We were relieved on arrival to discover Fransisco & Margarida's villa was even bigger and more beautiful than the photos suggested, as was the fabulous pool (for sole use) which we played, exercised, relaxed and cooled down in at every opportunity. There were four of us and our two little girls chose a bedroom each and so we all had loads of space, even though we could have easily brought other family members or friends to share with. The living spaces are wonderfully comfortable and everything is extremely well equipped and the villa is very secluded and private, despite our hosts only living a few moments walk away. The town of Moura is very close by car and has plenty of shops and restaurants to choose from. Franscisco and Margarida are wonderful, friendly and helpful hosts, giving us lots of useful hints and tips on where to visit and translating names of the local wildlife, foods and sights. We went on a fantastic sunset canoe trip with Franscisco and his colleague on the Alqueva lake and learned lots more about the history of this beautiful region. During the week we visited the museum "Bolotel" at Portel and learned all about the cork (cortiça) and the special ecosystem of the cork forest area (the "montado"). We took a drive up a tiny winding track up to a fabulous viewpoint (and chapel) at São Pedro and surveyed the habitat with the cork trees all around. Another day we drove almost to the Spanish border to a small village called São Pedro do Corval to visit some of the many "olaria" (potteries) there. To reach this, we drove through Reguengos de Monsaraz with vineyards gracing every strip of land, contrasting with the vast plantations of olive trees we had seen elsewhere. We should have also got the children to count storks as it is fun to spot all the stork nests elevated up on high chimney pots or anything tall enough to host them. We also saw their graceful black and white forms riding the thermals on many occasions. For our family, this villa couldn't have been in a better location. The drive from Faro was worth the effort to enjoy this fabulous villa in a superb yet clearly lesser known region. Thank you Fransisco and Margarida. We hope to come and stay again.