I was laid low for a day and a half with one of my once-a-year migraines. This meant we spent Sunday at the apartment – the girls thought this was great and spent the day in the pool and exploring the garden. They discovered that one of the ponds has a nice collection of frogs and they delight in creeping around it to spot them.
Monday (September 17) afternoon I was feeling a little better after Alastair braved the chemist and got me some asprin, so we decided to go for a drive into the mountain range that defines the Algarve.
Firstly we went to Castro Marim – right on the border with Spain. It has a fantastic ruin of a fort – one that was a major fort in Moorish times and also important at various other times. It was huge and you could walk around the parapet. There were great views across the river to Spain (what a strange feeling for an Australian to be standing in one country and be able to see another) and also of the saltpans with huge mountains of salt being produced. The castle grounds contained two churches and a number of houses, stockyards and other buildings. It gave a real sense of a community with the safe walls of the castle.
We then drove up into the hills on a fairly new freeway (my 2004 guide book had described the drive as a narrow, winding road but it was mostly a dual lane highway with a 120km/hour speed limit). The hill country was quite arid in parts – a dark red soil with low shrubs covering it. Some had orchards – almonds, oranges (closer to the coast were there’s irrigation). Large areas have also been planted to eucalypts, which have caused problems in that they have created huge bush fires.
We drove to a town called Alcoutim, right on the river (again with Spain on the other side). It was an important trading point from early times with the Phoenicians and Romans both having settled there. It also had an old Roman/Moorish fort. It was a smaller castle but beautifully maintained with a garden set up on the terraces inside. Oddly enough the garden featured a Norfolk pine. It also had a museum that contained many of the items that had been dug up by archaeologists at the site. These included some very simple but very beautiful Islamic Moorish pottery.
Carlene
Monday (September 17) afternoon I was feeling a little better after Alastair braved the chemist and got me some asprin, so we decided to go for a drive into the mountain range that defines the Algarve.
Firstly we went to Castro Marim – right on the border with Spain. It has a fantastic ruin of a fort – one that was a major fort in Moorish times and also important at various other times. It was huge and you could walk around the parapet. There were great views across the river to Spain (what a strange feeling for an Australian to be standing in one country and be able to see another) and also of the saltpans with huge mountains of salt being produced. The castle grounds contained two churches and a number of houses, stockyards and other buildings. It gave a real sense of a community with the safe walls of the castle.
We then drove up into the hills on a fairly new freeway (my 2004 guide book had described the drive as a narrow, winding road but it was mostly a dual lane highway with a 120km/hour speed limit). The hill country was quite arid in parts – a dark red soil with low shrubs covering it. Some had orchards – almonds, oranges (closer to the coast were there’s irrigation). Large areas have also been planted to eucalypts, which have caused problems in that they have created huge bush fires.
We drove to a town called Alcoutim, right on the river (again with Spain on the other side). It was an important trading point from early times with the Phoenicians and Romans both having settled there. It also had an old Roman/Moorish fort. It was a smaller castle but beautifully maintained with a garden set up on the terraces inside. Oddly enough the garden featured a Norfolk pine. It also had a museum that contained many of the items that had been dug up by archaeologists at the site. These included some very simple but very beautiful Islamic Moorish pottery.
Carlene
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