Coming Back

A number of the people I spend time with in the Algarve have been coming here for years. In some cases decades. They know the obvious places well and they've stopped going to some of them. The novelty has worn off, which is a natural thing, and what they're looking for now is something less predictable.

This is a different kind of visitor from the first-timer working through a list. They don't need orientation. They need redirection. Someone who can say, you've been to Tavira but have you been to Cacela Velha? You know Lagos but have you driven the coast road to Sagres in late afternoon? You've done the beaches but have you spent a morning in Silves in March when the orange blossom is out?

The Algarve rewards the person who's willing to go slightly further and slightly slower than the obvious route. It has layers. Most of them don't require much effort to reach, they just require knowing they're there.

I find this more interesting than the introductory version. Working out what someone already knows and finding the adjacent thing they haven't discovered yet, that's a better conversation and usually a better day.