I’ve been promised sun, sea and sand but all I can see is snow. What’s going on? At least we are moving – by train to Vienna. Where’s all this sun the Oldies have been talking about?

Ah! This is more like it! We are just landing in Faro, Portugal. Wonderful! From the plane window I can also see the huge mounds of salt at the salinas (salt beds), so the open sea cannot be far away. The sun is shining and it is at least 20°C. All is forgiven, Oldies!

We’re all enjoying exploring Faro. It has such a southern feel to it, it is sometimes hard to take in that we are on the Atlantic, not the Mediterranean. The white houses, the orange trees around the town square, the ceramic tiles on the facades of the buildings, the warm winter sun, the tapas bars… I think we may have to travel further westwards before we experience the full impact of the wild Atlantic Ocean.

In the meantime, the Oldies have elected to head eastwards initially, the first stop being in Olhão. Travelling along the coast road is not particularly pleasing to this bird’s eye. Let’s just say that if I ever wanted to start a business here, I would get into selling spray paint. I’d make a fortune. I have never seen so much graffiti in all my life! There is a shocking number of abandoned and derelict buildings in this area; I’ve never understood why humans abandon so many houses and buildings. That’s bad enough, but defacing them into the bargain… why?

Anyway, back to Olhão. This town was apparently quite battered by the sea in the past, causing a lot of hardship for the residents who struggled to make a living from fishing. Nowadays, the sea looks quite tame due to the breakwaters that have been built along the seafront and like most towns along the southern coast of the Algarve, Olhão has boomed with the growth of tourism in the region. Fishing, though, is obviously still important. The Oldies had to practically drag me away from the fish market. I don’t think I have ever seen such a wide variety of fish on display. Mouth-watering!

We also visited Tavira, another quaint town further east along the coast, with its 37 churches and Moorish influenced architecture. After seeing so many small, potted poinsettias at Christmas in Austria, it was amazing to see huge poinsettia bushes growing in the castle gardens here. The vegetation overall is astounding, it is all so lush and varied. There is no danger of us suffering from a deficiency of vitamin C, with oranges and lemons in season!

I don’t believe it! I have only just got my first proper taste of the sea and what do the Oldies do? Head inland towards the hills, taking the long winding roads up to Cachopo. I have to admit it was a lovely drive and I managed to catch a good few impressive views of the sea along the way. There are a lot of wind turbines up here in the hills, understandably enough, what with those constant Atlantic winds, but it reminds me that I have seen very few solar panels here. Curious, especially considering the hours of sunshine they must get in this part of the world.

Her Ladyship got all excited by – wait for it – eucalyptus trees. She hadn’t seen a eucalyptus since the last time we were in Ireland and here on the Algarve they are everywhere. She insisted on us all having a good sniff of some eucalyptus leaves. Not bad, but give me the smell of seaweed any day.

I’ve heard of a striptease, but here we have stripped trees! Fascinating how cork bark can be harvested from these oaks around every eight to twelve years without harming the trees themselves. I shudder to think how long I would last, stripped of my feathers! The eucalyptus trees strip themselves by the looks of it.

Back at base (an Airbnb apartment in the centre of Faro), Her Ladyship tries her hand at harvesting a bit of cork herself – from an excellent bottle of local white wine, whilst His Lordship prepares us a good feed of fresh prawns fried up with plenty of chillies and garlic. As for me, I settle into my favourite armchair for a well-deserved nap.

All is well with this travelling trio.