Storyline: Portugal by trains
Thu, Jan 12
If we want to stay for a few winter months in the Algarve it would be the small city of Tavira. It is only half an hour away by train including all the stops east of Faro. Tavira straddles the Gilão River at its meeting point with the Atlantic Ocean. Ideal for wandering around in a quiet and warm January day as was ours.
The train from Faro takes you through some sea-salt production fields,
orange and olive plantations, almond trees blooming and lots of wet areas.
You are by the ocean after all. As in the entire region the whitewashed façades and the architecture remind you of the Moorish rule, although the place has a long history from the Bronze Age, through the Roman Empire, Moorish occupation, and Portuguese crown. Then the 18th century earthquake (known as the Lisbon earthquake) destroyed most of it. The city including its Roman bridge was rebuilt in the 18th century.
Outside the train station is the Soldiers memorial. It is a statue of soldier standing at the station entrance while waving farewell to a corresponding statue of his love across the street.
We walked down a typical for the area paved street with many mosaic-tiled houses and narrow paved sidewalks, lined with tropical trees.
The poles sticking out of the sidewalks, and sometimes in the middle of a narrow street, are so the cars can’t park there.
We reached the ruins of the Castle of Tavira and spent some time wandering in its premisses.
The botanical garden there was amazing too.
Then lunch time.
And here is where our tourist-trap story begins. We walked down the river, checked a few places and then were attracted by the location of a seafood restaurant “La Casa de las Cataplanas”.
It was on the river bank, tables outside. What more could one ask for on a bright, sunny winter’s day. Didn’t even cross our mind to check Google reviews. They served cataplana, a typical Portuguese dish, similar to the Spanish paella, but without the rice. It is a variety of seafood and fish in a tomato-based broth. We had no idea of prices either. A dish is for two, the waiter said.
So, we ordered it. €57 no tax and tips for two seemed to be OK for the place and location. Since then, we’ve seen other touristy places with similar if not higher price. Although the locals say it should be around €45.
It started with the couvert (cover) – a variety of breads, butter and sardine paste (very popular here) and olives of course. I ordered soup (can’t have lunch without soup). A jug of white sangria. I think by the time we finished the couvert and the soup we were full. At least I was. And then comes the cataplana. Huge (the photo shows it halfway through).
It was a meal for at least 4 and probably 6 people. There were prawns and 4 different types of fish. Each type of fish had at least 2 pieces, one piece is a portion by itself. Some like the swordfish had 4. I recall skate-wings, cod, sea bass, sword fish, potatoes, lots of them, mussels, prawns, veggies and more. All in a very salty tomato-based sauce. After fighting through it for a while, trying a piece of each item, we had to leave most of it.
Leaving the lunch place, we crossed the nearby pedestrian bridge and continued our exploration on the east bank of the river, walking though some typical alleys, lined by small boutiques. We didn’t cover the entire town although if one wants, they can walk it all in a couple of hours.
Under an arched alley we reached the river bank. A lovely located café called our names.
So, we sat at a table facing the white facades of the houses, the church, restaurants, pedestrian bridge and more. The reflections from the reconstructed Roman Bridge created a nice background.
Espresso and white port for me and a cookie (really, where did you find room Alex) and a flat white for Alex (did you mention that we had walked around a lot!? It must have been at least half an hour since lunch 😊 – A).
This finished the afternoon. After taking lots of photos, we headed back towards the station. There were some stores I wanted to check. I needed some more padded shoes with good grip for the ubiquitous mosaic sidewalks. if I was going to make it on this tiny uneven cobble stones.
I bought some foam-padded sneakers. It wouldn’t be until we were in Lisbon, though, that I found shoes with grippy enough soles to get me up and down those steep, sometimes slippery hills.
Exiting the store my problems began. I needed a WC badly. I react quickly to food and the cataplana was working. Luckily there were clean washrooms at the castle. Just 4 steep flights up.
“I think it is the cataplana. I don’t think the sea food was fresh” I told Alex. “Can’t be that fast” was Alex’s response but he googled it and the reviews, although not that many were no good. “Don’t eat there” was the flat warning. Although the reviews were mainly about bad service which we didn’t experience, some mentioned not well-prepared food.
We took a train around 5pm (trains are every half hour or so) and walked to our studio just in time for lovely sunset photos. Next morning, I was sure I had food poisoning. It’d take most of the time in Lagos to get over it. Walked to the nearest pharmacy and bought diarrhea pills. A good day to stay mostly home, clean up the studio and prepare for the train the following morning.
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