Portugal's Algarve

The Algarve is a favorite tourist region of Portugal. It has many qualities to recommend it: warm sunny weather, expansive fine sand beaches, modest prices, people and signs easily understood in English, great food from fresh local sources, good highways, and convenient flights. It is very close to Morroco, a neighbor of Spain, and also has nearby islands (Azores, Canary, Madeira) to visit. In fact, the negatives are that it is a poor country where many buildings look somewhat neglected, and it can get very hot in summer. The wealth here has been brought by many ex-patriots from other countries who have created retirement or second homes here near the coast.  Our B&B is owned by a single 50 y.o. woman who retired to here from Switzerland.  There are many similar properties owned by people who have moved here to semi-retire.
 

Our B&B only recently opened and everything is new and beautiful.  The house is on about four acres of fruit trees and a garden, on a hill with the coast visible a few miles away.  Breakfast includes fresh fruit from the property.

We talked with a young German couple, staying at our same B&B, who told us that they would normally vacation at the beaches in Turkey, near Antalya; however, currently there is a dispute between the two countries which makes it risky for them to visit Turkey.

Yesterday we visited the sea caves in the cliffs near Lagos; the experience was even better than expected. At one location we passed through a cave entrance so small that we had to duck as our open boat passed through the entrance, but inside was a large water-filled room.

We launched from the beach in a 20' outboard-powered open boat to explore the coastal caves. The boat captains were expert at maneuvering these boats in the tight quarters of cave interiors while  also dealing with ocean swells which could quickly change the clearance at the entrance to a cave.

Amazing how far into these caves the boat handlers were able to go.

Tour boat coming out of one of the larger caves in the cliffs here.

Did we come in through that tiny entrance to the cave?

This cave is large enough that people are enjoying the beach inside and have their choice of sitting in the sun or shade.  Imagine surfing inside a cave.

While in the Algarve region, we also visited an ancient fortress in Silves toured the extensive open market in Loules, and visited one of the prettiest towns on the coast, Tavira.  High season for tourists doesn't end here until the end of October.  At Tavira, a ferry boat that can take you to an offshore island, a giant sand bar of endless beaches.  Unfortunately, by the time we learned where the ferry boat departed from, what its schedule was, and where we could find parking; we just missed the last convenient departure.

Old town Tavira.  Dawn and I really enjoy looking at the architecture and layout of these old sections of towns built many centuries ago when it was a different world.

A small lush garden in the remains of an old walled fort in downtown Tavira.

 Last night we ate dinner at the harbor in Villamoura.  In Villamoura, English is probably the most common language due to the tremendous influx of Brits.  The town also appears to be more upscale and lush than most towns we have seen here. We talked to our server, who is from Bangladesh. He described his life: He met his wife 20 minutes before they were married; obviously an arranged marriage. He spends about 7 months per year here, and returns to Bangladesh for about 5 months per year to be with his family.  Fifty-two cousins; all income is given to his parents (he is 1 of 8 children) who then distribute it to family. He & wife are expecting a baby; which will be named within a week after being born by agreement from a family discussion. Here he wears western clothes; at home he lets his hair grow, and wears traditional garb.

Sunset at Villamoura from our beach restaurant.

We are in Lisbon, a very large city. After turning in our rental car, we bought city transportation tickets which will allow us to see the entire area for the next few days. We started this afternoon with the Castelo de Sao Jorge, located on a high point overlooking the entire area for miles.  We visited a busy marketplace with every kind of food from small booths , as well as various other items. Then we waited to experience sunset looking from the castle walls across the city and harbor.

