Adventure Day

But First, Ceramics

I have been wanting to look at tile murals and ceramic pieces, so when we saw Pottery o Moinho, we stopped. It was a bit overwhelming, but I had so much fun looking! I ended up getting some ceramic pieces — an octopus, a sardine, a can of sardinhas, and a starfish. Also, I was looking for a pretty specific tile mural, and I found one that was pretty close.

Historic Center

We continued on to the city center and wandered around the streets. It was really pretty here with the colorful street tarps appearing for the summer season. We saw a church that was highlighting the 2025 Jubileu for Peregrinos.

Lunch with a View

Receiving a recommendation for where to eat, we headed up the mountain to Luar da Foia. We got lucky, but reservations are recommended especially to sit outside with this view. We ordered the Sardinhas, a Wild Boar Stew, and finished with a espresso with ice cream.

Medronho

Medronho is a Portuguese fruit brandy made from the fruit of a strawberry tree and predominantly in the Monchique region. I didn’t know this when I bought a bottle from this man, and it turned out to be a well received birthday gift to my former landlord. It is worth noting that Medronho is about 45% alcohol so you have drink só um bocadinho (only a little bit).

Foia Peak

Foia Peak, at 902 metres, is the highest point in the Algarve. It is unclear if it is the actual highest point or the highest point seen from the sea. In either case, it was a great place to visit. I am wearing my new signature hat that I purchased in a little shop in Monchique.

Returning to Monchique from Foia could have been done a variety of ways, so why choose the way we came? I know why, because it way less scary. But we continued down on a pleasant road, among some lovely trees, with fresh air flowing into the car. It was relaxing. Even when the road started to narrow, it wasn’t by much. Then the road bent in an impossible direction requiring a multi-point turn which was a bit harrowing but not entirely dangerous. As we approached a town, we saw people walking on the road and for a second thought we got into a pedestrian only zone. Paranoia starts to set in and when the road narrowed more, my mind flashed to the YouTube video of the man who drove down Spanish Steps earlier this year. A sign warning us that the road will narrow to under 2m provided no comfort and I started to picture what our YouTube video would look like (and if my new hat will be much of a disguise). We sucked in our breaths because clearly that made the car become more narrow, but we had to pull in the side mirrors. Slowly, slowly, slowly we crept along, feeling the stare of the locals. Happy that the locals didn’t have their phones out ready to record. And with one more turn, we popped out to Monchique unscathed (well at least physically unscathed).

With that drive behind us, we set out to find the wooden walkway. Ignoring the turn onto the dirt road, we stayed on the main road and found ourselves here. The walkway was in the distance, it was too hot to consider walking to it, so we will return in autumn.

More Portugal

Read more about daily life, the embarrassing moments, and the process for having a long stay in Portugal. If you are more of a picture person, follow me on Instagram.

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