Soaking up the sun!

We are now back home in freezing Canberra (minus 5 last night) so this title does not seem very apt! However I need to bring us to the present day so back I go to.........

Days of endless sunshine and a washing machine meant an opportunity to relax, run, swim and wash our clothes instead of buying new ones! Damn!

It had reached 40deg when we arrived in Albufeira in The Algarve and it has been hot and sunny, with temps between 37 and 41deg, every day since. We stayed in a resort near Albufeira about 2km walk from the beach. It had six swimming pools, one of which was long enough to swim lengths (at least 20metres) and actually feel like we had exercised. We ran three of the four mornings we were there - 7.3km, 11.3km and 9km. They weren't long distances but undulating, uneven cobbles made for a considerably slower pace than it should have been. Actually, that's my excuse. The true reason for the speed (or lack of it) could be the extra kilos which have have made their way round my waistline and butt. Even my running clothes feel tight which is not a good sign! Hmmm - a lot of hard work is needed in the two weeks we are home before leaving for Vanuatu on 20 July to run in the ultra marathon relay team.

But oh, it has been worth it. We loved our time in The Algarve. Our washing dried outside, we ran and went for a swim straight afterwards, sometimes up to 40 lengths, all before breakfast.

Later in the afternoon we would go for swims at the beach and inbetween browse round the interesting little shops or drive further afield to check the sights such as the day we drove to the most south western point in Europe (Cape St Vincente) where there was a working lighthouse (although we didn't see any ships), great views and a windswept little town nearby.

We spent four nights in The Algarve before heading for Southern Spain.