17 July
We went to Cape Rocco a few days back, the most Westerly point of mainland Europe. It was very strange with a mist just streaming over a point and the temperature was nearly 10 C lower than the surrounding area.
Doug has been guiding us to spots he visited 25 years ago and they have changed so much from sleepy villages to built up concrete towns. Some of them still have a small-town undeveloped feel but others are just horrible developments with over-crowded beaches. Yesterday we went to Tavira and got a ferry over to a sandy island. It wasn't too crowded and the water was good so it was a great afternoon. For the evening, we went for a lovely meal in the local town. The chef had lamb shanks as a special and we all had them - a wise choice.
18 July
Yesterday we had a visit to the offshore island off Faro via a nature trail. We saw all sorts of birds like curlew, spoonbill, heron and stork. There are plenty of stork's nests in town, on top of big buildings and power poles. How long is it since I last swum in the Atlantic, must be over 35 years. The night ended with a rather dismal failure of barbeque-making. I'm a charcoal novice but Doug says he's an expert, quoting stoiciometric ratios and the like but at least the grill on the inside stove works. Doug taught me all he knows about charcoal bbq's. It was a very short lesson.
There is a bikie meeting in Faro, hosted by the local motorcycle club and there are thousands of motor bikes in town, mostly Harleys but all sorts of other bikes as well. They are the usual fat, middle aged bearded person, the guys are the same. They are everywhere, every cafe, of which there are hundreds, are packed with them. They sure do bring some money into town!
Today we found a hairdresser for Ros and for 50 Euro (NZ$100) she got a massage, a pedicure and cut and colour. It's another new style so Tony better watch out!