We spent a bit of time in Setubal but not enough time to do what we had planned.

Setubal lies at the mouth of the river Sado on the coast just below Lisbon. The ancient Roman town of Cetobriga lies buried under the sands here. Once a prosperous fishing and fish-salting town, Certobriga was destroyed by an earthquake and the ensuing tidal wave in the 5th century.

After breakfast we drove the car onto a ferry that was leaving from Setubal and headed over to Troia where we drove all along the southern coast of Lisbon down to the Alarve. Troia is a narrow sand-strip and boasting 18 km of golden uninterrupted beaches. Driving through this area onto the Algarve is set within an unspoiled natural paradise.

It was a long drive and some parts would get rather boring as there was nothing much to see at all but other parts made up for it with a great variety of hillsides and seasides and it was a really enjoyable journey.

We had no accommodation for the night and drove around a couple of resorts looking for somewhere to stay. We ventured through Alvor and Portimao. These places are so stunning.

After hours of driving in extreme heat we settled in Albufeira at a fantastic place overlooking the pool and were quite sad to say goodbye the following morning.