it was Easter weekend and the weather continued to be bad so we treated ourselves to 2 shorter days.We left Tavira to the smell of lavender.All the cobblestones along the river and going up to the church on the hill had sheaths of lavender strewn across them, the smell was heavenly which might have been the idea. Other towns also sprinkle the streets with a mix of rosemary and lavender. It was a steepish climb out of Tavira and yes it was pouring with rain again.

We started off with a reasonable emergency lane to cycle on and it was a cycling route with eurovelo 1 signs but then things deteriorated.They were digging up the roads so the section next to the emergency lane was all corrugated and uncycleable.The emergency lanes were also flooded, potholed or stopped at a bridge so every time we had to get off our bikes.What was the scenery like you may well ask, “no idea” too busy concentrating on the road and watching out when drivers pulling out didn’t see us in spite of our flouro jackets and lights.The song “staying alive” went through my mind.

We passed through a small town of Ohlao and stopped for coffee there.The street art was spectacular whole buildings covered with different themes.The bakery was selling very solid looking round Easter cakes, similar to a simnel cake, but looked too heavy for us to carry.As we approached Faro we saw many derelict buildings, some looked like they were once really nice villas with pizza ovens etc.A lot were covered in graffiti and some especially as we went towards the centre, the graffiti turned into street art.We were unsure where we were so stopped for lunch at a small restaurant great food – pork cheeks, pork ribs.The owner was very friendly and offered a little some thing to finish our meal.Tim told me it was non-alcoholic I swigged it back and the world was spinning.No chance of me finding our hotel now,!

We did find hotel Faro by walking our bikes there, I being incapable of riding , it was right on the seafront, great views from our room. We did try and go down to the beach and nearly got blown away.I head to the steam room to warm up! I feel sorry for all the local businesses nobody is taking trips out to the local islands and the jet bikes are all safely tucked away.

So Easter morning we woke to a very grey blustery day, Hotel Faro had been very comfortable although every time Tim opened the windows in the night we could hear drunken frivolities in the street obviously a party town.Breakfast had minimal Easter decorations so nothing like Germany and we did have some of the Portuguese Easter cinnamony buns but no little Easter eggs on our table. No Easter decorations in towns and very few Easter decorations, whilst Spain had all the Easter coloured cloths hanging from balconies.Breakfast was in the roof top restaurant so we were treated to spectacular views of the sea and swaying palm trees.

It was back into full rain gear and a reluctant set off out of Faro which took some time before we were clear of the city.We had good emergency lanes to cycle in and traffic was quiet it was going to be an easy day we thought apart from the rain. After 18kms we saw a bakery open and stopped to dry off a bit and have a hot drink.Off again but within 7kms the road went down to a single lane with no emergency lane and bollards in the middle of the road so vehicles couldn’t get past us,very dangerous. So we went in search of cycling roads and hoped they didn’t lead into dirt tracks which with days of rain would be a quagmire.We missed one cycle path and were cycling on a busy 2 laned road and started getting lots of toots.We realised we shouldn’t be on the road and there was the cycle path on the other side of the road,oops.Tim was very excited to see a Triumph motorbike shop, as he follows a utube called Rocket Man who buys triumph motorbikes from the Algarve Triumph motorbike shop.

Following a wiggling cycle route meant very slow progress but we saw the rows of hotels and apartments that the Algarve is famous for.We saw glimpses of the sea and somehow missed the historic centre of Albufeiro.We were reluctant to go back as Tim was concerned re his battery power with all the hills and the wind was picking up.The beach at Albufeiro looked stunning. We went in search of lunch but couldn’t figure how to get our bikes down the steps into the marina where there were many restaurants open, yes on Easter Sunday unlike Spain.We gave up and peddled off and lo and behold there was a Steakhouse, it was a long time since we had seen any beef so in we headed.Two steaks later two very satisfied cyclists were back peddling now against a very strong headwind.We were into pretty country lanes and eventually found our guest house in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful views and a roof patio to get blown away on. The owners of Villa Estaque are French from Marseille but decided to leave Marseille because of all the crime and their guest house is similar to ones we have stayed in France and yes, we get easter eggs in our room!.And best of all a kettle, I carry teabags ever hopeful. A peaceful night ahead of us.