Footloose and Fancy Free in Fuzeta!

Fuseta/Fuzeta is a relatively unspoiled fishing town approximately 20km east of Faro and for me, was a fabulous introduction to the Algarve. My first few years coming to the Algarve I rented a villa, which was within walking distance of this wonderful town. It was about 4 km one way, which included a walk all along the salt flats, sea birds galore, and finally arriving in this quaint village all the amenities that one could desire yet with the feel of years gone by. It holds many wonderful memories for me, which continue to grow as I seem to return several times each time I’m here in Portugal.

James had a few things on this “wish list” before heading home to Canada next week and a visit here was one of them.

Marc and I enjoyed a lazy morning doing a few things around the apartment, chatting with our neighbours, and catching up on a few banking/online things and I had arranged with James to head off for Fuzeta shortly after noon to simply wander, relax, and breath it all in. Mission accomplished!

Walking along the shoreline one is apt to see all kinds of wonderful flora. One I have highlighted in the past is a parasitic plant that reminds me of an asparagus growing….until it bursts into yellow sunshine! I took a few shots today to allow you to see the abundance and texture of the blossoms, very waxy.

It’s surprising to me how much grows in the sand or the dense wet soil close to the shore.

Today was hermit crab day! Hermit crab is a misnomer for these social crabs, which sometimes live in large groups of a hundred or more. At times the shoreline is crawling with them, as it was today. They quickly retreat into holes in the sand at any movement from us therefore getting a good shot is always a bit challening.

And then there is the architecture of the village and the many “fishermen’s houses” that line the old uneven, and uphill (or downhill depending on your perspective) narrow streets. I adore all the tile work and the titivation of the house fronts and chimneys.

As we looped back towards the car we wound our way thought the village and stopped at the main square, not much bigger than a postage stamp, to enjoy a bica. From there, as always, a few things called out to me.

I decided to drive around the flip side of the salt flats to the “other side” of the harbour to show James the small beach we used to picnic on in our early visits here. It was completely isolated back in those days and boy….do I have memories of this place.

Another walk about, a few photos and then the drive home………with several stops between the beach and the main route….

I love there flowers………I wait for them to bloom each year I am here and I never tire of examining them and noting all the details. Such vibrant rich colour. Carpobrotus, commonly known as pigface, ice plant, sour fig, Hottentot fig, and clawberry is a genus of ground-creeping plants with succulent leaves and large daisy-like flowers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek karpos “fruit” and brotos “edible”, referring to its edible fruits.

And just to hopefully make you Ohhhhhh and Awwwwww

The last stretch to home we passed by a large acreage of plum orchards and the fruit is quickly developing.

A grand day, sunshine, sea air, wonderful things to see and do, and a friend to share it all with. It fares well for us, which is more than I can say for this poor old fishing boat!!