Jeep Safari

We were at our resort reception area for 0820 but the jeep went passed the entrance and on to the next village. It came back about five minutes later. The driver blamed a poorly drawn map. I only hoped his map reading skills improved during the day.

After introducing ourselves all six of us were soon chatting away. On top of the cliffs above Albufeira we were joined by four other Zebra jeeps and then the convoy headed away from the coast with our guide/driver, Nico, giving little away as to our route for the day.

Our first stop was a café in Bouliquieme where we had time, as Nico said, for "Water, coffee, pee-pee". We also picked up some other passengers who hadn't made it to the starting point. Our jeep got one extra passenger, a Dutch tennis player. All the people on our vehicle spoke English.  I'm sure the organisers had arranged it this way. It doesn't make for a fun day if there are language difficulties.

We left Bouliquieme, and proper roads, as we headed north away from the coast and up through the hills on nothing but tracks and dusty fields. Nico, as we quickly found out, was the maddest driver of the five. He would take "short cuts" which were usually longer but bumpier than the route of the other jeeps.

As we drove through fields and groves of fruit trees Nico pointed out the various kinds: olives, oranges, quinces, pomegranates. He would also stop and pick up samples of the wild herbs growing beside the tracks: thyme, rosemary, anise.

Going through some fields of fruit and almond groves we stopped under a tree where there just happened to be a woman selling grapes, pears, watermelon and almonds.  Now, I know this was a set-up, in that the only passing trade this woman was likely to get was from other similar tours, but all the produce was local, fresh, very reasonably priced and a chance to find out a
bit more about the local economy, if you like that sort of thing.

After a fifteen-minute break we headed on further into the hills, sometimes on rough roads, most of he time on dirt tracks. Just before our next stop, we had our photos taken by the roadside and were told we would see them at lunchtime. The convoy had been coming along a curved road in the valley when, one by one, the jeeps stopped and the occupants all stood up and waved. Our jeep was last and so it took a little while to realise there was a photographer above us taking the shots. When it was our turn we all got up jumping, waving and shouting for the benefit of the camera.

On, through little villages which farmed carob (a substitute for chocolate), round bends that were impossible and up to a small craft shop in the middle of nowhere. It sold raffia baskets, fruit, herbs etc. Again, this was mostly for the benefit of Jeep tourists but it did not distract from its
charm. The handicrafts and produce were genuinely local and good value.

One of the drivers gave us a very interesting description of a bread oven that was out the back of the farmhouse. He told us that his grandmother had had one and went on to explain how it was used to bake the local bread.

On leaving the craft shop we continued on through farm fields and small villages. We passed some plantations that were growing plants ready for Expo'98 being held in Lisbon.

Passengers were dropped off at their respective hotel and forty minutes later we were dropped off at reception at the end of a fun, enjoyable adventure.

Mike Forrest