After a dreary winter and in need of some sunshine, David and I set off for a week in the sun in Portugal. We chose the town of Olhao because it is a small town, not too commercial and there was an attractive offer from a nice hotel. Also some work colleagues had stayed in the town the previous summer and it got their vote.
We weather watched the forecasts and we were really chuffed to find that we had ‘chosen’ a week when the sun shone for the whole week. The flight was easy and uncomplicated and an obliging and very fast taxi dropped us at the hotel on the sea front in no time. It was lovely. The first night there was a cabaret included with dinner in the hotel . There was also as much as you can drink included in the cost of dinner. The food was good and the wine was terrific. Terrific wine was to be the recurring theme of our stay.
The promenade along the sea front was cobbled and bumpy in the wheelchair. It also put a strain on David’s wrists. But the place was charming. Large fish and vegetable markets were the centres of activity and we were fascinated by the variety and of course the prices. There were many cafes and restaurants along the promenade so we would have lots of choice on where to eat. Fish in its many forms featured on the menus. We ate at several during our stay . The food was good but the wine was amazing and really inexpensive.
After a couple of days chilling and walking up and down the bumpy promenade we wanted a bit more. David had seen two tuk tuks in the grounds of the hotel and it appeared that one could take tours in a tuk tuk. One of the tours on offer was a wine tour! Just up our street so to speak and with a little bit of adventure thrown in. We booked.
Roberto, handsome and charming, was our guide. He settled us in the back of the tuk tuk and we fastened the seat belts. The streets of Olhao come in many forms and all of them bumpy. They were either unpaved, cobbled or potholed. The latter made us feel quite at home. For about an hour he showed us the sights of the town with its varied architecture and very good commentary. Then down a small street and we stopped in front of a large door with a smaller door cut into it. This was the location for our wine tasting.
We were to taste five different wines. We have been to many wine tastings. You usually get enough for about two to three mouthfuls and you have an option of spitting or drinking your mouthful. Well, these good folk, bless them, interpret wine tasting rather differently. We had a full glass of the five different wines which we were to ‘taste’. To mitigate the full effect of five glasses of wine we also had a tapas lunch. We needed it. By the time the fifth glass came around I thought that all of the wines were lovely. I thought the lunch was lovely, I thought Roberto was lovely, I thought everything in the world was lovely . We were then offered a smaller glass of liqueur . David enjoyed it but I knew my limit – several glasses ago – and I declined.
We crawled back into the tuk tuk , seat belts tightly on, to finish the tour. I think we stopped to buy a corkscrew for the wine which we bought to drink before we left for home. Back in the hotel I gratefully went to my bed and a much needed siesta. David headed off looking for a cafe and some strong coffee.
A couple of hours later I woke and David was nowhere to be seen. Slightly worried I rang him. He was in a cafe drinking coffee and said he would be back in a few minutes. He had gone for a cup of coffee a couple of hours ago and did not realise the local custom that in the afternoon when one orders coffee a glass of beer usually comes with it. This had compounded his alcohol intake. He tried a good long walk on the promenade but eventually he needed more coffee. He tried a different cafe and explained that he wanted the biggest baddest coffee they had. They obliged him with a large cup of good strong coffee. Followed by a larger glass of beer. He gave up.
It was a great holiday.