New Year's Eve in Albufeira

Well, we'd been warned that New Year's Eve in Albufeira was up there with Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations but we didn't really believe it ... until we saw it with our own eyes.

We're not really big New Year's Eve people, in fact, we rarely even stay up until midnight when we're home. There was the time that Harri famously rang in the New Year with a bottle of Madeira wine and his very loud rendition of 'I feel pretty' from West Side Story but the less said about that the better. 

This year, we decided we were going to behave like grown-ups and rather than head to bed around ten o'clock, we were going out to celebrate. The plan was to wander down to Arte's Bar, have a few drinks then enjoy the fireworks from the outside seating area. We would then retire inside for a nightcap before meandering back to our villa. One of the thrills of living here, albeit for a short time, is the proximity of a great bar populated with interesting people from all walks of life. The lager is much cheaper than in the UK too. 

Old Town's main square was full of party-goers

Having learned our lesson on Christmas Eve when we turned up at seven o'clock and sat on our own for two hours, we thought it best to eat first and venture out a bit later than usual, maybe about 9pm. Remembering that everyone had taken food to Arte's on Christmas Eve, I suggesting our own donation might be the large bolo rei going to waste in our kitchen. It was a gift, a lovely, generous gesture from our lettings agent, but we had already tried this traditional Portuguese cake and weren't very keen on it. Rather than letting it go to waste, I argued, we could take it with us. Harri thought this was a ridiculous idea and pointed out that we didn't even know if there was a buffet tonight. Anyway, I let him talk me into leaving it behind, there was a buffet and our bolo rei remains in the kitchen untouched.

Albufeira's restaurants were packed out

The bar was quiet when we walked in; in fact, very few of the regulars made an appearance while we were there. We chatted to the bar's owner Dom (a former chef) about the best way to cook saltfish and fresh prawns, chatted about supermarkets and property to retired man from Leeds who divides his time between the Algarve and the UK and felt slightly let down. Where was the buzz we'd been promised, where were the throngs of Portuguese people out celebrating the New Year?

We heard the live music as soon as it kicked off at about 10.30pm. We couldn't see the beach, but we could hear that concert!  Though we had no idea who the female singer was at the time, I now know we were listening to Aurea, a 29-year-old soul singer from the Alentejo whose first album reached the top of the Portuguese charts and stayed there for 44 weeks. At midnight, a popular band called DAMA took centre-stage (three months ago, these guys were nominated in the category of the Best Portuguese Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards so they are clearly big over here!). 

The fireworks kept us all captivated

Unsurprisingly, Albufeira's free live concert plus fireworks is a massively popular annual event and Dom estimated that there would be over 10,000 people partying on and around the beach tonight. After weeks of relative peace, this was impossible to imagine, but if it was indeed the case, then I wanted to see the party for myself. Harri wasn't so keen, but eventually agreed to go for a quick stroll to investigate. 

Wow! As we got closer to Old Town we could almost taste the atmosphere changing. The sleepy streets we'd grown accustomed to walking along were transformed into bustling thoroughfares. Bars we'd never even noticed were crammed full of customers and restaurants that had been half-empty just a few days earlier were bursting at the seams. 

The large stage had been set up on the beach, but while there were plenty of young people dressed up ready for a night of partying, there were large numbers of family groups out to enjoy the night's celebrations too. Everyone dazzled and glittered, from the teenage girls in their impossibly high silver heels to the little ones with flashing Minnie Mouse ears.

We could see fireworks along the coast 

After wandering around for half an hour or so we were exhausted and headed back to Arte's Bar. As Dom had predicted, the streets were now lined with parked cars as more and more people arrived to enjoy the legendary fireworks. We grabbed another drink and made our way to a grassy area high above the town where we could see all the way along the coast. 

In the distance we could hear the crowd counting down to midnight and then the fireworks began. In the distance, we could see them going off in (what we guessed) were nearby Quarteira and Vilamoura and then, a few seconds behind, in Albufeira. For ten minutes or so, fireworks filled the immediate sky and, as we stood there surrounded by Portuguese families, I realised that after just one month here I am starting to feel part of the local community. 

