The Algarve

Dr House said:
12h per day in PPE, working non stop during the peaks, watching young and old die every day, doing CPR in PPE. Having a department so full there is no pace and you have to put the sick in corridors will eventually take its toll.

I can feel I am at a point where my mental health will suffer if I don’t take a week or maybe even 2 off. I have only had one week off since covid started.
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Can you write a prescription for some cream for that burn
 
Im traveling there next week to see a property north of Silves. The real motivation for my trip is to explore the area and see what it might be like to live there as on paper it ticks a lot of boxes. Some of the insight so far have been helpful to read so ill be keeping an eye on this thread :)
 
Dr House said:
Every single good hotel was full. I was lucky to get the rooms I did and it cost twice as much as the week before.
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Did you consider villa rental?

If you want to simply rest in the sun then this for me is much better. Hotels are a little too regimented for me, even the boutique ones when I want to switch off. You will probably pay significantly more right now for a decent villa (private, views, pool, bbq, hot tubs etc) but you can walk around in your pants for 8 days. What's not to like :)
 
I quite like the Algarve.

Airbnb somewhere in the middle like Vilamoura and get a cheap car rental to explore. Not sure what it's like post-brexit but I used to use Europcar and a small car would cost around £100 for a week.

I quite liked Lagos and Alvor, as they were quieter, but it depends what you want I guess.

Albuferia and Portimao were the two places that had a tourist 'strip' where the brits seemed to be.
 
I found Lagos (la gosh) to be decent with a few nice places to eat and drink. Would I rush to recommend no, but certainly fits the 'not bad' type of place.
 
Reality|Bites said:
just go a cycle to the country and save the hassle and home for dinner? lol
Why go abroad in the first place if you've settled down and not after drunk girls?
Just to tell people you've done so or you enjoy spending time in a hotel complex scared to mingle with the native population incase they mug you?
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Do you try and make your posts sounds as stupid as possible, or is it just something that happens when you start typing?
 
[FnG]magnolia said:
I expected WTF moments because, well, it's a Dr House thread (with respect - high five!) but hang on a sec there. What's this?
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As you asked.

Around 2014-2015 I started to suffer from asthma. It just came from nowhere and led to me getting into stronger and stronger inhalers. With it came lots of chest infections, several a year usually needing antibiotics to clear them. I also had nasal polyps and was under private consultants for both. We tried all sorts of things but nothing was really helping me.

End of 2017 I got another, same process of GP, antibiotics to resolve. Move into January 2018, feeling actually chipper but mid way into the month it came again, but this time with massive body aches and generally feeling really crappy. First shoulders and arms, then to my legs and finally the entire body. About night 7 I started to cough up blood.

I saw the GP (who know me well) and initial conclusion was at first "you might have a bad case of the flu this time, let's follow the process". Three visits over 2 weeks to my GP after no sleep for 10 nights (I mean none, hallucinating the whole 9 yards) it got to the third visit on a Friday to see the GP's face drop off a cliff. "Hospital now, I am calling the AE, they will be expecting you".

Long story short rushed in, medics initial response was "bilateral pneumonia....but something else is going on, your bloods are crazy, there is massive issues here, you are going nowhere". Well that in itself is not great. So I am pumped full of everything ever invented (nurses in a queue it felt like) and I managed to get some sleep on the Friday. Wake up Saturday morning, consultant visits.....what's that on your foot?

Basically I had a large purple mark on my foot where the blood cells were killing it. "Hmmmmm, that looks vascular"

Cutting to the chase I was diagnosed with a very rare from of Vascular disease, Churg Strauss Syndrome. I googled it and concluded from Google "settle your matters you gone die". Well I am still here but 10 nights in AE, day 4-5 with Australian Flu FOC from Burton Hospital that nearly took me and did take Gary, the lad in the bed next to me (in the most horrible manner too).

I am lucky, mine seems to have not impacted me at all outside of this. No liver, kidney, heart, lung or brain damage, which is uncommon as most of the time it shows itself when it's destroyed all that. Thinking is it was triggered by a drug I was on so we got in early. I am also lucky to unto the team in Birmingham who specialise in this and hopefully are about to put me onto a new generation of control, meaning I can finally come off steroids of which I am on 7mgs a day, with all the lovely side effects they bring.

Worst time of my life, but stronger for it.
 
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As mentioned..

