It is amazing how quickly a week goes when you’re on holiday. Unfortunately yesterday was our last day in Vilamoura. 7/8 days of unchanged weather. Everyday was around 18-20 degrees C, light wind, clear skies except Thursday when wind blew a little harder. As the weather was identical, we decided to have at least one walk on the beach before we started to head home. Only Chloe, Helen and I went for the walk. The beach stretches from Vilamoura to Albufeira which is about a 5km walk. We did about 2km and then turned around and walked back again. There were numerous (what looked like locals) walking on the beach as well and we also were passed by two guys on bikes with wheels about 10 cm thick – pretty impressive to ride a bike on the beach!

We had decided that rather than getting up early on Saturday am to drive up to Lisbon to catch our flight that we would rather head up on Friday afternoon. So after lunch we packed up everything, did our final checks and said goodbye to the house and headed up to Lisbon. Every time I drive that road (and I know I have said it before) but I am staggered by the quality of the road and the lack of cars. It is a 2-lane highway the whole way (and 3 lanes in many places). It is a toll road and you pay for the privilege of driving on the road (€22) but it is worth the money. The drivers are also very disciplined. Everyone is traveling at between 120-140 km/h.  It seems the 120 km/h speed limit is more of a guide as most people are traveling at around 130 km/h. Michael ‘researched’ it on the internet and it seems they aren’t overly fussed by speeding in Portugal (they have 30 fixed cameras across the whole country). He also found that over special holidays (eg. Easter, Christmas etc) they give a lot of leeway between the actual speed limit and what they will pull you over for.

I was driving with my speed limiter on (Dad you’ll be proud of me) and in 2 hours of driving I only had to slow down once. The rest of the time we just drove at the limit and pulled out to pass cars and pulled back when we weren’t.  It is 2.5 hour trip and very easy to do. The disciplined driving makes it a much more pleasurable trip. If only SA drivers could drive like they do in Portugal.

The biggest issue we had was that we had to re-fill the cars before dropping them off at the airport. We pulled into the petrol station and could not figure out how to get the pump to start. They even made an announcement on the speaker about us (in Portuguese but I recognized the number of the lane we were in). It didn’t help because we still didn’t know how to get it working. Eventually after pushing buttons/inserting credit card we got the fuel working and managed to fill up both the cars (though what we did on the pump for each of the cars ended up being different).

We then headed to the hotel (airport hotel which we have stayed in previously) to drop off our luggage in the rooms and then to take the cars back to the airport rental company. We agreed that dinner would simply be in the hotel restaurant and after a good nights rest we headed back to the airport for our long trip home.  We had an 11am flight from Lisbon to Heathrow arriving at about 2pm and then our flight back to Cape Town is at 9:30pm. We are now sitting in the lounge at Heathrow killing time until our flight tonight.

It was a great 8 days and we all enjoyed the break. Every time we are in Portugal we realise how much enjoy the country and the place and how relaxing we find it. It really is becoming a home away from home for us.

Until next time … P, H (who is off shopping in the terminal right now), S (who missed his girlfriend’s 21st on this trip), M, C

You might have wondered what happened to the blog but we basically did nothing 2 days ago and so there really wasn’t anything to write about. We had thought about going to visit Faro (as it is the number 1 attraction in the Algarve) but we all didn’t feel like doing anything in the end. The boys and I watched the first World Cup T20 semi-final and we did pretty much nothing else. Helen did go for a long run in late afternoon.

Yesterday Michael and I played our 3rd round of golf – this time back on our favourite course in the area (Millennium). The courses are quite busy at the moment so we ended up playing with a Scottish couple. We never really understood their names as they had such a broad accent. They came from north of Aberdeen and from time to time they could have been speaking another language for all that we managed to understand of what they said. They were very nice though and he was especially encouraging to Michael (whose golf improved because he listened to him – unlike what he does with my advice).

Helen and the other two went to do some final shopping for last night’s dinner. It was a relaxing two days and really what we needed I think. We do feel quite at home here now and could spend much longer here just doing what we did this time. I feel we could have easily spent another week here without any form of boredom setting in.