Posting difficulties

For most of our stops on this European trip, I have been unable to post anything but photos on Classmates.com and have not been able to post any photos on this site.  When we get home, the situation will get corrected. Today we travel from Nice, France, to southern Portugal, the Algarve region.
One of my questions when beginning this trip was how many Euros in cash will we need?  We traveled through Scandinavia using a credit card for almost everything.  In Argentina, dollars were commonly accepted for cash transactions. In Europe, no one cares about dollars, and US credit cards are not accepted for some transactions. We have spent about 300 Euros cash so far. Parking lots rarely accept US credit cards; toll booths are questionable; parking meters, pay toilets, street food, tips, excursions, & taxis want cash. I like to carry 80-100 Euros just to avoid embarrassment when a credit card may not be enough. One of our accommodations requested cash Euros (I pre-paid for services when possible).

Driving:  We use a Navigation unit, Hertz and Sixt have different systems, both good, both require some learning, and both have some shortcomings. Twice now we have tried to plug in addresses, and the Nav was unable to plot it. Sometimes the difficulty is in creating a name for some point of interest that the Nav recognizes.  Try to use the local name, not the English language spelling. Sometimes the voice guidance is not coordinated with what you see in front of the car.  Twice now we have encountered closed roads on the chosen route, requiring lengthy and time-consuming detours. The unit may start giving false guidance when first started or when confused due to road repairs.  For all these reasons, we drive as a team. Dawn is more multi-tasking, and I am more analytic; so she usually drives and I navigate.

Arriving in Lisbon, we immediately picked up our rental car, a VW Golf diesel, and headed for the Algarve, 2 1/2 hours away.  The road was good enough that Dawn drove at speeds up to 100 mph (160 kph).  Arriving at Boliqueime in late afternoon, the Nav could not find our address. We stopped at an auto repair, a hotel, and finally an outdoor cafe (just as it closed) to ask random individuals for help.  None could entirely direct us, but one called our B&B for us, and they drove to our location. My fault; I should have printed out the directions on their website, but I thought the Nav would suffice.

French Hill Villages

From our base in Nice, such destinations as Monaco, Cannes, and the like are nearby, but well-known, touristy, and congested. We elected to rent a car and visit the hill villages: medieval small fortified villages whose architecture today is little changed from centuries ago. Many were built on high rocky hillsides which were more easily defensible. Driving to them is a challenge. Our driveway at home is wider and smoother than some sections we encountered. But the views of surrounding mountains and valleys are extraordinary, and a few (Gourdon, Eze) have many artsy shops with high quality products.

Nice: large bustling, touristy with great restaurants, museums, shops, monuments, and parks.  Security features are obvious, but we avoided the most crowded areas.

Many classic sailing yachts were out, not far off the beach.  impressive power yachts were parked in the marinas.  

We should expect a Club Med yacht here on the French Riviera.

At breakfast today we talked with a couple visiting from Buenos Aires, and at lunch we exchanged views on world events with a couple from Kiev, Ukraine. They witnessed the recent revolution against their government which included people being shot and killed just outside their windows.

The village of Gourdon; why put a village on such a remote rocky outcropping?  The ridge you see in the background is a popular paragliding spot.

A street scene in Gourdon on one of the less touristy lanes.

Occasionally, the paragliders would fly right overhead.  Imagine soaring like a bird!

The village of Gourdon, our first stop, is apparently a paragliding hot spot. We could see at least ten paragliders catching the updraft at a nearby mountain ridge.  When we lived in Germany 25+ years ago, I took a paragliding course. I was never able to pursue it; my career was too demanding at that time. But it is as close to feeling like a soaring bird as you would ever experience. Our "final exam" was to launch from the top of a ski slope and fly down to Garmisch, turn into the wind, fly over the wall of the Olympic winter stadium, and land in the center field.  Controlled much like an airplane by using the "flaps".

The village of Tourrettes sur Loup.  Different homes have common walls made of many huge stones and mortar joints.  The passageways are too narrow for cars, which are left outside the village.

A street scene in Tourrettes sur Loup.  Despite its ancient origins, the surroundings can be neat and aesthetically pleasing.

A street scene in Eze which used to be a village but now is basically a touristy arts center.

A typical art studio in Eze; although the variety of items in different shops covers a wide range of cute, quality products.

