And finally…
We’re home safely, now catching up on the washing and the mail and everything that’s been happening in our absence, so today, a few pictures of the beautiful Algarve coast in Portugal.
Our holiday comes to an end
We’ve reached the final day of our holiday and it’s been another glorious, sunny day with a cloudless blue sky and just a gentle breeze to keep us from totally baking. It looks like this week’s good weather is now here to stay in Portugal, and apparently warmer weather is forecast in the UK so here’s hoping.
We walked across the cliffs to the village for lunch, and an excellent lunch it was too. Ed had lamb casserole and I had grouper (some sort of fish, since fish is the local dish here in these small fishing villages) both freshly cooked, Portugese style, with delicious Mediterranean vegetables (yes, I know Portugal is on the Atlantic coast, but who’s counting?) Since it’s our last day, we also had half a litre of Sangria, only Ed had just half a glass so I was forced to finish the rest myself. My mother always taught me to finish up every last scrap on my plate, so true to form, I consumed the Sangria down to the last drop.
It may have accounted for the rubbery legs on the way home, and the fact that I then fell onto the bed and promptly nodded off.
Tomorrow we are picked up at 7.30am for the drive to the airport. We arrive in the UK around lunch time and we hope to be home by early evening.
It’s been a great holiday. Ed is looking really well and we both feel good (or could it be the Sangria?) Unfortunately I haven’t managed to cut the photos down to size, so although I was hoping to show you some nice scenes today, I’m afraid it means waiting until I’m home and have my proper computer with me. (Why is it that in Microsoft Paint you can stretch or skew, rotate either way, but not reduce in size? When I tried to reduce the size to something manageable, I ended up with a square of blue sky but nothing esle, which I didn’t think would be interesting…)
Our second week
We’ve had a mixture of weather, with two days of rain which resulted in a torrential storm with howling winds and rain lashing against the windows and lasting all night. I got up at two o’clock (a.m. that is, not p.m.) to remove everything from the floor in case we were flooded, but all was OK and our reward was sparkling blue skies and hot sunshine next day.
The forecast then was five good days out of six, and so far it’s living up to expectations. We’re managing quite a bit of walking and even more eating out, which suits me fine.
One downside of this place is that the promised free wi-fi broadband is only available in a small corner of the complex, and the signal is really flaky. Having now managed to suss out my username and password for Photobucket, I’m going to try and show you a couple of pictures – if the signal holds up long enough. If no pictures appear, blame the signal, not me!
Another day
We’ve had a mixture of weather, with some rain most days but also quite a lot of sunshine. Yesterday was glorious, so we set off to find the gypsy market in Lagos, the next town. The gypsy market only takes place on the first Saturday morning of the month, so I was eager not to miss it.
We caught the bus from just outside the gates of the complex where we’re staying, and it took us meandering through tiny villages until we reached the esplanade at Lagos. Since everyone else was alighting there, we thought we’d be best to follow suit. Then we just tagged along behind the nearest group of walkers and fetched up at the market.
It was like all markets worldwide, so we bought a few items to take home with us and spent the rest of our day wandering along the esplanade, looking at the marina, drinking coffee, and treating ourselves to the most fabulous doughnuts from a street vendor. When we’d eaten, drunk and looked our fill, we caught the bus back.
The bus cost just three euros each for the return journey and was very comfortable. Plenty of room for Ed’s legs (he’s tall) and air-conditioned. We had a great day, and sunshine throughout.
Today is very showery, so we’ll probably go out for a walk later on. Meanwhile, I’ve had my swim (and jacuzzi, naturally) and Ed is busy reading.
I quite like this life.
A good holiday
Having a good holiday. On Tuesday – Ed’s birthday – we walked into the next village, had lunch (fish and chips – how British can you get? We couldn’t find any Portuguese food), walked back and rested for the remainder of the day.
Yesterday it rained on and off all day, so we slipped out between the showers for a fabulous, genuine Portuguese meal at a restaurant just down the road. Actually “slip” is an operative word, for Ed did precisely that on our return journey. There was a kind of slimy mud at the side of the road, he slipped on it and down he went. Since he’s six foot three and big with it, I was so afraid I wouldn’t be able to heave him up, but fortunately nothing was damaged and we reached home OK. Kept looking for signs of bruising, since the doctor put the fear of death into both of us by impressing upon us that we must return immediately at any signs of bleeding – because of the Warfarin – but happily, there was none. Not a bruise in sight.
Today has been gorgeous, warm and sunny with just enough breeze to keep us cool, so we walked the other way along the cliffs into that village, had a great lunch and walked back.
Would show you some photos, but have forgotten my Photobucket password or username or both, so you may have to wait until our return. Yet another senior moment….