When we started talking about taking this European trip, my plan was to go east from Porto to the town of Salamanca, Spain. However, when it came time to schedule our trip, I realized that would be tricky. Instead I discovered that from Porto we could take a train all the way south through Portugal to the town of Faro.
Faro was not a town on my radar. In fact I’m not sure I had ever heard of it before. However, I decided this would be a good location to travel to as our next stop would be east in Seville, Spain. There was also a national park there which sounded interesting so I made the reservations to Faro.
Monday morning we were up and ready to go to the train station. It would take us over six hours by train from Porto to Faro. We were actually looking forward to a day of doing very little as we had done so much walking while we were in Porto. We needed a break.
When we arrived at the train station, we had plenty of time to spare. At boarding we looked for our assigned seats indicated by the coach number and seat number. The challenge was the coach number. I expected that the coach numbers would be outside the coach doors, but they were not. Instead they posted seat numbers. We got on a coach with seemingly the right seat numbers only to be informed it was not. We had to walk through several coaches until we found the right one. Quite a few other people seemed equally confused as the aisles were a challenge to navigate. People were going in both directions. Eventually we found our seats.
The train looked fairly old from the outside, but it wasn’t too bad on the inside. The decor of the train was mostly green, and that extended to the toilet seat which had been painted green. Fortunately the seats were comfortable enough, and the ride was pleasant. Our view was mostly fields and vineyards.
In Lisbon we needed to transfer trains. On our ticket the time between the trains was only ten minutes. However, we were already late when we arrived and somewhat confused as to whether it was the correct station. Fortunately another passenger helped us out. The other train had not left so we were able to transfer OK, and this time we found the right coach number.
We finally arrived in Faro, the last stop for the train. Then we had to get to our hotel. It seems in Portugal they like the cobblestone feel. The sidewalks are usually made from stones instead of smooth concrete or asphalt. It can make it challenging to drag suitcases over these sidewalks. One gets tired pretty quickly.
It was late afternoon when we arrived so after checking into our hotel, we had dinner and then relaxed in our room.
Tuesday turned out to be a sunny and warm day with blue skies. Near Faro is the Ria Formosa National Park composed of various islands and waterways. One of the things I wanted to do was take a boat ride and see this area. There were a number of tour operators to choose from. We settled on a two and a half hour bird watching tour. While not birders, I chose the tour company because it used a solar powered boat. That meant it was quiet. After the hustle and bustle of Porto, we really just needed some quiet time in nature.
Our boat was small. Besides the guide, there were only four other people on the boat. They provided us with binoculars which proved to be quite helpful. I must say the terrain here is actually quite uninteresting. These islands have no trees and only some bushes. For the most part they are fairly flat so there isn’t much to look at from a landscape point of view.
The birds gave us something to look for. It reminded me somewhat of our trip through Denali when the guide was always on the lookout for animals. Here our guide was always looking for birds, and when he saw some he would point them out to us. At least we had binoculars and could generally see what he was pointing out. We saw some interesting birds. For the most part they had extremely long beaks. I was expecting to see large flocks of birds, but that didn’t happen. Apparently the migratory birds that flock here in the winter had already left for the summer.
Now comes my confession. When I left our hotel, I knew we planned to go on a nature boat ride. Nevertheless, I left my long telephoto lens in the hotel. This is not what a prepared photographer does. I was frustrated with myself. I saw some really interesting birds, but they were too far away for my camera to pick up without having the telephoto lens. These photos are the best I could do.
We eventually stopped at an area that was sort of a mud/sand tidal area. I did enjoy taking photos here as there were patterns and differences in the sand and water that were fun to capture. It was like abstract art.
Our guide also told us about oyster farming. They put oysters into bags which hang in this area from poles. Then when the tides rise, the bags become submerged in the water, and the oysters will grow from this. It was an interesting thing to see the bags hanging. We were touring at low tide so the bags of oysters were all exposed at that time. We also saw people harvesting oysters in the sand. It looked like hard work.
One thing we only saw from a distance was flamingos. Apparently there is a flock of flamingos in the area, but the tide was not right for them to be more visible. I could see them through the binoculars, but I didn’t see much detail.
The tour was very relaxing. I enjoyed looking at the birds and learning some things about them as well as the general culture and life that the guide shared. The tour was a good experience, and one I would recommend that anyone does who comes to the area despite the rather uninspiring terrain.
The other main attraction of Faro is the old walled town. A stone wall goes all the way around although the front has buildings. There are a number of entrances around the wall to enter.
At the front entrance to the walled city there is a bell tower. When we first came into it, we saw these large nests up above and a bird there who appeared to be feeding her young. It turned out to be a stork which we had never seen before. We saw another one around town as well. They are protected so their nest can not be tampered with.
Of course within the walled city there is a cathedral, the Santa Maria Cathedral. My wife decided that she had seen enough churches since it did cost 3,50 euros to go in. I did go in. Here is another church that has a lot of ornamentation to it. In places the designs were quite elaborate. I was quite fascinated with their pipe organ. It sits high on a wall toward the back of the sanctuary. Red paint and various designs cover the exterior, and some pipes stick out horizontally which makes it quite unusual.
Upstairs they had a museum of historic artifacts from the life of the church. There was also a tower to climb up from narrow stairs on the exterior. It wasn’t as tall as the one in Porto, but it did give a nice view out over the water and the islands nearby. Visitors could also check out the church bells.
Outside of the old city and the boat tour, we didn’t find a lot to do in Faro. It’s actually a fairly large city not a sleepy village as I had expected although we stuck to the older part of town. One thing I did find interesting was the old men. In more than one location I found groups of older men talking together over drinks or playing cards. That seemed to be the life of retired men here.
I only planned a day in Faro, and that was enough time for us. From here we will travel by bus to Seville, Spain so have your Spanish ready for next week as we are going to Spain.
I’d love to hear what you are thinking about our trip so far. Questions and comments in the box below are always welcome. Thanks for your support of my blog through your likes and sharing on your social media. Be sure to sign up for your weekly email with the post if you haven’t already.
Credits: The first and third photos of the boat tour shops and boat as well as the one of me taking photos were taken by Silvette Lee