Just off the Algarve coast, a mere 10 minute ferry ride from Olhão, lies the picturesque little island of Armona, one of a small group of islands that form part of the Ria Formosa National Park.

You can get to Armona easily by ferry or Rio Taxi. The ferry costs Euro 1.45 each way and takes around 10 minutes. It can get quite cool and breezy during the crossing at this time of year so it’s best to carry a thin jacket or to sit below deck.

The protocol for ticket buying is a little confusing. At first we purchased them on the ferry itself. The ticket seller, usually a cheery, rather plumpish lady, would take our money then rip the ticket before handing it over.
On one occasion though it was a young girl collecting the money. She just handed us the ticket without the usual tear. As her attention seemed to be on the people sitting behind us we presumed she had forgotten so jokingly Kelvin, my partner, ripped it for her. Big mistake! A minute or two later a rather sour faced man came checking the tickets, ripping them as he went. He feigned not to speak English and just growled at us in Portuguese. We tried to explain that the tickets we we’re offering to him had just been purchased expecting to get some back up from the girl ticket seller but she just stood there staring at us blankly. After a few heated words and a sulk from Kelvin we paid again.

Another time the tickets were being collected as you boarded the ferry and we were sent back up the pier to buy one from the small booth that had always been shut before. It was a bank holiday and the ferry was quite busy so I think the rule of thumb is that if the ticket booth is open that is a good indication to buy your tickets from there as you will not get on the ferry without one.

The much more costly alternative are the Rio taxi’s – Speed boats that can carry up to 8 people but will set you back around Euro 20 each way.

The island itself is made up of one large and one small village at each end of a long stretch of beach and scrub. The larger of the two is Armona village, where you disembark from Olhao. Fuseta, at the other end is little more than a shanty town of a few huts and dwellings.

Armona village consists of one main main walkway with a rabbit warren of very narrow lanes on either side, two – three villas deep. The main path takes you past a long line of detached villas of all shapes, sizes and colors with pretty little gardens. About half way along is “Orbital”, a featureless camp site of neat little huts and a small childrens play ground. It is surrounded by a tall mesh fence giving it the air of an open prison. It is not somewhere that I would want to spend my holidays but it seems very popular with the Portuguese.

The walk along the beach from one village to the other takes around 2 hours, a little longer if, like me, you spend your time collecting shells (or cockles) along the way. We started our walk around 9.30 am when the weather was quite pleasant. We passed very few people and Kelvin even went “au natural” for part of the way. There is no shade on the walk and even at this time of the year it got very hot by the time we headed back.

We were quite sweaty and thirsty when we arrived in Fuseta but there were no shops. There was however, a cafe/restaurant but it was closed and as it was around lunch time I can only presume it is only open in season.

If you fancy making a day of it you can walk to Fuseta, take a ferry across to mainland Fuseta (the island villages are named after the areas on the mainland) and a train back to Alhao. I can’t say how long this takes but I have been told you can get back to Alhao in plenty of time for the ferry back.

Out of season the island is practically deserted but in July and August it is flooded with Portuguese families seeking the cooler temperatures away from the mainland.

We arrived in the last week of April for 3 weeks and for the first few days it was quite cold but the weather soon changed to glorious sunshine. May seems a good time for a visit, beautiful weather and sandy, deserted beaches although May day is a national holiday so the island does see quite a few locals arriving on the ferry. In fact I have been told that in the main holiday months there are wall to wall bodies on the beaches and the waters are full of jet skiing teenagers.

We have found 4 cafes/bars that are open at this time of year and there are possibly more in the season. Two of them are at the ferry terminal, another, halfway along the main walkway to the sand dunes (this one has a good little shop next door) and the last is at the end of the main walk way.
There are no internet facilities on the island although we did get a connection through Algarvedigital briefly when the weather was bad.

There isn’t a lot to do on the island out of season apart from relax and soak up the rays. Although it is actually illegal, being a nature reserve, most of the Portuguese spend their time cockle picking, mainly I think for their own suppers, although there does seem to be several professional pickers out there every day. Not that there appears to be a shortage of shell fish as you will notice if you walk along the beach as the tide is going out.

During our time on Armona we were introduced to a Michele, a lovely lady from England who has been living on the Island for 20 years. Michele rents out villas for the owners and is very accommodating and helpful. The villas are affordably priced in and out of season and her son, Henry, is hoping to be able to offer boat trips in the near future.

