We experienced a first time event (for us) this morning. Due into the port of Portimao by 8AM we, instead, found ourselves stranded offshore in a dense fog!  It was so foggy that the pilot guide was unwilling to come to our ship to guide us into the harbor!  The captain apologized and said he would keep us posted. Guests were due to meet in the lounge to get their morning tour tickets, as many tours were slated to leave around that time, including our 7 hour tour of some of the villages in the Algarve region of Portugal. Needless to say the fog would change all those plans, or so I thought. Surprisingly about 45 minutes later the fog lifted enough to be escorted into the harbor and by 9AM we were instructed to come retrieve our tickets for the morning tours.

The seas last night were a bit rough and the ship did bounce around a bit. I found it soothing and slept soundly but Yvonne had trouble sleeping because of all the creaking and groaning of the ship so she begged off our scheduled tour and decided to simply rest for the day.

My tour was slated to explore some of the small towns on the interior of the Algarve region of Portugal. The Algarve province lies in the southern portion of Portugal, boardering the Atlantic Ocean. It is noted for its numerous beautiful sandy beaches, it’s golf courses and tourism in general. Although I later learned it is famous for some other things also. As is typical in this part of the world, it was first settled by the Phoenicians and later by the Romans. In the 8th century the moors arrived and ruled until 1189 when the Portuguese took over.

Our first stop was the small town of Silves, which was the capital of the Algarve region from 1249-1910. The reason for the stop was to visit the castle/ fortress of Silves, which is considered to be one of the best preserved Moorish fortifications in the area. Thought to have been built by the Romans, it was further developed by the Moors between the 8th and 13th centuries. As was common it is located at the top of the tallest hill in the area and involves an uphill walk on cobble stoned streets. A local guide led the way, periodically stopping to give us more information (and allowing us to catch our breath)!

From there we continued driving north to the highest part of the area -an elevation of 900 meters. Along the way we first passed an area where carob trees grow and then later an area dominated by cork trees, which require a certain elevation to prosper, leading me to your lesson for the day-everything you wanted (or not) to know about cork trees!  Cork comes from the bark of the cork tree. The bark is periodically cut from the tree and if done correctly will not kill the tree. A cork tree must be at least 25 years old before cork can be harvested. The cork bark is then cut from the lower portion of the tree, but it cannot be harvested again from the same tree for 9 years, and every 9 years thereafter. The first cutting of cork is not the greatest and is used for lesser products. The second and third cuttings (after 18 and 27 years) produces the best cork. After the third cutting the tree is “retired”. Obviously you need to be very patient to be a cork producer. Portugal claims to be the largest producer of cork in the world. We did have an opportunity to visit a local shop that sold cork products which ranged from trivets, to handbags, hats, shoes, belts and every product imaginable. I ended up buying a cork bookmark decorated with a hand painted fish that was made by a local artist.

The tour included a lunch and we stopped at a small local place that featured peri peri barbecued chicken which I learned was a popular dish in the area. And, of course, there were ample bottles of wine (red and white) to accompany the meal so naps on the bus ride back were common.

On the return trip we stopped  and walked through a famous resort town known for its thermal baths, Caldas de Monchique. The baths date back to Roman days and still attracts people who come to “take the cure” offered by the foul smelling (because of sulfur) waters. There is even a plant that treats the water to eliminate the smell, bottles it and sells the resultant water (probably at elevated prices) to the populace. We were told a lot of it gets exported to China!

Even though we left an hour late we returned to the ship at the designated time for its departure.

I met Yvonne who had a relaxing day and was reinvigorated. We dressed for dinner and headed to the cocktail lounge where we met and chatted with a couple from Florida who were on the same quest as me – collecting countries. They were also at 94 countries and counting.  But in some respects they were way ahead of us in seeing and experiencing the world. They have sought out and experienced 6 total solar eclipses, visited all 50 states, and visited most of the national parks! Wow!

On  the way to the dining room we ran into the young couple from Indiana we had met the evening before and we ended up sharing a table and conversation with them. In “it’s a small world category” as we were eating and talking about Indiana a couple sitting next to our table said they were also from Indiana. This led to a further conversation where Tom, at our table, ended up knowing common people from the area. This seems to happen more often than we think, as we have had similar experiences.

The evening entertainment was Lindsay Hamilton, a singer from the UK. She turned out to be a delightful entertainer; she had a great voice and interacted with the audience with humor and banter. One of the questions for the audience was finding out who was married the longest. She started at 40 years (since this is NOT a young crowd) and quickly moved up to 50 years and beyond. It turns out that the longest married couple in the audience was 63 years!  There was another at 61…..and we came in third…at 59 years!  Time will tell if we can someday win the competition!

It was a fairly busy day and we are looking forward to our first day at sea tomorrow.