Day Thirty-nine 22.4.05 We had planned to take the bus into Portimao today but missed the hourly service by five minutes. We got a taxi instead which cost about the same as the bus anyway. We were dropped off in a back street and made our way to the quayside. It seems that Portimao is very different than in 1987 when James was last here. The quayside then was busy with fishing boats and fishermen going about there business and a few restaurants and quayside barbecues selling fresh grilled sardines. Unfortunately the place has lost a lot of its charm. The quay has been widened considerably, the fishing boats have gone and the restaurants are now in a purpose built building neatly at the end of the quay. The quay doesn't appear to serve any purpose other than a promenade with a day trip vendors trying to sell you their trips to local towns and caves etc. There is a small marina at the other end of the quay. It seams that it has all been given a clean sweep by urban planning to 'improve' the area for tourists. We found a few restaurants tucked away behind the new snazy ones which seemed more Portuguese and we both had grilled fish for lunch. Afterwards we took a stroll around the back streets and found a leather shop and bought a replacement camera case as James lost the original. Good job our camera is the same size as a standard pack of cigarettes. We got a taxi back with a vague idea of going to the beach, but instead went to the pool and chilled out. We then walked into Alvor to buy dinner. Curry tonight!