On October 24th, 2009, we left Ottawa for a 17 day holiday in Portugal with Senior Tours. We chose the Algarve in Portugal because we had never been there before. We knew that it was the southernmost area of mainland Portugal, and had read that it was the most popular tourist destination in Portugal. We chose a holiday that was based in one hotel and offered a number of excursions during our stay there. The brochure mentioned trips to “medieval Moorish villages and stunning coastline”. The included excursions went to Armação de Pêra, Silves, the Monchique Mountains, Alte, Salir, Loulé, Faro, Olhão, and Albufeira. There were also neighbourhood walks and trips in a rented van which were optional excursions. Our tour guide, Margaret Mueller, was the same tour guide that we had on our Mediterranean Cruise. She organized the walks for us, and drove the rented van on various trips. There was entertainment in the evening in the hotel, and there were also activities planned for the group.



The hotel, the Villa Gale Nautico, was located in the town of Armação de Pêra. We ate almost all of our meals in the hotel dining room which overlooked the swimming pool. The rooms were decorated in a blue and white nautical theme. The hotel was located across the street from the ocean and was within easy walking distance to the middle of the town.