Goodbye Spain, hello Portugal. Cádiz to Vilamoura

The drive from Tarifa to Cádiz was easy and we arrived early, too early for our hotel, the Alquimia. It was funky and inexpensive, perfect for one night. Our room wasn’t ready but they held our bags for us. There was also no on-site parking, definitely first world problems. We left to find the suggested parking area and cruise the city on foot.

We may seem jaded but we have seen a lot of beautiful walled port cities with great cathedrals and churches, Cádiz was no exception. We decided to cruise the beaches looking for a good prospect for beach glass. I spotted a small beach in front of the wall of the city that looked good: some wave action, some rocks and gravel. Terri thought we had found the mother lode!

We spent about 30 minutes picking glass, some colors we have not found before. At some point I was tired of bending and grabbing what seemed to be endless beach glass and with a quart baggie full, I proclaimed that we were done and needed to move on, besides, I didn’t want to have to pay for extra weight because of beach glass. Terri could have sat there all day and had bag fulls.

We continued wondering through the city, found the Cádiz Cathedral and the main pedestrian area with numerous shops and restaurants. It was getting late and it started to rain. We ducked into a busy little tapas bar that looked inviting. Everything on the menu was a little different, Terri, going safe, ordered chicken fingers off the kids menu. I ordered what looked best in the pictures, it turned out to be sweetbreads. I like sweetbreads, as an appetizer, but a plate full on a bed of French fries was a little too much.

It was going to be a long travel day to Vilamoura, Portugal. We needed to drive to Seville, drop off the rental car, get a taxi to the bus station, get a bus to Faro Airport in Portugal, where we would pick-up a new rental car and then drive to Vilamoura to stay at our Hilton Resort. All this because the one-way drop-off fee added more than $1,000 to our costs. And it all worked out.

Vilamoura is not like most of our stops so far. It is a recent development of golf courses, marinas and restaurants. We didn’t feel like we were in Portugal. We didn’t pack golf clubs so our options were limited. First full day was a day trip to Albufeira, a more “local” place a short car ride away.

It was a nice, warm and sunny day, we walked the beach and then found a taverna and split a pitcher of sangria. It was a good day to do nothing much.

The weather the next day looked a little blustery but we needed to get out so I found a hike along the cliffs between Vilamoura and Albufeira. We had a few sprinkles of rain but nearing the end of our 5 mile jaunt I could see a rain-line coming in quickly over the ocean. I hurried Terri along and at the last minute we ducked into a beachside bar and then it poured rain. We made it but many hikers and beachgoers got soaked. We rested, hydrated and watched it rain for an hour until a break came and we made it back to the car nice and dry.

Tomorrow we head for Cascais but first, I need to find us a place to stay…