Tavira

Somehow the corner didn't really convince us. The great Omega weather situation for Germany (which we benefited from back in Norway in Scandinavia in June) means a little more clouds than usual for Portugal. So we left the beaches, which are particularly attractive because of the great colors in the sunshine, and drove on to Loulé, to the Saturday weekly market.

In the hinterland the rain clouds hung low, it didn't matter, it was a mostly covered market. The market is particularly busy on Saturdays; in addition to the usual market stalls, there are also farmers from the region present and there was singing in the middle of the market hall.

The rain clouds were stuck in the hinterland, so after looking at the weather and parking app we decided to continue on to Tavira. After arriving, we went on a short exploration tour of Tavira's salt pans on our bikes.

Early in the morning I went on my racing bike along a small, well-paved side road through citrus fruit groves. Oranges and tangerines as far as the eye can see, incredible. The roads in the hinterland are hardly used, it goes through hilly landscapes with always great views, occasionally through small villages and on a racing bike you are in good company.

Back in Tavira I arrived in the middle of the town festival. That also explained the music the evening before, which we wondered about where it would come from. The plan to spend the afternoon on the beach (just go to the beach for the first time) was postponed until the following day and we went to the city festival instead. There were countless market stalls with local crafts and delicacies, and the guy with the board games, who we had met about two weeks ago, was also there. (Of course I had to play again.)

After a short rest and meal break at the square, we went back into town. At the first stage, Fado music was played, people danced in circles and at the end of the performance everyone started singing, at some point it was just humming, pure goosebumps. In my opinion, this reflected the essence of the Portuguese quite well: a strong community, calm, thoughtful, considerate - at least that's how I perceived it.

At another stage we listened to the sounds of an Algerian women's band before the main act of the evening started on the largest stage in the center. The place was packed and when the lights went out in the area, the crowd screamed. We didn't know anything about Carolina Deslantes, but she was obviously a star in Portugal.

On the way back, the incredibly long line at a Pao Chourico stand had shrunk to very short. We took advantage of the opportunity and had freshly baked bread filled with chorizo sausage, delicious!

Early in the morning I cycled through the hinterland again, a little hillier than the day before, I was very happy that the sky was overcast. The views, the landscape and the silence are again breathtaking and very impressive what grows here: In addition to the citrus fruits, I also discovered pomegranate and avocado trees.

In the afternoon we actually went to the beach and took a boat to the offshore island of Tavira, which some also call the Maldives of Portugal. The sand is really very light, the water is quite clear, it was very nice for swimming, the Maldives was a little exaggerated. Definitely a nice end to Portugal!