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Algarve, Portugal March 2025
ALGARVE WEST – CARVOEIRO
We are spending a week in the Algarve and choose the lovely small town of Caveiro as our home base, located to the east of Faro. We opt to rent a car from Lisbon and drive down. Very easy drive on main highway. I found this small apartment on Airbnb that has a beautiful rooftop terrace facing west and overlooking the small beach.
On our first day, with the weather on our side, we book a boat tour of the coats right on the beach. We explore the coast from the water between Carvoeiro and Miranda – a must: caves, caves and more caves.
The Seven hanging Valley trail – 11km hike up and down cliffs and along the coast – tested Chuck’s fear of heights. Spectacular cliffs, so many stairs and dirt trails. From Miranda to Celiantes and back.
Silves: With the high winds and rain on and off, we decided to drive 20 minutes north to the city of Silves to visit the moorish castle ruins. It is a lovely town to stroll through with many narrow cobblestone street and cafe. First we visited the museum of archeology which did a great job at demonstrating the evolution of the area and reproducing some of the architecture from fragments they found.
Next we walked to the castle. The structure was very impressive and we could still walk along the higher palissades. Too high and narrow for Chuck’s liking 🙂
There was great views of the surrounding area.
We also visited the chapel which we built over a mosque. It was particular in the fact that there were very little gold adornments, which is unusual compared to all the churches we visited in Europe. The ceiling was very high but made of wood. The “chemin de la croix” was special in that each station was made of a ceramic display. Very lovely.
We had a lemonade at the Cafe Rosa at the main square, opposite a cute fountain and a building with rose tiles covering the walls.
The next day we finally hike the Carvoeiro boardwalk which is right out of our front door – more cliffs and beautiful rock formations.
Another day, another hike! We hiked the Ponte De deidade boardwalk in Lagos : spectacular views, cliffs and rock formations. Another 6.5km.
We experience many very windy days during our stay which precluded us using that beautiful terrace but we still enjoyed the weather.
Grand Beach Finale: Praia Felasia – absolutely spectacular! The combination of cliffs/beach/sea is really special. The cliffs are unlike the other ones we have seen, like sculptures. We can hike the top and down the long stairs and up at the other end. Just wow!!
I go on my own exploring the city which is very hilly.
Carvoeiro beach, view from our terrace and the wind!!
Final day, we drive back to Lisbon to spend a day there. It is one of my favorite city, beautiful city to stroll up and down staircases in the street and listening to outdoor singers.
A lovely lunch at Taberna which is reknowned for local food. No reservation and no coming inside until they have a table for you.
The Arctic Circle
On day 5 (May 18th), we arrive in Tromsø, the arctic capital, having officially crossed the arctic parallel at 66°33’.
We set out on our own to walk the city and attempt the 1300 Sherpa steps up the mountain Fjellheisen.
We learned that Sherpas from Himalaya came to Norway to carve out steps in several areas to make the hikes safer.
Once off the boat we realize that the hiking trails begins on the other side of the long bridge (1.5Km) and are worried about timing so we take a cab to the beginning of the trail. Thankfully because we doubt we could have found them on our own!
We begin hiking up a very muddy trail in search of the steps. We arrive at a beautiful viewpoint and take a short break on the bench. Up we go on the steps, to discover after about 250 steps that they become more and more covered in snow and ice! The hike up becomes more traitorous but we start being concerned with the way down as the cable car is closed for maintenance. We come across locals who are hiking down with crampons and poles and decide to turn around a bit short of halfway for our safety.
Nonetheless, we were able to take in beautiful views of the town, high and long bridge and the ski jump.
Once at the bottom, we decide to walk back to the boat, crossing that bridge!
We walk by a small Sami museum and spend time admiring their intricate costumes.
We found a lovely small restaurant by the harbour to enjoy a well deserved beer, fries and reindeer sausage and purchase great beer mug with the map of Norway.
On day 6 (May 19)
We take an excursion to the North Cape, where the arctic globe is installed!
From Honningvar, it is 40 minutes straight North. This road was only opened in the 1950s.
It is never very cold and never really hot here because of the Gulf Stream. But in the winter, they have a lot of snow and strong winds.
