Albufeira—Just Hangin'

We decided not to go to Faro or Lagos, because we figured out that we'd be visiting another town pretty much like the others so getting on a bus to see an old town not that different from the others we've seen seemed unnecessary. Instead we spent Monday taking a walk around a familiar neighborhood and down to the beach where we watched some British families sunbathing and playing tag with the Atlantic waves. We thought they were insane because, although sunny, it was 63F (17C) and windy. I suppose this felt warm compared to England, but really?

Later, we spent an hour out by the pool reading; we were sheltered from the wind because the hotel wraps around the pools and tennis courts. We haven't had many of these kinds of days. One routine we look forward to is our traditional Portuguese midday meal at Pingo Doce. Took a nap after linner (i.e. lunch/dinner) and later walked to the top of the cliffs overlooking Albufeira's old town and watched the sun set while enjoying a latte at a restaurant set back from the walkway skirting the cliffs. Even though we had a relaxing day we were surprised to learn we walked 4.9 miles. I'm going to run the pedometer a few days after we get home to see if we normally walk this far over the course of a day.

Today (Tuesday, October 30th) will be rainy and cold—it's a reading, binge watching some home renovation programs, and napping day. We'll see if we can work in a few walks between downpours. Last year we were in Albufeira September 27-October 6th and we swam every day. This year we arrived October 25th, and for us, it felt like fall and we're happy about that; we'll be prepared for a Seattle re-entry.

Our last morning at Bellavista. 

Brisa Sol, a four star hotel across
the street from Bellavista.

Brisa Sol lobby.

Poolside at Brisa Sol.

Brisa Sol is a full-service hotel, but it also has a mini-kitchen
replete with dishes and utensils and cookware, a balcony,
and a huge bathroom. The table folds out and that is a micro-
wave and toaster on shelves over the table. They certainly
packed a lot in a tiny space. Don't feel like cooking? There's
always 24 hour room service. 

Salmon baked in pastry with vegetable medley for me and...

Marie had the same midday meal but with a steamed savory

cabbage side.

Yesterday we both enjoyed a traditional veal midday meal. We
really like what Pingo Doce's cafeteria cooks up fresh daily. If
we wanted, we could also have mackerel, salmon or a steak
grilled for us while we wait. We could also have a pizza made
right before our eyes if we wanted. As I said before, the Pingo
Doce cafeteria experience at their larger stores is amazing. The
traditional Portuguese dishes change daily and we have yet to
spend more than $8.50 a piece.

This shot is from our balcony. Note gray clouds. 

This mall is next door to our hotel. The Continente department
store is the anchor for this mall. Continente carries groceries
and just about anything you might need to set up a household.
Note the Pizza Hut sign. Like Bangkok, KFC and Pizza Hut are
popular here. We don't understand why anyone would eat at
this mall's food court; it's just fast food.

Our hotel from Continente parking lot. Note sky again. We
thought we'd sneak in a walk between showers.

Pingo Doce is our favorite store for lots of reasons, but the
cafeteria daily offers fresh meals at bargain prices. Mostly
locals eat here and lots of tourists are at the food court. Maybe
they don't know about Pingo Doce.

On our neighborhood walk, the sun broke out. You can see
how most of these homes are shut for the season. 

This must be a local, whether an expat retiree, or Portuguese
person, because its shutters are open. The dozen homes
surrounding it are are shuttered for the season

The clouds are coming.

Looking back to new section of Albufeira. Looks sunny.

But then...

it's everyone

running for cover.

Five minutes later. Except for the chill it could have been an
April day in Seattle.

The rest of the afternoon was rainy so we watched the Women's World Gymnastics Championships and David Attenborough's "Big Blue II" before heading over to Pingo Doce's for dinner around 6PM.

Simone Bile led the U.S. team to their 5th straight championship.

Marie had a pork and potato dish with green beans and mushrooms.

I had bacalhau cooked with cheese and onions, green beans,
and a salad.

On offer is a variety of wines

In addition to the rotating traditional Portuguese dishes, the
cafeteria offers beef, lamb chops, chicken and brats.

As I said before salmon fillets are available every day.

The same is true of the mackerel. The cook suggested I try

this sardine instead.

And there's always a variety of juices and carbonated drinks.

I didn't take a picture of the salad bar, the pizza station where a person throws the dough and makes your pizza to order, or the station where three traditional Portuguese entrees are offered.

Albufeira—October 25-31, 2018

Our travel went exactly as planned right down to arriving at the Albufeira bus station that's a 10 minute walk from our apartment. The only hitch was that the elevator was out of order and then the key safe code didn't work. Luckily, I've had a phone since Porto, so I called Jose and he gave me the new code for the key safe and viola! Our other surprise was discovering, in a round about way, that wifi doesn't come with the apartment. But like Goldilocks, I tried two other servers and found one that was just right.

