Zambujeira do Mar and Praia da Arrifana

Zambujeira do Mar  Sept 13^th -17^th

We had four days to spare and were looking for somewhere we could just “live” for a few days without too much to do. Zambujeira is down on the Aljezur region which is a little more wild and less overrun by condos which dominate the South of Portugal.

We spend four whole days working with the boys on their school work. There is much procrastination and we have very close neighbours who undoubtedly overhear the majority of the struggles that we are having, particularly with Jasper who seems to have gone slightly more askew lately.

As I try to chat with the lovely young Polish couple, staying next door with their three- year old boy, I apologise for the sounds that are coming from inside the house.

“With children it is natural” she says.

There is screeching and the audible sounds of Louie telling Jasper to piss off.

Then there is a desperate pleading from Jasper who bursts out of the door with Louie chasing him shouting, fuck off you stupid dumb bitch (not quite sure how he got that one mixed up but we just roll with it hoping that we won’t need to correct him on his use of gender-related swear words because of course he’ll soon stop all this craziness).

The Polish woman is trying to ask pertinent questions about our travel but I can already see that she’s thinking that our natural family sounds are not so natural after all and it is flashing through her mind that they will not visit us in New Zealand, nor will they have three children and travel the world. Or perhaps they will, but their children will sit quietly and play board games.

It’s hard to make friends whilst travelling with these crazies!

Praia da Arrifana: September  17^th -21^st

Praia da Arrifana is only about fifty minutes down the coast from Zambujeira and seems to be the cool spot for surfers with combi vans. The little ex-fisherman’s cottage that we have booked, looks directly down on to the beach. Unexpected however, is that our patio that looked so private in the photos, is actually separated from the house by a pathway that everybody uses from the houses above, and there are a row of patios all side by side. It is really quirky and cute however and it is really nice to have some company on either side. The view is amazing, and we happily sit outside each evening drinking wine and having a BBQ.

From Arrifana it is not too far to Faro, in the South and we take a trip down to the beaches there and the tiny little Chapel de Osos (Bone chapel) created from skeletons of hundreds of Monks who were at one time buried in the cemetery there. Portugal has a number of bone chapels, the most famous, in Evora.

On our last day in Portugal, we drive all the way to Faro to drop off the car and catch the bus to Seville.

A trip down the coast

Praia da Marinha

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