Until tomorrow … P, H, M, S, C (she deserves to be last for a reason)

Helen went for a run down to Quarteira which is the next town east from Vilamoura. The two towns really blend into one. Quarteira though has a boardwalk along the beach and lots of people go walking along it in the morning (and Helen say’s ‘old’ people). As she didn’t want to run back, Stephen and I drove down and picked her up (it is about 4 kms from our house) and then we stopped at a supermarket to buy some lunch items. This made the 5th supermarket we have visited in 5 days. The place is littered with supermarkets and we wonder how they all survive. None of them are particularly good either so they aren’t competing on range or quality even. We know of another 3 supermarkets within a few kms range from our house as well (just haven’t visited them yet during this trip).

After lunch we each went our separate ways. Michael and I headed to the golf course and then rest of them went to the Algarve Shopping Mall for another shopping trip. Michael and I played the Oceanico Victoria course. It is designed by Arnold Palmer (if you haven’t heard of him then I am shocked) and it is a regular championship course (hosts the Portuguese Masters) on the European PGA tour.  All of this should make you realise that Michael and I were going to struggle around this course – and struggle we did. Unfortunately we had to start on the back 9 which is really tough with 8 of the 9 holes having water on them. I managed to hit my ball into the water 4 times on the first 3 holes (but never once did I lose it). Not having played the course before we often ended up selecting the wrong club and the ball ended up running into the water at some point. Having now played it once, I would play it very differently the second time and I am sure I would do much better. It would also help to start on 1st and not the 10th (as we did) as the first 9 holes are much easier and you will get into a rhythm before playing the tough back 9.

As we only teed off at 2:50pm yesterday, we only got back home after 7pm and so it was late dinner (Portuguese roast chicken) and that was the day gone.

Until tomorrow … P, M (because he plays golf with me), H, S & C

We decided to do some exploring of the area yesterday. During the last trip I had read about Alte (inland town north of Vilamoura) and in our latest guidebook addition it was listed as one of the Top 10 places to see in the Algarve. It is listed a typical and unspoilt village of the region. It is only about 30 kms north of Vilamoura but the road to get there is a small regional road and so it took us about 40 minutes to get there.

Every time we drive in the Portuguese countryside I am reminded of how similar the terrain is to Mpumulanga province in SA. The trees could easily be acacia thorn. You also have people selling oranges on the side of the road just like you have on the way to Kruger Park.

We arrived at Alte and found a parking on the one side of the town and then walked into the town itself. The one attraction is the spring which produces clear, pure water (apparently). Only Stephen tasted it and he declared it ‘Proper water’.

The town itself is made up of whitewashed buildings and the streets are cobbled and narrow. It is the sort of town where there are a lot of old people and we saw 3 ambulances outside different buildings. I suspect it is a very aging town and will never have many young people in it. There is not really a lot in the town except for the Church (Igreja) and a few shops and believe it or not two museums. Michael wanted to go into the church but didn’t want to go in by himself so Helen joined him (you had to pay €1). They did say it was really beautiful inside. It was built in the 13th century.

You might have read all of that and been impressed. Don’t be. There really isn’t much happening in Alte and while it was good to get out and walk around, the one thing we have learned is that we are unlikely to go back to Alte again. If you’re ever in the Algarve don’t get sucked into it being one of the Top 10 attractions of the Algarve. I can think of 9 better golf courses in the area …

As we had consumed the whole morning (and a bit more) in Alte, we stopped at Burger King and bought lunch. We have to, at least once during the holiday, eat at a fast food restaurant. So that is now ticked off the list of things to do.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching SA beat Sri Lanka (it would have been embarrassing if we hadn’t). We also wanted to buy some fish for dinner so headed to the supermarket to do that. Very nice fish but no idea what I bought as my Portuguese is non-existent and I could not understand either the sign or the lady behind the counter.

Until tomorrow … P, H, S, M & C

It was Easter Sunday and we didn’t have any intention of doing anything in the morning.  Chloe though had bemoaned the fact that she never got to hunt for Easter eggs anymore as she was deemed too old so when Helen and I went to the shops we bought some for her and I hid them on Sunday morning for her to find. She was delighted with the unexpected surprise.

