The Algarve

The beach at Olhos d'Agua 7Km east of Albufeira. The small fishing village / holiday resort gets its name from a spring located on the beach amongst the rocks at low tide

A characteristicly cobbled street in the town of Monchique. The town has mostly escaped the rampant development seen on the coast at places like Portimao 20Km away.
Monchique is known for craft and 'medronho', a distilled spirit made from the fruit from arbutus bushes

One of the biggest and best known of the hotels in Vilamoura, the Dom Pedro Marina Hotel

The church of Nossa Senhora da Luz (Our Lady of the Light) was almost destroyed in the great earthquake of 1755, but was restored with local contributions.
It is from this church that the village of Luz gets its name

An arch-way in the cliffs joins the two sides of this beach in Lagos

A street in the old quarter of Faro (Cidade Velha). At odds with most peoples impression of this part of the Algarve, Faro does still have some unspoilt streets

A closer look inside the fortress at Castro Marim. The historic village near the Spanish border was home to the Order of Christ in the 14th century and on the frontline of defence aginst the Moorish hordes

The picture postcard square in Catro Marim near the border with Spain.
Being several Km in land has spared Catro Marim from the over-development that most of the Algarve coast has suffered.

The village of Catro Marim is located a couple of Km from the Spanish border and you can see the bridge over the river Guadiana in the background.
In the 14th century the village was an outpost and home to the Order of Christ. It is they who built the large fortress which is all that was left post the 1755 earthquake

Red cliffs and secluded, inaccessabile coves along the coast near Carvoeira.
This stretch of Algarve coast is known as the Barlavento Coast