The village of Peillon; no tourists here due to its remote location, but the scenery is outstanding.  We ate lunch here at the only restaurant we could find; it would seat about twenty persons maximum, but the food was good.  Very little English understood here.

Another view of Peillon; you can see the rugged terrain it is located in.

Aren't passageways such as this amazing?  Ancient yet very pleasing to see.  This is the village of Luceram; again, no tourists due to its rather remote location.

This is Luceram, but passageways, such as this, are routine in all these old medieval villages.  Amazing that people have brought in modern electricity and plumbing instead of abandoning such old surroundings.

A defensive watch tower at the high end of Luceram.  I wish I knew why they needed such strong defensive locations; who were they protecting against?

I believe the answer is that these fortified villages were built in locations with difficult access to protect against Moorish slave raiders.  Few people realize that tens of thousands of Europeans were made captives and taken to north Africa as slaves.  The men would be chained to the oars of sea-going galley ships and slowly worked to death.  The women were household slaves or sex objects, and the children would have field chores.  This started hundreds of years before north America was settled.

We took time out for laundry recently.  The hotel service charges 7 euros for a shirt; we were able to do an entire self-service load for that amount. We have a neat little pocket WiFi "hot spot" which allows us to keep our internet connection while roaming the area; rents for only 2 euros per day. We have now visited Gourdon, Le Bar sur Loupe, Tourettes sur Loup, Grasse, Eze, Peillon, and Luceram; all distinctive hill villages.  Visiting the last two, we were almost the only tourists present. The architecture is amazing; fortress walls, chapels, fountains, and homes with thick shared stone walls. Flowers growing from pots; large trees pushing up through the cobblestones which have been polished by generations of inhabitants passing over them; heavy wooden doors leading into unknown recesses. The photo opportunities are endless.

The past two days we have had lunch in little country restaurants, seating perhaps twenty patrons max, where no English was spoken. A phrase book, some memorized words, and common expressions got us through.  Great meals in an authentic atmosphere.  I do not recommend our approach generally: the driving is very challenging both in the city and rural back roads. Dawn & I have familiarity with European driving; we drive as a team (driver, navigator) and still use a GPS.

On to Genoa and France

A shorts and light shirt day, perfect weather, and we rented electric bicycles to extend our range of exploration. We could have walked 3-5 miles , but on the bikes, we covered 10-15 miles with little effort. Although we have bikes at home, electric bicycles are new to us. Great fun!  We followed a river trail to an interesting bridge, then coasted back down river to Cannobio.

A pretty little waterfall we discovered while bicycling.  Plenty of trails for hiking in the area if you don't mind steep ascents.

Our Mercedes (A200D) was a great vehicles for our time in Italy.  If we had driven it over the border to Nice, France, our rental fee would have increased by about a thousand dollars.

It was a three hour drive to Genoa, and it's a big city.  Not fun at all driving here.  You may have 2-3 lanes of traffic in your direction, but then motorcycles and scooters are driving between the
lanes.  So it is more like five lanes. Then we had entire streets blocked by police or construction, and we had lanes stopped by unloading vehicles, and one-way streets just where you wanted to turn.  We got to our B&B location to discover that there was not a single parking space on the busy street, and no one answered the door at our given address.  Answer?  We drove to the Hertz location, turned in our Mercedes, and took a taxi back to the B&B.  But our room is very nice and just a block off the Mediterranean. Our B&B proved to be very enjoyable. We met a boat builder from Poland and financial backer from Rome, both here for a boat show. Our hostess, Isabella, was interested in our needs and also our views; she is interested in traveling herself and is planning to come to the US next April.  We invited her to visit us.

After dinner (8pm) last night, we were walking along wide promenade at the sea wall, and considering how we got here. Just a nerdy kid from Omaha and his adventuresome girlfriend; very satisfying to set goals and accomplish them.

