From islands to highlands in Portugal

Last week I mentioned that the first thing we did when we arrived in Olhão was to visit the island of Armona. I didn't manage to import many photos then, so I couldn't show much and had to tell more. Now we're home again, I can add some more photos to my posts, so just to show you how lovely it was, below is the boat that took us from the mainland across to the island. I took these snaps as it was approaching the quay to pick up the passengers.

The boat that took us to Armona

Approaching the quay

Nearly there

What I also wanted to show was the range of pushcarts we saw outside people's homes on Armona. Given that there really are no cars at all on these Rio Formosa islands, I thought these showed people's ingenuity in coping with carting stuff around. When I look at their life there and the mild, sunshiny weather, it looks pretty idyllic to me, but I imagine it can get tough and tiring at times, just as it does when you live on a boat. All that humping stuff around can put more than muscles on a body. Even so, I wouldn't mind giving it a try. It seems an acceptable price to pay for the peace of a carless environment and more than average amounts of sunshine. What do you think?

A doubled up shopping trolley and a flat bed push cart

Another flat bed push cart

This family have two plus the ubiquitous wheelbarrow

Antique flat bed

And then the standard variety that we often use too

Back in Olhão, and following our visit to Fuseta (see last week's post) we spent more time pottering around the city's back streets, which we both love. The juxtaposition of crumbling ruins with newly renovated traditional houses really appeals to us. It's a shame that it has to be foreign money that's reviving these old places but I can't see how the locals can afford it. Salaries are not high in Portugal and property prices are soaring. When I first came to Olhão four years ago, it felt very Portuguese and not touristy at all. Now, that's changing, which gives me mixed feelings. Without investors' money, many of these old homes would be unrecoverable, but at the same time, there's a price to pay for the community as a whole. Here are some examples of ruined and renewed side by side. Koos and I clicked away happily together in these tiny lanes. It's just as well we both enjoy doing this!

 There's a good potted history of Olhão on Wikipedia here, but one titbit I found especially interesting is that it was the people of the town who expelled the French occupiers following the Peninsular wars. They then built a boat and sailed to Brazil to urge their royal family to return to Portugal. Here's a photo of a replica of the boat which is moored on a jetty almost opposite the two distinctive market buildings.

Bom Sucesso, the 'royal yacht' :)

Olhão's two fresh fish market buildings from the water

On another day, we took a bus to the north of Olhão to the village of Estoi. Actually, we didn't. We took a train to Faro and then the bus as there wasn't one direct from Olhão, a pity as on one of our walks near our hostel we saw this old mile stone which told us Estoi wasn't far away at all. I should say I went to Estoi with my friend Marion the first time I came to Portugal, so it was great to be able to go there with Koos as well.

Anyway, as luck would have it, our train arrived just a few minutes before the bus left and so we hopped on for the half hour ride out of town and up into the hills. What a treat that was. Estoi was everything one could wish a Portuguese village to be. Built on the slopes of the hills leading to the something or other mountain range (I'll look it up, I promise *), it is a many layered village, and each layer seems to have its own square and café. There's also a stunning rococo palace that's now in use as a conference centre and hotel. Some of the additions they've made to attract guests are pretty tasteless, but the renovations to the palace itself have been done beautifully, and I can imagine it brings much needed employment and money to the village. What's more, visitors can walk around the palace gardens for free, which is a lovely gesture. You can read more about it here.

Anyone can walk around the palace gardens and enjoy their timeless beauty

The magnificent facade, beautifully restored

The beautiful azulejos tiles of the palace gardens

I loved this

One layer of the village and its square

Estoi's church

The whole village is on a steep hill

The walls of the palace painted to match

The upper level of the village

Lemons grow in profusion here

*Those mountains: Serra de Monte Figo

I think I'd better stop this here as otherwise this blog will go on forever. I'll finish off next time with some photos of my favourite rickety doors and a few photos of Vila Real de St Antonio where I had an away day on my own. I'll also write about the interesting encounter we had with a man at the bus stop in Estoi. 

For now, though, have a good week allemaal. It's back to work for me now, but having had a goodly dose of sunshine, I feel ready to face it all again.