Albufeira,Portugal: Part 2, Safari trip to the countryside

Hello everyone and welcome back to my brief Portugal series.

I spent four nights in Portugal in November, as you may have read in my last blog, that the initial portion of my trip didn’t quite go as planned. However, I made up for it during the remaining two and a half days, and I’m very happy to share the places I managed to visit during this short time.

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I went on a safari trip to the Algarve countryside

It was the third morning in Portugal on the day of my safari trip, and I was super excited because the day before I had managed to leave my lazy relaxing for a half hour and go downstairs to the reception to book something exciting to do for this day. It had been recommended to me by one of the lovely ladies after I told her what I was hoping to see.

I’m really glad I made the decision to go on this trip since it taught me a lot and showed me things I never would have seen otherwise. I had such a unique and genuine experience travelling around the Algarve countryside. Seeing old villages and learning about rural traditions and agricultural life as well as the making of cork.

Let the adventures begin!

I was greeted at 9 a.m. outside my hotel by my tour guide for the day. I shamefully forget his name now, but he was a bundle of joy. You know when you meet those people who are so energetic and happy, and you just gravitate towards them? Well, he was that kind of person.

There were already another six tourists in the jeep, and I was the last person to be picked up, which was a little awkward as they all stared at me as I approached the jeep. Luckily enough, they were all super friendly and gave me a hi and a wave as I stepped into the jeep.

We arrived in the countryside in as little as 20 minutes, and the scenery had changed so drastically, in fact, I remember thinking how much it had changed within 10 minutes of the journey. We were surrounded by nature and lots of greenery, which was apparently unusual for this time of the year, and everything was so calming and relaxing, well, apart from being tossed around on the bumpy ride.

What I really loved about this trip was that as we learned about all the things Portugal produced, which was pretty much everything, we drove through all the trees producing the products and could often smell everything, and our guide would often stop and take things from the trees for us to smell, such as rosemary, tea, lavender, etc.

The first stop

Our first stop was the millhouse. I can’t really tell you much about the house; all I know is that it is owned by a German man. None the less, it was nice to see it and explore the nearby land.

The views were stunning up here.

Castelo de Paderne

Our next stop was Paderne’s Castle, one of the seven castles on the Portuguese flag.

There isn’t much left of the ruins, but it’s amazing how there’s anything left at all considering it was built from earth and sandstone and sits up high in the hills overlooking the Quarteira River.

The Romans first occupied this location in the second century, but the Berbers built the current building in the 12th century.

The castle had been battled for by Christian reconquistadors against the Muslim creators, which had been an ongoing battle until 1248, when the castle was captured by Portuguese forces, who brutally massacred all the inhabitants. It was abandoned in 1858.

Wine tasting, or perhaps whisky, or whatever it was

Our next stop was wine tasting, or at least that’s what we were told and was on the leaflet, but to be honest, I’m not really sure what we were tasting that day, and I’m still no wiser now, but I know the strongest one was firewater, known as Aguardente de Medronhos, which is a strong spirit made with a traditional fruit called medronho.

On our way to the distillery, we had the opportunity to eat this fruit because our tour guide had plucked some from a nearby tree. It tasted similar to a strawberry but was more subtle in flavor. It was lovely.

We arrived at the distillery, which has been in the same family for over 100 years. As we arrived, the owner looked surprised. It turned out he wasn’t expecting us, but he kindly set up the tables for us.

It was a really nice experience tasting all the jam, honey, and spirits. The firewater was so strong that my entire insides felt like they were on fire!

I don’t usually like honey, but this honey was so pure and tasted so good that I just had to purchase some. I also got some bee pollen.

The village of Alté

We got to go through a couple of villages, including one where we stopped for a small cafe break, but the village that stuck out the most to me was a little village called Alte in the northwestern part of Loulé tucked away in the mountains.

Unfortunately, as much as I would have loved to have walked around here, we were running out of time, so we’re only really able to see what we see in the moving jeep, and the rough ride through the streets made it difficult to capture pictures and videos. But I managed to snap a few photos, although not the best.

Because of where it is located, the village has kept its authentic and traditional Algarvean style. The streets are so narrow, and the houses are simplistic and white washed with a touch of colour and decorative elements owed to its past Arabic motifs. And there are lots of impressive chimneys here, and I couldn’t help but notice how tiny the doors on some of the houses were.

