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THEN OLHÃO
FOUND US... ... and we weren't even looking! Hank and Carina's story of how they came to love and live in Olhão
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elcome to our monthly column celebrating Olhão. After exploring Portugal top to bottom from Braga to Tavira enjoying so many coastal and inland locations in our RV, we decided Olhão was the place to buy our home to celebrate our “golden years”. Olhão was not on our radar at first. In fact, the discovery of Eastern Algarve was a pleasant surprise with the scale of development so much less than areas to the west. A chance winter rental introduced us to Olhão, a place we quickly found attractive for many reasons. “Walkability” is, above all, a main highlight and each month I will introduce you to places only steps away from our front door. Questions, Comments or Suggestions for new columns? Email us at hankryan2003@yahoo.com We hope you will enjoy our column! ILHA DO FAROL… THE LONG WAY! Summertime means ocean time in the Eastern Algarve. A pleasant low cost ferry ride from Olhão delivers you to any of the three nearby Ria Formosa barrier island destinations offering beaches fronting the Atlantic Ocean; Armona, Culatra or Farol.
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Did you know you can walk from one of these island destinations to the other? The stretch of oceanfront starting from the 100% solar powered Molhe Leste beach bar on Culatra offers walking access to Ilha do Farol, technically part of the same island. The 3.5 km trek aiming at the Farol lighthouse takes about 30-40 minutes. An alternative to the beach path is through the dunes that pass through the small community of Hangares.
In either case, bring sun protection! Making the return to Olhão on the ferry from Farol completes the circuit. One structure clearly stands out here. In Portuguese, Farol means lighthouse. The village of Farol is named after the 50 meter tall building visible from both Olhão and Faro on the mainland. It was built in 1851 and it was the first lighthouse in Portugal at that time. To find the Maramais beachfront restaurant
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