A Return to the Algarve

It's Sunday and we have returned to the Algarve of Portugal.  Two years ago, we spent about 10 days here - split between Lagos and Faro.  We are docked in Portimao, a city we haven't visited before.  We took the Taste of the Algarve Oceania excursion.  The first stop was in Lagos, the return.  We had about 45 minutes to wander around.  Being a Sunday, the city was very quiet.  It brought back good memories of our stay there.  You can see that Linda was equally happy both times.

Next, we were driven up into the mountain area which we did not visit 2 years ago.  We stopped in Monchique an area where bark for cork is harvested.  The stop included a visit to a bakery and included a sample of bread with chorizo.  We opted for a pastel de nata and a local fig pastry.

We then had a stop at Alcacarias, a little place that makes Aguardente de Medronho, aka fire water.  We saw more cork and trees that had been harvested last year.

There were 2 varieties of fire water, one pure and one flavored with honey.

The final stop was in Silves where we saw the Roman bridge and the old castle.

It was still Sunday and Silves was quite dead.  There, we were taken to a ship where we were served wine and a platter of cheeses and meats.  We passed on the meats!

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Along the way, we saw many storks with their chicks in their nests.

It was an okay excursion that did provide us with the tastes of the Algarve.

Today's Rule of Civility is easy for us to follow:

Number 107. If others talk at the table, be attentive but talk not with meat in your mouth.

Peace and blessings,

Linda and Larry