We briefly got to visit and have a quick stop at Fonte Grande and Fonte Pequena

It was a place in the past where women would come to get clean water for laundry, but now it’s used as a place where people come to swim.

The iconic flag

We also got to see the iconic Portuguese flag painted on a hillside. It was painted here to support the Portuguese football team during the Euro 2016 games, which they went on to win.

This pretty much was the end of the tour. I hope you enjoyed the blog this week.

Thanks for visiting

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤️

Jul 06

Spain solo trip: Day 2 Lloret De Mar

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Lloret De Mar is a former fishing town on the Costa Brava in Spain’s Catalonia region. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the Costa Brava. I could clearly see why as I walked around and discovered the area myself.

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It boasts a stunning, lively stretch of beach lined with bars along its promenade, along with hidden beach spots and rocky coves.

As I wandered around the colourful streets in the early morning, I got the feeling this place could become pretty lively. In fact, I had read this was a place of a vibrant nightlife where places to drink are open 24/7 between the months of May and September.

I’m not really one for going out when I travel, (nor at home tbh) so I can’t tell you about all about the bars and clubs, but I can tell you I did see several pretty cool looking ones, from the outside, of course 😉. As well as this, there are plenty of restaurants, coffee shops , supermarkets and shops to wander around in.

Although I was staying in Lloret De Mar, I only got to explore here for one day because I had plans to travel to other places. Therefore, I didn’t really get to explore as much as I had initially hoped.

After wandering around the shops, I began to look for The Parish Church Of Sant Romà, which conveniently for me, was around a 5 minute walk from where I was in the centre.

The Parish Church Of Sant Romà (Iglesia de San Román de Lloret)

After a few missed turns I eventually come to the Church Of Sant Romà, the patron Saint of Lloret De Mar.

The church has two very different types of architecture. The forefront part is in the Gothic style and was built around the years of 1509 and 1522. While the other part is strikingly colourful and influenced by the Catalan modernisation movement which started in development at the end of the 19th century.

How beautiful is the architecture? Unfortunately, I didn’t get to visit inside because I arrived just as it was closing.

If you would like to know more about this place, visit it here.

D’en Plaja Castle

After a visit to the church, I took a stroll along the beach and went to D’en Plaja Castle.

The hilltop Castle is located at the end of Sa Caleta beach and is one of Loret De Mar’s best features.

It’s not a castle!

I never knew this at the time, but since returning home and researching a little more about the castle, I learnt that it wasn’t a castle at all, but a summer home. The home was constructed in 1935 by Girona industrial magnate Narcís Plaja, and an architect named Isidor Bosch.

It apparently caused a fair bit of controversy amongst the locals at first, but has since become one of Lloret De Mar’s favourite features.

The most beautiful coastal views

Once past the Castle, there is a foot path I walked along that took me to the most scenic coastal line views!

The further I walked along the path, the fewer people I came across until I came to a perfect beauty spot to just sit in the stillness and enjoy all the surrounding areas. It was just pure bliss!

The best part about it was it was completely unexpected. I only found it through curiosity, as I wondered what was beyond.

The trail goes all the way to a beautiful town called Tossa De Mar, though it is a 12-km walk, so it would take a few hours. It is said to be an incredibly magical walk that I would have loved to have done had I known. I did, however, visit Tossa De Mar by bus, which I will share with you in a later post.

Thank you for visiting my blog today, its much appreciated.

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤

Jun 11

I finally plucked up the courage to travel abroad!

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As much as I have been enjoying travelling and exploring the UK, like many people, I had been hoping for the return of the travel industry to open again.

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Location

Everything felt a little overwhelming

I knew from the end of last year this would be the year when I returned to continue my dreams of traveling the world. I began to look for a small trip to book last year for this year. However, with all the uncertainties, everything felt so overwhelming so I didn’t end up booking anything. Instead, I decided to wait until I felt confident enough.

I felt a strong impulse

It was the beginning of May and I had a few days off work coming up and I just felt a strong impulse to book a flight to somewhere. I took this as a sign of being ready to fly again. Within 8 days of booking, I was on a flight to Spain.

I look forward to sharing my solo travel adventures in my next blog.

Stay blessed 🙏🏾

Natalie ❤

Apr 08

Hilbre Islands Part1: A beautiful Uninhabited Island near Liverpool

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Travelling to Liverpool? You may want to take an adventure over to these cool islands located between England and Wales.

