Mike and Megan's Honeymoon: Day 3 - Hiding From the Sun

June 30th

So, our skin is fried. We had the 200 SPF sunblock, applied it 20 times and scorched our lily white northern skin. So, this was a day to hide from the sun as much as possible. And here Megan and I are under our tree in the plaza drinking Sangria with a few other of the town winos...

They have a 7-11 here? No, just a 7 Days...

After walking the beaches east the day before, we decided to try going west and quickly became discouraged by a harbor we knew was there, a sun so intense it was turning us into bacon, and an expanse of land so vast we lost hope. But, this was a pretty view.

It appears Albufeira hired an architect from L.A. or Miami to design the Marina Apartments on their west side and everyone decided to stay as far away from them as possible. It's another sign that wide roads and plentiful parking do not make good cities. The bright colors are nice though...

Festival of the Suckling Pig! Finally something to do. What "Bairrada right by your side" means is still a mystery that I don't think I want to know...

A short, fat palm.

The cemetery I almost died in. It's a nice little place on Rua Sir Cliff Richard with interesting at grade graves covered in tile, photos, and fake flowers. Megan and I were just checking it out when a large Atlantic seagull bellowed at us. It seemed irritated, but nothing unusual. A bit later it did the same thing, but louder and continuous. I was near a tree and we decided to walk away from it because it must of had chicks in it or something. As soon as I moved further from the tree the seagull went nuts and dove at me. Luckily, I had the big backpack my new big brother Dave gave me for Christmas and used it as a shield. Seagulls started to fly out from all the trees and attack me. Megan bolted. It was like the movie The Birds and I tried making my way to the cemetery entrance swinging my backpack at every seagull dive bombing my head. Eventually, they left me along and I saw the Cemetery attendant laughing her ass off and pointing to the tree saying, "babies." That was my first Portuguese near-death experience...

The place I'd by in Albufeira to fix up if it was a bit closer to my job. The green tile exterior makes it along with the walls made of a pile of rocks.

The last fisherman boat left on the beach for the tourists' sake.

Nice fishing boat logo

You would think that the sun would lose it's intensity later in the day and you would be wrong.

Me getting sunburned through my shirt

A little boy and his inflatable tube looking for a river in what appears to be heaven...

Drinking Port wine, grown in a local we'll visit later, at the hotel before getting dinner. Our hotel manager chatted us up a bit since most of the tourists they get are European, very few Americans. US: "So, is the weather always this nice here? We haven't even seen a cloud."

Hotel Manager: "No, in December and January, it can get bad. We'll get rain." Sounds terrible...

YEAH! THE SUN FINALLY SET! We went to the pharmacy to get aloe, which the pharmacist told me was called "solar no-no." My lack of Portuguese and his broken English made for a great medical recipe.

A local band rocking the local folk music in the main plaza.