“Viajou na maionese” is a Portuguese saying for “to travel in the mayonnaise” and means to live in a dream world. Indeed, imagine stretches of golden beach for miles on end. Imagine having an affinity with nature on this, the very last south-western extremity of Europe, called the Algarve (Arabic for the ‘western part’ of Al-Andalus). Though not technically part of the Mediterranean, it shares the terracotta-tiled roofs, olive trees, figs and ceramics, the fishermen and their nets, the palms and the pines. We think of the Algarve for her year-round mild-to-hot weather, her secluded lagoon bays, her golf courses, her Arabic traits, and her boats bobbing in their marinas.
Portugal has caught up hugely in my lifetime from its third-world qualities of the 1970s. Some things, however, defy the test of time. Elderly ladies still decorate the churches. Their other halves, meanwhile, sit on shaded benches in open squares, beneath lovely lilac Jacaranda trees, putting the world to rights or playing dominoes on wobbly tables in cafes. Beyond the beaches, the Algarve is also a cradle of creativity. Artisans craft ceramics adorned with traditional motifs, while hand-woven baskets and lace made in quiet villages reflect skills passed down through generations. I loved the ornate baroque church facades. Here, at the church of St Anthony in Lagos, I found ‘talha dourada’ (gilded woodcarving), which is used to make altars shine with gold. This particular one was outstanding: a masterpiece by the master himself, Custodio Mezquita.
How do you lose 600 calories in 30 minutes while lying down? Sounded too good to me, so I booked myself into Longevity Health and Wellness Hotel. Perched and secluded, it overlooks the bay of Alvor, a village with boutique shops well worth a rummage. The hotel has a lovely organic shape: sloping, curvaceous, and reminiscent of New York’s Guggenheim Museum or Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo, while its progressive vibe felt part-Scandinavian, part-Swiss. They have opened another in Cascais, outside Lisbon.
Longevity Alvor is for adults only, perfect for solo travellers as well as couples, and chiefly attracts Brits and Germans. It’s a bright and fresh space that’s simple to navigate. My room (one of 70 whose rates start at €116) was modern and minimalist and offered the lovely outdoors escape of a balcony. Its calm, decluttered simplicity was conducive to the purpose of my visit. I loved Pure Café on the rooftop. It’s informal and its advantageous height afforded a perfect panoramic view of the sunset, the sea, Alvor, and her neighbouring fields. It all felt very zen, spacious, and airy through its floor-to-ceiling windows, like being on some mammoth luxurious yacht with her endless decking. The small but fairly-priced portions were good for my longevity as I tucked into my colourful salad of prawns, quinoa, bean sprouts, and red cabbage.
Soon, I was experiencing an Iyashi Dôme. It’s a Japanese concept, where I was to sweat out my ‘heavy metals’ from the infra-red of the treatment. Though warm in my cocoon, it wasn’t remotely claustrophobic but extremely relaxing. This health and wellness hotel offers a comprehensive range of treatments, including osteopathy and nutritional consultations. But within this super smart, super clean set-up, I felt an engagingly easy and breezy vibe. There’s a yoga dome and a state-of-the-art spa whose treatments are unquestionably first rate. Longevity’s mantra is “Achieve a healthier and happier you whilst relaxing in the warmth of the Portuguese sunshine”. It did, for me, exactly what it declared.
I took a five-minute drive down to the beach at Praia da Torralta. What a fabulously long stretch of a sandy strand it was! In and amongst the meadows of wild flowers blowing in the breeze, I found myself at Sea Deck, a beach restaurant whose exterior is all about the sea and the decking from which to watch the sun’s descent. Within the floor-to-ceiling glass and beneath the airy fans, a waiter in his signature red and white T-shirt served me a generous helping from Chef Carlos’s kitchen. Sometimes you can’t beat grilled fish and salad! How wonderful then to walk it off on the six-kilometre walkway along the nature reserve and back along the beach.
Food in the Algarve is not merely sustenance; it’s a storytelling medium. The Atlantic is the region’s generous pantry: offering octopus, sardines, clams, and sea bass that find their way into dishes like cataplana de marisco, a rich seafood stew traditionally cooked in a clam-shaped copper pot. Further inland, the flavours shift. The air smells of wild herbs, grilled meats, and piri-piri chicken sizzling over open flames. Almonds, figs, and caro: ingredients rooted in Moorish tradition, appear in desserts like doce fino and bolo de alfarroba and charmed me with their rustic sweetness. My favourite course is sea bass, filleted and simply grilled with those incomparably red-ripe tomatoes and crunchy cucumbers. It needs a drizzle of fruity olive oil from the Alentejo, local sea salt, and a crisp white Douro wine, then it needs to be utterly magical. There you have it: the culinary soul of Portugal, laid bare on a plate, in all its gloriously delicious simplicity.
I really relished my next stay at PortoBay Falesia. The location is Olhos d’Água, meaning ‘eyes of water’. It’s famous for being “where the sea weeps” as strangely freshwater, not saltwater, bubbles up out of the sand at the sea end of the rocks. It looks almost as though the sea itself has eyes streaming with tears. It’s a 4* hotel and soon to have a sister hotel, Portobay Blue Ocean, as its neighbor. Yes, I could have just stretched out on the sun lounger, but I preferred an adventure. The landscaped grounds had plenty of room with their palms, exotic plants, and banana fronds. There were lots of romantic nooks and crannies, spectacular vantage points with impressive views. Such a dramatic drop down to the Atlantic and the many miles of coastline several hundred feet below. Cezanne would have been in his element with the zigzagged, striated landscape of the ochre-coloured sandstone cliffs, the bluest of sea and skies, and the skudding seagulls monitoring all from above. Not to mention the lush, sharp green pines presenting their proud, erect leaves so static and spread like the Serengeti; so full of vibrancy and aroma.
The 310 rooms and suites (from E214 a night) have neutral tones with wicker lampshades and come with balconies and sheets that were fabulously cool to touch. All was bountiful and abundant in the spacious foyer with its gorgeous, gigantic gourds leading out onto a floral garden and mown lawn. Outside, both birdsong and a breeze wafted over my spa treatment conducted by masseuse Rogeria Mariana, whose magic touch I highly recommend. I then dined at Madeira Restaurant, whose abundant buffet supper meant I could arrive in my own time to suit my own rhythm. Also at Il Basilico, the hotel’s Italian restaurant, I sat outside, at a lovely spot under the pine tree of the cliffs and sea, watching the fishing boats punctuating the horizon out late at night. Alfresco dining is so romantic.
The next day, I descended the wooden steps to the 5-mile-long sandy Falésia Beach to have lunch at Maré at Pine Cliffs Resort. It offered me all I could want from a seaside restaurant. Such a gem of a place with its ambiance and sea breeze as it presides over the performing waves. Children made sandcastles before me and covered their parents in the sand. Maré offers a diverse menu featuring seafood and fresh fish along with vibrant salads, wraps, and light dishes. The helpings are generous and fairly-priced, and I loved it so much I went back the next day. Who doesn’t love a long, lazy summer lunch?
One of the Algarve’s greatest joys is its embrace of slow living. There’s an unspoken philosophy here that life is to be savoured, not rushed. The Algarve doesn’t just welcome me; it absorbs me. It teaches me to listen to the wind and to live more fully in the moment. In a world that often races forward, the Algarve gently pulls me back: to the sea, to the earth, and to the joy of simply being. I must go back whenever, but soon.
FACT BOX | Adam had support from the Algarve Tourism Authority. He was covered by online travel insurance specialist, CoverForYou, 0207 183 0885
