Summer successes

Our summer has been a bit drab or boring if you will.  We have not had a lot of activity mostly for financial reasons, of course there are things to do for free, but not everyday and even if they dont have an entrance fee, there is a cost to get there or expenses needed on the day!  So it has been a pretty quiet summer for us. We have the pool here in our complex, which luckily has not been too busy and the beach a few minutes drive away.  Also with everything going on we havent really had the mind to enjoy summer if you know what I mean.

But we have had some nice times, unfortunately not with so many photos this year as my camera is broken :-( which is a big shame as it looks to be our last here in Portugal.

We have had family visit and spent some time with them, we have had our local facarte which offers a few days of entertainment, visits with friends, days on the beach etc.

But we have had two significant successes this summer with both my children.  Sophie who is 6 and a half years old, despite having lived with a pool accessible every day has always been a bit scared of the water and not confident at all.  When we first arrived and she was 2 and a half, no matter how hot it got, she would not get in the pool for more than 10 minutes!  She has gotten a little better over time, having taken to a ring and quite happily splashing about, occasionally putting her face into the water, but wouldnt put her head back, no jumping, lifting nothing, she hated it and would cry.  But in the last month or so, a BIG change has occurred  as if overnight, she got confident.  Suddenly she wanted to jump and start to learn to swim so holding her, we helped but that only lasts so long.  So we bought her some armbands (she would never wear them before, I think because of feeling of lack of all round support) and off she went.  Now she goes underwater, jumps into the pool and all, its amazing and if over night and she loves the water.

Our second big success is my younger daughter, who has turned 3 at the beginning of the month. With both my children I have purposely left potty training to the nearer side of three, giving them as much time before training them.  So when Grace was about 2 and 8 months or so, (about the same time as Sophie) I decided to start trying.  I had tried a few months before but she clearly was not ready.  So we started and tried for a few days, she was excited to wear knickers, and mess about with the toilet but nothing happened.  On and off we tried but were clearly getting nowhere.  She would sit on the toilet do nothing and then within minutes pee on the floor or hold it for hours, until I put a nappy back on and then fill it within 30 minutes, very frustrating!  We put here in pull up pants and at nursery she would follow her friends who were also training, eventually after a few weeks she started going in nursery but still nothing at home.  Then last week, it suddenly clicked.  We put her in knickers for some time every day, in the hope of success but also due to the heat but suddenly she said she needed to make pee pee, so we put her on the toilet like I had done a hundred times before but this time it worked, I was so happy!  And as I cheered her on, she laughed, a good sign.  Not wanting to get too cocky and hail success, I cautiously waited, but she did it again and again.  Now we have had about 5 days and all seems to have fallen into place, as if overnight.  I knew she would get it but had no idea how long it would take and worried with her starting pre-school where she would need to be potty trained within a month!

So despite a quiet and little bored summer for the kids (if not the parents, too stressed to relax) we have had two big successes!

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Tavira Beaches: part 2

At the start of the summer, I set out to visit all the Tavira beaches as part of my Summer mission.

Well I did manage to visit all apart from one, Fabrica as I really didnt want to take the chance of wadding through although mostly shallow water with all my gear and two children.  And not being familiar with that beach, the possibility of later getting stuck trying to come back.  So that will be resigned to an 'adult or older children beach'.  Maybe next year I will get over there.

Otherwise I tried all the others and found a new one as well, Praia da Lota, which is found at the east end of Manta Rota, so basically go to Manta Rota and follow the signs to the east end of the town.  This is a more 'locals' beach, parking is quite small but the beach is not as busy as the others and quite flat and shallow, making it good with children.  There is also a couple of simple beach restaurants.

Ilha Cabanas, accessed by a small boat from the eastern end of Cabanas, parking can be a nightmare in high season and the wait for the boat can be long.  Also being an Island beach can often be rough.  But the beach is long and nice.


Ilha Tavira is a beautiful place, when you get off the boat, you walk a few hundred metres through the island shubbery and could forget where you were.  There are several restaurants and bars and a large campsite, practically on the beach, which must be lovely in summer.  The beach goes for miles and is very deep, if you walk far enough you could be on your own, even in high season.  In high season you can access the Island by large boats from Tavira town centre or Quatro Aguas or private water taxi, which takes about 10 minutes.  I first went here on my 30th birthday and had the best day.  Again being a island beach can be rough.

Praia Barril another island beach, one of my favourites where you take a little train over to the beach area, which the children love.  A very popular and large beach with good facilities but best to be avoided in high season as although there is a lot of parking, it can still be a nightmare, leaving you to walk over a mile to get to the train. Out of season it is perfect and quiet.

Praia Verde on a July morning

Praia Verde is the easterly of all the beaches and is not an island beach.  It is set down a fairly large hill but parking is quite good and there are restaurants at the top and bottom of the hill.  It is quite a shallow beach, making it calmer than the Island beaches.  Its a good one, with the calm waters but the walk back up is hard with a pushchair or young child.