We see many many herds of reindeers, which I was really hoping to see. There are 6000 reindeers on this island. Beautiful, peaceful animals!
They are only on this island in the summer, brought here by boat to have their young ones and to eat and regain strength after the winter in the mainland. There are no predators here which is why there are brought here in the summer. But in the winter, it is too icy for them to break through and find grass to feed so they must go on the mainland where the snow is softer. The Sami herd them back and forth
In September, they swim back 1.8km to the mainland for the winter.
We see a Sami house in where they domesticate reindeers. There are roughly 30,000 Sami in Norway which is the largest population in Scandinavia.
We go up 300metres in altitude and the views are beautiful, of course with more lake and snowy peaks
We arrive at the North Cape on the small island if Vikingen with a bit of fog but are still able to see out towards the North Pole. We are now at 71°10’.
There is a lovely exposition of 7 sculptures. Years ago a Norwegian children’s book author was the driving force behind the children monument. They invited 7 children from around the world to come and create a sculpture representing world unity. They then turned them into big sculpture exposed across from the Madonna sculpture.
It is truly impressive.
I finally find my norvégien sweater in the store at the top of the world!
Day 7 (May 20th)
On our way around and down to Kirkenes which is close to the boarder with Russia, the sea beside rougher with much larger rolling waves. I get sea sick a bit and realize that laying down is the best solution!
We also learned that several of the town in the North suffered severe bombing during WW2 and were taken over by the nazis and they were freed by the Russian.
Kirkenes is a dull town and the scenery is not as spectacular with bare hills on the horizon. The town is also completed deserted as they are closed in Monday for Pentecost day. A local tell us that most people leave to go to their cabins for the long weekend.
As soon as we leave Kirkenes, we turn around and begin the journey back south.
Day 8 (May 21st)
The first stop on our voyage south is Hammerfest.
We decide to attend the hike called Gammelveien (old road) on our road as it zigzags up to provide a view of the town and harbour.
But we quickly discovered that winter was not over here and the trail is covered in snow and ice after about 10 minutes hiking up. We still enjoyed a nice view and made our way back.
We stop by the town that was rebuilt after the bombing to admire a beautiful work of stained glass.
The view from the church yard is also beautiful!
Tomorrow we continue our journey south with two excursions!
Better have a good night sleep.
The start of our 11-day cruise up the coast of Norway
May 14th to 17th.
Waiting to board, we walked to a local pub who invited us to go to the pizzeria next door and bring it back to eat. Very cute local pub and excellent pizza.
We watch the boat leave the harbour and settle in for our first meal at our nice table by the windows.
Chuck and I are very happy with our upgraded suite with lots of room and a beautiful view at the from of the boat.
In the evening, I spot the moon with the sun setting. Lovely!
On day 2 of the cruise we dock in Ålesund. Chuck and I do not have an excursion booked so we decide to climb the 433 steps to Mount Aksla first thing coming off the boat.
It is very crowded so we line up to climb the stairs and have lots of time to glance up and see the beautiful scenery.
There we walk to a few viewpoints to look inland to the fjords and mountains and out at sea to the multiple islands surrounding it. We can spot some of the bridges that make the famous Atlantic road which we will ride when we return south on the boat.
We then walk down a trail to the city centre and meander near the main river to find a cute restaurant / bar set up in a docked boat. We watch huge a sailboat come in and dock seamlessly in a very small spot.
The plank of sardines and olive was succulent.
We spend time in the Art Nouveau museum and I am reminded of my mom as I observed many many small spoons artfully sculpted and painted. Lovely. In previous years, this would have been a place where I would have FaceTimed her to show her around….
The museum is set in an old apothecary that was operational for several generations before being converted into a museum.
We then walk around the beautiful town with all the art nouveau buildings – like every town so far, it experiences major fires and was rebuilt.
We find a lovely pizzerias, operated by an Italian who emigrated here and I am introduced to my first of many Lemoncello spritz. Move over aperol spritz! Yum !
We wrap up our visit with two goat ice cream cones from a local farm. Very yummy!
Off we sail again to our next port tomorrow.
DAY 3 – we arrive at Tromdhein. Dominique chooses a bike tour while chuck and I go on a city walk to be able to enter the beautiful cathedral.
