I will be spending Christmas together with my family and friends in my hometown. Instead of traveling 5,000 km by van, I booked a flight and will park my van at a friend’s place near Faro. I had a free weekend and a couple of working days left to explore the Algarve on my way to Faro. Less than a week is definitely not enough time to enjoy this beautiful area in the south of Portugal. I decided to explore as many spots as possible that I could checkout in more detail after Christmas.
Exploring the cliffed coast
In contrast to the endless sand beaches in the north-west of Portugal, the coast in the south-west mostly consists of cliffs. While driving along these cliffs, I found a nice parking lot at the end of a dirt road not far from Aljezur. It offered a nice view over the ocean.
In the afternoon, I climbed down the cliffs where I enjoyed a little sun bath on a short beach.
The sun was already behind the ocean when I came back to my van.
I woke up early in the morning to hike along the cliff headed south. There was no one except for me and an angler. I watched his adventurous stunts right at the edge of the cliff.
His technique seemed to work. Within five minutes he caught two fish. 
I came back from my hike before noon to continue my ride further down south.
I had to think about the German winter while cruising a long these green avenues in December. I didn’t miss the snow. I’m definitely a summer person! 
Every once in awhile, I left the paved road to checkout the coast. I came across a lot of nice beaches and great surf spots.
A true paradise for van travelers and surfers.
I reached the very bottom of Portugal in the afternoon where I checked out the Fortaleza de Sagres.
Hanging out with hippies
There were a lot of tourists in Sagres and most of the parking lots were full of modern camper vans. I didn’t really like the vibe. The area was good for surfing but not for spending the night in a relaxed atmosphere. I remembered people telling me about Praia do Barranco. A beach close to Sagres that was hard to reach and it was described as a hotspot for hippies and crazy people. That sounded way more interesting!
I picked up a hitchhiker on my way to the beach. He totally matched the description. A friendly dude from England who just came back from busking. While we were slowly driving down the broken and bumpy path to the beach, he told me that he lived in a cave. It was located on the top of a steep slope right behind the parking lot. A minimalistic natural house. Perfect!
We had a nice view over the whole area from the cave.
Most of the vehicles parked in the parking lot were inventively customized old vans. Their owners were all kind of alternative people. Mostly hippies who enjoyed the sunny weather in Portugal. One guy had come all the way down from Berlin with his bicycle.
What a great atmosphere. 
I loved the place! Although I didn’t have a lot of time, I ended up staying for two nights at Praia do Barranco. I met a bunch of nice and really interesting people during these three days. Very inspiring!
As usual, I would have liked to stay much longer. But Christmas was calling. I also wanted to check out one more spot that Mauro recommended, so I left Praia do Barranco and drove to Praia do Carvalho.
Wow! Another beautiful spot!
The last weekend felt like a whole vacation. I can’t wait to come back and explore more of these awesome places!