| The maritime province of the Algarve, often called the | | | | to Spain's Costa del Sol, promised more limited and |
| Garden of Portugal, is the south westernmost part of | | | | controlled development so that they wouldn't make |
| Europe. Its coastline stretches 160km (99 miles) from | | | | "Spain's mistake." |
| Henry the Navigator's Cape St. Vincent to the border | | | | Algarvian beaches are some of the best in Portugal. |
| town of Vila Real de Santo António, fronting | | | | Their quality has led to the tourist boom across the |
| once-hostile Spain. The varied coastline contains | | | | southern coastline, making it a formidable rival of |
| sluggish estuaries, sheltered lagoons, low-lying areas | | | | Lisbon's Costa do Sol and Spain's Costa del Sol. There |
| where clucking marsh hens nest, long sandy spits, and | | | | are literally hundreds of beaches, many with public |
| promontories jutting out into the white-capped | | | | showers and watersports equipment available for rent. |
| aquamarine foam. | | | | Since around 1965, vast stretches of coastal terrain |
| Called Al-Gharb by the Moors, the land south of the | | | | have been bulldozed, landscaped, irrigated, and |
| Serras (mountains) of Monchique and Caldeirão | | | | reconfigured into golf courses. Many are associated |
| remains a spectacular anomaly that seems more like | | | | with real-estate developments or major resorts, such |
| a transplanted section of the North African coastline | | | | as the 800-hectare (1,976-acre) Quinta do Lago, where |
| than a piece of Europe. The temperature averages | | | | retirement villas nestle amid vegetation at the edges of |
| around 15°C (60°F) in winter and 23°C | | | | the fairways. Most are open to qualified golfers who |
| (74°F) in summer. The countryside abounds in | | | | inquire in advance. |
| vegetation: almonds, lemons, oranges, carobs, | | | | Many former fishing villages—now summer |
| pomegranates and figs. | | | | resorts—dot the Algarvian coast: Carvoeiro, |
| Most of the towns and villages of the Algarve are | | | | Albufeira, Olhão, Portimão. The sea is the |
| more than 240km (149 miles) from Lisbon. The great | | | | source of life, as it always has been. The village |
| 1755 earthquake shook this area. Entire communities | | | | marketplaces sell esparto mats, copper, pottery, and |
| were wiped out; however, many Moorish and even | | | | almond and fig sweets, sometimes shaped like birds |
| Roman ruins remain. In the fret-cut chimneys, mosque | | | | and fish. Through the narrow streets comes the fast |
| like cupolas, and cubist houses, a distinct Oriental | | | | sound of little accordions pumping out the rhythmical |
| flavour prevails. Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, | | | | corridinho. |
| Visigoths, Moors and Christians all touched this land. | | | | For motorists, the big news is that the final 62km |
| However, much of the historic flavour is gone forever, | | | | (39-mile) stretch of A2 is open, linking Lisbon and the |
| swallowed by a sea of dreary high-rise apartment | | | | Algarve with more efficient access than ever. The |
| blocks surrounding most towns. Years ago, | | | | road took a decade to complete and cost $375 million. |
| Portuguese officials, looking in horror at what happened | | | | |