About a week before we left for our summer trip, Monchique was all over the news because of forest fires. Unfortunately, this is an event that happens regularly, at least once a year. Lars and I were not sure what to do: cancel our reservation and look for another hotel or not... We watched the news vigorously and the day before we left the worst seemed to be over. We decided not to cancel.
When we arrived in Monchique the worst was indeed over. However, army and fire trucks, news reporters and tanks were still present and as a basis, they had chosen a terrain right next to the hotel which we had booked. The owners cancelled our reservation as soon as we walked in, so we had to look for another place after all. Luckily we found one nearby, but more about that in a later post.
Anyway, during the first two days, we had explored various places in the Algarve. For our last day, we chose to stay in Monchique itself. But what should we do? In nearby Caldas de Monchique, we could visit a spa. That sounded very tempting indeed, but with the very nice and not too hot weather, we thought it would be a shame to stay indoors.
After a hearty breakfast, Lars and I chose the Foia as our destination of the day; with its 902 metres high, this is the highest mountain of the Algarve. After a very beautiful drive, we arrived at the top.
I took a first panoramic picture. You can see the Atlantic Ocean.
During our descent, Lars and I discovered another viewpoint. Time for panoramic picture number 2.
Monchique itself is a quiet, cosy place, with a pretty central plaza.
In the next post, we will review the hotel in Monchique where we stayed. Stay tuned!
