After a hectic summer, I started to feel like I needed a vacation from myself. Have you ever experienced that? Like you need to get away from your habits and unconscious thought processes, turn your phone off, empty your brain, and just exist. My head is so filled with random travel information and my neurons haven’t figured out a proper way to file everything. Junk is just floating around up there. I needed to get away from technology and the (self-imposed) pressure to fully take advantage of our time abroad, and just go bliss out in the sun with a good book (not a guidebook). And so, with Hemingway and Amor Towles in my reading queue, Connor and I flew to Portugal to celebrate our 4th anniversary.
The Algarve is a popular destination for the sun-starved English, and we’d heard of the parties and clubbing and restaurants that specifically cater to British tourists. But where there is a sea, there is usually fishing, and somewhere there had to be a quiet fishing village full of locals, peace, and quiet. Normally, the west end of the Algarve would have been our obvious choice – rocky, rough, good hiking, surfing. But, we didn’t want to rent a car and the bus routes were unclear online. So we stayed in lovely Quarteira, just west of Faro, easily reachable by taxi from the airport. We swam in the ocean everyday, huddled under a sun umbrella with our books, ate breakfast on our balcony looking out at the water, and enjoyed amazing seafood. The town was super walkable, it was sunny everyday, and extremely hot. Also, Vinho Verde. Slightly sparkling, crisp and acidic, I’ve found my new favorite summer wine.
PS – the New York Times and Wall Street Journal are my go-to sources for quick lessons on the wines of Europe. It’s detailed enough to satisfy my OCD need for all the information but not so detailed that I’m overwhelmed. If you’re horrified to learn this and want to point me toward a more oenophilic publication, be my guest.
One afternoon we wandered to the neighboring village and hopped on a sailboat that took us past Albufeira (party central, if you’re interested), aiming for the the hidden beaches and neon turquoise coves carved into the rocky cliffs. Talk about beautiful… the crew helped us into a little dingy and we zoomed in and out of caves, ducking our heads to avoid the low rocks and marveling at the colors. This was definitely a highlight of the trip and I was tempted to ask Connor if he wanted to do it again the next day. For only 18€ we had 3+ hours on a catamaran, fabulous views of the coast from the water, and little tours of sea caves. Kind of felt like stealing. It also felt like something that would be a lawsuit in the States – getting people in and out of those dingys and making sure no one was decapitated in the caves…
Yes, I bought myself a new hat in honor of our anniversary. That ratty old Marquette hat that I’ve been wearing everywhere is like a scarlet letter for American College Student. Connor’s anniversary gift was a bathing suit (“swimming costume” in England) since he apparently decided he wouldn’t be needing one in Europe and therefore didn’t pack one. Fun times looking for men’s bathing suits on Amazon UK. Brace yourself. Actually, don’t even go there. #scarredforlife
Overall, everything in Quarteira was very affordable. For under 50€, we had a feast of sardines, sea bass, acorn-fed pork from the Alentejo, an excellent bottle of wine, and bread. Sardines are popular in the area, and we’d see locals carrying big bags out of the fish market every morning, so naturally I had to try them. They were fantastic!
We spent a night in Faro before heading home and the city surprisingly empty. Almost everything was closed, including the Chapel of Bones church I wanted to see. It was Sunday so I’m not sure why this was the case. Perhaps it had something to do with the intense heat. Empty streets make for efficient wandering, so we saw quite a bit and then chatted with a nice man who owned a Portuguese craft beer shop. He introduced us to a few of his faves and that was that! It was the perfect unplugged getaway, especially since sightseeing material is sparse.
The Portuguese were some of the friendliest people we’ve encountered and they made us feel so welcome. Hope to make it to Lisbon and Fatima someday!
To Brum & Beyond 