Chris met her friend Toni about four decades ago in Liverpool, and it was a nice surprise to find out that she and her husband Gary would be at their timeshare in Albufiera about the same time as we might be there. And so, we arranged to be there while they were, getting the bonus of meeting up with their long-time friends Barbara and Brian who traveled there with them.
Just arriving into Albufiera, we passed a couple seriously inebriated Brits staggering down the sidewalk loudly wondering why women didn’t find them attractive just a couple blocks from our apartment. That gave us some notice of what we might experience during our visit.
Toni bought the timeshare with her mom in 1988, before it was quite such a destination. Today it’s easy to see how it became such an attractive place for Brits, where it’s warm and sunny, the beaches are lovely and the dominant language spoken is now English. Many waitstaff are Indian, who speak British English and know British habits.
Our apartment was great, having a view of the beach off the large baloney. Our friends were in the facility just adjoining ours, and so it was super easy to get together and share food and drink.
The beach and pool were beautiful, and so we strolled around between meals and drinks, and Chris signed up for sea kayaking a short distance from our place.
It was Toni and Gary’s 10th wedding anniversary and we celebrated by going to a cool Japanese restaurant that they had been to several times before. It’s a family run place called Fuji with the husband being the chef and pyrotechnics operator. Great fun and really excellent food.
I met up with Chris at the end of her kayaking session. The secluded beach where I enjoyed a beer waiting for her was amazing and it felt a world away from the craziness of Albufiera. That felt like Portugal.
We had a great time in Albufiera and the view from our patio was amazing, but we’re also ready to head to smaller towns.
Leave a Reply