SCOUTING TRIP TO PORTUGAL  
JUNE 10, 2004

We decided on a short outing today, and, after our normal morning ritual of coffee, breakfast, and CNN news, we set out to explore some of the nearby coast towns as we aimed toward Portugal, about 20 miles west.

The next village to the west, again a tourist area, is Islantilla, which is an upscale resort area with golf course and many very fancy houses, a shopping mall, and a very clean and nice beach.  Then there is Isla Cristina, which appears to be a larger, earlier version of La Antilla.

We then branched off north and took the freeway into Portugal.  At the border we were given a schedule for the upcoming Euro 2004, the big soccer playoffs, which is being hosted by Portugal this year and will be underway for most of the month.

We drove on to Faro, just to check things out, and picked up some information about the Algarve area and Faro specifically for future use.

After leaving Faro we traveled along the coast route, stopping in a nice park for a picnic lunch, and enjoying the scenery and local villages.