I visit Portugal not for the first time. But the Algarve. However, I did not know that this beautiful spot
\nis the second home to many English. Albufeira is the British pendant to the Ballermann of Mallorca.
\nDespite the nightlife district of Lagos, Carvoeiro and Albufeira there is still some culture to be
\ndiscovered at the coast line. Whoever is interested in it should visit those places during the day. In
\nthe evening the city belongs to the partygoers.<\/p>\n
Arrival at Lagos<\/strong> We explore the city centre of Lagos on the third day. We return quite early from our hike and have Carvoeiro und Albufeira<\/strong> We move on a little bit out of the pedestrian zone and find some Greek restaurant called \u201eOs Well, who cares? We have a different problem. How can we find our way back to the hotel? We err Cosy at Faro<\/strong> Ausklang in Tavira<\/strong>
\nUpon our arrival on a thursday afternoon we are a little bit irritated by the empty airport building.
\nMaybe it is not season yet? This impression changes very quickly upon reaching our hotel. Both, at
\nthe foyer and at the pool drinks are circulating. At first I am slightly suprised but later light is shed on
\nit. Two hours after our arrival we are all set for dinner. We walk into the city centre. The place is
\npacked. There is live music everywhere. With great effort we succeed in getting a table. We quickly
\nnotice that this is the warm up period for the pub and disco evning later on. After dinner we ramble
\nthrough the old part of the town. We realize that it is better to return during the day \u2013 the evening
\nbelongs to partygoers.<\/p>\n
\ntime to take a look at the ramparts, the church of Santa Maria and the former slave market. There is
\nhardly more time for it as loud music has already captured the city again. We escape from it all by
\ndiscovering the Centro Ci\u00eancia Viva de Lagos and come across a nice bar overlooking the harbour of
\nthe city. We enjoy a sundowner and calm down. Back in the hotel we here some noise coming from
\nthe pool. Middle-aged Englishmen are sitting on a table, drinking beer heavily, making a row. Being
\nquite drunken the guys push each other into the pool \u2013 with their cloth on of course. Now I realize
\nwhy two English pubs are located underneath the hotel. On Saturdays they show football games on
\nTV. Quite clever. I guess the owner is rich by now. <\/p>\n
\nThe party culture\u2019s peak is definitely at Albufeira. We pass by Carvoeiro on a hike at midday. Again
\nthe pedestrian walk is packed. It is almost impossible to get a seat in a restaurant or pub. When we
\nsucceed in doing some fat-ass bitch asks us to get our of her sight as we are obscuring her view! On
\nthat day we walk through the seven hanging valleys up to the Praia da Marinha. From there we are
\npicked up and driven to Albufeira. We intend to have dinner in the old town. Upon our arrival it is still
\nquiet. Only the restaurant recruiter are getting on my nerves. <\/p>\n
\nGregos\u201c. It is a direct hit. The owner and his daughter are running this business with high spirits and
\ngood service. The food is good and prices are reasonable. My sea bass is really good. After this
\npleasurable diner we live the place intending to walk back to the hotel. Well, at least we try. In the
\nmeantime the partygoers returned plugging the streets and places. We think: \u201ewow, where shall we
\nlook first?\u201c At the puppeteer, the Karaoke singers or at the several live performances which
\noutperform themselves? It is absolutely incomprehensible to us how anybody can it in this noise and
\nenjoy dinner?<\/p>\n
\nthrough the alleys and the densely packed masses. Shit, everything looks the same. Where did we
\ncome from? We are almost about to aks some policemen when I spot a magazine that we passed by
\non our way to the city centre. Huh, we calm down. That was close!<\/p>\n
\nOn our fifth day we arrive at Faro. Here we can relax. Even though almost every two minutes a plane
\ntakes off over the city and the winds are quite strong it is comparatively calm here. No boozing
\nEnglishmen in sight. This is our chance to get closer to the portuguese culture. We visit a Fado
\nsession at the tourist office. The information is located in a historical building, a former chapel. On
\ntop of the bell tower there is a huge stork\u2019s nest. Another two can be seen one level below. Taking
\npart in a Free Walking Tour the next day, we come across many stork nests, mostly on churches. The
\nguide tells us that these nests are protected.<\/p>\n
\nThe seaside town of Tavira is our last stop. Our walk starts at Fuzeta and leads through the nature
\nresort of Ria Formosa and the beach of Barril, located on the island of Tavira. From here we take the
\nferry boat to the town of Tavira. After the long walk in the merciless sun we take a shower at the
\nhotel. Close to sunset I take a walk through the old part of the town \u2013 and it\u2019s worth it. The warm
\nevening sun gives the place a very romantic touch. I pass by the municipal museum, I discover the
\nformer castell, walk past the \u201eFado com Historia\u201c and finally cross the bridge over the river Gil\u00e3o and
\nthus come to the restaurant and pub district. Upon sunset I return to the hotel. I decide that beyond
\nparty and loud music the villages at the Algarve have much going on.<\/p>\n