Tag: adventure

Portugal & Southern Spain trip – Day 15-18, May 24th-28th….The Algarve & Home

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We woke up to gnats/fleas everywhere…horrible…we sprayed again, choked on the poisonous fumes and realised the apartment was infested. After a quick breakfast we drove to Santa Eulalia Beach. With a carpark and hotel on the edge of the sand, it looked lovely. We pitched our beach chairs on the edge of the soft sand and the firmer wet sand. Here we took up residency, on the narrow strip. A few people were in the sea, which according to their squeals was very cold and it was also a steep drop so we decided to enjoy the sun in the dry…….That is until a big wave came and we both jumped up rescuing handbag and camera bag from the surf!!!! What a pair of muppets we are as we made a hasty retreat a yard or two higher up the beach.

As it looked as if we were going to be sat in the water again, we returned to the car and headed to the apartments hotel swimming pool. It was wonderfully empty with some good shaded sun-loungers…a lovely afternoon.

In the evening we headed back to the Golf resort across the road again. This time I had Grilled Veal…..or so it said on the menu, actually it was a really nice sirloin steak, with sweet potato fries and roasted vegetables, all for €18 . John had grilled tuna with sweet roasted potatoes and a tomato relish for €13.

Over the next couple of days we did much the same, sleep, sunbathe, eat and repeat. We had a drive into Albufeira and we found a nice ice cream place on the beach. We ate at the same place each night….alternating between sea bass, tuna and steak, we shared a different salad as a starter each night ….it was a really pleasant restaurant….even though I managed to trip up an unnoticed step and skid seal like along the mosaic floor on my boobs !!!!!! Ouch !!!! But it didn’t deter us from going, the service was good, the food was excellent and the price was reasonable….we couldn’t have asked for more.

Our apartment continued to cause anxiety. The window which had given us a nice view was now violated by the apartment opposite having major building work which started at 8.00 am each morning. The tip for the builders rubble was directly below our window so the noise and the dust was a constant intrusion to our peace and quiet. The gnats/ fleas never stopped being present and it took 3 days for the company it was booked through to get back to us…by which time we only had one full day and two nights left …so it was all too little too late ..

On our final morning we were packed and ready to leave by 10.00 am the time we had agreed to meet the owner/ ground agent to give her the keys and to get our €100 deposit back…..the time came and went….at 11.30 I tried to phone her no reply, I WhatsApp her no reply. At 12.00 I tried phoning on WhatsApp and got a reply. As she spoke no English the conversation was difficult but I think she understood “ now, now” At 12.30 she arrived and gave us our €100 back. We showed her all the gnats and the builders skip etc, she just shrugged and couldn’t have cared less….after all she had, had our money. A little later she WhatsApp me and said please don’t say anything bad about the apartment….wow! Was she joking or not……we certainly wouldn’t want any other tourist to spend their hard earnt money or holiday time in such a noisy infested place….all we can say is steer clear of Sun & Serenity at Balaia Da Mar holiday resort…the rest of the resort is fine.
We headed off to the airport in Faro. Dropped the car off. We only had £40 to pay for the cross border fee and all was good. We found where the EasyJet baggage drop was and although our flight drop-off desk number wasn’t displayed yet we stood in the queue. When we got to the front, an hour later, we were told we were 15 minutes too early and stood aside to wait. Sure enough in 15 minutes time we were allowed to drop our cases off. We went through to departures and the security scanning was very fast. However when we got to immigration there was only one desk open for non-EU and as the majority of tourists were from the UK we queued for an hour and three quarters…..we had to let some people go ahead as their gate was closing…it was mayhem, eventually another desk opened and everyone cheered. Phew at last in the departure lounge only to find out out 8.50 pm take off was delayed until 10.30 pm….oh well…time for a Burger King as it was that or a sandwich.
Our flight took off about 10.40pm and was uneventful landing at 1.20 am. It took forever for the baggage to come through…the carousel started turning at 2.00am and our bags were fairly quickly retrieved……one of our brand new cases has once again got a huge dented corner…..what a nuisance… We had been going to get the train home but we were both exhausted and it was so late that we grabbed a taxi….at that time in the morning it cost us £81.00….hey Ho, we were home and ready for a great sleep in our own bed.
What a great holiday we had had….superb apartment, beach and restaurants in Luz……a wild experience in El Rocío, a great time in Seville and good sunbathing and nice food back in the Algarve…a lovely 18 days spent relaxing and exploring.

Thank you for once again following us…we hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we did.

Portugal & Southern Spain – Day 10 Monday 19th May – The beach & Donana National Park ( again!)

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As we were only 10 miles from the coast we decided not to leave the area without at least taking a look. So we headed out of town, not by saddling up our horses!!, but in our 4 wheeled chariot, named Nissan!!!! We headed for Matalascanas. This is a purposed built seaside town, very popular with the Spanish. It is built in a compartmentalised fashion. This reminded us a little of Milton Keynes in layout. We found a non-paying parking space and walked to the sea front… a strangely angled concrete structure seemed to be a focal point of some interest….a bus load of Spaniards seemed intent on having their photo taken in front of it….so we did the same….!!!