Helen went for a short run after lunch (you can pretty much run at any time as the temperature is always around 18-20 degrees C) and Stephen joined her on his skateboard. They apparently did 4 km. Probably the most exercise Stephen has had in months. Helen even tried out the ‘heated’ pool afterwards (we’re not sure the heating is really on though).

Michael and I managed to get our first round of golf in at our favourite course – Oceanico Millenium. The course was very dry and I was quite surprised by that as I thought that winter was their rainy season (as it is in Cape Town). It did mean that any shot you hit went about 20 meters further than usual as the ball just bounced and ran a long way. Some mediocre drives turned out to be great ones because of that. It was a pretty slow round as everyone seemed to be taking quite a long time in front of us and it meant we did a lot of waiting. Fortunately the clocks had forward an hour otherwise when we finished at 6:30pm would have been dark the previous day (or at least getting seriously dark). We didn’t play the best round but we were definitely improving by the end of it (hopefully our next rounds will be better).

Dinner last night of course had to be roast lamb. As we walked in we could smell the garlic that had been used on the lamb. (G & G would have gone in Anaphylactic shock had they been here!) We felt that ice cream and chocolate sauce as desert but had run out but we fortunately found an Intermarche open still at 8pm on Easter Sunday. I don’t think the Portuguese worry too much about public holidays and seem to open their stores regardless. Today (Monday) seems to be a normal business day here (or at least we are hoping it will be so that they fix our hot water problem).

Until tomorrow … P …. (and there are 4 other people here but they know why they aren’t getting their names here …)

We really didn’t do a lot yesterday but that is sometimes what makes a great holiday. Admittedly Helen might argue with that as she went for a 15km run in the morning down to the Marina and back again. By the time she got back the kids were just waking up. Chloe and Helen went shopping to there favourite mall – Algarve Mall – also happens to be the only one nearby. They managed to spend the rest of the morning there and some of the afternoon while the boys and I watched Super rugby (Bulls v Sunwolves).

The joys of owning the house are that we figure out all the issues when we are here and then have to get them fixed.  We do have a relatively good agent managing the house but they unfortunately never tested to see whether the air conditioners were all working on heating and some of them (mainly the ones downstairs in the living area) aren’t. It is about 10-12 degrees C overnight and the downstairs is tiled, it gets pretty chilly in the living room. They spent some of the morning and a large chunk of the afternoon trying to fix it and eventually in broken English told us they couldn’t do it yesterday and so they brought us two heaters instead. The most irritating thing was last night when I wanted to have a bath to warm up (and maybe get clean), I discovered the hot water has stopped working. Not sure if it was something the guys fiddling with the air-conditioners did or whether that is just coincidence. Either way it is pretty annoying not having hot water when you want it (yes I know that we’re all privileged and many people don’t even have running water in world).

Stephen never left the house at all yesterday but I’m sure he’ll claim a productive day doing some work on his laptop, watching rugby, cricket, Suits and Monuments Men (good movie for those of you who haven’t seen it – true story of how a group of men saved the artworks as World War II was drawing to a close – they saved over 5 million pieces!) and playing table tennis. Michael and I at least went to the golf course to book a round (because they hadn’t replied to my email and when I got there they asked why we hadn’t arrived for the round yesterday afternoon .. gggrrrr – maybe because I never got a reply from them?!).

Last night the clocks changed in Europe/UK. This is the first time some of the family have experienced this event and it has thoroughly confused Helen. I said she should just look at her iPhone (which adjusts automatically) and believe that time. The clocks moved forward an hour so we are now only 1 hour behind SA. All I know is that it is 9:20am on Easter Sunday and very quiet downstairs while I type this post.

Happy Easter Sunday everyone!

Yesterday was our first full day in Vilamoura which really does feel like our second home. While Portugal is a predominantly Catholic country, it doesn’t seem to stop them from opening shops on Easter Friday (fortunately). We had no food in the house so I managed to find a store open at 8am to buy enough for our breakfast. The family were all up relatively early (given we have a bunch of teenagers in the house) and so at about 10am we headed out for the main restocking shopping trip to Continente (Hypermarket type store) in the Algarve Shopping Mall.

