Gale Beach then Home

Unbelievably our 4 weeks in the Algarve is up, tomorrow we start the long journey home. But more about that in a bit. This blog is mostly about our favourite beach in the Algarve and possibly the world, Gale beach. Well, we call it Gale beach but it's actually 6 different beaches, Gale, Gale Oeste, Grande de Pera, Salgados, finally ending at Praia de Armacado de Pera and Praia do Vale do Olival.

Most days whilst we've been here we've taken our picnic chairs to one of the local beaches, just for an hour or two, there are so many to choose from. On the beach we've painted, photographed, read, but mostly just watched the sea and Gale beach is our favourite place to do that. The beach is over 4 Kilometres of un-interrupted glorious golden sand. It is just beautiful. It starts at the holiday resort of Gale and ends at Armacado de Pera. The land side of the beach is mostly marsh land which has several board walks built over the marshes which makes it a brilliant place to walk and enjoy the views. But what makes Gale beach most special for us is the sea. The beach faces the Atlantic, next landfall over 2,800 nautical miles away which means with the ocean swell there are always big waves breaking and crashing onto the beach, even on a day when there's no wind and the sea is calm. I've tried to capture the beach and the sea in a couple of photo's, although I'm not sure I've done it justice.

So that's it, we're on our way home tomorrow. It is a long way but if getting here is anything to go by we will enjoy it. We didn't plan the journey back until we got here and there are lots of options. Hopefully we'll get to try them all over the next few years, but this year we're stopping off for a couple of nights in Salamanca (Spain) and then the night before we get on Galicia (sounds better than just calling it a ferry) in Santander. Both look interesting. Salamanca is about 650 KM and then another 360 KM ish to Santander.

I'm writing this on our last morning in the apartment and hoping the Sahara dust in the sky, that's blighted lots of Europe over the last few days, will clear in time for a sunset on Gale beach.

Our last evening in the Algarve is of course being spent with our chums at their favourite restaurant, Dom Deniz, a short walk from ours and their apartment. Of course it's been brilliant to live somewhere warm for a month during the winter, but it's also been special to share time with chums we haven't seem for 2 years.

We will be back.

Saude!

P.S.

There is an odd retail emporium in the Algarve known commonly as the chinese shop, which is basically a shop that sells everything, and I mean everything, that's run by chinese people. There are at least 4 in Albufeira but the monster below is the biggest. Not sure how to describe the shop, it's sort of like a mix of Wilko's, B&M and B&Q on steroids. Whatever you want from a car battery to a fancy dress moustache, it's there. Of course there is an element of never mind the quality, just look at the price but it is nonetheless an emporium like no other I've ever seen!

PPS

And here's the sunset. Feeling pretty lucky and privileged.