I have just returned from a wonderful week at the Algarve Casino Hotel. A few reviews have mentioned the grumpy reception staff. I didn't find this to be the case and they were always very happy and willing to help. All of the staff was great! Everyone always stopped to say “Ola” and I found it lovely. The food was very good and the fact that there were 3 restaurants added a little variety. The drinks at the bar were great, they have some marvellous cocktails. The house wine was also very good. Beach was amazing. The colour of the sea was just wonderful and so was the temperature. Weather was fantastic, so make sure you take plenty of sunscreen. If you don’t, you can buy it in the hotel. In the evening, we went to see the shows at the casino, which were great. But real good is the night life, 2 seconds away from the hotel. Bedroom was nice and comfortable. The cleaning is excellent. Ask for a sea view room, because the sight is marvellous! We had a fantastic time and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending to others or staying there again. Had a great time, met some fantastic people from around the globe.

My next stop would be Albufeira.  On my way there, I passed through some massive resort areas where, I guess, over the hill Brits come to spend the winter.  Definitely don't want to spend the night in some pricey resort town (so far Portugal has been quite kind on the wallet).  So I took a quick clip in front of the town hall figuring I'd soon be moving on. 

Turns out, Albufeira is fantastic!  the old town is build on a cliff overlooking a rugged coastline--and then there's this tunnel you can go through that leads to the ocean--and at night the bars around the plaza are booming with dance music and some really good live bands...and 3 Euros for a fish dinner? Can't beat that! 

A nice hike along the rocky coast heading east as well...

Dias de descanso en el Algarve para conocer a fondo esta bonita region de Portugal. Playas magníficas, campos casi virgenes y excelente comida.

Olhao has a cool fish market right along the coast and a few brave vendors trying to sell their wares outside in the howling wind. 

Since Portugal hasn't been a tourist destination for very long, the old parts of the cities have a mixture of nicely repaired historical buildings and very ragged looking buildings--an interesting combination.

Spent a delightful week with 4 other trusty shipmates aboard the Moneta, a lovely old wooden schooner (rigged with a squaresail - just for the fun of it). We were berthed in the marina near the Praia de Rocha just south of Portimao. We took our Royal Yachting Association certification as Day Skippers (Tidal) and did our best not to hurt Ron's boat (or his feelings). Ron Lovelady (the Skipper) runs his boat as a Royal Yachting Association training centre and does almost everything from basic introduction, through Competant Crew upwards. He also provides cruise packages where a few do their course and family enjoy the cruise. For details go to www.schooner-sailing.com

Spent a delightful week with 4 other trusty shipmates aboard the Moneta, a lovely old wooden schooner (rigged with a squaresail - just for the fun of it).  We were berthed in the marina near the Praia de Rocha just south of Portimao. We all took our Royal Yachting Association certification as Day Skippers (Tidal) and did our best not to hurt Ron's boat (or his feelings). We ate, cooked slept and (occasionally) sailed on-board and had a ball. We cruised the coast, overnighted at Lagos, and did our best to make a spectacle of ourselves. A great experience and one I'd thoroughly recommend as the perfect blend of action and 'craic' (Irish for something to do with good fun and possibly a glass or two!) ALso see www.schooner-sailing.com

Tower of Belem was built both as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon and as part of a defence system defending the Portuguese capital. Even though it is almost 500 years old, it is kept in amazing condition and allows visitors to see the canons ready for any attackers, go down into the dungeons that housed the prisoners, as well as be in awe of architectural details as well as the views of the Tagus river from the top of the tower. Belem Tower was the last place that Portuguese sailors saw when beginning their expeditions and also the first place that they saw upon returning from their voyages. When in Belem it is a must visit for everyone!

After taking in the history and beauty of Belem it is time to enjoy one of its culinary delights :) Legend has it that Casa Pastéis de Belém was the first place outside the Jeronimo Monastery selling Pasteis de Nata, a custard filled dessert, called Pastéis de Belém by the locals, after the name of the area. Since 1837, locals and tourists alike have come here to get them warm out of the oven and sprinkled with as much cinnamon and powdered sugar as they please! Come in, have one, two, or six like I did :)))

We made our way to Belem, which is only a few miles outside Lisbon, easy to get to by tram or taxi from Praca de Commercio...

The first stop was Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Jeronimos Monastery is the last place where sailors would pray before leaving for their expeditions, it is also the place that holds the tomb of Vasco de Gama...

We then made our way to Torre de Belem, Belem Tower, is a magnificent structure built to commemorate the explorations of Vasco de Gama... You can walk around the interior, check out the many canons that are positioned throughout the building, and go down to the dungeons and see where the prisoners where held captive...

After the tower, we walked over to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Monument to the Discoveries, which celebrates the achievements the Portuguese during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th century... Among the individuals included on the monument are: Henry the Navigator (sponsor of the Age of Discovery), Vasco da Gama (discoverer of the sea route to India), Pedro Álvares Cabral (discoverer of Brazil), Ferdinand Magellan (the first to circumnavigate the globe), King Manuel I (ruler during the Age of Discovery)... We enjoyed a magnificent sunset here!!!