We spent most of a day traveling from Genoa to Nice by train. At the border, we switched to a French train. Two armed police came on board; questioned and removed a passenger from our car.  We notice roving patrols of three soldiers with assault rifles in hand slowly moving down the avenues in formation, eyes carefully sweeping across the clusters of pedestrians. At the train station, barricades prevent vehicles from getting close. After getting settled and dinner, we walked to the beach and then to an overlook where the city spread below us.

Nice, France, at night viewed from the elevated park at the east end of the main beach.

Lake Maggiore, Italy

On the way to Lake Maggiore we topped off the fuel tank on our Mercedes: about 10 gallons of diesel, costing about $72.  The car is very fuel efficient and has plenty of power, perfect for our trip.  Our GPS unit (from Hertz) is a godsend; occasionally wrong but routinely provides accurate guidance. In traffic around the lakes we average about 25 mph due to the narrow roads and congested traffic. We stopped at the town of Stresa and took a cable car to the top of Monte Mottarone (about 4000' above the lake surface) for a distant view of the lake and surrounding area. We had lunch on the harbor front promenade and met an interesting couple from Virginia who were in Europe to take delivery of their new Mercedes E43.

 Lake Maggiore as seen from Monte Mottarone with the lakeside town of Verbania on the left side.

View from the window of our B&B.  We slept with the window open and could hear the gentle lapping of waves at the end of our cobblestone dock.

We arrived in Cannobio and had to park our car and walk to the B&B, even asking directions, because that last distance was through a pedestrian only area. Our B&B has a fantastic location right on the water at the end of the promenade. After unpacking, we walked the narrow streets of the old city, but could see that modernization is taking place behind medieval walls.  We ended up eating dinner at 8pm in an outdoor setting on the harbor and had a nice talk with a Swiss couple at an adjoining table.

The promenade at Cannobio; most of the restaurants are found along the harbor. Our B&B was located at the south end of the promenade.

Our B&B; our room was the lower level with the bedding sticking out the window.  Inside, it was a very modern, well-decorated room.

That is a road through a village, not a driveway, and note that the vehicle is a compact Suzuki.  The switchback turns were so tight that many vehicles were forced to stop and back up before completing the turn.

Hard to tell a road from a driveway in this steep valley.

A mountain village close to the Swiss border.  I wonder what caused people to congregate in a place with such difficult access.

As well as walking the town, we drove up a narrow road into an isolated steep valley, Valle Cannobina, to view villages where the changes have been minimal; layered natural stone roofs and some dry-laid stone walls.  I even saw a roof where the moisture had been dripping off for so many years (centuries?) that stalactites were forming at the roof edge and, on the stone below, lime formations were building up. The driving was exciting: single lanes and 180-degree corners.

Orrido Sant' Anna- the chapel of Saint Anna located at the bridge over the chasm of the Cannobino Torrente (river).

Thus far, we have stayed only in B&Bs, not a conscious decision on my part.  I use a set of criteria to filter the choices (reviewer comments being very important), and it seems that B&Bs are often more highly appreciated. With only 3-6 rooms you tend to get personal service, and less chance of bed bugs. Disturbing that the places we have stayed in in Europe have been cleaner, better, and cheaper than what we can find in Washington, DC.

Lake Como, Italy

Lake Como snuggles up closer to the Alps than Lake Garda. Switzerland is only a few miles away, and the weather is cooler.  We have a beautiful B&B unit right on the lake with covered secure parking in the village of Laglio. Mountains here cascade right into the shoreline; thus, our evening walk was all up and down like mountain goats. The paths we followed, I am sure, were created centuries ago; history is everywhere here.

 A walkway heading uphill away from the lake shore.  The stones are worn from centuries of foot steps up these steep paths.

The view out onto Lake Como from our B&B.  We are at a narrow point in the lake.

George Clooney's villa is in that cluster of buildings behind a facade of thick landscape vegetation.

Looking east from Bellagio; you can see how steep and rocky the shores are.  The village of Varenna is in the distance.  Bellagio is on a peninsula between two branches of the lake.

