Getaways

Coming home, the question on my mind is: Why the hell don't I do this more often?

Decided at the last-minute to do a weekend getaway to the south of the country; those decisions without that much planning, the go-with-the-flow type. And it felt like a few vacation days.

It's amazing how much your mind can relax just with a change in environment, at least for me. You go away from the day to day routines and landscape, and the change is almost immediate. Add to it visiting a friend, rediscovering natural parks (and finding new ones), sprinkle it with a bit of nature photografy and top it up with some birdwatching: bliss!

Even the weather helped: forecasts predicting clouds, possible rain... and it looked (and felt) almost Summer. Truth be told, climate in this part of the country tends to be warmer than in the rest of the territory. I stayed in Faro, on the southest tip of Algarve; it had been ages since I had visited! Got the chance to do a beautiful trail, overlooking ria formosa - I'll tell you more about it in future posts - and rediscovering the city a litle bit!

I didn't had that much time to walk around Faro, but as you probably already know, cities are not exactly my thing, especially when there are stunning natural landscapes nearby. But Faro is a lovely little city, and there's even cool birdwatching opportunities in the middle of the city!

Have you seen who's living at the top of the old building? ;)

After a very enjoyable dinner with good company and a good night's sleep, there was still time on Sunday to visit a natural park that brings very good memories, since I had visited it quite some times during college. I would say it was probably 20 years since I had visited!

The nature trail is relatively short, perfect for families, and there's even the possibility to see what's probably the most fascinating portuguese reptile: chameleons! I wasn't lucky this time... the only one I saw was this one:

Oh well; it's a good reason to come back and try my luck again! Besides, the park is near a small village by the sea, with very good food! And tasting typical local food before heading back home was a great way to wrap up the weekend.

^{The Arroz de lingueirão tasted as good as it looks}

Travelling is one of the things were spending money makes you richer, no doubts about it.

The nature parks will deserve a future post on their own; for now, it's time to rest from these wonderful couple of days... and starting to think where to go next!

Have a great week!

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