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The Hilbre Islands are an archipelago made up of three Islands: Little Eye, Middle Eye and the largest of the three, Hilbre. They are located at the edge of the estuary of the River Dee, at the border of England and Wales. The Islands can be reached by foot during low tide from West Kirby on the Wirral peninsula, Merseyside and can take anywhere between around 50 – mins to an hour and a half to get to all three, depending on your own pace.

Once you arrive, it offers amazing photo opportunities of beautiful beach houses, panoramic sea views, and wildlife. If your lucky you may even spot some grey Seals!

Most Challenging trip of my year so far

This adventure has been my favourite adventure so far this year, but it has been my most challenging of the year so far.

I first made the discovery of the Islands back in February. I was super excited so couldn’t wait to do the adventure. Although, I hesitated for around two weeks before booking the trip.

The thought of crossing over was causing me to feel a little nervous. I kept reading about how the tide comes in so quickly and about people who had to be rescued after getting caught in the tide. Also, I was a little confused about the safest times to cross over. I understood it to have a safe journey. You must cross 3 hours after high tide and be back on the mainland at least 3 hours before the tide comes in. The times of low and high tide are stated clearly on the few websites I visited, but the times stated for low and high tide were always six hours apart, which didn’t make sense. Therefore, I wasn’t sure if these were the times I should head out and come back, or wait three hours after the times shown 🤔. I eventually found some really helpful websites that put my mind at ease ,which I’m so grateful I did as the ones shown on the beach were confusing. ( I will share these websites along with other advice and information in a later blog)

It was a little frightening

I eventually booked the trip in the first week of March. I arrived at the beach around 8.45am and started to walk out, but got cold feet when realising no one else was walking out to sea. I headed back and asked a kind man with a dog if I was heading in the right direction. Looking quite worried about my wellbeing, he said “Yes, but have you checked the tide times? Be careful the tide comes in quickly”. His reaction made me want to check to see if a coastal guard was around, but there didn’t seem to be any around. I spotted a lady working near by the lake, so asked her if it was a good time to walk out. She, like the man earlier, had the same reaction. She explained to go immediately, but to not hang around for too long once there. She also told me the safest way to reach all the islands. Well, I am definitely a lot more nervous now. Regardless, I started to head out there.

The further out I got, the more my fears grew to the point of wanting to turn back. It was an incredibly frightening experience for someone who can not swim. 🤣 Nonetheless, I would not allow myself to turn back with the promise to myself of being allowed to turn back after reaching the first tiny little island.

I had tortured myself enough, Therefore, I didn’t want to force myself to reach the other two. Well, not this day anyway, but definitely next time.

Once there, I felt better, but still didn’t feel brave enough to attempt the other two Islands. However, was really proud of myself for facing this challenge.

On Little Eye are the remains of a brick and concrete moorings a long with a substantial iron bolt remaining in place. The island is mostly made up of red bunter sandstone and grass.

I must admit it felt great heading back to the mainland having not been swept out to sea 🤣.

My return journey was much more successful. I will share that in the next blog.

Thanks for reading

Stay blessed 🙏🏾❤

Jan 06

Yorkshire Dales National Park: Malham Cove

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Yorkshire Dales National Park is an area that covers most of the Yorkshire dales, England.

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It is filled with hay valleys, waterfalls, beautiful woodlands and greenery, dry stone walls, scattered remains of the past industries and is home to over 1,000 farms. It is by far one of the most beautiful landmarks of the country, so its hardly surprising it was named ‘The best National Park in Europe on the TripAdvisor website.

There are so many places to visit here such as Ingleton Waterfalls Trail, Hardraw Force Waterfall, Whernside Moutains and the white Scar Cave but one of its most popular sites is Malham Cove.

Malham Cove

Malham Cove is a huge cliff formation of limescale rock that stands around 80 meters high and 300 meters wide.

The top of it is of deep groved eroded limescale slabs of pavement, that I must add is incredibly slippy on a rainy day if your wearing the wrong footwear like I did 🙄.

I’d say it was definitely worth risking breaking my neck. Look at those Views! I think I was concentrating on my footing here 🤔

Harry Potter

The top of Malham Cove (pictured above) is also featured in the movie Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. So if you’re a Harry Potter fan, this would be an more fantastic experience.

The surrounding area is so serene with the beautiful sounds of water running through the streams.