Manta Rota was always my favourite beach but my reason for wanting to try the others was to find something different or better, but I have to say, I didnt.  Manta Rota still remains my favourite, but WHY?
When going to the beach in the Algarve heat with two small children, my aim is to get there as quick as possible with the least amount of fuss and difficulty and Manta Rota is perfect for that.  It is the nearest beach to my house where I can drive to without the hassle of boats, trains or queues.  The water is generally calmer than the Island beaches.  They renovated the area within the last four years, so the access is really good, and it is only a short walk on a boardwalk to get to the beach.  There is only one downside, in the summer they charge parking, but otherwise for me, its perfect.  I tried the others, but for me this is the best!  It does get busy in the summer but with such easy access its not a problem.

So if you're down in the East Algarve, give it a try.

Manta Rota in November, with fishermen on the beach and Monte Gordo in the distance.

Silent Sunday

Goodbye Summer 2011!

It may seem a little late to be saying goodbye to summer, but here in the Algarve, the summer has really only just finished a couple of weeks ago.  Until the last week of October we were having glorious weather, still in skirts and t-shirts.  Now, we are full into trousers and jumpers!!

We had a good summer, one of the best, although a quarter of the family was missing! It was a quiet summer, but we found some new places, new beaches and took lots of photos.

For me, this photo is 'the' photo of this summer.  A beautiful sunny day and we were exploring and my girls are happy and beautiful.  This photo encapsulates our summer.

This summer I set myself a mission, and I can say I achieved most of what I wanted to do.  We definately visited more beaches, more often. 

Now the winter is coming, lets see what this brings.   

Coming up: Follow up to Tavira Beaches

My Summer Mission

Maybe this should be called my 'late summer mission' as we are almost half way through summer already! 

I wanted to 'do something' this summer that I would enjoy and that I could share with others and maybe even provide some assistance.  At the moment, there are two things I am loving - going to the beach with my girls and the area I live in. 

With my husband's new job, we were considering to leave the area where we live and move to another and it suddenly made me realise what a beautiful place I live in and I wanted to capture that, for myself and also as a record of my children's childhood home.  When you live somewhere I think often you can under appreciate it, you see it everyday but you dont really 'see it'.  There are many beautiful places around where I live in the East Algarve, that I have never seen and I dont want to miss.  And what better time to do some sightseeing than in Summer.  So with my loved camera,  I am on a mission to capture some of the Algarve region.  I love photography but dont do it enough and need the practice ;-) 

My second mission is to visit as many beaches in the area, I want to try them and find a good beach for me and my children.  Until now, I have generally used the same beach but maybe there is a better one.  What I am looking for is, easy access with decent parking, good facilities on or near the beach and shallow, calm waters.  Watch this space....

Tavira Beaches

Tavira has some great beaches.  In the area of Tavira are at least six main beaches, some on main coast, some on the Ria Formosa islands. 

The Tavira coast is at the Eastern end of the Ria Formosa Natural Park, which is a series of barrier islands, some of which are inhabited. It is a beautiful area, with fantastic beaches which are flat and spread as far as the eye can see.

From West to East starting with:

Praia Barril - just on the edge of the village of Santa Luzia, near Pedras D'el Rei touristic complex.  It is situated on one of the Islands and can be acccessed by a small train or by walking the mile or so to the beach.  The beach facilities are located in a converted tuna fishing village.    It is quite picturesque beach with the unique addition of a 'anchor graveyard' a throwback from the golden and prosperous age of Tuna fishing.

Ilha Tavira - this is the main beach from Tavira town, huge numbers of people and campers visit this site daily from the town by boat.  There is a large, well-equipped campsite here just a couple of hundred metres from the beach and plenty of bars and restaurants.  The beach is large and stretches for miles, where you can walk from one beach to another along the expanse of the Island.

Ilha Cabanas - another island beach, accessible from Cabanas village by small boat.  This is another popular one but smaller than Ilha Tavira, they have a couple of restaurants and facilities on the beach with concessions.

Fabrica - this is a hidden treasure which I only found last year, quite by accident.  It is not one of the popular ones but is growing in popularity.  I think this was probably a 'locals beach' but now has been discovered. It is situated in a tiny 'village' off a country lane.  But this is a unique beach, it can be accessed by local boat but most people actually just wade across (at the right tide) to the beach.  There are no facilities but it is gorgeous, like something out of the caribbean.  There is a restaurant near the water, where they do great seafood, which again is not very advertised but very busy.

Manta Rota - my personal favourite and most frequented by us.  This is the first beach which can be accessed directly.  Situated in a small resort town with good facilities, it was given a facelift about 4 years ago and is very nice.

Last but not least

Praia Verde - this beach is situated at the bottom of a hill with good access.  Good beach for children with shallow waters and some facilities.  Lovely place to come for dinner as well!  Not overly crowded.

These are the main Tavira beaches, there are other small, local ones and of course, the 'Ria beaches', the beaches found on the banks of the interior of the 'Ria Islands.'