Portimão

I had some time to spend before the bus at 1230 so I took at look at the markets in Faro. There I saw a variety of apple called reinata which looked like green nashis but were floury and tasted like golden delicious. I also bought a box of flattened figs and almonds at a doceria (sweet shop). It was an interesting combination.

It had been a cool morning, but turned into a hot day. The bus went through Albufeira again going west, then Lagoa. A pretty German girl got off at Lagoa. Pity. During the journey a bubbly pop ditty about a country girl moving to the city came on the radio. No drama or pathos in the story, just a catchy tune sung by, one imagines, a pop princess vocalising in parts, dee dee ta doo. With this limited information I have since searched in vain for what the song or who the singer might be. Perhaps a one-hit wonder now submerged in obscurity. I guess it will be one of life's little mysteries.


Eventually we arrived at Portimão. In retrospect Faro and Portimão demonstrated my lack of research and preparation. I simply picked a few large towns in the Algarve to visit in sequence without thinking about what sort of holiday I wanted. Aside from a few spectacles like the southwest tip of Portugal at Sagres, the Algarve is just a sun and sand region and most visitors go straight to their chosen resort for relaxation. So really I could have just had a pleasant time sticking to the most interesting Algarve town. But the first time through you want to see everything.

After a lunch of Portuguese chicken I walked to the hostel, getting hot and sweaty along the way. Fortunately the hostel had a pool to cool off in. But it lacked deck chairs. On a chance I struck up a conversation with a Belgian couple in the hostel. M and I were Uni students and taking a holiday before restarting studies. We played some pool in the evening as there wasn't much else to do. The place was too far from the town centre and somewhat disorganised. And I discovered in the steamy night that there were mosquitoes in my dorm. This place is no fun. Time to move on to Lagos.