The Algarve to Lisbon, Portugal

We woke up, packed up and made our way upstairs to the room for breakfast. We had to wait for a table as it was full, so we checked out the views from the patio.

Breakfast views of Albufeira

Breakfast was continental, so cereals, yogurt, pastries, granola and toast. It wasn't terrible. We got our fill, then headed out on our hunt for the perfect beach. We knew that the Algarve was known for their beaches. It was going to be pretty tough to top Maria Luisa Beach!

On the road again...

I had made a list of beaches that were recommended. Apparently, so did everyone else. The first beach on the list was Sao Rafeal. From afar it looked beautiful. Cliffside, greenish waters.

Sao Rafael beach. Don't waste your time.

We got excited and took a bunch of pics and got ready to take the stairs down. Parking was hard to find, we had to park on the street. Upon closer investigation of this beach, we learned that it would not be the place for us! For starters it was packed. There were children everywhere, one peeing beside me on the board walk. The sand was rocky, and the water had very few areas for safe swimming (avoiding rocks and algae), and there was no shade. We put our bags down on a canopy bed and immediately someone came up to us demanding 15 euros each. Forget it! We left quickly en route to find the perfect beach.

We decided to use googlemaps, on satellite mode, and search for the beautiful green beachy areas. We drove down a dirt road, that led us to a sketchy area to park a car, and a narrow dirt path to follow. Across from the car and dirt path was an old broken down house, complete with broken cars strewn across the front lawn, along with old appliances, wood and garbage. This was off of an unnamed dirt road near Vila Lara, so we were feeling pretty confident about our decisions today.

We quickly followed the path and came down to an opening by the beach (B). There were a couple other people here who appeared to be diving or snorkeling. They had wet suits. The water was rocky and not swimmable here. Shay looked at our map and said the beach was up the steep cliff. This should have been a warning sign, but we pressed onwards. We climbed up the narrow path, using our towels to shield our legs from the prickly bushes and ground cover. We passed another couple heading down, which was promising. We got to the top and the views were unbelievable!

Shay insisted that the most wonderful, perfect beach was just up ahead. I was having difficulty believing that we would be able to get to the beach from up here. We were sadly both right. The most beautiful beach was up ahead, but we could not get to it! It was a boat in only beach! Beautiful none the less.

We decided to head back the way we came, get in the car and try again. This time when I did the satellite map, I made sure to zoom in and look for a road leading to the beach, and some sort of footpath. We finally found one! This beach was small and tucked away, very close to the Suites Alba Resort and SPA. It may have been called praia de Albandeira.

It did not disappoint! It had very few people, even fewer children who tended to keep to the right of the jagged rock. The cliff over hung, and provided shade. There were no washrooms or restaurants, just a snack bar. I think there regularly are washrooms here, but they weren't working today?

Nearly private beach

Paradise at last!

This beach was absolutely stunning. The sand was light and powder soft, the water was clear and turquoise, the people were few, and there was free shade! We didn't want to leave. The tide on the other hand, had it's own plans, and by 4 o'clock or so, was washing away the sunny parts of the beach, pushing everyone up under the rock overhang. We had to pack it in anyway, as we were out of food and needed to drive to Lisbon! We changed in the car, and headed on our way. Goodbye beautiful beach. I hope we meet again soon!

We got on the road and drove up the A2, stopping at some disappointing rest stops along the way. This one sold watermelons!

 And oranges. But no hot food.

Passing the Cristo Rei monument

Look it's Jesus!

We had a bit of a frantic arrival. I had texted our hosts Tanya and Luis, and knew they were expecting us. We had directions on google maps, and a dying cell phone battery. We stopped at a rest stop to charge the phone, but could only wait so long before needing to get back on the road again. After a coffee and a disappointing orange, we were back on the road approaching Lisbon. The streets in Lisbon are ridiculous and move in every which direction against all logic. The one way we had to get to the flat, was blocked by the road being torn up. Our battery died just as we pulled away from the construction, with no way of knowing how to get to the apartment. I hopped out of the car and stopped some teenagers who had phones on the street. I was hoping they would look up a new route for me or give us directions, but they had no idea and suggested I go into the shop. The shop owner, didn't have wifi, but he knew where the apartment was located, and gave us perfect directions in English, and told us other places to visit along the way. Thank you random Portuguese man!

We got to the flat as the sun was setting, and Luis and Tanya so graciously greeted us, provided us with maps, and "to do" lists of places to visit in town, and helped us park our car in the underground garage. We unpacked, and showered, and headed out to get something to eat. We tried to look for their recommendations, but it was 10pm, and almost everything was closed. One restaurant was open, but had no seats available. The only thing open around was a 200 pound lady cooking churros out of a food truck. We decided to google "pizza" and found a restaurant down the block that was still open. We ate all we could of the delicious wood oven pizzas, opted for dessert, which was a semi-defrosted orange flan-like cake, then leisurely strolled back to bed.

Content after a lovely meal of pizza!

When asked "would like to try the orange cake?" always reply "No thank you!"