Faro is the capital of the Algarve.  It’s the largest city in the area and it has several points of interest…of course, it has a castle!  Or at least the remnants of a castle.  And storks!  There were several stork nests.  They are wonderful birds and the Portuguese sort of revere them, or at the very least don’t remove them from their roofs.  Storks also mate for life.  Hey, we were celebrating our anniversary, so this is pertinent.   Speaking of storks, here a couple more nests on the Arco da Vila in Faro.  This is the entrance to the Cidade Velha, (Old Town).

Look at that brick work…It’s amazing when you consider this was built in the very early 19th century…rebuilt is probably a better way of describing it.  All of the damage dates back to the earthquake of 1755.  By now, you know the drill…we wander the streets.  And along the way, we find things.

The Castle here in Faro, is really just pieces of walls that still remain, but aren’t complete.   But, you’ll run across them as you wander.   And do wander…as I said, this entire country seems to lend itself well to walking and wandering!We left the Cidade Velha, through one of the narrow, narrow openings or “Doors to the Sea”.  Several cars needed to turn in their mirrors to get through the opening!

We wandered along the Porta Nova Pier, with it’s sidewalks, inlaid with tiles and it’s fisherman’s “shacks”.  These little buildings, in some form or another, are found along the marinas in many of the towns where there are working fishermen.  These shacks hold the fisherman’s equipment.  Isn’t that a great idea?

The Cathedral of Faro, built around 1275 on the sight of a mosque…which seems to have happened with some frequency, has this lovely bell and clock tower.  The Cathedral was closed on the day, or at the time we were there, but the building, with it’s orange trees, was still quite lovely to see.

The Christmas decorations were still up, as we headed off in search of a snack and coffee…remember?  We do that almost every afternoon!  It was time to head back to Albufeira, after another lovely day exploring.