Prawn's with their heads on

We are in Portugal for a conference that begins tomorrow. This place is REALLY off the beaten track. The bus to the village center runs about twice a day. They claim it will be more often once the hundreds of conference participants get here, but they didn't seem to have any details. I asked if there were any buses we could take if we were willing to pay, but there weren't. I'm beginning to think the conference organizers misunderstood travel in the area. We were TOLD the two bus trip from the airport was about 6 Euro. Since we arrived in the middle of the night (literally) we were NOT up for two bus rides, but I don't think the second bus to the hotel really exists (other than the twice a day route). Glad we took the taxi.

We walked the 5k to the village center, and planned to take the courtesy bus back. We saw a guy carrying his poster to the conference walking along the same strip going towards the hotel. Guess he didn't find the second bus either. The whether is about 50 degrees and gorgeous. The marina was beautiful, with a handful of people walking along the beach. It is Sunday, so maybe it livens up during the week.

The restaurant was completely empty except for us. I ordered prawns with the heads on. And yes, I actually knew they had their heads on when I ordered them. I told the waitress I wouldn't be eating the heads. She said, "People don't eat the heads, just such on them." I didn't such on them either. They were actually quite wonderful.

We did find the courtesy bus (actually a van) to come home. It was filled to overflowing with people trying to get back to our hotel.

The area is a major disappointment after the venue in Rome last year, where there was tons to do every day. Here I'm thinking prawns with their heads on may be the highlight - unless we take a four hour train ride to Lisbon.