It was very blowy so we decided not to frequent the beach and instead decided to investigate the town. Every compartment had a roundabout with a left turn into the area. These areas were named hotel, commercial, residential. Each roundabout had a great sculpture on it…

We retraced our steps back to El Rocio. After a little debate on how and which petrol to put in our chariot we succeeded in filling up for €71 ….petrols about the same price as in UK…but we are hybrid so using less. On returning to the hotel we were flabbergasted at what a difference a day makes….we had seen the town as bustling but on a Monday lunch time all the shops were shut. Walking down on to the square there were no horses or carts at all and only 2 of the street restaurants/cafes were open. We selected the one we had, had the rubber frisbee in rather than the one we had, had ham biltong in !!!!! We both went for paella because it would be soft and my gums are suffering from the hard inedible food. I’d stuck to yogurt and a banana for breakfast, so by now I was hungry. The paella arrived with two tiny shell on shrimps, a small strip of calamari, and quite a lot of chunks of meat which could have been goat, horse, cat!!! Who knows….but it was soft and that and the rice were very tasty.

Siesta time, the internet was down so we snoozed. At 4.00 pm we decided to take the car to the Parks Board office…there was no problem with parking as it really was a ghost town. The shops opposite the hotel had finally opened…

Having got to the Parks board office an hour early we had hoped our tickets would be number 1 giving us the first choice of seats on the bus…but alas they were No.7…. Never mind…. We waited out the hour before boarding the bus. We got a good window seat so we were happy. The bus was much bigger than yesterday’s , it was a 30 seater. Lucia gave us a warm welcome and off we went again. This time we saw far more cows grazing, prior to seeing a big herd of deer. We looked around the eucalyptus tree stumps for both rabbits, who evidently have their burrows there, and Linx, who evidently hunt the rabbits there…..but neither wanted to show them selves to us.

We disembarked at the same spot as yesterday. There was a marked difference in the bird species, in that we didn’t see any flamingo, but large flocks of spoonbills. They always make me laugh. We also saw some grebe, a pair of shovelers, a coot with their young and a lot of black/ glossy ibis.

The next stop was the visitors centre. Here we did see more flamingos, even more glossy Ibis and an array of waterfowl.

Before leaving the carpark we viewed the storks nest and thought we could see 3 chicks and the adult.

Our return trip to El Rocio was punctuated with lots of beautiful bird life…but alas the much desired viewing of a Linx eluded us. We thanked both the driver and Lucia for another great drive which concluded back at the Parks boards office at 9.00 pm. We then headed for a restaurant . The receptionist from the hotel had recommended an eatery near where we were and so we decided to give it a go. Wow…they were so helpful and tried with their English and Google translator. They brought us 5 different fish to choose from….the biggest was a sole so we went for that. The owner brought the scales to the table and weighed it and told us it would be €40 ….we gave him the thumbs up sign and off he went to cook it. Some 20 minutes later he returned with it cooked and proceeded to fillet it at the table. It may not have been very aesthetic but it tasted divine. They served it with frites and an onion and cold potato salad…. Wow it was good to finally eat something soft, tasty, delicious and we recognised what it was…. This was the best restaurant in town and really nice people who wanted to be helpful.

After supper we drove back to our hotel, with comfortably full tummies. Another lovely day…tomorrow we move on to Seville

Portugal & Southern Spain Adventure – Day 5 – Wednesday 14th May – A Day on the Beach- Luz.

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We didn’t rush this morning as the sky was very blue and the sun was hot. We made some nice brioche rolls up with ham, cheese and salami and took some crisps for our lunch…I wonder are you “A crisps in, or a crisps out” person…..John is definitely a crisps out where as I am very much a crisps in……We drove down to the beach, found a parking place straight away and hey presto we had quickly taken up residency….the wind was fairly brisk but the sun was very hot.
We both decided to take a dip so we strode out with determination and confidence to the edge of the sea…”ouch” cold or what…..but we persisted John up to his calves and me up to my bottom…after a mere few seconds we looked at each other and both said “nah”. It was a very hasty retreat back to the ever faithful warm comfort of the chairs. We sat for an hour or so watching a few extremely brave soles stride in dip their shoulders under and run out.
Just before lunch I decided to give it another go . This time I got as deep as my chest before once again beating a hasty retreat…..time for lunch …..

Whilst eating lunch a hopeful beggar arrived but we refrained from giving him anything.

By 2.00 pm John decided I was getting too lobster pink and we left the beach and returned to the apartments pool, where there was plenty of shade. I finally got a much yearned for swim…in the pool!,

Then time for a siesta back at the apartment. For those of you who know John, you will know he always denies having 40 winks……..the proof is in the picture ……

We decided to have a drive around Luz before supper. We had hoped to find another nice restaurant. Every eatery seemed to be pizza or tapas or 2 Indian restaurants. So we saw the church and returned to A Concha for a nice meal. We were peckish so we both had shrimp pate followed by grilled sea bass and then I had apple tart and John had chocolate cake and ice cream, washed down with a Coke Zero each…..all for the sum of €64.40. This really is a great place with superb friendly service and very reasonably priced for the quality of the food……our seafood diet continues.

