Our Step into the history of the Algarve....

Yesterday, Val and I took the Historical Algarve bus tour. We were picked up just before 9 and transported to Albuferia where we picked up the tour by the side of the highway and we were on our way. Our genial host, and older man who called himself a shepherd (because he had some sheep, 2 donkeys, 3 dogs and 3 cats, said his name was J.C., disregard the religious connotation! He was such a knowledgeable man. He told us he spoke 9 languages and 3 Africaans dialects. He had been a professor of History and Philosophy and has travelled the world, not missing very much about other cultures along the way. Anyway, I digress....we began our journey with a quick stop to look at the castle in Silves. This is the first photo above. It is one of the best preserved Moorish castles in the country. In the second photo you can see some of the terraced farmlands outside of Silves. We got a 7 1/2 minute stop in another community to take a photo of the nesting storks. In Portugal, when a building is torn down, it is the law that the chimneys are left standing because storks like a high broad platform to nest on. J.C. Explained that we only had 7 1/2 minutes because that is how long it takes him to smoke a cigarette!!

From Silves we carried on to make our way to Monchique and the highest mountain in the Algarve, Foia. This peak stands 902 meters high. The road takes you through little villages nestled on the sides of the mountain inclines or in the valleys. Monchique and the surrounding hills are known as the Garden of the Algarve. The town itself is a market town in the Serra da Monchique mountain range. Houses are typically Algarvean with their white walls and bands of colour around windows and doors. One of the things it is famous for is the production of medrano, a liqueur made from the fruits of the arbutus (strawberry arbutus) growing in the surrounding hills. I believe what they refer to as arbutus may be Eucalyptus trees....I will have to research this to find out! We were told to look for wild bulls in one area we went through and think we actually spotted some....oh well, they looked like cows anyway!!!

The other thing Monchique is famous for is the waters. Many spas and health resorts abound in the area where the early Romans built baths to utilize the natural spring waters which are still in use today in the current thermal treatment centre for treating rheumatism, respiratory illnesses and the liver.

From Monchique we continued our slow climb up the narrow road to the top of Mt. Foia. We were quite unimpressed when we pulled up in the bus. The landscape is rather bleak, wind was blowing and it was cold. The view on a clear day is spectacular....they say you can see all the way east to Faro and along the coastline to the furthest point west at Cape Vincent. We could make out where Portimao was. There are many types of military communications installations over much of the area which was out of bounds to us. NATO forces are in place there watching for intrusions or invaders or whatever it is they do. We had lunch on the way down the mountain before reaching Monchique and got to see some of the NATO personnel who were also inside enjoying a quick lunch.

Leaving Monchique we travelled through more towns and villages until we reached Lagos. This is an ancient maritime town which Prince Henry the Navigator called home. He sent ships to Morrocco and Africa and was responsible for showing that the edge of the world really wasn't, and trained many men in navigation, hence the name. We had a little longer respite in Lagos and Val and I took opportunity to do a little shopping before returning to the bus. Once underway again we passed by the site of the former slave market and saw a statue of Henry the Navigator. Lagos is situated at the mouth of the Bensafrim River in the Barlavento region of the Algarve. The older part of the city walls were constructed during the 16th century when it was the residence of the governors of the Algarve and the fort....Ponta da Bandiera is part of the 17th century fortifications that were added to protect the town.

From Lagos we continued on our way to Sagres...during Roman occupation the location was known as Promontorium Sacrum, the end of the world; this point was the closest travelers could get to the edge of our flat earth. Today Sagres is a fishing village with one of the most picturesque harbors. The lighthouse here has provided a guiding beam directing hundreds of ships passing the cape every year. We drove out to the most westerly point at Cape Vincent to look at the dizzying and towering cliffs whose sides were almost vertical. You would not want to walk too close to the edges there! No guardrails!!!

This point was the end of the days tour and we headed eastward to return everyone to their homes. Along the way J.C. Asked if anyone had a question. Mine was about Portugal being a republic. A little diversion here...until the early 1900s, Portugal was a Kingdom, ruled over by a king. King Carlos 1, was assassinated about 1908 and his son, King Manuel 11 was forced to abdicate the throne in 1910 during the Republican revolution, bringing ruin to the Portuguese Monarchy system. The country was then led by a socialist republican government for the next 64 years. in April 1974 an important historic conflict erupted when a group of radical army officers carried out a bloodless coup called "the carnation revolution" because soldiers carried flowers in the barrels of their rifles. This brought an end to the hated dictatorship and created the birth of Portuguese democratic constitution. This was a socialistic party victory and the formation of the new government led by Prime Minister Mário Soares. This is commemorated every April 25th which is now a national holiday called Freedom Day.

In 1986, Portugal joined the European Union and Mário Soares became the first civilian president of Portugal. He remained in power for 10 years until Anibal Cauaco Silva won the nomination in 2006. He was the first Centre-Right President since the coup in 1974. I thought Portugal was still a Republic, but I was wrong...it is now a democratic country making its way in the electronic age we now live in.

Back to J.C., he talked about democratic countries.....did we really know one that was a true democracy? Good question! He said Portugal was in an illegal republican state all those years, but now they are a so called democracy!

Val and I were brought back to Ferragudo from Lagoa in the private vehicle owned by the companies 4 x 4 jeep tour operator! Wow, I think he thought he was still driving the jeep....we were flying, but we did get home to Sharon and Betty safe and sound to recount our tales. They are taking this tour tomorrow so it will be interesting to hear about their adventure. Val and I are off to gamble at the casino tomorrow!! More tomorrow......