Faro
A stop by the beach
Charlie had been spending most of the winter in the Canary Islands. She had been to the Billabong Surfcamp in Fuerteventura for New Year’s Eve, lived a month as a digital nomad in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and checked the surf spots in Tenerife with Blackstone Surfcamp. Her next longer stop was in Sagres, Portugal. She had taken the ferry from Tenerife to Spain and spent two days in the town of Huelva before taking the bus towards Portugal. She decided to have another stop in between Huelva and Sagres. That’s how she ended up in Faro.
A hostel by the beach
Whenever Charlie has the option to stay close to the beach, that’s what she does. She had chosen Wax Hostel in Praia de Faro for her stay. From the bus station, Charlie took an Uber because she had a lot of luggage, but you can also take bus number 16. The Uber was €8, the bus is €2.35 and it runs approximately every 30 to 45 minutes.
Charlie arrived at 10 in the morning, and she could already check into the hostel. She was impressed as she opened the door and looked over a sunny terrace overlooking the river delta of the Ria Formosa. What a view!
She unpacked a few things that she would need and sat at the terrace to get some work done. The Wi-Fi was good, although Charlie got a bit distracted by the stunning nature around her and found herself watching the airplanes taking off at the nearby Faro Airport. She absolutely enjoyed this spot!
For the first night, she was alone at Wax Hostel as it was off-season. She had the choice between armchairs and sofas and full control over the Netflix programme. The second night, Charlie was joined by Nina, another female solo traveler, and a surfer dad with his son who were in town for a surf competition that weekend. The boy was only 14 and competing in local competitions – maybe Charlie will see him in a few years at the Quiksilver Pro? She should have gotten an autograph, just in case.
There is a well-equipped kitchen at Wax Hostel, a dining table, the big living room, and a few bedrooms and shared bathrooms. Right across the street is Wax Restobar where you can get breakfast from 10.30 onwards, lunch, dinner, or just a drink after surf.
Praia de Faro is a narrow peninsula. That means that at the back of the hostel is the Ria Formosa and a view towards the inland and on the other side of the road behind the restaurant is the beach. That’s where the surf competition took place that weekend.
SUP & Surf
Charlie arrived on a Friday around lunchtime, and she wanted to get a paddleboard for the afternoon. The sea was flat that day, so there was no surf. Praia de Faro is a small village and, in the off-season, there isn’t much going on. Charlie had found one surf school with surf hire, Clube Surf Faro. There wasn’t much information online (as so often in Portugal) and she decided to go there to check it out and inquire about prices. It was a Friday afternoon in the off-season and the surf school was closed. There was a sign that read “We’re back soon” but it seemed to be a permanent sign. Charlie waited 15 minutes, and nothing happened. She saved the WhatsApp number written on the board and would try to text them. She said goodbye to her Friday afternoon paddling plans.
She got a reply towards the evening and agreed with whomever she spoke to that she would come at 9 in the morning to get a board.
The place was indeed open on Saturday morning and there were quite a few people getting ready for a surf lesson. There was only a small swell in the morning but apparently, it would be good with the low tide. Charlie was onto paddleboarding now though. No surfing for her this time.
She got a SUP and took off behind the building at the Ria Formosa. It was very quiet on the river that morning. She only saw a few locals in wellies searching for clams in the silt at low tide. They were there all morning crawling through the soft sand. A woman asked Charlie later when she was back at the hostel what time it was. Charlie was surprised that she understood the question in Portuguese and was even able to answer back. It had been a few years since she did a Portuguese course, but something had obviously stuck to her head.
Charlie paddled out at 9 in the morning and the sun was already up, there was no wind, and it was very warm for February. Charlie enjoyed her calm paddleboarding trip. She was back at the surf school just before 11 and it was closed. They had told her that they would be in a surf lesson on the beach. She left the SUP in front of the door and walked over. It was a lovely view and the sea had picked up indeed. Charlie regretted a bit that she hadn’t gone out surfing.