Thanks for stopping by today

I hope you enjoyed my short blog on Malham Cove. I didn’t get to visit any of the other attractions, but hopefully I will revisit soon and share with .

Stay blessed

Natalie ❤

Nov 22

A place to wash your spirit clean, Snowdonia

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In September I visit North wales. One of the places I stopped off at was Snowdonia National Park, the largest national park in Wales and the proud owner of the highest mountain in both England and Wales. Yes, you probably guessed it, Mount Snowdon. Did I climb mount Snowdon? No I’m far too lazy for that, but I did hike a little into some moutains, after being driven up most of the way that is, Sshhhhhhhh!

Although my face says different, I really was having the time of my life here 🙂

I visited on a minibus shared with eight other travellers. We were taken to the most tranquil place, it literally felt like we had the whole national park to ourselves.

I honestly could not believe how beautiful and relaxing this place was! It was so silent with only the sounds of the waterfalls. It was like stepping into another world where everything stood still. A place where you could forget every worry in the world, a place where you could wash your spirit clean.

If your thinking of visiting North Wales, this is one place not to be missed.

Thanks for reading 🙂 Stay safe x

Nov 22

Exploring Liverpool Part3

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Video from my day trip to Liverpool three months ago! Better late than never.

Thanks for watching 🙂 Stay safe x

Apr 05

Solo Trip To Zadar, Croatia Part 2

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Day 3 of my trip here was spent wondering around Zadar’s beautiful old town. The journey was around a 15 – minute bus ride from the Donat Hotel where I was staying. The journey cost me 10 kunas which was around £1.15 in sterling pounds or €1.31 in euros at the time of being there.

What the video if you would like to see this beautiful old town. You will also get to see the sea organ, which was definitely the highlight of the day! It was so fascinating!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Mar 15

Solo trip to Zadar, Croatia Part 1

A Day In Tarragona/ Catalonia, Spain

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Tarragona is a port city situated in north-east Spain on the Costa Daurada Although, it only sits 100 km to the south of Barcelona, It is by far less known. It’s full of well-preserved medieval and roman charms and is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO.

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The majority of tourists visit Barcelona and the more popular locations such as Madrid, Seville and Valencia. It’s surprising how many people have never heard of Tarragona here in the UK, especially since it is located only 11 km from Salou, the hugely popular British tourist destination.

Now I have to admit, I had never heard of it myself until I was searching for a city to visit on my 6th day in Salou. I come across it on trip advisor and was completely blown away by the pictures and reviews.

That morning I made the 15- 20 minute journey by bus for €2.50, I was so delighted I did! It was full of wonders!

I got off the bus at Tarragona bus station, google maps directed me to turn right and to walk straight ahead.

After 5 minutes of walking, I arrived at the beautiful port.

I was then lead slightly to the left off the port to this bridge.

I could see the views of the Amphitheatre as I walked further along the bridge.

Tarragona Roman Amphitheatre

This Roman amphitheatre built approximately in the 2nd century sits on the coast just of Rambla Nova. Initially, it was used for battles of the gladiators and fighting and hunting of animals. Later on, it was used for undertaking executions of people who were sentenced to death.

Circ Roma

Directly across the road from the amphitheatre was the Circ Roma (Roman Circus). Circ Roma is the underground open-air ruins of the 1st century where horses and buggy racing took place.

Admission is €3.30, free for children under the age of 16 years. €1.70 for groups of over 25 people, pensioners, students and one parent families.

Inside is spectacular! Full of dark underground tunnels. I didn’t get as many pictures as I would have liked but here are a few.

I made my way up the building, stopping to admire the contents inside until I reached the rooftop. The views from the rooftop were stunning!!

A 10-minute walk from here is the Roman walls and the cathedral.

The Cathedral

The cathedral is a Roman Catholic Church from the late 11th century and was declared a monument in 1905. The architecture inside is truly astonishing!

More wandering

I found a little people square surrounded by shops and cafes where I stopped to refuel. It was the perfect place for people watching and taking in a bit of the culture, as many locals seemed to be here with their dogs.

After here I wandered into the centre and browsed through the shops, whilst also wandering down the side streets.

I was entirely fascinated by this little cosmopolitan city, it completely took me by surprise! There were lots of little hidden gems everywhere! I could go on and on but then this blog would be far too long. I would highly recommend visiting this place, it’s especially worth visiting if you’re in Salou, Barcelona or any of the other nearby destinations.

Thanks for reading 😉