By: Karen Rubel, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent
We started the day with breakfast in the hotel and packed up our suitcases, ready to head to the south of Portugal! First, however, we drove to a small town and split into two groups, each starting with an activity and then we switched! My group first went to make cheese! We got the tour/stories from the woman who’s father-in-law brought this method of making sheep cheese to the region. It has a special designation that this type of cheese can only be made here (same as how port wine can only be made in a specific area). Our local guide told us this is “special occasion cheese”, not day-to-day. We got to make it and then have a tasting with the cheese at four different ages.
Then we switched with the other group and went to the tile factory where they hand paint every tile. We saw the process of how it goes from clay to the end result, and we got to paint our own tiles! It is MUCH harder than it looks. Tiles have to fire overnight to be finished, so Adventures by Disney had already arranged a private transport to bring our tiles to us the next day (over a 3 hour drive each way for the driver)!
Lunch was Portuguese-style burgers and this special dessert where you mix chocolate mousse, fire water, olive oil, salt, and hot peppers. I was a little nervous pouring the fire water onto my plate, and how it would taste, but it somehow all worked together!
After lunch we headed to a winery (non-port) where we got a tour and tasting, along with an opportunity to explore the gardens. Since we were with Adventures by Disney, they brought out the good stuff and we had some really nice wine for our tastings, including some from 1979.
We boarded the coach full and happy and headed toward the Algarve on a ~3-hour drive, complete with a movie (Guardians of the Galaxy) and stop for restrooms. As we enjoyed more snacks on the ride, our guides told us they arranged for our dinner that evening (a 6-course meal) to include a wine-pairing. This is another example of a magical extra that won’t be on all trips, but was added to ours! The view from our room was absolutely stunning, especially from our private deck. I just stood out there and stared for about an hour. It was amazing!
The dinner had the same gorgeous view of the Atlantic Ocean. We enjoyed every course and wine pairing on this wonderfully relaxing meal to end the day. As the sunset, we all thought the resort pool looked like BB-8 from Star Wars! 😊
After an unforgettable dinner, we had a later start so we could sleep in! We started with breakfast at the resort and then did some cliff walking on our own (with some new friends), near our resort, which allowed us great views of our resort!
We met up as a group later in the morning and took a short bus ride to our launching point of our boat rides to explore caves, including the famous Benagil cave! Every cave was spectacular and unique and we heard stories about each of them.
Once back to shore, we had some free time for shopping or lunch on our own. We opted for both, grabbed a couple souvenirs and enjoyed a nice sushi lunch (at our own cost). Although we made some wonderful new friends, it was nice to also have this option for a private meal!
After this break, we had options of what to do next – a cliff walk with our guides back to the resort, get on the bus for a ride back to the resort, or stay for more shopping and find our own way back. We opted to do the cliff walk, which was well worth it! The views were incredible and we kept stopping to take so many pictures!
The afternoon was free to relax, enjoy the shopping or resort amenities. It also gave us time to pack for our trip home the next day. Our evening started with a reception followed by dinner at the resort. We all shared stories, memorable moments, and highlights while we laughed and reflected on this adventure that would remain with us forever.
The only sad day of the adventure, where we had to say goodbye to our fellow adventurers and depart for the airport. Transportation was provided, and for those of us that had to leave early morning before breakfast was open, we received to-go breakfast boxes! I’m telling you, Adventures by Disney thinks of everything to make sure you have an amazing trip from start to end!
Did you miss the beginning of our trip? Head here for Part 1.
If you’re interested in having your own Adventures by Disney experience, please reach out to Marvelous Mouse Travels for more information or for a quote!