Another wonderful day in the Algrave.

Portugal & Southern Spain – Sunday 11th May – Exploring Luz

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We were awoken by the sound of the bird chorus…….there is a nest full of Swallows right outside our front door, on top of the security camera…hopefully we’ll be able to share a picture with you over the forthcoming days. On opening the electric shutters the bright blue sunny sky showed a promise of a wonderfully warm day. Feeling ready for breakfast we googled the nearest supermarket and off we went in our spacious chariot. It wasn’t difficult to find and now we understand the basic oneway system we are getting around easily.
We found the Baptista Supermarket with its spacious carpark. For the then and now we bought a couple of croissants and a couple of sausage rolls. We also got yogurts, fruit, bread, butter and marmite for future breakfasts and Portuguese rolls, cheese, ham and salami for lunches, water, Coke Zero and a few yum, yums to snack on…all of which came to €52 …. Our much cheaper. preference to eating out for breakfast and lunch and also the reason we get an apartment rather than always having a hotel room…it’s nice to mix and match a bit…

We took our breakfast down to the beach front and sat eating it overlooking a beach volleyball game and a great sea view backdrop.

With breakfast out of the way we took a leisurely stroll along the promenade. We are surprised how quiet it is. There are a few, mostly British holidaymakers around but pleasantly quiet and uncrowded. We stopped at a bar and had a couple of Coke zeros whilst watching the world go by…..there are no chairs for hire on the beach and quite a few people had their own deck chairs…a short term investment we may need to make. Some brave soles were venturing into what was obviously a very chilly sea. A british cycling club embarrassingly came past ringing their bells and telling walkers to “stand aside”……. How rude…..a few dog walkers met up and a few kids were rock pooling…altogether a wonderful way to spend a morning – people watching…

We returned to the apartment and dropped the food off before driving down the hill to the apartments pool area and taking up residency on sunloungers for an hour or two. A late lunch of ham and cheese rolls was had on our balcony overlooking the village and the sea. WhatsApp calls home brought us up to date with family news before a much needed siesta…… we must have been tired as we woke in-time to go for supper!!! I had researched another restaurant on the sea front. But when we got there it was shut…may be because it was a Sunday or because the season is only just beginning. So we wandered back to A Concha. We were greeted like long lost friends and sat, on our request, inside as the evenings we find a little chilly. The kind owner suggested a fish Cataplana – stew, which was absolutely delicious and huge….we followed it with a mousse and gateau.

We are now quite used to the short drive back up the steep winding, narrow road and retired back to our apartment. We watched some Prime TV and had a few camels of “ Five Crowns” before retiring to bed. A great first full day In Luz, Portugal.

September 2024 update

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Just a little update so our faithful followers don’t think that we’ve forgotten them….

John and I tend not to travel very much over the British summer months..Why? You may well ask…Well! It’s when everyone else travels and we tend to have visitors at that time of year…..it is also our holiday planning time as well as our book writing time…..some of you may know that John has had 26 books published by Amberley Publishing Company. We have had our first jointly written book published and we are working on another for which we are contracted to deliver at the beginning of 2025. John, as usual, has more contracts spread out over the next few years. So the British Summertime tends to be a busy time for us.

What’s on the cards for 2J’s World of Adventure…..

We are about to spend a week in The New Forest with my 92 year old Dad. We hire a house in Lymington for a week…. I will blog some of the week so it can give ideas of what to do and where to go in that area of ‘Our green and pleasant land’. We use a company called New Forest Cottages to rent a suitable house. We have used them for several years and can thoroughly recommend them as a highly reputable company.



In November we will be off cruising in the Caribbean for 21 days in celebration of our 10th Wedding Anniversary…an area of the world we both love. We will again blog our daily activities, although I suspect much will be sea and sand !!!

The planning for 2025 has started. We had been looking to Safari in Namibia as well as South Africa. However, Namibia seems to have become increasingly expensive and trying to book accommodation within Etosha National Park has proved a frustrating and unenjoyable experience. So, I have ditched it for next year and we will instead stay in a South Africa, spending a month in Pilanesberg and Kruger National Park.

We are also investigating and planing two other adventures….. A trip around Spain, Portugal and Morocco and also a trip to Uzbekistan-the silk route. We are looking to do both of these with tour companies. ……more on this soon as I am trying to secure good prices for both of these trips so that if you decide you fancy one or the other of them you should be-able to get a really good deal. One of the companies starts the tours in the country of the tour, which means our readers across the world will be able to access the same price regardless of their country of origin …you would then be able to book your own flights, direct or indirect depending on what you want to add on, do and of course your budget.

Well that’s all for now….watch out for our New Forest blog and of course the occasional ‘Been there got the t-shirt’ blog.

Many thanks to those of you who have purchased our framed prints. We have been delighted with your highly complimentary responses and we are so pleased that they have all arrived safely and you are enjoying them on the walls of your homes….

Thanks again for your continued following and interest in our travel adventures.