Despite having been born and raised in beautiful beach-spoiled California, I knew we had to see the famous Algarve beaches in Southern Portugal. They did not disappoint. In addition to the gorgeous weather we were fortunate to have, the main highlights I did not expect were: There were no beach resorts.  Just laid-back towns.  This meant no crowds, no large buses, no street vendors, no restaurant-lined streets with annoying touts, and extremely limited parking.  As a result, visitors were truly able to relax and explore the area. There were endless hiking trails.  With a brief glance at the map, it…