In my never-ending quest to report the mundane, I was so hot in Faro, although I’m not sure whether I’ve mentioned the weather, that I found a petrol station to pop into. I went in for a cold drink, but realised they also had a little café section, which felt like a significant upgrade from my original plan of standing outside looking like I couldn’t afford my own car. I wasn’t sure how much my espresso would cost, but it transpired to be about 70p. Across southern Europe they realise how to sensibly price their espressos….
I wasn’t entirely sure whether I was allowed to eat the crisps I had also purchased in the petrol station while sitting in their café area, but nobody said anything. I’m also not sure they seemed especially troubled by much behaviour generally, which is one of the quiet blessings of certain roadside establishments.
The drink I had chosen was Sumol and I’ve discovered that they have around fifteen different fruit flavours. This one is apple, mango and guava and it is a limited edition flavour tied to the eclipse on 12 August 2026. This is another rabbit hole that I didn’t know that I needed to go down, but I feel the need to try more Sumol flavours now if they put this much effort into this concept, reaching for the heavens and all that….. Travel broadens the mind, although occasionally it does so through a petrol station fridge.
Oh, the crisps were lovely as well.