Road Trip

Weekend in Tavira

The friends I mentioned yesterday have purchased a home in Tavira. They let us tag along this weekend when they drove down to the Algarve to sign the papers.

From the rooftop terrace on our Airbnb.

Geography

The Algarve stretches along the southern coast of Portugal from Cape St Vincent in the west to the Guadiana River, which separates Portugal from Spain, in the east. Tavira is a 30-minute drive from Spain, a 2-hour drive from Cape St Vincent, and a 3-hour drive from Lisbon. We took the fastest route from Lisbon, a toll road called the A2. (Note: our road trip was made possible by our friends purchase of a car. However, public transportation is available by train and bus. We even found one private bus company that offers Algarve excursions from Cascais for as little as 8 Euros.)

Walking home after dinner…yep, that is Denise with the hat and the backpack leading the way.

The town of Tavira is divided by the River Gilão. Two pedestrian bridges cross the river. The modern one pictured above, and the misnamed Roman bridge (as it was actually built by the Moors) upon which lovers seal their devotion with a lock.

While in the past the main industry was agriculture and salt production (salt pans separate Tavira from the southern coast), in recent years tourism has spurred development. Today it is estimated that the population of the municipality is 25,000 and the local area sports three golf courses. But while we were there, as European tourism is at a standstill, it was a sleepy little town with lots of churches.

Santa Maria do Castelo, thought to be built on the site of a Moorish Mosque.

Over 30 Churches

I have read articles claiming there are 33 churches in Tavira…another said 37. Whatever the number, there are quite a few. The history of Tavira goes back to the Phoenicians in 800 B.C. The Romans spent some time here during the time of Caesar, but the city really came into its own during the Moorish occupation between 700-1200 A.D. In fact, the name Tavira actually comes from the Arabic word Tabira meaning "the hidden". Christians took control of Tavira in the mid-13th Century. Tavira continued to flourish until the 1755 earthquake. While this devastating event is often called the Lisbon Earthquake, it actually originated in the Algarve and is estimated to have reached 8.5-9.0 in magnitude.

Inside the walls of a long-deserted castle is a garden and in the distance another church.

Second Attempt as Food Blogger

To celebrate our friends’ contract (actually promissory note) signing, we had dinner at their favorite restaurant Artefact. This is a small restaurant offering fantastic food and impeccable service by two caring owners. We started our meal by sharing two appetizers: fried octopus and tuna carpaccio. And look, I even took a photo before anyone took a bite. I’m learning….