Drove to Tavira in the morning. Croissants and tea in a very nice bakery-café where there was an elderly gentleman with his pet canary. Then on to the castle, with its gardens and parapets. The gardens were spectacular, as were the views.
Walked down to the tourist information office (very helpful), then over the old bridge and back to the ferry to the beach island, Isla de Tavira.
A ride on the crowded ferry, followed by a walk on the beach. Lunch at Xiri Beach Club was a surprise — a tuna “burger” and shrimp gyoza, both very good, reasonably priced, in a prime location. The ferry schedule had a gap going back, so we took a water taxi instead driven by a very pleasant young man. We tried to recruit another couple, but they were frightened by the “small” boat.
From Tavira we went to Praia do Barril, across the footbridge, the anchor cemetery, which was made in honor of the tuna fishermen and their families after the industry collapsed; worth seeing. It was low tide, so the fiddler crabs were out in force. We felt a touch of sunburn started so we took the little train back to our car.
We then visited Cacela Velha, a cliff village picturesque enough that you keep reaching for the camera, and then Cabanas, where we walked the boardwalk and ate gelato. Pretty tired by then, and we didn’t want to wait the hour and a half for restaurants to open, so we drove back to Portimão and ate at Tapas do Mundo, found on Google. It was superb.
The castle gardens and the scrubland along the lagoon shore produced enough plant and flower photos for a separate album.
Leave a Reply