It was lovely to catch up and spend some quality time with Phil and Ros - we haven't seen them for a while so it was long overdue. We also met a new family member, their cat Sammy who was found abandoned at the roadside. At approximately 12 weeks old he's quite a character and loves to be cuddled. He entertains himself by chasing his tail and whole walnuts around the floor.


12 week old Sammy

The villa is situated at the top of a hill away from the hustle and bustle of the nearby towns of Sines and Messines and has amazing panoramic views of the surrounding hills and landscape that constantly change colour and perspective as the sun moves overhead - it's really beautiful.



During our stay Ros became our tourist guide as we visited Alte, Silves and Albufeira.

When we arrived at Alte we immediately noticed the stifling heat and no wind, very different from being in the villa where the breeze keeps you pleasantly cool. There was also a distinct loud humming noise - we assumed it to be man-made but Ros confirmed that it was in fact the background noise made by crickets. Whilst we've heard crickets, we've never heard this sound before... there must have been hundreds if not thousands of them!



According to the "Rough Guide" Alte is reported to be the prettiest village in the Algarve. It's certainly attractive with narrow cobbled streets set on the hillside. We walked to the local spring alongside a stream that was lined with trees finally stopping off at a small cafe for coffee and freshly made Pastel Nata (Portuguese egg tart) where one of the locals was labelling up and selling tomato jam.



Silves is a medieval town and as coincidence would have it they were celebrating with a medieval festival so the town was filled with tents, BBQ's and hay bales. During the day it was virtually uninhabited - all the tents were closed and the BBQ's empty but at night the town must come alive! We walked up to the citadel but found the heat unbearable despite walking in the 'shaded' parts of the streets. Silves is certainly a place we want to revisit in the winter months when it's far cooler and the celebrations are finished.



Walking to one of the bars for refreshments we couldn't help but notice stalks nesting on top of the disused sardine chimneys!