As we eagerly await Boris Johnson’s announcement tomorrow as he lays out the UK’s ‘Road Map’ out of lockdown, I thought I would take another look back at my solo trip to Portugal. Fingers crossed BoJo’s plans see us being able to travel again before the year is out.

This post was originally published on 7th February 2019 and updated on 21st February 2021.

Olhos de Água

After my relaxing day on Tuesday, I was back in explorer mode yesterday.

This time I decided to head east of the resort towards Olhos de Água. Good old Google maps told me it was only a short walk away, and again, the weather was perfect for walking.

Google maps certainly didn’t let me down. Twenty minutes after setting off, I arrived at the beach in Olhos de Água. Olhos is a small fishing town, the heart of which has been built around a small sandy cove. It’s a much quieter town than Albufeira, but lovely if you have a young family and aren’t looking for somewhere overly commercial.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t an awful lot to do or see there, so I decided to head down onto the beach to see if I could walk round to the next Praia (beach), Praia da Falesia, one of the Algarve’s most beautiful beaches.

If you’re lucky enough to find yourself on one of the beaches on the Algarve’s south coast whilst the tide is out, you can easily walk from beach to beach without too many problems, albeit in some places you will have to scramble over a few small rocks. Once the tide comes back in, it’s a different story, with many of the beaches becoming inaccessible. 

Luckily, when I arrived in Olhos de Água, the tide was out, and I could see there was a clear stretch of beach from Olhos to Praia da Falesia.

Praia da Falesia

As soon as I reached Praia da Falesia, the scenery took my breath away. The bright orange cliffs and the visible layers of rock made the geographer in me do a little backflip of joy.

As far as I was concerned, I had found paradise. 

I knew I was walking along the beach with a massive grin on my face, as I stared in awe of the scenery. Around every corner I walked, the cliff faces changed and had something different for me to grin at.

As I continued to walk along the beach, I realised how light and carefree I felt. I felt more relaxed and content than I had done in a long time.

As I walked along the beach, I found myself doing a lot of thinking, in addition to starring with a wide-open mouth at the stunning scenery around me.

I started to make sense out of a lot of things on that walk. It allowed me to put a lot of perspective on events that had been happening in my life. It also allowed me to let go of a lot of other things. It gave me time to think about some of the changes I knew I needed to make on my return to the UK. I knew this walk had changed me. It was time to bring happiness back into my life. I also knew I had to find a way of re-creating this wonderful carefree feeling once I arrived back home.

Sadly my time in Portugal is nearing its end. It’s been wonderful to get away by myself for a few days. I’m excited to be returning home with a clear perspective on things and with a spring in my step. 

But for now, it’s time to pack and say my goodbyes to Portugal, as I prepare to fly back to London tomorrow.