On the fourth day of our Portugal journey, we joined the rest of our small tour group. This marked the “official” beginning of the tour. It actually started the evening before with a wine “meet and greet” and dinner.
The morning brought a trip to the southernmost part of Portugal, Algarve. Algarve is a region with sedimentary cliffs, resorts and tourism. “Algarve” is derived from the Arabic word for “the west.”
We had a short boat trip scheduled out of Portimão, a very cute community of about 60,000 people with gorgeous buildings along the harbor. We went out around the southern coast to view the sandstone cliffs. And yet again, we had amazing weather: 75ºF and sunny. This would be the rule for the entire trip!
It was a long drive from Lisbon to Portimão. Almost three hours each way. While it was beautiful, I’m not sure it was worth that long of a drive. But, the weather really helped moderate that, though.
Tomorrow: baking class making the famous pastel de natas, a sunset cruise and the morning at one of the castles.