of the neighboring beaches. Despite ‘Tommy’ being a little moody and endeavoring to take us through orchards and backyards, we eventually made our way up to Sagres. Renowned for it’s surf beaches and for being the most South Western point of Europe, Sagres was a no frills town that appeared to be least affected by the tourism machine. Although there was very little else there, it was a pleasure to hear a few local accents and see the beaches stand alone, just speaking for themselves. An afternoon on the beach followed by drinks at Telheiro Restaurant and fresh prawns (clearly not for me!) overlooking the water was simply perfect. In direct contrast to this was Prai Da Rocha. Unfortunately this town gave us flash backs to Alicante with all its high rises, large chain hotels, dirty streets and 80’s inspired marketing. Despite having a stretch of sand as far as the eye could see, the experience felt very manufactured – not what we signed up for. We pretty much left skid marks on the road trying to get back to the relative serenity of Carvoeiro.
Being spoilt for choice of beaches in Australia, and struggling to find a taste of anything similar in Europe, it was a real joy to finally sink our teeth into a proper beach holiday. Turn up the volume on the Portugese flavor and it would’ve been the perfect package. Nevertheless, Carvoeiro ticked our sun, surf, sand and good food boxes – anything more would’ve been greedy.
Cathy & Justin Abroad 