You could imagine a poncho-clad Clint Eastwood perched atop the bell tower in The Village with No Name, coolly picking off the baddies with his jaws locked on a cheroot cigar.
But instead of blood-spattered villains below, a mixologist is knocking up a tray of drinks for tourists lounging by the infinity pool.
I am one of the first guests to walk through the streets of a new ‘village’ constructed on the side of a hill, its white walls eye-blinkingly bright.
But the village is in fact a swish hotel and the properties which line the streets are suites and apartments commanding views of the rolling Barrocal countryside.
Part of the Viceroy hotel group, the Ombria is a perfect place from which to discover the hinterland of the Algarve.
The rolling hillside is rugged and sunshine beams down on a new golf course which snakes its way through the countryside like a gravity-defying green lake.
This is inland Algarve – where Old Portugal still thrives just eight miles from the sand and sangria.
Eager to explore the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, I borrow one of the hotel’s electric bikes.
Mark Porter stays inland in the Algarve – where Old Portugal still thrives just eight miles from the sand and sangria
Sunshine beams down on a new golf course which snakes its way through the countryside
Part of the Viceroy hotel group, the Ombria is a perfect place from which to discover the hinterland of the Algarve
‘Don’t stray far as the battery doesn’t last long’, I am warned.
I know about electric bikes so ignore this and head for the town of Loule, six miles away.
The streets are full of shops selling leather and pottery; the bar terraces are spilling over and the ancient heart of the citadel is abuzz.
It is market day and a sort of giant souk sprawls through the warren of medieval alleyways – a riot of colour and smells.
I take a circuitous route back through tiny hamlets, along country lanes that plunge and buck like a roller coaster and by seemingly untouched countryside.
With some relief I spot in the far distance the Viceroy Ombria. When I get back the battery is still a third full and I’ve done at least 30 miles.
I go for a quick dip in two of the four pools, check out the gym and have a pre-dinner snifter before taking the hotel’s minibus to dinner at Al Sud – a swish artwork of glass and marble overlooking the Bay of Lagos.
On another day, I visit Silves, the old capital of the Algarve, also inland from the usual seaboard haunts.
Silves, also inboard from the usual Algarve haunts, was the old capital of the region
Mark stops for luch at Morgado do Quintao, a vineyard with rooms that has been in the same family for three centuries
A fortress was constructed here in the 9th century on the banks of the river Arade, from where ships set sail to trade with North Africa.
The town is a fascinating patchwork of ancient and modern among the historic sites.
South of Silves, we stop for lunch at Morgado do Quintao, a vineyard with rooms that has been in the same family for three centuries and offers a piece of living history.
We sit under a 2,000-year-old olive tree and remind ourselves that if you wish to escape the Algarve’s selfie crowds, you don’t have to travel far.
