Charlie's Log: Logos Portugal 12/23

Preliminary disclaimer regarding devices: early on I lost my iPhone which I use a lot for photography and GPS, didn't have the right charge for my actual camera and, finally, burned out the charger for my toothbrush. So.........

Itinerary: Landed in Faro, drove south to Lagos and stayed for a week of beech fun and cliff walks, drove northeast to Bens (pronounced Bensh) for a few days of rail-to-trail walking, then back to Faro for the trip home.

Our Mediterranean-style vacation home in Lagos. Yes, that is our car and the Atlantic a couple of blocks in the background!

Did Santa wear a wet suit?

Decorative palm trees?

Bird of Paradise with Hibiscus in the background--our yard!

Rallying around an old almond tree at one of the cliff-walk trail heads.

But, we're here for beaches, quaint white and red towns and really tall evergreen trees with perfectly laid out branches.

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We have our surfing beaches

Our nonsurfing beaches

And, no beaches at all.

No end of beach walking opportunities:

mega kite

why?

We logged many miles along the cliffs:

Cliff fishing--never saw one pulled up, over the rocks. But, as mentioned by a fellow observer that's why it's called "fishing" not "catching"

Grotto boat rides weren't operating because of the time of year and weather. But, the on-shore viewing is exciting enough.

Fossil hunting

Marked trail through the dunes

Downtown Lagos gave us the red carpet treatment. On the search for pizza.

It seems like midwinter is the height of orange season. Now I know where Harry and David might get their citrus. Every orange we bought was better than the best we get in the US, cheap and seedless. Both of our lodgings had an electric reamer!