Every time we come to Portugal and browse the supermarkets we learn something new or see something new. Helen was surprised by the lack of Hot Cross Buns (they clearly don’t do those in Portugal at all) and Easter Eggs. The latter wasn’t actually true – she just hadn’t seen the whole section of the shop dedicated to the 3000 different Easter eggs yet.  When it comes to meats, chicken is the national food but a close second is pork it seems.  Buying a whole piglet seems to be what is done here in the supermarkets over Easter (we all thought of Janet when we saw this and so we have included the photo especially for her).

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching SA throw it away against the West Indies (why do I keep thinking SA will have a chance of winning a major cricket tournament!) – at least the boys and I did that while the ladies caught up on the sleep they have missing. We also did some more shopping at the supermarket of the things we managed to forget to buy the first time. Even thought the Rand has slipped considerably against the Euro since last year, the food is still not significantly different in price. Chicken is still about R40-R50 per kg which is the same or cheaper than what we pay in SA (for example).

It really was quite a nice day in Vilamoura yesterday as you can see from the photo. It isn’t very warm (highest temperature was 20 degrees C yesterday) but it is still and clear. Today seems to be very similar. Helen is already out on her normal Saturday am run (making up for missing out on the Two Oceans Half today).

We have quietly started another visit in Portugal.  I left on Sunday evening as I needed to be in London to work Monday-Thursday. The rest of the family flew out on Wednesday night. Unfortunately there are only a few connecting flights from London to Lisbon.  That meant that the family arrived at about 8am yesterday and had to spend the day at Heathrow until 3:30pm when our flight left for Lisbon. They at least did have the comfort of the BA lounge to use.

I got to the airport just before 2pm and joined them in the lounge. The flight left on time and we landed on time.  In between we met the grumpiest gate guy I have ever met.  He was arguing with most of the passengers about their carry on baggage and when we gave our boarding passes he started to insist that we had to check our bags in. Not only does the BA policy permit us to take the bags on board (and believe me I know what the policy is), we actually had business class seats for the flight. I pointed this out and he said ‘it doesn’t matter what class you’re flying’ … blood starting to boil.  After a relatively heated exchange him insisting Michael put his bag into the ‘test the size of your bag thingy’ we finally got on the plane.

Needless to say I mentioned the exchange to the chief cabin controller and she handled it extremely well. She reported it herself through her channels and gave me a form to complete so I could give the details first hand. And to top it her service was really good and at the end of the flight she came over and gave us a bag of drinks including two bottles of champagne.  Chloe had told her (while waiting to use the toilet) that we still had a 2.5 hour drive to the Algarve and so she said the drinks were for the trip and the champagne for when we got there. While I have the propensity to complain for poor service, I am equally happy to acknowledge excellent service and because of my regular BA traveling I have a way I can acknowledge any staff member and so I made sure I got her name and will do precisely that. She was extremely good.

We were the first people in the passport line and the bags come off relatively quickly (including the important golf clubs). We had to rent two cars (because of the luggage situation) and even that went relatively quickly (by Portugal standards). We got upgraded from what we booked.  The guy at the counter tried to sell me an upgrade for Euro20 per day for a Mercedes but I declined. I know they do it when they don’t have the car you booked so if you decline then they have to give it to you for nothing. Which is exactly what happened.  I got a BMW station wagon and Helen has a B-class Mercedes.  Neither of us is complaining and it made it relatively comfortable to drive down.

One stop on route to buy a snack for dinner (crisps and chocolate).  We arrived at the house at about 9:35pm. It is not particularly warm here at the moment (was about 14 degrees C when we arrived) so the house is a little cold as well and we haven’t managed to get all the aircons on heating yet.  At least our bedroom one is working properly.

No food in the house and as it is Easter Friday we are hoping we find at least one grocery store open this morning. They are meant to open at 8am (and it is now 8:05am) so hoping for the best!