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Dr House said:
I’m completely burnt out due to Covid / work so I just booked 8 nights in the Algarve leaving next week. It’s not a place I’ve ever consider visiting but it’s on the green list and the weather looks ok.

Is it the sort of Place I should just find a cheap place to stay and move from place to place with a rental car visiting small towns like you do in Italy?

Or is it more Set up like the Turkish resorts Where you basically just stay in your hotel with the odd day trip to the town?

I have a refundable booking for the Anantara for the first 4 nights and PESTANA BLUE ALVOR for the next 4.

other than keeping a close eye on my kid anything I should not miss out on?
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There are a lot of very nice little villages , some on the sea side and some up in the hills behind. I used the lone planet guide to find the quieter secret beaches and the more interesting villages with the best food. I don;t think there are any must see places, but many of the villages have nice old towns with some character.


For example, 1 trip was to Sagres Fort which was interesting enough but nothing special, more about the remote location. Had a good lunch in the town which cost nothing, then went to the nearby Zivial beach which is very remote and was almost completely empty. There is a dirt road that went off to SW and you ended up at another empty beach. Check google maps sat view to get an idea.
 
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Spent a fair amount of time in the Algarve albeit anchored out.

It's windy, and there are 3m plus tides, so that is something to watch out for. The water is cold and not particularly clear due to the waves/tides churning up the sand.

Faro is a decent town. you've not got a beach, but the town is nice enough and you can enjoy a drink and a party there. I got so drunk I crashed my dinghy into a mud bank then lost my shoe then I tried to push it off.

From Faro there are boats to take you to Culatra. Now this is a tiny town with no cars or roads/pavement, just sand and huge long beaches. Nice for a day trip.

Then there is Portimao, nothing to see or do there. Bog standard Portuguese city with nothing much going on and not particularly pretty. If you cross the river there is Ferragudo though. That is a nice small town with a good pizza place (book early to avoid disappointment)

Moving west there is Alvor. A horrible tourist hell hole. Not as bad as places in Spain, but bad enough. Every bar shows sports with crappy live bands playing worse music over the top. A kind of family place where the parents get drunk and the kids run around.

Next you come to Lagos. Again there is a long beach here, and the town has some character. It is over-run with tourists and a fair few Brits live there, but it remains decent, and a good time can definitely be had. A walk about the cliffs and a boat tour of the rock structures is probably worth it.

Way out west there is Sagress. There are a couple of bays around. Usually very windy, and the water is only about 19c in the summer. The small beach is nice enough and there is a secluded one you can only get to if you swim out or take a small boat.

If you wanted to travel north out of the Algarve then Sines is nice, a small coastal town with a decent beach and restaurants. Then further north you have Cacais. A bit of a tourist trap for more wealthy Portuguese, but definitely not bad. . The Estoril racing tack is nearby.

Portugal has a very different character to Spain. It's much more laid back, but I would say the people are little more reserved. It can be sleepy at times. Beer is decent enough, but more expensive than Spain. The food is better, and they actually have some spice which is good. English is more widely spoken, but you've got more chance of learning/speaking Spanish than Portuguese. Public transport is slow but works, as the Post.
 
chroniclard said:
Been a fair bit over the last few years, though we usually get a Villa with friends/family. Cant be doing with hotels/complexes and the British obsession with sunbeds.
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You and I both, but of course it’s up to the individual.

p1RATE said:
Im traveling there next week to see a property north of Silves. The real motivation for my trip is to explore the area and see what it might be like to live there as on paper it ticks a lot of boxes. Some of the insight so far have been helpful to read so ill be keeping an eye on this thread :)
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Haven’t been to Silves for a few years now, but I remember it as not too big, but clean and interesting, a castle there, (Moorish ?), a few small restaurants and bars, mostly patronised by the locals, you’ll be welcomed, and they love it when you try a few words, remember that a woman saying thanks says obrigada, but a man says obrigado, but we just abridged it to obrigad’.

Housey said:
Did you consider villa rental?

If you want to simply rest in the sun then this for me is much better. Hotels are a little too regimented for me, even the boutique ones when I want to switch off. You will probably pay significantly more right now for a decent villa (private, views, pool, bbq, hot tubs etc) but you can walk around in your pants for 8 days. What's not to like :)
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You can’t argue with that, as I said above.
Get up, coffee and orange juice by the pool until lunch time, then switch to laughing water until it’s time for the dedicated driver to drive you to a restaurant for cataplana, bacalhau, or Leitão.
 