The city like all others is built around a river – river NID here. This was a major port both during the Viking era and after.
Again lovely colourful wooden houses are built on pillory.
We hear about the history of the town and make our way to the large cathedral – Nidaros, which was started by the catholic archbishop that was here in the 15th century as they were rich because of the dime that they collected, until 1531 when the reformation changed the religion from catholic to Lutheran. Norway has been a Protestant Lutheran country ever since. It took 200 years to build this cathedral.
It is beautiful inside, even more for me because it is not adorned with all the gold you see in Catholic Churches.
Lovely and very large organ.
Gorgeous stained glasses and a sanctuary to the Sami.
We then walk pass the kissing bridge which used to open before, over the river Nid.
Tonight we begin the celebration for Dominique’s 60th tomorrow!
We witness a beautiful sunset in the evening as we continue sailing up north.
Day 4 – May 17th – Norway Day and Dominique’s 60th!
We begin the day watching a celebration for Norway Day, flags were raised, parades were done and fanfare were playing. They are proud Norwegian!!
Chuck partook in the ceremony which consisted of being splashed with sold water and ice followed by a shot of aquavit!
They then serve us a traditional cake which resembles my mom’s d’amour « torte »
I am the first to give Dominique her birthday « bisou »
We make our first stop of the day in Bodo. Everywhere we look, we see Norwegian wearing their traditional Bhuda which are beautiful dressed with the Color representing the region that they come from.
Very strange tradition her where high school graduates wear various colors of overall pants representing their speciality of schools, walking around causing havoc.
We find a nice terrace by the water to have an aperol spritz to celebrate Dominique’s BD again.
The evening is our Meet the Viking excursion.
The longhouse stands on the ground where the largest Vikings longhouse was discovered.
The meal was great and accompanied with Mead. We were entertained with old music, songs and legends and danced around the fire to end the night. It was great!
We leave the small city of Svolvaer in Lofoten to a fabulous sunset!
At midnight, the boat sails passed the entrance of the small and narrow Trollfjord, lovely once again.
And we sail along a narrow passage, Dominique and I stay up until 1AM and despite the fact that the sunset was supposed to be at 11:44PM and sunrise at 2:15AM, it is never quite dark.
Off to sleep to prepare for the next day in the arctic circle!
Flåm and the fjords
We leave Oslo on the train to Myrdal. Chuck is very excited that we are not on a road trip as usual and he doesn’t have to drive!
The scenery on the train is magnificent, we are glued to the window. It makes its way up the mountains, where we see people cross country skiing outside, it appears that there are no roads and residents use the train and skis to move about! We are a bit worried about the amount of snow!
In Myrdal, we transfer to the small historical train to Flåm.
We stopped at the spectacular Khofossen falls and disembark to see them from close. Magical music begins playing and appears a dancer dressed in red. What a nice surprised impromptu show!
Back on the train we make our way to Flåm and to our cozy hotel.
We decide to take a walk along the fjord to discover the area a bit before dinner. The mountains, fjords and waterfalls surrounding us are spectacular!
We had booked a table at the Aergyn Viking themed restaurant and celebrated our anniversary with a lovely plank sampling of a delicious 5-plank dinner paired with local beers.
The next day we are on a cruise through the fjord to Gudvagen to walk through time in a Viking village.
Again the fjords and cliffs are spectacular. It is hard to describe and the photos do not do them justice but it brings a sense of peace and contentment.
The combination of water and fjords are very powerful for me. It is cold and windy but no matter, we stay outside for the best view.
Arriving at the Viking village, we learn a lot from our guide about how they lived including that those horns on their helmet are just a myth, they could never have fought with those. Chuck’s mighty Viking helmets are a myth!!!!
She also explains the value of dyeing the wool and that the Colour purple was the most expensive and harder to achieve as the flower had to be brought in – maybe that’s why the Viking’s colour is purple!
Chuck decides to do a Vikings ritual to the god to help his mighty Minnesota Vikings next season 🤣
We then decide to take a hike along the beautiful river to get a different perspective of the Kjelfossen Falls which is top 20 in height in Europe. We fill our water bottle from this pristine cold water…yum!