Half an hour later, we were celebrating Hogmanay again, when two Scottish women burst into the bar and started kissing and hugging everyone. It was getting on for 2am and we were both a little bit squiffy when we finally got home ... and spotted something sinister lying there in our front garden. We tiptoed across to it and burst out laughing when we realised the suspicious-looking item was nothing other than a large Chinese sky lantern. 

A Chinese sky lantern landed in our garden

We may or may not be here in the Algarve next winter, but if we are, I know where I'll be heading on New Year's Eve. 

Navigating Albufeira on foot

My favourite route to ... everywhere

One of the big decisions we faced when deciding to spend the winter in Albufeira was whether or not to bring our car to Portugal. We had three options:

• Catch the ferry to Santander and drive through Spain and Portugal. A friend did something similar (when heading to Spain) a few years ago and I remember being surprised at how the costs escalated when you took the ferry, fuel and road tolls into account. And we'd have those same costs again when we return to the UK in three months time. This option also meant a lot of driving (over 1,000 kilometres in Spain/Portugal alone), meaning the overall journey would probably take three days each way. 
• Fly to Faro and hire a car for the duration of our stay. This would once have been our default choice, but that was in the days when we thought a holiday wasn't a holiday without a hire car at our disposal. We've since discovered how much more interesting it can be to travel around on public transport!
• Fly to Faro and not hire a car. This was definitely the cheapest option, but could be a bit of a gamble as, airport transfers aside, we'd be relying on buses and our feet to get us everywhere.

In the end, like most decisions, it came down to money. We really couldn't justify spending so much to bring our car to the Algarve, knowing that it would remain stationary outside our villa from Monday to Friday. The hire car option was ruled out for the same reason ... if we found we needed a car for any particular trip, we could hire one then. For the most part, we were confident we could rely on public transport and our feet to get around.

Everyone remembers the dolphin roundabout

Fortunately, once you've got the basic geography of Albufeira in your head, it's quite easy to find your way around the city. We've been told that everyone here navigates and gives directions from the various landmark roundabouts, so it's essential to locate the key ones early on. 

We're living within a few minutes' walk of the gravity-defying dolphin roundabout (rotunda dos golfinhos). From here you can head downhill and right towards Old Town and the beach. Carry on uphill past the discoveries roundabout (rotunda dos descobrimentos) and you'll soon reach Lidl and Aldi (a right turning at the roundabout also takes you back to Old Town). 

Ahead for the supermarkets, right to the beach

If you stick to the main road, not long after the German supermarkets you'll reach the turning (on the left) for the Mercado Municipal dos Caliços and the bus station. The two-weekly open air market is held along this road, just past the bus station.

Carry on straight ahead and you'll soon spot the Golden Arches heralding the presence of a McDonald's takeaway. On my first walkabout, I thought I'd reached the Strip at this point; however, there are two more roundabouts before you reach Albufeira's infamous street.

One roundabout that would be hard to miss!

Just past Albufeira shopping (set slightly back from the main road on your right) is the rotunda do relógio, a fun affair featuring two large watches.

If you decide to venture onwards to the Strip, then you need to be looking out for the rotunda das minhocas (worms roundabout). It's pretty difficult to miss: two giant-sized worms - one red, one green - upright and entwined, sporting yellow sunglasses. By now, you are right in the centre of where it's all happening ... well, during the summer months anyway. The bars, restaurants and gift shops start well before you turn right onto the Strip itself. 

When you spot these dudes, you're nearing the Strip

There is another roundabout that I've passed on my walkabouts, just up the hill from the Albufeira Hotel: it looks like a fisherman sitting in a small boat with a large wave about to engulf him. 

Together Albufeira's quirky roundabouts have helped me quickly form a basic map of this hilly city in my head. It doesn't mean I don't wander off route occasionally ... in the sunshine, it's impossible to resist the lure of the beach, even if it means adding another few kilometres to my shopping trip.

Not so vital for navigation but another great roundabout

Walking everywhere isn't for everyone, of course, and shopping takes far more time without a car than it did at home. That said, discovering Albufeira on foot is fun and means I'm getting to discover those narrow cobbled streets and the hidden steps that link them far more quickly than if we had a car at our disposal.