Day 2 - Salt flats / town of Cabanas

White salt against blue sky. I had polarized sunglasses which came in handy because I could decide if to use a polarizer on the lens by taking my glasses off and on! Lightest combination of Sony 5R and 20mm pancake lens as I knew we’d be walking a fair way.

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The walk goes by salt flats, streams, long grass and a few wrong turns. Flamingoes, there were flamingoes?! Only time I regretted not having a longer lens.

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At Bristol University I had a friend from Bury that liked this much salt on his chips. To be fair, he made very good chips:

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Ren being a tree, not sure why:

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Some Irish tourists had got over this on pedal bikes (I assume they dismounted) so we figured it was safe. Being kind you might say it had an adverse camber:

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This is the other side of the train track we would come back on.

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Cabanas is nice for lunch and we had a look around the back streets. Found we could walk up to a train stop rather than wait for a bus. Top tip, Algarve train prices are comparatively low compared to their buses.

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Pretty much the first and last selfie:

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Day 3 - Castro Marim / ferry to Ayemonte, Spain

Bit of a trek to get to Castro Marim, the train stop of the same name is miles away so a train to Vila Real San Antonio and a very infrequent bus gets you there. Once there you are stuck for a few hours before the return bus. It has a fort and a castle that overlook the Guadiana river that forms the border between Spain and Portugal.

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Castle cat was very friendly:

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View across to Spain from the castle walls.

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Following me around:

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Town cat not as friendly, its nap time, silly man.

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I take photos like this while Ren gets a couple more bottles of water, the Samyang 12mm f2 lens focuses closer than expected for a wide angle lens:

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Back to V.R.S. Antonio the ferry arrives a couple of minutes after our bus so we hop on to go to Spain, its a couple of euros one way.

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Yes, pretty sure that is no entry for bikes?

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Shops, cafes and a couple of churches in Ayemonte, nice place for an afternoon. Some serenading of tables as you eat.

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Not sure what to make of this:

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Typical lunch:

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Is it “street photography” if it is on a ferry?

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Horse from a train:

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We often find ourselves getting back in this warm late afternoon light:

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