The Algarve - 1

We have now successfully negotiated the metro and bus systems in three Portuguese cities, the train system connecting them, and today completed our second long distance bus trip. We are getting the system down! Today's new challenge was to pick up the car I had arranged online to rent through Europcar, and drive it from the largish town of Fado to the small village of Salema on the southern coast of Portugal (an area known as the Algarve). It took 45 minutes to process the paperwork for a reservation that was "expedited for quick processing." Finally we took off in our sky blue Renault 

Twingo. Handles nicely but no guts going up hills on the freeway. Thank goodness for the area map I had downloaded onto my Cities to Go app. The Portugal map the agency gave us had too little detail to be useful, so Phil guided me in using the map app.

This is also the one place I did not have a reservation. I wanted to try staying in one of the many small rooms that people with houses here rent out. Our Rick Steves guide book had a couple listed, but I got no answer to my phone calls. But just as he said, if you stand in the main square, someone will approach you and ask if you want a room. And so it happened. We have ended up in a small room up a narrow, twisting street, with a charming territorial and sea view from our private balcony. Amazingly there is parking for the car and also Internet. All for the bargain price of 100 euros (roughly $135) for 3 nights. We will enjoy it!

Here are pictures of the car, the view from our room, and the street we walk up to get to the room.