The plan for our first full day in Carvoeiro (pronounced curve-way-go) was to go sea kayaking through the amazing Benagil sea caves! When we arrived on the corner where we supposed to meet our guide we were a bit early, and nobody else was there yet. Eventually our guide came, long hair, rings on every finger, tanned, very suave. “You are going to have a great day” he said! “I just know as soon as I walk out the door what the sea is going to be like, and today is a very good day.” Another guide heading up the hill asked him, “have you had a look?” We were on the side of the second guide having driven by the landing area. He walked around the corner and returned a few minutes later, with a smile on his face and a new question for us. “Are you ready to get wet?”

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of “getting wet” in the cold Atlantic waters. But I’m willing to be a good sport from time to time. This was one of those times. The next problem was my shoes. Sir, do you have sandals or flip-flops? Nope these are the only pair I brought, well you can walk barefoot down the hill and back then.

So, down the hill we went, and when we got to the landing area the waves were just crashing in, coming in fairly large curls of blackish water! Our guide was undaunted, “If you trust me a little, I can get you out past the breakers and into the calmer water. We probably can’t go into any caves, but it will be fine!” Given his track record so far none of us were inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, but nevertheless we noted a couple of kayaks going out in between the really bad waves. Suddenly the guides were all huddled around a phone staring intently, I heard the word “suspended.” And finally the guide admitted defeat. The maritime authorities have declared that all kayaking trips are cancelled this morning. I could still get you there, but you would all be breaking the law. LOL.

So our day of kayaking was a bust. Even worse, none of us took a picture of the waves!!

With kayaking out of the picture we headed to Carvoeiro to do the boardwalk. It was very scenic and considerably drier than the kayaks.

After doing the boardwalk we came back and made ourselves sandwiches, and hung out at the pool, reading, dozing, and whatnot.

For dinner we headed back in to Carvoeiro for dinner at an Indian restaurant called Gurkha Kitchen. It’s a Nepalese and Indian place that was very good. We / I was definitely in the mood for something a bit different than we had been eating for the last week, and this fit the bill perfectly. Papadams, some dumplings, some Nepal curry, it was great. We could have gone higher on the spice levels but we all enjoyed the food very much.

This morning we woke up, took our time with coffee etc, and then headed for Sagras, it is the farthest southwest point Europe. You know this because there is a bratwurst stand that says Last Brat before America!

Unfortunately when we arrived a massive cloud bank was rolling in, and we couldn’t see anything! Also the fort was not open because the workers were on a one day strike! So it was kind of a bust. Here you see our selfie at Sagras and then another selfie just 30 miles away less then an hour later!

The second picture was taken in Lagos on Ponte do Piedade, it was so beautiful that after taking pics from above, we ended up driving into town, finding a charge point, eating lunch, and then booking a boat to take us out to see it from the water!

Memories of the Gold Coast

By the time we finished the boat trip and walked back to the car it was nearly 5:00, so we still had a very full day despite the challenges of the morning. We headed back to the hotel, showered, rested for a bit then had a light dinner at a nearby pizza place called Mona Lisa. It was kind of funny because it was just right around the corner, but then Jane discovered that they only took cash. We were nearly out, so it was kind of like college. Well, we have some euros, you have some euros, and if we turn in our towels at the front desk we can get our 40 euro deposit back and have enough money to eat! It sure beat jumping in the car and driving a mile to find an ATM!

After dinner Jane and I went to the end of the lane to enjoy a bit of sunset!

Just as we were about to go to bed we got the news alert. The jury was in! Would they convict Trump? We waited as the pundits did their punditry and then finally the verdicts were read. One by one, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty on all counts! A small celebration broke out and a chant of “Lock him up!” Of course, soon enough the convicted felon emerged to tell us that “it was rigged” LOL!! This is a good day for America, the system worked and finally we are holding Trump accountable. In any other decade in our history, for any other political party, the nominee would bow out of the race, or the party would demand the presumptive nominee give way. Sadly that will not be the case here.

Tomorrow some hiking and then just relaxing before head into Lisbon on Saturday. It’s hard to believe that we are heading back in just a couple of days.