Portugal – Algarve – Vila do Bispo (En)
Yesterday Wednesday we arrived at Algarve, at the end of the southwest of Portugal, to a town called Vila do Bispo and we are staying in the motorhome area called Venta Norte. It is 10 euros a day with electricity and water included, a shower for 1 euro and also has a washing machine and dryer. The area is really good, all very clean and the woman running the place is very lovely and friendly and speaks very good Spanish and defends herself in English also. It is next to a Lidl supermarket and just 3 minute’s walk to the town centre. We really recommend it if you come to this area.
Vila do Bispo is a quiet town with a coastline of beautiful and quiet beaches of outstanding natural beauty. In addition to the beaches, the city has several places of interest. At the entrance of the town, we found the Fonte Garden which is a wide and pleasant area, with many trees providing a lot of shade. In this space stands out the New Fountain from the 19th century and the recent memorial in honour of the ex-combatants, who were born and lived in the town. The Republica square was the centre of the city. It is still noticeable in the streets’ layout that many starts from this point. The Main Church stands out here, probably built in the 16th century, dedicated to Our Lady of Conceição, and has a typically Algarvian facade of simple beauty. Tanegashima square is a large garden area that defines the current centre of the town. It marks the twin sister city with Nishinoomote, located on the island of Tanegashima, in Japon, where, in the 16th century, the Portuguese arrived for the first time. The sculpture of the artist Antonio Matos representing the meeting of cultures stands out in the centre of the square.
We came to Vila do Bispo because I have always eaten freshly picked barnacles here, in a bar in the Republica square, and I brought Ben three years ago and he tried them for the first time and he loved them! So we came back here to eat barnacles and we were very disappointed because now it is forbidden to pick barnacles until December! So we couldn’t eat barnacles. Because of this, we went to the bar in the town centre to have lunch, and we shared some delicious prawns, I recommend them, and cod with cream each for only 5 euros, which was yummy!
And today Thursday we are washing clothes and getting ready to go tomorrow to Sagres, just ten minute driving from here in the westernmost tip of the Algarve, a destination mainly for surfing but at the same time relaxing and chic. And you can see this in the next post.
