Portugal - Olhão

Another day trip by train

The seafront

A typical Portuguese house

Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e Capela de Nosso Senhor dos Aflitos (The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and the Chapel of Our Lord of the Afflicted)

Some history of the city is depicted in these tiled seats on the seafront.

Portugal, during the Peninsular War, was occupied by the French. In 1810 the citizens of the town revolted and expelled the French from the Algarve. The Portuguese government was in exile in Brazil and some locals sailed there in a worryingly tiny ship, the Bom Sucesso, to carry the news.

The ship, under the protection of the Virgin Mary, on the high seas.

Arrival in Rio de Janiero

A replica of the Bom Sucesso

Wandering across the railway lines - you can't do this in safety conscious Britain.

A monument at the train station. The text seems to be a poem about the city but Google Translate doesn't quite work on it.

Portugal - Tavira

A short train journey from Fuseta is the beautiful town of Tavera

Igreja de São Paulo (Church of St Paul)

This teaches the school kids about the European Union. I suppose they'll have to chisel the UK off in the near future.

In the Irish pub…..

….a very grand Irish pub

This was one of the reasons we visited Tavira. It doesn't look much but they make awesome pizzas.

Our favourite is the Pizza Barco (Boat) It's full of a gooey mixture of onions, peppers, pork meat, spicy tomato sauce & cream.

The roundabout at the train station. The things on the poles are ears…or pork chops, anyway they rotate in the wind.

Portugal - Fuseta

Earlier this month we spent a week in Portugal. This is a country we've visited many times. This time we stayed in Fuseta, a small fishing village on the south coast, east of the regional capital of Faro. 

Although not a big tourist area we were able to rent a very nice apartment.

The town has some beautiful beaches.

Next stop Africa

Looking back to town

Despite being a small town there were dozens of small bars & restaurants

Choice was limited. Some places don't have a menu and just grill meat or locally caught fish outside. Prices were very cheap and the locals seems to eat out every night.

Near us where these tiny quaint houses.

I can't quiet understand the sign but I think they were built for the disabled by a local who made good in America.

The fishing fleet at dusk

A walk outside town brought us to an area where they make salt. Shallow lagoons are flooded with seawater and the sun does the rest.

The lagoons were also home to a flock of flamingos. The birds were wary of us and flew off as we approached.

Fuseta is a small town but it has its own bike club. Here is their clubhouse. "Pata Negra" means literally "black hoof" and usually refers to a cured leg of pork (but may have some other meaning in this context)

 

Local church

Family crypts in the graveyard

There's not that much to do in Fuseta but it has a railway station that lets you explore the Algarve.

Classics at St Fillans

An interesting selection of bikes on show at Loch Earn in Perthshire last Sunday.