We take the cruise back to our hotel and enjoy the beautiful view one more time, noticing new falls and mountain goats.
First thing in the morning, I go to the tourist information to try to get tickets to Stegastein – the lookout over the fjord Naeoroyfjrod.
We lucked out and get on the bus up, up, up! What a view!
We then go to hike up Brekkefossen (near Flåm) and get an exceptional view of the fall, the town and harbour. We learn that milkmaid took those sherpa steps up even further to deliver milk. Up to 15 km!
The hike takes us amongst rolling farms and yet another perspective of the area.
Simply gorgeous. No wonder it is a UNESCO designated site.
The next day we take the cruise back to Gruvanden, then a bus to Voss with a stop at a scenic view of the valley, then a train to Bergen and off to the next leg of our trip.
Bergen – the beautiful!
Day 7-9 of our trip.
On our bus trip to Bergen, we stop at a viewpoint to admire the valley of Stalheim.
On our first day in Bergen, we walked the area in Bryggen – the old town, which was founded by the German Hanseatic league.
I had high expectations of seeing beautiful cherry blossom. They were towards the end of the blossoming but still beautiful. But the rhododendrons and lilacs were splendid! Full glory and in abundance!
We get to the waterfront – only minutes from our hotel – and see outdoor patios one after the other by the water, as you find in every European town. Why can’t we get this done back home?
We spotted our restaurant for tomorrow – Bryggeloftet & Stuene (it was fully booked today) and continued walking around the harbour, finally settling in at a taco restaurant, apparently tacos are the second most popular food in Bergen, after pizza!
The next day, we decide that we are brave and 60 years old, going on 40 and get all geared up for the big Vidden hike.
After taking the bus to the Ulrichen gondola (Ulrichen is the highest mountain of the 7 mountains surrounding Bergen), we take it up the mountain to begin our 14km hike to Floyden, another one of the 7 mountains surrounding Bergen, where there is a funicular to go back down. How bad could it be?
Elevation gain is 833m – the trail goes around several lakes and cliffs to connect the two mountains.
The first hour is mostly hiking in barrens rocks but then the path is mostly cliffs of rocks that we must rock climb up and then down. It is very rough on my old broken down knee but we muddle through. Poles are very helpful.
It is marked by 37 cairns (mounts of small rocks) that help with directions.
The scenery is breathtaking and a big reward for the strenuous hike.
Towards the end, it it mostly a downhill gravel road which again is hard in the knee but we succeed!!
Yes there are a lot of photos and videos because we are sooo proud of ourselves!
Off to our planned dinner at Bryggeloffet. The menu is amazing and the food is truly spectacular. Chuck tries an appetizer of whale and Dominque orders bruschetta which comes with the bread in the side and a bowl of the fresh cherry tomatoes to be assembled so the bread doesn’t get mushy – brilliant! The asparagus are very fresh and the fish excellent!
The next day, we have booked a walking tour with a guide prior to getting on board the cruise ship.
Our guide Eirik is very interesting and was born and raised there.
Church of St-mary was built around 1130 and may be the oldest original church in Europe.
We learn that the houses are painted white in the front because it is the most expensive colour, so it is to show their wealth?!?
The cobblestone streets are beautiful and the view of the city and harbour, again beautiful! We come across a lot of nice graffiti. They are quite proud of them!
We really loved Bergen and are now ready for our next leg of the trip – we board the Hurtigruten cruise ship – an 11 days cruise up the coast of Norway all the way to Kirkenes in the arctic circle besides Russia.
Day 3: Paros
We get into town and immediately locate the famous Church dating back to the 4th century. It is one of the best preserved Christian churches in Greece: Panagia Ekatontapiliani.
We discover that Paros makes several types of honey, specializes in growing olive and loves capers and liquors. After a bit of shopping, I am instructed that Jewelry shopping will have to wait. Time for a gyros and a Mythos beer. We walk back to the beach to enjoy our lunch at one of the patio there. And wouldn’t you know, we encounter our first official extreme speedo sighting! Had to happen at some point in Europe. Why is it always the old guy wearing them??? Of course, there were also the customary dark brown sun-worshipping leather-skin retired couples and the beet red oblivious guy. That one is going to hurt!!!
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