Someone in the group had an eagle eye last year when it was spotted that Ireland were to play Gibraltar in the European Championship Qualifier but the game was not being held in boring old helper monkey riddled Gibraltar but in Portugal. And not only that but South Portugal where the sun is still splitting the rocks. The text went out and it was put to us in a way where there would be have to be agreement in principal as we are all married with kids now and our last boys holiday away was the Euros in 2016 in France. The holiday group is made up of all walks of life that have clicked over the years because of similar interests. Mainly sitting in a pub watching sport and drinking beer all day. We had spent 2 weeks in France sitting in a bar watching match after match and going to a few of them. This was my idea of heaven. Now this time around we would be landing on the Friday and not have a game until the Wednesday. However Ireland played Greece on the Friday then one quarter final rugby world cup match was on the Saturday night which would be great. Back to the plan , The agreement in principal was upgraded to a locked in when one of the friends just went and booked 8 flights with our names on them so we had to go really. It just took most of us a few go's to tell our significant others. My wife is fairly easy going but I feared for one friend who had their child's 7th birthday on the day of arrival.
So we were booked on the flights, the next question was where to stay. I am a regular traveler to these parts so I knew them well. I knew the group would be too old for Albufeira or just not mad enough. Vilamoura is that slightly more upmarket and an older crowd. We decided that we didn't want much madness and debauchery this time around so we went for Vilamoura. More of a golf resort than the other destinations. I always remembered one pub on the Marina called the Brewery and I did love a place with restaurants and bars overlooking a marina. So Vilamoura it was. The hotel was an afterthought really. Somewhere close to the Marina was fine with us so the Luna Olympus was booked. It was basic but fine. Pool area wasn't great but I didn't see much of it. It was late to bed and late to rise. Most of the time I would get up and grab lunch on the Marina, then golf , dinner and out on the tiles.
There was one spot that was mayhem called the Irish bar where people were dancing on tables , falling off tables, dancing and lots of drink. The older people of the world , mainly golf enthusiasts aged between 50 and 75 really know how to have a good time. They were hanging out of the rafters in these bars and it was like they have never been to a party in their lifes. It was an eye opener that the place where we came to tone it down a bit was in fact a much more lively place than the others. The downside was it was off season so the live bands were terrible and if I hear one more Angels or Champagne Super Nova I will kill myself. These bands played the same crowd pleasers every night and it got boring. The good news was the rugby was on the Saturday night and it was a classic but in the end we lost. I briskly got over it with a really nice Thai meal down the road. And then we went dancing on tables in the Irish bar which was aptly named "The Irish Bar" which was madness. The France South Africa game was Sunday and we were all gonna watch that as well. On the Monday was Ireland vs Gibraltar but there were murmurings in the camp whether we would go at all to this. In the end we headed to Faro to see the game. Stadium was easy to get to and get out of as there was not that many at the match. At the match there was a near revolt when Irish supporters were informed there was no booze allowed in the stadium, Some Irish fans were thankful which would give them a much needed break. We were back in the pub by 10.15pm on the Sangres and Superboc.
I was here with my family last year and never noticed the Vilamoura underbelly but I noticed it this time. The ladies of the night made advances on us as we walked home from the hotel. So much so that we had to cross the road quickly to avoid them. Our hotel looked to be in the middle of the action which was a bit strange. I sat at the bar outside the hotel with a drink and watched the golfing fraternity come and play the 19th hole and it opened my eyes to the booming trade that was happening in the area. It was not only outside bars but the bars were infiltrated with ladies of the night as well. So if anyone started chatting to a girl and thought they were getting somewhere, then they were promptly told that the girl was indeed on the game and she would be pulling out her credit card machine before anything was consummated. This hurt many men's feelings after thinking their rugged good lucks and charm were still working their magic. Some stormed off but others went through with it and hoped they would fall in love with them so they could take them away from that seedy world. My strategy worked great. Just don't talk to any females. And it worked a treat. I did make friends with the Jedward of Vilamoura who are Brazilian identical twins and a wee bit festive to say the least. What are the chances of both your twins being gay? They were nice lads and we had a great laugh with them.
So Vilamoura is lovely and nice and affluent but I have seen another side to it this time around when I do not have my children around me but a gang of men. It is a totally different experience. I have to say, I much preferred the family trip there because I did not see the other world then. On the otherhand so many funny things happened with this group that we still had a great time. Golf, matches, rugby and a few pints with your friends. There is room for all of them. You may notice at the start that I mentioned the sun was splitting the rocks but the photos may tell different. It was nice for 2 days and cloudy for the rest but it was all good anyway. So in summary , the food was amazing, the drink was flowing, it was a great laugh so thumbs up for Vilamoura that has more of an edge to it than I first imagine. And the yachts in the Marina aren't bad either.
*All the above photos were taken on my photo
