Algarve, Portugal

We thought we should give Portugal one last run before moving deeper into Africa this summer. Sadly, we didn't make it past the Algarve this time-the sun and warmth were highly sought after our visit to Belgium.

Our friends Hugo and Miguel at the Good Feeling Hostel had us stay with their neighbor and her lively guard dog who did a lot of spinning tricks and barked at invisible objects.

Not much surf in the southern shores, but a beach is a beach.

Typical village in the region.

The chef's special. Pizza can be had anywhere, but Pizza Pazza in Pedralva, (the middle of nowhere in the vicinity of Vila do Bispo) is worth seeking out when in the neighborhood. 

Ponta da Piedade and the surrounding cliffs in Lagos have stunning views.  

It might be worth investing in a boat trip to have a contrasting view.

Tourist shot.

What are you waiting for, book your ticket.

Another tourist shot.

A little bit of rock

 The pride of Silves is the still intact Moorish Castle. Not quite sure the Moors had it landscaped back in the day, my guess would be they had other pressing issues. 

When we paid our entrance fee we were asked if we wanted to buy a ticket to the museum. Ana politely declined, The ticket lady's response was "ah, you don't like history!"

Ana the history hater.

Another pizza, another location.

If you go to the Algarve, rent a car and take unmarked dirt roads-you won't regret it.

We did hiking to places you can't get to with a car.

Pigs.

Condos coming soon.

Not that you can see, but this area was heavily infested with people who looked liked they split the program, as in they dropped out of society and live in converted moving trucks. Ana called them hippies, but they are slightly more serious than that. Moving from beach to beach isn't a bad existence.

While driving though a village a teen mother with a handmade sign jumped out on front of our car to sell us her homemade baked goods. Ana was adventurous while I remained curious about the bottle of her father's moonshine. Cake and booze are always nice roadside treats.  

Trees and bees. We parked and hiked, it is just a little eerie hiking and hearing hives of bees echoing. I've encountered swarms of bees twice, once while driving-a couple come through the vent.

A pastime with some of the locals is collecting snails. 
From livecooler.com:
"In Algarve tradition tells that snails should be placed in a vessel eight days before being cooked. There, they are fed with wheat flour or bran. Only then should they be cooked, and seasoned with oregano stick."