Looking west from Bellagio toward Tremezzo,  We took a ferry across from Tremezzo to get to Bellagio.
We took a ferry to Bellagio; pretty but not amazing.  Here you hear English spoken much more often than at Lake Garda; quite a few Brits and some Americans.  Driving is exciting on the roads; a two-way street becomes one-way when one is a bus or truck, or even a full size car, the streets are so narrow. We walked to George Clooney's villa from our B&B, rather close, and along the way we came upon a presentation ceremony for the new Riva electric runabout. A beautiful mahogany boat which will be the nautical equivalent of a Tesla auto.

The newest boat design from the Riva company.  The wood is beautiful and the finish is perfect; this is artistry.

A small part of the gardens of Villa Carlotta (on a perfect day in September).

Very old work sheds on the hillside behind Villa Carlotta.

Villa Carlotta is only a few miles north and has beautiful gardens as well as the historic and ornate mansion.  The building is 300+ years old; and was a wedding gift to Carlotta, who unfortunately died at age 23 during childbirth.  The weather continues to be perfect; some people are wearing sweaters while others are in shorts and light shirts: depends on whether you are in the sun or shade. We had rain overnight which left a dusting of snow on the surrounding mountain peaks almost a mile above us.

I am feeling a bit guilty for not learning more Italian phrases. Dawn and I are much more familiar with Spanish and German common phrases.  The Italians we deal with are so good about understanding English that it has allowed us to be lazy. In the northern portion of Italy, where we are visiting, everything is first rate: aesthetically pleasing, functional, well-kept, and well thought out. I wonder if southern Italy is any different?  In contrast, when we were in Argentina last Spring, systems were modern but shabby and not as smoothly functional. The difference between "first world" and "third world" perhaps?

Italy's Lake Garda

Today we drove to a beautiful B&B overlooking Lake Garda from the western shore.  We were reminded that you need cash for the autostrada tolls. Hertz gave us a very well-equipped Mercedes A200D instead of the Fiat I expected.  Getting acquainted with our Mercedes rental caused a scare.  We couldn't lock it.... The car senses your presence with the key and will not lock if you are standing too close.  The Lake Garda view is spectacular; the lake is huge.  The weather is perfect; warm days but cooling at night to where you add that extra blanket since we are in the southern edge of the Alps. Dinner was at a nearby restaurant; absolutely packed on a Wednesday night.  A nearby German family ordering dinner with an Italian server.....why, of course, they ordered in English.... the international language.  Last night at dinner we met a wonderful couple visiting from Victoria, B.C.  We had much in common.  At our B&B in Venice we met a hippie couple from (of course) Northern California. What weirdos!  They couldn't eat eggs or croissants because it "would interfere with their meditation pathways".  So instead they ate all the fruit and nuts that had been put out for other residents. Travel is broadening.

A partial view of Lake Garda from our B&B on the western shore.  The B&B is high above the lake and accessed only by narrow winding roads.

A waterfront view of Salo on Lake Garda.

The Arcangeli boat company is located on the shores of Lake Garda.  They have an entire building full of these beautiful runabouts.

The Riva Ariston; seeing such boats in real life is a significant reason we came to Italy.

Exploring Lake Garda today, our expectations were exceeded. I got photos of a Riva Ariston runabout on the lake. Rivas, by many polls, are considered the most beautiful boats on earth, and they are built in Italy.  Italy is known as a center for art and design: great leather goods, beautiful Ferrari automobiles, paintings, statues, women's' fashion clothing, and food preparation. As well as famous foods, throughout Europe Italian gelato (ice cream) is considered the best.  Dawn and I will vouch for that, although my lactose intolerance limits me to sorbet. Many tourists here but mainly Italian, a significant number of Germans, a few British voices, and not much else that we could discern. We met an interesting couple from York, England today. They have traveled extensively, so we got advice from them on some destinations. They were traveling with their 14-month-old baby (and she is 50 y. o.) We were able to take a long walk along the shore in the town of Salo and later at Siramione. Tomorrow, we move to Lake Como.