Somewhat uncharacteristically we jetted off to warmer climes last weekend.    John & Yvonne are spending winter in Portugal and we thought we had better go and see them.  Never having been to the Algarve we were very excited, and once installed it felt like walking out of a black and white film into a Technicolor™ one.  All too soon we are back home, looking at each other and saying “Did that really happen?”

It was of course relatively quiet, as evidenced by the photos.  It must be very, very different in the high season.   So, below, some shots of pretty Albufeira: some deserted beaches, an egg custard tart which was easily one of the best things I have ever eaten, and people smiling in the sunshine.

Al Gharb is Arabic for The West, this part of the Iberian peninsula was the furthest west part of the Arabian empire (it says here).