Faro

We boarded the bus to Faro while it was still dark outside and despite the early hour our spirits were high. The ride was fantastic taking us through the beautiful Spanish county side which was littered with olive and orange trees. As we crossed the river into Portugal I could feel the beautiful beaches of the Algarve nearing and knew that a good day was in store.



Over head the sky was blue and filled with puffy white clouds something that was about to change. Everything was great until about ten minutes outside of Faro when the clouds began to darken and it started to rain. Luckily Faro has more to offer than just a strip of beaches. As we walked through the town we were shocked at the amount of storks nesting on almost every roof. These massive white birds had taken over the town square just as pigeons would in any other place. It was really amazing to see their huge nests sitting atop churches, grocery stores, satellite dishes, and any other thing they could find.




The main attraction in Faro besides the beaches is the cathedral in the center of the town. This cathedral is not particularly ornate, beautiful, or historically significant but it does have something which sets it apart from all others. In its courtyard there is a one room chapel constructed entirely of bones. There are 1245 skulls “decorating” the interior with countless amounts of leg, arm, and other human bones used for the structure it self. The chapel was built by monks who decided to dig up the graveyard and create a monument that would remind visitors of their final fate. This bit of background really adds to the overall effect, as if the 1245 skulls starting at you were not already grim enough. Upon entering the chapel I immediately felt my skin start to crawl and I thought I was having a little trouble breathing. I have been in crypts with exposed remains before but it was really creepy being completely surrounded by that many skulls. The weirdest part was that the bones provide a perfect acoustic barrier so there is absolutely no echo. It felt like the words were being sucked right out of my mouth. Needless to say after I snapped a few pictures and the novelty of the room had worn off it was time to get outside into the fresh air.









From the Chapel we dodged another short shower and caught the next bus to the beach. As the bus arrived the skies cleared up and Gary and I took advantage of the small window ofgood weather and headed down to the sea. The wind was rather chilly and the ocean was definitely too cold for a swim but it was still nice to get my feet wet and have a little sand between my toes. After a short while the rain started again and we caught the bus back into town where we boarded the express coach to Lisbon.