If you are interested in contacting Michele with regards to renting out a villa please tel:
(00351) 963241483 – Michele
(00351) 963429437 – Henry
e-mail: hennas_18@yahoo.com.br
Write: Michele and Henry Edwards, P.O.Box Apartado 415, Olhao 8700-913, Portugal

The main fishing port of the Algarve, Olhao is a bustling little town of interesting architecture and pretty, cobbled back streets.
It got it’s township status in the 17th century after 17 local fishermen successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1808 in the fishing boat “Bom Sucesso” (Good Success) without charts. They made this perilous voyage in order to inform the exiled king of Portugal, Dom João IV, that he could return to his country as the invading French armies had been defeated.
In 1882 the first canning factory was established here for tuna and Sardines. This was the first in Portugal and it wasn’t long before canning became the leading industry of the Algarve.-

Head down to the water front in Olhao and you will find the main harbour for the local fishing boats, an interesting place to visit even if you’re not a fish lover.
Keep on walking along the front towards the town proper and you will come across the ferry terminal for the islands of Armona and Farol. From here you will be able to see the indoor markets, two large red brick buildings with turrets at each corner that are open every morning selling meat, vegetables and an interesting array of locally caught fish.

On the road side of the market there are also public toilets where, it seems, to pay is optional.
On Saturday mornings the indoor market is joined with an outdoor farmers market and the whole place becomes alive with stalls selling locally grown vegetables, dried beans and pulses and home made cakes. You might even find the occasional stall selling live chickens and bantams plus a few small caged birds for pets.

A little further along the front is a small concrete park which boasts a free wi-fi zone, unfortunately it is only practical to use this facility in the evening after the sun goes down unless you have a sun screen on your lap top.
This park is also the centre for local festivities on the national holidays.

Along the way you will pass many seafood restaurants and cafes not forgetting a good kebab shop where, for euros 3.50, you can tuck into a spiced chicken (I think it was chicken) pita, stuffed with fresh salad and a range of sauces from garlic mayo to a piquant mild chilli mayo.

In the narrow back streets there are many small shops, so far we have found two places for surfing the internet, one being a municipal run place on Travessa do Gailbeu, where you can get 30 minutes surf time for free. The draw back here is that they are quite rigid. You cannot connect a memory stick directly to the computer. It is connected to the main computer and they will transfer the details that you want- which means that you can’t save anything either. Their opening hours are Mon-Fri 10:00 – 13:00 and 15:00 – 18:00, Sat 10:00 – 15:00.

Just around the corner though on Rua Comerico we found a little Indian shop selling computer accessories and three computers upstairs. They were very accommodating and basically just left us alone to do what we wanted, even allowing us to connect up our own laptop which the municipal one wouldn’t do. We’ve never seen anyone else use the place and they’ve never yet charged us their full rate of 1.50 euro an hour. Again they are closed for lunch from 13:00 – 15:00.
When you come out of the Computer shop turn right and a few doors down you will find a doorway to an interesting little cafe called Cafe Aromas. I mention this because it has an interesting almost cave like interior, pleasant staff and is nicely shaded from the heat of the day.

There is a supermarket, Pingo Doce, just off the back streets opposite the ferry terminal. It has a good selection of produce but if you want something a little more upmarket (the Portuguese version of Sainsburys) walk inland, around the edge of the fishing port and you will see a sign for Intermarche on the left. Also if you keep on walking past the fishing port towards the petrol station you will find a cheap supermarket, Mini Price, just behind, about a 10-15 minute walk from the ferry terminal. This walk will also take you past some pretty remarkable graffiti.

All in all Olhao is a pleasant place for a visit, I cannot comment on the night life as our last ferry back to Armona leaves at 7.30pm and the Rio taxis are expensive if there is just the two of you but the main drawback I would say for most holiday makers is the lack of a beach – but hey, just a 10 minute ferry ride away and you have all the sand you could want.

We arrived at Lisbon (Lisboa) airport at around 7.30pm from Gatwick and, true to his word, Mark our friend was there to meet us. It was a good reunion as we haven’t seen each other for about 6 years. He hadn’t changed much apart from a few more inches on his dreadlocks and a few more tattoos and piercings.

We weren’t quite sure what to expect as Mark is a travelling Juggler and circus performer who just happens to have juggled his way into Portugal a few years ago and hasn’t got around to juggling his way out yet. We knew we’d be staying on his bus near Lisbon for the first few days before heading down to one of the islands off Faro where his girlfriends parents own a holiday cottage. As it turned out we were allocated to sleep in his transit parked along side with the use of a chemical loo in the shed nearby.

We’re here for a month to visit Mark and to check out Olive farms for sale near the Spanish border. I’m not quite sure what our main plan is yet but as we had time to kill in England before we possibly move to the Midlands it seemed like an ok thing to do and a good excuse for a holiday.

Marks bus has definitely come on leaps and bounds since he bought it 6 years ago when he was visiting us in Morecambe – it’s even got a kitchen and a separate room at the back which he’s turning into a hairdressing area for Cilla his girlfriend, who we’ve yet to meet as she’s away working until Friday. Cilla is a hairdresser by trade and I presume the plan is for her to be able to offer this service when they are travelling around the summer festivals.

So tonight is a night for reminiscing with an old friend and tomorrow, well, tomorrow is another day.