Last week in Portugal We visited Portimäo without expectations, having had only one positive recommendation but a couple of negative ones. As it’s a quick and cheap train ride away we decided to give it a chance....and happy that we did - it was a very enjoyable day trip! The historic centre is filled with open-air cafés and plazas, and has a distinctively Portuguese feel. There’s also a large pedestrianized shopping area, with huge “sails” above th...

Burgau and Praia de Luz Although the local buses here are something that I often joke about, they do have a great system - a large fleet of buses transport both locals and intrepid travellers to towns and villages that aren’t always easy to reach. There’s also another group of mini-buses that drive a circular route around various parts of the town, plus villages that are close by. Less than 14km from Lagos, the tiny village of Burgau is included in one of ...

Alvor and another week in Lagos Even after the bus-breakdown last week, we still had enough faith in the local bus system to once again board one of their vehicles to travel the 20 minutes that it takes to travel to the town of Alvor. A highlight along the way was a large group of hang-gliders that we spotted about halfway through our journey - there’s a small airport nearby that specializes in both this sport and sky-diving. Although small, the town of Alv...

Salema and more Lagos Regional and Municipal markets are popular throughout Europe - and here in the Algarve area, is no exception. Lagos has a year-round Saturday market that takes place in a covered shed-like building next to the bus-station. Local farmers sell everything from strings of hot chillis and home-made jams to fresh produce, flowers and live chickens. It’s a good place to see some of the older, more traditional members of the surrounding commun...

Arrived in Lagos During our travels we’ve learned that when changing locations and using public transportation, things don’t always go smoothly - but on this occasion everything went well....all we needed to do was to take the local train line that runs across the (mostly) coastal part of the Algarve. On the morning of our departure from Tavira we asked if our train would go straight through to Lagos, or if we needed to change at Faro station - often when h...