We always take the back road (M1063) when travelling to Alcoutim, and nearly always stop shortly after joining the road in a small turn off. Glimpse of Odeleite reservoir will have caught your eye, and the best place to enjoy the view is shortly before a sharp right hand bend as you drop down into the village of Fonte do Penedo. The views of the Odeleite reservoir are stunning from here, but what keeps us stopping again and again are the Flores do Campo (wildflowers).

Even in late January, which is when I took these photographs, the smell of the Cistus and Lavender and the sound of the bees was wonderful. I suspect now in early February it is divine. On this occasion it was the other flowers in this spot which led to us spending a good 20minutes here.

There was so much underfoot, some of which was incredibly tiny, that I found myself in caught up in macro mode yet again.
Eventually I dragged myself away so we could continue our drive and have lunch in Alcoutim, but even as we continued we had to keep stopping as I saw things from the car!
For those who enjoy wildflower identification I have found another great website to add to the list I recommended a week or so ago – try Flores do Campo by Valter Jacinto.

Must get back to the Algarve. Still too cool up here in the Sierra for that blast of flowers. Love the asphodel and Alcoutim. And a Dutch mans pipe? Thanks for the flower link too.
Been cool here recently! Hope the link proves useful.
Looks similar to dutchmans pipe but I think it is Arisarum vulgare
Stunning! In going to make a note of this location. I may have driven along the road before but maybe I haven’t. Roll on September!
Well worth taking the back road – you end up beside the Guadiana and almost follow the river into Alcoutim. Really pretty drive and much more interesting than the fast road, although having said that we do use it lots!
Lovely photos. I see you also travel slowly when out and about 🙂
Very!!!
Lovely post. Missing Olhao – we got back on Thursday after a lovely 4 day stay.
Hopefully not too long before you are next out
Olá Becky,
you publish really wonderful fotos!
Best regards from Würzburg, Germany
Guten Tag Marcus
Thank you so so much for your comment. Hope it is not too cold in Würzburg at the moment.
It’s not too cold, but it’s a stormy monday.
See you in the warm month of August.