After all that history we were hungry, so we made our way to Casa Pasteis de Belem... Pastéis de Belém is a a small cream tart found throughout Portugal's pastry shops or cafés. legend has it that it was created before the 18th century by Catholic Sisters at the Jerónimos Monastery Casa Pastéis de Belém in Belem was the first place outside the convent selling this creamy dessert, and there they're called Pastéis de Belém, after the name of the area. Since 1837, locals and tourists alike have been coming here to get them warm straight out of the and with as much cinnamon and powdered sugar as they want!!!

We had used two full sunbathing on the beaches near Sines and then we thought that it was time to use a day on something else. I was the one vouching most for the idea since I was quite burned som places after not using sun crean in a way that I should have. We decided to drive to Sagres in the far south-west of Portugal. I had been there some times before but it was the first time for Kaija.

We drove down on the small roads a long the coast passing small and nice cities like Cercal, Odemira, Rogil, Aljezur and Carrapateira. The road are really fun to drive if you curves all the time. The area is really nice - it goes up and down all the time. 

We arrived in Sagres just after 2pm and the sun was breaking through the clouds and the temp was around 30 degrees. Parking near the castle is very funny - it is a classical everybody for him self parking.   

Our apartment turned out to be amazing, 4* apartment and it was very cheap! we were set right in between old town and The Strip where most of the bars and restuarants were.  We went on a jeep safari which took us through the counrtyside of the Algarve. It was beatutiful and we got to sample local delicaces such as fire water and honey which was great. We saw olive trees and cork trees which had be shaved for the cork in the bark. Apart from the very bumpy ride it was great!!! We also went to the local water park which encorporated a sealife centre as well, we saw a dolphin show which was amazing and also a seal version of peter pan!  The night life was really good as long as you stick to your gut feelings and dont go into every bar that offers you 'free' alcohol.  We took a trip down to the beach one day, when i say down i mean a very steep walk down to the beach!  once there it was not too crowded and the sea was lovely, the only problem was getting back up the slippery steep hill in flip flops in the heat! Overall i really enjoyed this holiday the weather was just right our trips out gave us a wider range of the algarve and the accomadation and food was great!

De punt van Portugal heet S. vicente. Verder naar het zuid westen op het vaste land van Europa kan je niet. Hier stopt het continent.

Om 7.30 uur zijn we bij Cerro branco. Een goed appartement op een prachtige plek.

On Thursday at 4pm we were picked up by a coach which was to bring us to the Algarve Shopping centre in Albufeira and the on to the Sand Sculptures festival near Guia. After boarding the bus we stopped for a couple of other passengers and when we arrived at Club Praia de Rocha, there was smoke bellowing from the back of the bus. The bus A/C compressor was after blowing and we had to get out and wait for a new coach to come along and pick us up. This wait set us back at least an hour and we wished we stayed at the hotel as we would be still out by the pool had we not gone on this trip!

Eventually the new coach arrived and brought us to the Algarve Shopping centre where we were given 1.5 hours to shop til we dropped. Now Jill is fond of her shopping but I was the one who did well on this trip. I picked up a nice new pair of sunglasses, a Massimo Dutti shirt, a new hooded top and some sandals to replace the ones that had been cutting up my feet for the past number of days.

After the shopping we boarded the bus once again and went to the Sand Sculptures, at which the theme was the "Wonders of the World". Now I don't have the lead for my camera with me, but as soon as I get home I will be putting the pictures of this up and I must say they are very impressive. The sculptures are truly amazing! We were given an hour and a half there which was far too long and the lights failed so we didn't get to see them lit up, which was a pity, but all in all they were well worth seeing! Be sure to look out for my photos after I add them next week!

Well today was our first daytime experience in Alvor and after a nice lie in (missing breakfast in the process) we headed off for the beach. I had bought a little beach chair the night before so I relaxed and started reading "The Afghan" by Frederick Forsyth. Jill lay down on her towel and soaked as much sun in to her as she could!

It was quite windy today and Jill was covered in sand that was blown at her by the gusts. After a while we decided that the wind was just too strong and that it might be better by the pool. En route we stopped in a snack bar on the beach front and got some food and a drink. We then marched on to the pool where we were delighted to find a couple of free loungers! I continued to read my book and Jill enjoyed not being whipped by the sand!

This evening we decided that we'd play a game of tennis, so at 6.30 we headed down to the tennis club and booked one of the hard courts for an hour. It was 10 euro for the court and 7 euro for the rackets, which I thought, well, was a bit of a racket! That said we paid up and had an enjoyable game in the nice evening sun. We only managed one set with Jill winning it 7-6!

After tennis we returned to our room, showered up and got dressed and headed into town. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a sucker for oriental food. Indian, Chinese, Thai, whatever, I love it all! Luckily, Jill also enjoys this type of cuisine! So tonight we decided to push the boat out and visit, a, yep you guessed it, a Chinese restaurant! The food was good, the wine and beer was good but the best part was the price. We got:

• Prawn crackers
• Spring roll
• Hot and sour soup
• Chicken satay
• Szechuan Beef
• Chicken with Stir fry veg
• 2 x Fried Rice
• Orange Sorbet
• Bottle of wine (75cl)
• Bottle of water (1l)
• Large beer (50cl)
• Espresso

for a grand total of €38.10! And like all Chinese restaurants across the world, their servings were very big! After dinner we decided to get some drinks at the off licence and retreat to our balcony, as we were tired after the sun and tennis! We managed to pick up a makeshift cooler bag which works for about an hour on our travels too, so our drinks were reasonably chilled when we got back.