Portugal, Algarve trip, Faro to Tavira

Portugal, Algarve trip, Faro to Tavira

This was the first organized trip we took on this short holiday as we said before it may be best to have a proper look around before committing yourself to a particular company for any type of trip here this trip went from albaa to Tavira heading eastwards with the first

Stop at farro not only is Farrow the home of the airport which serves the algar but it has a long history and is capital of the region there is a thriving industrial area on the outskirts and the old Parts have seen much in their long history surrounding

The old part of the town is plenty of shopping and restaurants with pedestrian streets which with the nice weather were pleasant to walk around the historic quarter the sit Val as the Portuguese would call it is home to some of the town’s historic charms these include the Arco Devilla Gateway Gothic Cathedral

And Episcopal Palace we were dropped off by the marina and walked into the historic quarter now interestingly here we found stalks on Nest apparently they reside here throughout the year unlike back in Bulgaria where their migratory Birds they have their character istic large nests which look quite precarious

Balanced in high places they must be able to find plenty of food in the lagoon area the Lagoon lies to the south of the town and is also home to some excellent beaches there are old walls around the historic quarter which are mostly intact although there is a large amount of

Repair and building work going on all around we went for a walk and looked around and then went back into the cathedral complex this we paid for as we entered the courtyard in this space it was peaceful and there were orange trees with fruits still in

Them there was at one point a soft Splat sound beside me as an overripe orange fell from a tree and landed beside me there were things around the courtyard to see but we didn’t linger for too long before we went into the old cathedral in which there were more workmen doing

Various jobs the upkeep of these old buildings must be quite expensive too there were plenty of ornate and intricate carvings and decorative spaces inside typical of Portugal and the neighboring Spain a lot of work and money is spent on making their churches rich in such craftsmanship we climbed up some stairs

Which led up through a museum and eventually we went up to the bells at the top of the tower they are hung in an area which is exposed and weathered from here we could see across the rooftops and out over the Lagoon e e the climb up the stairs was not the

Safest with the condition of the steps and people squeezing past each other but the experience was well worth it from far we were back on the bus for the next part of the Excursion it was not too far to go before we reached our next stop pardon me if my pronunciation is

Not very good the next stop was a town called Alo this town is known for its Municipal Market again there is of course a Marina and the coach parked up on the road Along by the seaw wall this is a very pleasant walk along to the market and so

We strolled along to find this Market still very busy even though some parts so fish it is divided into two sections so the fish didn’t overpower the food such as vegetables and sweet products made from figs and Carib beans there really were wonders in the market Mariana even found some large pink

Tomatoes a bit like the ones that she uses in Bulgaria and the colors of the suets the types of vegetables it was all wondrous all laid out all local produce the women who were here had made stuff at home and it was old traditional Portuguese products there were after all many many

Stalls here and all these local people come here to sell their home produce or produce that they have produced themselves and also people come to buy their favorite Delicacies it took some time to get around the market and when we eventually came back out we went to explore the town itself

Many old and winding streets with normal businesses and parked cars you would need to be a local to know exactly where you are in The Maze we explored looking into the history of the Town it goes back to prehistory although written records only go back to the 14th

Century at that time it would appear to have been called Olam the coastal area is protected now as an Eco area and Nature Park this was established in 1987 as the Nature Park Rio Formosa which allows protection of the animal and plant life in the locality the economy is naturally enough as you

Would expect based upon fishing and tourism mostly this is sardines and these are caught by the fishermen and processed in local factories it was settled mainly by fishermen and grew rapidly in the 17th century when it was protected by a fort from Corsair e it was here that Mariana and I had time

To sit by the water and relax with some lunch and watch the boats after this it was time to get back on the coach and head off towards the east for our last destination of the trip t Vera this is on a section of Coast called the Costa do and canell

This town we’re told dates back to the Bronze Age and was in fact one of the first Phoenician settlements in this part of Europe known to the Romans as Balsa there is a medieval Bridge here that crosses the river which was previously thought to have been Roman but is most

Likely Moorish the Moors occupied the area between the 8th and 13th centuries along with much of the Iberian Peninsula there is a castle dating back to the Moors and apparently they had built two mosques here but I believe they’ve now disappeared there was plenty of violence

And bloodshed here on the algar and the Portuguese were able to fight free of the Moors here in 1242 after s several Knights were killed during a ceasefire causing retaliation not much seems to change in human terms or in piece a cycle of human activity along the algar in the places we have

Visited there was in 17 1955 huge amounts of damage caused by what is called the Lisbon earthquake which is thought to have been around 8.5 to9 magnitude great amounts of damage were done in the region and here in t Vera most of the buildings were destroyed the

Algar was closer to the epicenter than Lisbon now of course this damage has been corrected with rebuilding work and of course the alav is host to many golf courses where the climate is favorable these days due to many reasons the fishing industry is in Decline partly because the tuna migration has changed

But also the numbers of fish could have dwindled due due to over fishing the river has been silting up and now tourism is the main industry in Vera the ruins of the old castle stand high above the old town and give a good view of the whole

Area after this we went back to the bus station where our coach was waiting and we headed back to our hotel near albair

The first of our booked trips on the Algarve in November 23.

This trip took us to Faro and along to the east as far as Tavira from our hotel near Albufeira. It shows the true nature of these towns as seen by us and it took place in 1 day.
Trips are a great way to get about and be given interesting information about the places where you go.
The Algarve is an all round good holiday destination for all the family or a single traveler. The warm and pleasant climate of the Algarve is enjoyable all through the year.