I had scheduled four days in Faro with an option of an extra four if I found I was having enough fun there. I searched the inter web for Faro-related articles entitled ‘Best Things To Do…….’ and ‘Top Ten Things….’ and found a few. They all mentioned churches, in particular Cappella dos Ossos (The Chapel of Bones), the museum and the old town buildings. Portuguese churches are certainly spectacular inside and mostly majestic outside. I did visit a few and enjoyed each.
Apart from old buildings, however, I couldn’t find a lot of inspiration from the articles I read. I feared I may have to leave Faro after only four days.
Until I started eating.
It began with a Pastel de Nata – that famous little Portuguese custard tart. It was the perfect, bite-size treat to accompany the excellent coffee I found in Faro.
I soon realised that Pastéis de Nata are the tip of the ice(bakery)berg and that Portugal rivals France as the cake capital of my world.
By day three I was eating cakes for breakfast as well as morning tea and evening desert.
Meanwhile I was also discovering the abundance of tasty seafood available in Faro. Sardines are a popular local staple and seem to be eaten regularly with salads and boiled potatoes.
Then there are clams and whole baked fish, huge fat prawns and scallops, salted cod, crabs, grilled octopus and grilled squid.
Arroz de marisco (seafood rice) is a specialty dish and I couldn’t get enough of it. It’s a kind of soupy version of risotto filled with ocean treasures. It’s blissful.
Portugal deserves far higher praise than it receives for its wine and I discovered a whole new style whilst in Faro; Vinho Verde, a young (green) white wine that perfectly complements seafood. A heavenly match made in Portugal.
I’m not a huge fan of beer but Karl, who is, shared tastes of his Super Bock and also Sagres, two local beers that, I must admit, also go well with a seafood feast.
Within four days we had three favourite restaurants; Antonios, Taberna Modesto and Chefe Branco.
But it was a trip to the Faro market that made us realise resistance was futile and four days was not long enough to taste everything Faro had to offer. We extended the trip, booked into an apartment, at Faro Beach, with a kitchen and started cooking.
Now all that eating required a counter strategy in order to avoid excessive weight gain so I began researching walking trails. My first step was to contact Faro Free Walking Tours and book in with the most informative Andre who walked us all around Faro telling tales of the city dating back to Roman times. Bishops, saints and Moors featured in those fascinating tales and I felt entranced as I listened and walked in the footsteps of the true-life characters.
We continued walking around Faro once our tour had finished as there was lots to see and learn. Many tales were illustrated by blue and white ceramic tiles depicting travellers to, and inhabitants of Faro in ancient days.
Having walked the mosaic pavements of Faro past town walls, towers, arches, churches, statues and such I decided it was time to broaden my walking radar.
There are many small islands, off the coast of Faro, that are easily accessible by ferry, water taxi or commercial charter. Since we were newbies to the area we paid €30 each for a hop-on-hop-off tour. Our boat captains were wonderfully chatty and helpful and colour co-ordinated (even down to their shoes) with their yellow boat. We had no regrets about choosing our HOPO tour although we now know we could have done it cheaper by using local ferries.
We enjoyed great views of Faro as we left and cruised towards our first stop, and second walking location, Ilha Deserta. This 7km long island is, as the name suggests, deserted apart from one lone inhabitant who goes fishing a lot. It features a lighthouse, a very long boardwalk and a bit of driftwood beach art. The beach itself is stunning and after walking the length of the boardwalk we swam in the cool Atlantic Ocean.
Our next stop, and third walking location, was Farol where we visited another lighthouse and walked along the beach to Culatra, the small village at the opposite end of the island. The white-sand beach made a stunning contrast to the cloudless blue sky.
Enticing aromas of grilled seafood greeted us on arrival st Culatra so we enjoyed lunch at one of the small restaurants. Grilled sardines, of course.
Our move to Faro Beach for the extension of our stay opened up new walking possibilities in a fourth location. After arriving by local ferry (€2 one way) we settled into our beachfront accomodation and started walking.
Just like the islands, Faro Beach is criss-crossed with excellent boardwalks and we followed them for miles. To the north we saw Faro across the lagoon and to the south we saw the Atlantic stretch out to the horizon. Cute shacks, in various states of disrepair, dotted the boardwalks at frequent intervals.
Staying right on the beach during a hot Portuguese summer was perfection. We swam through the day and walked morning and evening.
I had read about the Ludo Trail nearby and decided that it would become our fifth long walk in Faro. It’s a walking trail (mostly boardwalks of course) through the Ria Formosa, a huge natural park comprising a series of small islands and lagoons. Flamingos and Chameleons live in the Ria Formosa and I was keen to see both.
We walked there very early one morning to avoid the heat of the day. It was serenely beautiful and, sure enough, we saw plenty of graceful flamingos.
We walked for three hours along the paths and boardwalks observing birdlife, crabs and fish large and small. The lagoons were teaming with life.
We only spotted one chameleon. We found him at the top of a post sunning himself.
I love reading novels set where I am traveling and I found ‘300 Days In The Sun’ by Deborah Lawrenson to enjoy during my stay in Faro. The plot was intriguing and the story was well written. The fact that I recognised coastline, customs, buildings and even cafés made the novel all that more enjoyable to me.
walkeatshare 
Wow! I really enjoyed “walking and eating” with you. Sounds perfectly wonderful!
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