14th January – a lovely morning in Faro, then home all too soon

Faro Terminal Rodoviário – Faro Aerporto – Liverpool John Lennon Airport – Liverpool South Parkway – Crewe

I was awake reasonably early, so showered and after a quick look out at the balcony, headed down to breakfast. For what I had taken to be a budget hotel I felt spoiled. his was my first ever morning in Portugal of course, but it felt like a feast. I will admit to having had three goes at the buffet, but why not? In terms of a really different and local selection of breakfast items this one was right up there with a memorable B&B in Narvik a few years ago.

I had a couple of hours free this morning before my flight home, so packed my bags ready to go, but left them in the room.

I picked up a lightweight jumper and headed out to explore. It was only just after 9am but already pleasantly warm in the sun. The harbour was my first stop. You can’t walk all the way around it as I’d hoped, because the bridge over the harbour entrance that I saw on my map was for the railway only, which runs right along the waterfront.

If I had more time here (and I would happily come back) I would take one of the small trip boats and go and explore the islands a short distance away. The waterfront is very pleasant and I was almost the only person out and about.

I turned inland at the edge of the town and headed down a cobbled street. I think that someone was a bit fed up with people parking outside their gates!

I found a square, surrounded by lovely old buildings and with a church in one corner. The orange trees were covered in fruit. by now it was warm enough to only need a t-shirt, amazing in the second week of January.

I could certainly get used to this weather, and could see the appeal for those who choose to retire here. The signs were almost entirely bilingual, but the few people I passed were all locals, by the sound of it. I rather like the sound of Portuguese. It reminds me of Polish, so sounds familiar (not that I understand either language, sadly!)

I continued down another cobbled street to the town centre. I could certainly imagine this area busy with tourists but not today. I came across an area where the pavings were being relaid. You see this style everywhere in the town.

An oddity I came across a few minutes later was a section of paving inlaid with the first digits of π (Pi.) Oddly, I can immediately recall the first 10 digits of this famous mathematical (infinite) sequence and they were correct so I’m happy to take it read that the next 50 or so that were laid into the ground were also correct. I have failed to find any explanation for why this is here, but it’s rather fun.

By now it was time to go back to the hotel and get my things. The bus to the airport was due at 11:15. It turned out to be a small local service, which served a local suburb as well as the airport. The fare was just €2.50 and I was the only person with travel baggage.

The journey took just 20 minutes, then we arrived in a rather impressive airport, but again rather deserted. I checked in my bag and went back outside to a cafe to sit in the sun for a while. I rather liked the idea of the solar powered charging point but unfortunately it didn’t work! A shame as my laptop needed a boost, so eventually I headed inside to find a power socket.

I was through security in minutes (no queues at all) and took a seat in a cafe to do a bit of work while my phone charged.

The flight was more or less on time. For once we were not herded like cattle, though with a half-full plane there was maybe no need. I had a window seat and noticed as we were taxiing that there were lots of large apartment buildings on the waterfront, a short way down the coast from the old town where I had been (the furthest point to the right in the last photo below.) Maybe that’s where all the expats hang out.

We got a great view of the coastal area as we took off. I spotted a coastal community on what looked like a spit a few miles from Faro.

We passed most of the journey above increasingly heavy cloud. I listened to music and wrote up yesterday’s diary entry as we travelled. The first sight of the UK was near to Lake Vyrnwy in mid-Wales. It was not even 4pm, but going dark, and the north Wales coast looked very grim compared to the sights I’d seen a couple of hours earlier.

As we came into Liverpool, I got a quick view of the Manchester Ship Canal, then of the River Weaver at Dutton, but didn’t quite see Iris, as we turned almost directly above Acton Bridge. The landing was calm and thankfully it wasn’t raining as we walked into the terminal.

By the time I’d cleared customs, my bag was ready to collect. I jumped onto a local bus to Liverpool South Parkway. Unfortunately the traffic was gridlocked on the dual carriageway so I didn’t make the train connection that I’d hoped for. However they are fairly frequent and it gave me time to get a hot drink as I was definitely feeling the January chill back in the UK!

The train I caught was a local service so stopped in Acton Bridge. I could have walked home from there, but needed to continue to Crewe, arriving into the same platform I’d left from a few days earlier. I walked to the car and drove back home.

For such a short trip, and in January, I feel like I packed quite a lot in!