Reality|Bites said:
just go a cycle to the country and save the hassle and home for dinner? lol
Why go abroad in the first place if you've settled down and not after drunk girls?
Just to tell people you've done so or you enjoy spending time in a hotel complex scared to mingle with the native population incase they mug you?
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Promise me that you’re kidding, a bike ride in the country, this country?
I settled down years ago, but you can tempt me with a girl if you like, but can I have a sober one please?
Scared to mingle? Gimme a break!
 
Housey said:
As you asked.

Around 2014-2015 I started to suffer from asthma. It just came from nowhere and led to me getting into stronger and stronger inhalers. With it came lots of chest infections, several a year usually needing antibiotics to clear them. I also had nasal polyps and was under private consultants for both. We tried all sorts of things but nothing was really helping me.

.
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I am always suspicious of a dx of asthma at your age. Im glad things seem to be better. You have my number if you ever need to chat through what is going on.

I did think about a vila but there is not much around as everything is booked up and it's only 2 of us plus a 3 year old so a hotel works better with a kids club and not having to sort out food.

Thanks for the info everyone.
 
For one day you must: Go to Caldas de Monchique (it's only small but worth popping in) and then go onto Monchique itself and have a look around, walk the steps, it's a beautiful town. Stop at some of the pottery places on the way, if that floats your boat. Head up towards the foia (the mountain top) and around half way up, on the right hand side, there is a VERY unassuming restaurant called A Rampa (The Ramp) (Rampa, Caminho da Fóia) and have the chicken piri piri and chips with the tomato salad - it is, without a doubt, the best example of chicken piri piri in the entire world - I cannot stress this enough. You would likely have to book. Once you've eaten, continue up to the foia, looking at the cork trees, for a 360 degree panorama of the Algarve and to watch the local goat herders. Welcome to Portugal. If you are still there for the evening and want food then go to Jardim das Oliveiras and have the steak Diane.

You might think it strange that I'm recommending specific food items but a small word of warning - Portuguese restaurants are very hit and miss. If you go to a restaurant and find a great item on the menu don't be surprised if that's the only thing that's excellent at that restaurant. If you stay a long time you end up going from restaurant to restaurant and having their best dish in each respective place. I'm not saying don't be adventurous with the menu but just don't be surprised if you're underwhelmed when you are. chicken piri piri, though the national dish, is dry and uninteresting at most restaurants too - if you are to have it somewhere other than the Rampa then look for places cooking it over a bbq.

There are a number of waterparks around, if that's your thing, they're all quite good if i remember rightly, but The Big One stands out to me for some reason. Also, if you like motor racing, there's the newish circuit at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. Maybe check the event calendar and see if anything is happening at the time? There might be some football being played still as well. Not sure when there season ends etc.. but Sporting Lisbon would be cool to see if you like football.
 
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I caught an item on BBC news today, where the Minister, or deputy Minister for Tourism in Portugal was interviewed.
An attractive young woman, she spoke at length about how Portugal is the country with the least amount of Covid cases in Europe, and wants it to stay that way.
The newsreader asked about mask wearing, and the spokeswoman said that mask wearing is mandatory in stores and streets near the beaches, but naturally not on the beach.
Newsreader said, “How about when the beaches are crowded?”
Spokeswoman said, “They don’t get too crowded, we have a traffic light system, if too many people are on the beach, red lights flash, warning others not to try to get on the beach.”
I thought, ‘Good luck with that, when you get a bunch of Brit, Dutch, or German guys, who’ve had a few sherbets, and fancy having a crack at the bikini clad girls on the beach!’
 
Well we have arrived.

it’s very very quiet here we took a walk down to the marina in Vilamoura which is almost empty. Our hotel is full but I don’t think others are.

I get the feeling it’s going to get very busy from this weekend onwards but at the moment it’s not bad.
Weather is bit bad also.


Thanks for all the tips guys. We rented a car so will drive around a little.
 
Housey said:
As mentioned..
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Ooof - my brother had stuff exactly like that in blotches all up both legs as a kid - they thought it was meningitis related at the time and pumped him full of all kinds of stuff - never got to the bottom of it but he recovered and is still here 30 years later fine.

EDIT: He also developed an asthma like condition before it. Sounds like he had a brush with Churg Strauss syndrome.

Possible he had a close escape.
 
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