Algarve in Portugal

After we waved Spain goodbye (we had been in Spain since November 23!), we headed to the algarve in Portugal.  We had some better luck with the weather here.  It is extremely quiet during this time but looking at all the developments in the region, we only see how popular this place becomes during the summer seasons.  We spent a day exploring various beaches and cliffs in the region and the second day we drove to the end of the World and then drove up to Lisbon.

A former fishing village where we stayed for two days

Joaquin and his mate

Nice, golden cliff in the Algarve

Joaquin trying to figure out how to fire the canon at Portimão

Monster Chamu

Joaquin's "gougou" enjoying the rare sunlight

Joaquin minding the door for the restaurant

The end of the Old World at Sagres

Joaquin posing on top of our Ibiza at Sagres

At Sagres

Joaquin guarding the fort at Sagres

Looking out for ships coming

The light house at the end of the world

天涯海角

Road Trip in Spain Part 5 - Mazagón

Our last stop in Spain was Mazagón, next to the Nature Reserve of Donaña.  After one good day of Gibraltar, the rain followed us to the Parador on the beach, where we were to stay and rest for two days before heading over to Portugal.  The first day we spent most of the day indoor since there was not much to do on a beach town in heavy rain.  The second day we got a bit lucky and were able to have a safari tour in the Donaña Park before driving to Portugal.  Joaquin and Dadu loved the safari while Mamu relaxed in the lounge and cafe since the park rangers told us that it may be too bumpy for a pregnant Mamu to join the tour (little did they know that she was planning on a more extreme safari in Jordan)!

Si

Since there was nothing to do, we resorted to shopping in a local supermarket (which only opened from 10am to 2pm and 5pm to 8pm)

Joaquin enjoyed his ride at the supermarket (he still doesn't know that these things move if you put money in them!)

Joaquin enjoyed picking up Conchita at the beach despite the rain

The children's playground was very nice at the Parador

Getting ready for the safari!

The youngest passenger for the safari

Close encounter with the wild donkey

Driving and eating at the same time

Joaquin loves the safari bus!

The London Lindy Hop

... or something like it. Costanza and Joaquin boogey it up in our London apartment.

Road Trip in Spain Part 5 - Gibraltar

After almost two months in Spain, we ended up at Gibraltar for one day.  This is a place we read about in the history books.  We stayed at a very nice bed and breakfast in San Roque, 15 minutes away from Gibraltar.  The next day, we drove over the border to visit the Rock!  Once we passed the border, everything became so un-Spanish.  We drove up to the Rock and spent the afternoon touring the caves.  Joaquin was fascinated by the monkeys that rule the Rock these days.  The sky was so clear we even had a very clear view of Africa (which is only 14.5 miles away)!

The Rock in the back; we were still on the Spanish side

Such a clear day; Joaquin's first close encounter with monkeys

Chamu and Mamu under siege by the Gibraltar monkeys

Concert hall inside the cave (which was a former hospital during the war)

Entering little moorish castle

In front of the moorish castle

Enjoying dinner in downtown Gibraltar (we had curry, hamburger and spaghetti)

Road Trip in Spain Part 5 - Ronda de Andalucia

Our last stop with Mic and Katherine in Andalucia is Ronda.  It's a town built on top of this gigantic gorge which slices the town in half.  We stayed at the Parador which has one of the best locations in town.  Luckily we had one day of sunshine which allowed us to tour this magnificent town.
After Mic and Katherine departed, we headed down to Gibraltar since we were only 90 minutes away and wanted to see this historic point in the Iberian peninsula.   Our little Ibiza got stranded along with 10 other cars in the middle of the mountain when the snow started to accumulate.  We almost thought we had to spend the night in our car and started counting how much food and water we had with us.  Fortunately, the snow started to melt a little bit and Dadu was able to steer us out safely (even though it took us 4 hours to complete our 90-minute journey).  Chamu of course slept through all of it and missed his chance to play in the snow.

Our Parador is the building to the left on the top of the gorge

View of the old bridge

Very well preserved Arabic bath house

View of the valley from the town

Up close and personal with a hardworking donkey

Dadu toured the bull ring when Mamu and Chamu slept in

Who'd thought you would need snow chains 60-minute away from Gibraltar!!!

Road Trip in Spain Part 5 - Granada de Andalucia

We stayed in Granada for three nights in a cozy apartment with Mic and Katherine.  Luckily the weather was nice on the day we visited the Alhambra (the most visited monument in Spain).  We also had some clear sky when we did our walk around the Albacin (well, we had to hide out in a chocolate con churro cafe during the rain but the rest of the day was ok).  On the third day (when it actually snowed in Granada), we drove to the Sierra Nevada and then drove along the coast before re-settling in Ronda.

Chamu and Mamu happy to have chicken curry and rice (they were both Spanished out after 7 weeks in Spain)

Waiting for bus to go up to the Alhambra

Fussy Chamu who watched iPod for two hours in the Alhambra (he was tired but refused to go to sleep)

Serene courtyard at the Alhambra

Layered entrance to the Two Sisters

Chamu loves fountains even when it's freezing

Finally gave up the iPhone

Finally fell asleep toward the end of our tour at the Alhambra

View of the Albacin from the Alhambra

Chamu getting a taste of chocolate (Mamu has been trying to hide it from him but he got to it anyways)

Quaint, little towns against the Sierra Nevada backdrop