Portugal 2025 – Post IV

With easy access to transportation options from my current base in Portimão, it’s nice to grab a bus or train and head out of city on some day-trips. I’ll share a few:

Faro

So Faro is the capital of the Algarve and I’ve only really passed thru on a few occasions so a bit of exploration was in order. I really wanted to see the protected area known as the Ria Formosa Natural Park – a series of islands, marshes, sand dunes and salt deposits stretching 60km from Faro harbour. I took a ferry to llha Deserta, where I could get a first-hand look and take a stroll on the ‘deserted island in the middle of the park. My ‘ride’ was a catamaran type boat with a snazzy paint job and went like ‘snot’.

There was a beautiful sandy beach that went on for ages and I also wanted to checkout the boardwalk (or at least a part of it as I only had about 2 hours).

It was neat as there were only a handful of us on the island while I was there + some restaurant staff. It was very relaxing to just stroll along, enjoying the views and peace-and-quiet of the island.

Back on solid ground, I visited the Faro Cathedral in Old Town. It had numerous chapels (one dedicated to St. Blaise no less!) Two things stood out, the first being the view from the Bell Tower. You can get a ‘Birds Eye view’ of the Ria Formosa Natural park from up there. A neat perspective after travelling the park by boat.

The second thing …. well … it’s a brother’s job to gross out his sisters – so I visited the Chapel of Bones, built of the bones and skulls of more than 1,245 Carmelite friars (not sure why?). It was constructed in 1816, located in a a separate chapel located behind the main cathedral. History ain’t always pretty LOL

Carvoeiro

Carvoeiro is a neighbouring town, about a forty minute bus ride away. It has wonderful views all the way westward to Sagres from the boardwalk and adventurous access to the limestone cliffs and caves.

The geology is mind boggling, the way nature has carved its way around the cliffs. Even walking along a trail, what look like shells under foot are fossils – in open view everywhere.

As I made my way back to the downtown area for lunch, there was a confusing “buzz” amongst the crowd. Apparently the power had gone out across the entire countries of Spain and Portugal and restaurant owners and businesses were closing up shop. Oh oh! What does this mean aside from no afternoon galão (latte)?

A cafe was still selling sandwiches and cold drinks so I had a quick snack before I saw a bus coming. I thought I’d better get my butt back home in case they start taking the buses off the road (all the comms servers were going down), so I did just that. Turned out to be a 12-hour outage due to some unusual, complex atmospheric anomaly. There was cheering and hollering in my neighbourhood at 11:30PM when the power came back on – reminding me of New Years celebrations.

Monchique

Today I took a bus to Monchique, up in the mountains, about 23KM away. I visited there a few times, two years ago as a spectator of the Tour of Algarve cycling race. I just like the winding road, easy vibe of the town and narrow, hilly streets. Sardine season opened last week so I also looked forward to a nice grilled sardine lunch.

I had read about a deserted convent, originally the Convent de Nossa Senhora do Desterro. It was a good, hilly walk where I was met by an elderly gentlemen who led me into the ruins, and pointed out where I could go. Very kind of him! You could just sort of imagine all the activity, back in the day – praying, growing herbs and veggies, making wine.

As it was build on the slope of the mountain, it provide great panoramic views of Monchique.

Well that’s a peak into some of my little day trips. Feel free to leave a comment below. If you wish to contact me, my email is blaisemcneil@gmail.com. Thanks for visiting my site and I hope you’ll return soon for my next adventure…. Blaise