The beautiful Algarve

Beautiful, especially away from the hustle and bustle... !

We spent the last few days in the popular Algarve region in Portugal. The coastal region is described as one of the most beautiful in Europe and one morning when I was jogging on the cliffs I kept thinking "yes, it is the most beautiful coast I have ever seen so far." I was finally able to experience the Algarve in the same way I wanted it. Deserted, a small footpath, no footbridges to walk on, no barriers, no drones and no “photo models”. Just the coast with its beautiful rocks, its beautiful beaches and its wonderful turquoise water. I am very grateful to have been able to experience this moment, because what I saw in and around Lagos had not yet convinced me 100 percent. And just a few kilometers from the hotspot and I'm blown away. My jogging session turned into a discovery tour and people, I almost forgot that I was doing sports. I was constantly able to discover small beaches all to myself, walked paths with a constant view of the vast sea and was able to see a stretch of coast of the beautiful Algarve in its complete and unchanged splendor. We spent a whole day and a night there. We were able to spend the night undisturbed in a parking lot and start the day with a beautiful sunrise over the sea. We spent time on different beaches without any crowds. The weather was very inviting and so we decided to go swimming. From this perspective, the colors of the sea and the rocks became much clearer. The water was pretty fresh, but it was worth it. I am very happy to have seen a lot of this coast. I don't want to badmouth Lagos and the places next to it, because the coast and nature are and will remain beautiful, but I just don't like what's part of tourism. Nature is being changed, jetties are being built, hotel beds, crowds of people, barriers, a stand on every corner offering boat trips, etc. There's just one thing I like and that's nature and preferably untouched. I don't need to visit a place, the most beautiful beach or a cave just because it's in every travel guide. If you have the opportunity to drive a few kilometers away from the action, you quickly notice that it is at least as beautiful, if not more beautiful. But still, Lagos is a beautiful little town, and I wouldn't want to leave that unmentioned.

A good example is the popular Benagil cave, which until recently was visited daily by many people by boat, canoe or stand-up paddle board. It has been forbidden to enter it since September because it is considered at risk of collapse. This was accelerated by the uncontrolled influx of tourists. You can also view the cave from above on a hiking trail. I said to David: “Yes, nice... like every cave here on the coast!” But only because it is perhaps the largest cave on the coast or is a little more spectacular than others for some other reason, it is on the “must see” list List” of Portugal. If that hadn't happened, probably 98 percent of the crowd wouldn't be interested in it. I'm just saying that the media keeps giving us tunnel vision. And I would like to emphasize that I too fall for it again and again, but I still try harder to change it. Maybe that's one of the things you learn when you travel for a long time, because something like this keeps repeating itself and you start to broaden your perspective significantly. Of course, it's clear to me that there are THE highlights, but people lose the ability to discover things for themselves and forget the other beautiful things.

Still, that's okay, everyone does what they want. I would always choose nature because it always gives me so much. A city only takes a lot from me, namely money 😀.

No. I also like cities.

So, convince yourself of the wonderful pictures. It's just great here.

The warm weather at this time of year is also really great, it's just wonderful. By the way, we drove a little further inland. A few kilometers from the coast and you feel like you are in another country. Nothing is overbuilt, hardly any houses and everything is wild. And many, many vineyards. We took a closer look at one wine region. During a short tour of the farm, we could see employees filling the wine into the bottles. That was an interesting experience. The tasting with homemade bread and olive oil was a complete success and tasted extremely good. So good that I left my credit card there. OPS! Thank God the people there were so friendly and I was able to pick her up the next day.

We are now spending the last, if not the last, day in Portugal, then we head back across the Spanish border.

By the way, the last day will be spent on a very nice pitch. A large property, lovingly designed and with many animals that can have a much better life here than before. The owner takes in animals and gives them the life they deserve.

Except the little piglets. They have it good right from the start.

Cheers!!!

Oh and crazy, I didn't know that so many Germans actually spend the winter here in Portugal. Well, they're right!