Sunrise and Sunset
When Charlie went for her surf trip to Andalucía the year before, she thought that she found a rare place where the sunrise and the sunset were equally beautiful. As it turns out, that isn’t so rare along the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Praia de Faro was another one of these places. From the terrace at Wax Hostel, you could see a stunning sunrise over the river delta, on the other side, by the beach, there was a date with the sunset every evening.
Faro Free Walking Tour
You cannot go to a beautiful town like Faro without seeing the town. Charlie had found a Faro Free Walking Tour online and it took place on a Friday afternoon. She could have taken the bus from Praia de Faro but the boat sounded more exciting. It was a good 10-minute walk to the pier where the boat would leave. It was scheduled for 12.50. If you want to take the boat to Faro, better check the timetable as it doesn’t go very often. A single ride is €2, a round ticket is €3.50 and you pay on the boat. It was a 30-minute ride through the river delta and along some oyster fields. Charlie is still amazed by this beautiful nature.
Charlie had about two hours until the tour would start. She hadn’t had lunch yet and started exploring the town. She discovered a little coffee shop called Coffee & Brunch that seemed as if she could get a nice lunch and would also be able to get the laptop out. Inside, it was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside. There was a huge selection of cakes and a very friendly waitress. She asked Charlie about her camera and was very interested in this blog. Charlie had a sourdough toast with avocado and egg, yummy! The coffee shop was a nice place to get productive and Charlie wished she could have stayed a little longer. She had to leave for the free walking tour though.
Faro’s history
The meeting point for the tour was at Arco da Vila, the entrance to the old town. At the top of this monument were a few storck nests and you could occasionally hear them all through the town. It was a good time of the year as these birds spent their summers usually further up north in Europe.
The guide for the tour that day was Marcelo, he was a local with perfect English. He knows the town of Faro inside out and shared his extensive knowledge of Portuguese history. It seemed like a travel through time starting with the Phoenicians who founded the town as a trading post in, the Romans who turned it into a city called Osonugue, the Visigoths who built a church all the way to the Maurs who conquered almost all of the Iberian Peninsula. The name “Algarve” originates in that time. It comes from “Al-Gharb”, which means “the west of Andalucía”.
Charlie had always thought that the name Faro comes from a lighthouse as the Spanish word for it is “faro”. Marcelo debunked this myth during the tour: The name goes back to the governor Harun. Through a sound change in the Portuguese language, this word became Faro later.
Historic buildings
During their walk through town, they passed by the Santa Maria Church from the 13th century. It does not look like a church because it had been rebuilt a few times throughout history following fires and earthquakes. It almost seems as if it is unfinished. The square in front of the church is unfortunately a parking lot making it less picturesque than it could be as it is also surrounded by orange trees. These oranges are like those in Sevilla, bitter. That’s why nobody picks them and if people do, they’re in for a bitter surprise.
They passed along other churches, learned about the typical low-plan architecture and traditional Portuguese chimneys, passed the theatre, and finished the tour back near the Arco da Vila and the marina. Charlie highly recommends the tour if you’re ever in Faro.
Before Charlie returned to Praia de Faro, she went to a supermarket as there were none down by the beach. There was a small shop for the essentials, but that was it.
The last boat back to Praia de Faro had already gone and Charlie had planned to take the bus. She walked to the bus station where bus 16 was due in a few minutes. She waited and waited, and waited. The bus did not come. 20 minutes after the official departure time, she decided to take an Uber. She wanted to be back by the beach for the sunset. That plan seemed unlikely as any minute passed. There was a lot of traffic in Faro at that time. Charlie waited another 15 minutes for the Uber. She walked over to the train tracks behind the bus station from where you could also see the sunset. It was the best she could get that evening in Faro.
The Uber driver also explained that there was a lot of traffic in Faro and Charlie was once again surprised that she easily understood him speaking Portuguese.
