WHERE ARE WE ANNE?: OLHAO AND HOW, PORTUGAL

HOLED UP FOR A WEEK IN OLHAO

MONDAY 2ND DECEMBER 2013

I've had a yen to see Olhao in Portugal ever since Bill and Linda anchored there when they sailed their reconditioned yacht 'Lati' to Portugal from the Caribbean. It looked and sounded attractive from what Linda was posting in her Sailblog. http://www.sailblogs.com/member/valiam/?xjMsgID=270210
No, not Bill and Melinda Gates. Bill and Linda who we sailed with back in July this year through Croatia, Italy and Greece.

We wanted to see Portugal so after much research along the way by Anne, we took a bus from Seville, Spain to Olhao, Portugal to check in to a top floor, newly built apartment in Olhao amongst the 'cubista' cubism architecture. Another excellent choice in the accommodation stakes which made for a comfortable base in the middle of town.

Olhao, pronounced 'Olly Ow', is an old, old fishing town. Many of the buildings proudly date from the 1890's and maybe half of them are caving in or bricked up and empty. Much of the architecture is in the 'Cubism' mode, indeed our brand new apartment building called 'Entre Cubos" is built amongst the Cubos.

Cobbled streets with houses clad in tiles. The sometimes odd shaped laneways lead you around an atmospheric place that is not big on the tourist trail. It definitely has it's appeal. Of course it is not undiscovered. There are enormous new multi story apartment buildings on the edge of town which appear to be a favourite of UK residents. We were here in winter but the place must go off in summer.
The french contingent of Grey Nomads with their own big, fully self contained camper vans have also found Olhao a good spot to overwinter. They all park together for free on a vacant block.

Olhao is a town on the Ria Formosa, a Nature Park that extends for 60 kilometres along the Algarve coast with lots of barrier islands and birdlife. There are two main islands straight out from Olhao, Culatra and Armona. They are stunning sand islands that are a photographers paradise. For me Olhao is all about Culatra and Armona. More on that later!