Responding to the many and varied promotional messages in the past year, e.g., that the Algarve is the best place for the Spanish to come for their holidays, thousands of them duly turned up for their Easter breaks.
Often after hours of travel through Spain, the Algarve finally was in sight, as was the sign telling all foreigners to pull over, thus delaying journeys for those who were quite happy to use the EN125.
A long queue developed as bemused Spaniards grappled with the multi-faceted toll system, some 'in the know' driving straight past in the certain knowledge that if they ever should receive a ticket for unpaid tolls, they will bin it.
The embarrassment of these queues of visitors is lost on Estradas de Portugal which, despite having at last concluded that the gantry system on the A22 indeed was a huge waste of money at €1.4 million a piece, seems powerless to tear up the bizarre toll collection agreement between the government and the Spanish owned concession holder.
As the wannabe tourists queued on the Guadiana International Bridge for the privilege of entering the Algarve to spend their money, some commented that the system was over complicated and that they just wanted to carry on after a long drive and get some rest in the Algarve, hopefully hitting the beach.
Estradas de Portugal reported that the number of foreign drivers using its misnamed EasyToll system exceeded 8,600 this Easter, "a growth of 19.3% over the over the same period last year."
"These four days are a period marked by a strong influx of foreign tourists, particularly Spanish, and on Thursday, 4,554 cars entered the Algarve using the A22," failing to note the length of the queue.
The number of foreign vehicles that avoided the queues is not known, not is it clear how many got off the Via do Infante to use the EN125 to avoid toll charges.