Other than those few surprises we had an uneventful travel day. Made all our connections without a hitch and even had time for a coffee and pastry at the train station before boarding our bus.

Oriente Station feels ultra modern and connects trains, local
and intercity busses, the Metro, and taxis all in one building,
making getting anywhere in and beyond Lisbon a breeze. It's
difficult to believe it opened in 1998.
You can read about the station here.

We had one of these chocolate cookies in Tomar and were glad
to see them again at Oriente Station.

Marie looks so relaxed because getting here was easy. Sure
it took two hours from Cascais, but every connection from
local bus to intercity train to Oriente via Metro was seamless.

The Vasco da Gama Bridge opened in 1998 for Expo 1998.

The bridge is 11 miles long and an engineering marvel. Click
here to read a brief explanation.

Stork nests littered some of the power line structures. I saw
these across the freeway and then...

...looked out the window on our side. It's a stork condo!

Remember to click on pictures to enlarge them.








Friday, October 26th
It appears fall has arrived. It rained heavily this morning and will be rainy most of the day with a high of 69F (20C). The next two days will be cloudy and cool (61F & 16C). Monday is supposed to be mostly sunny and 63F (17C)—so much for breaking out our swim suits. Rain and continued cool temperatures are predicted until we leave Wednesday. We have novels and umbrellas so it's all good.

We did laundry our first night here; now we hope it dries before leaving in five days.

This apartment is identical to the one we had last year. Nothing
grand, but comfortable enough with everything we need. Well,
it might be nice to have a few TV channels in English.

Midday meal at Pingo Doce's cafeteria. We love this place.
Marie had a traditional cod, potato and spinach dish and...

I had a traditional braised beef with chestnuts and spinach. At
this grocery store's cafeteria you can enjoy grilled salmon or
mackerel or a choice of three different traditional dishes, salad,
a drink of your choice (water, juice, pop, wine, or beer) for
about $10.00 for two. Right, $5.00 a piece but that's without
fruit or some kind of sweet of your choice for dessert. Add
another $2.50 for two desserts.  

We did a bit of grocery shopping
afterward. Fresh-squeezed orange
juice is popular from Lisbon on
south so you'll see these juicers
in cafes and some of the larger
grocery stores. Bring a container
from home and filler up!

Today is an easy day. We've walked
a little over 3 miles after the rain
stopped and may walk to the cliffs
overlooking the Atlantic later this
evening if the rain holds off. Mostly,
we're reading and napping in our
apartment like we would at home.

Check out the game these guys were playing; I've never seen anything like it.

Saturday, October 27th

Sunrise from our balcony.

Last night we went to bed at 10:30PM and the Red Sox were leading Game 3 (2-0) and when we woke up this morning at 7:00AM the game was tied and in the 14th inning. Wowser!

Today we took a bus to Portimao because Tiago, the researcher we met at the guesthouse in Coimbra, grew up there and suggested we visit. It's primarily a working class Portuguese city (the largest in the Algarve with 56,000 residents) situated on the River Arade. It has a long history. The Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians (and eventually the Romans, of course) all used the River Arade as a safe harbor and commercial hub. Eventually, it was incorporated into the fledgling Portuguese Kingdom in 1249.

Portimao was an important fishing and boat building city from the 15th-17th centuries. Today it is  visited primarily by British and Irish tourists, because 1.5 miles away on the Atlantic a planned tourist beach community was developed on the Praia  da Rocha. Although Tiago grew up in Portimao and said it's a wonderful place to retire we weren't enamored.

We enjoyed walking the old town and it's shopping district Rua do Comericio, Rua Vasco da Gama, Rua Direita and took a few pictures of the old town, walked along the River Arade promenade, and—wait for it—were blown away at the big, beautiful Pingo Doce between Praia da Rocha and Portimao's old town. We love this store!

The best discovery of the day was the storks and their nests. I have a few pictures of them. The nests are huge and built atop old factory smoke stacks and one was at the top of a decommissioned crane boom. We managed to walk 5.3 miles today even though we never left the center of Portimao's old town and river front. And speaking of the river front, later in the afternoon the wind picked up and some of the gusts just about blew us off our feet.

River Arade Promenade.

Conveyer line of baskets that carried
fish from boats to the docks that once
lined the river front.

One way bridge we crossed entering Portimao.

Same bird and nest as shown above.

Portimao's old town just up from the river.

Can you believe folks were driving here?

It's Saturday. Where is everyone?

The canopies lining the shopping streets are brilliant.

Portimao Church dates back to the 15th century.

If you were wondering if Halloween is celebrated in Europe...

Old Jesuit College on the main town square (Republic Plaza)
dates back to 1606, but was consecrated in 1707. Remember,
the Jesuits were expelled in 1759 and this college fell into
disrepair, but has been renovated since. Click here for more.

Pingo Doce is our favorite store.

We love their cafeteria. Today we

both had bacalhau casserole, the 

traditional reconstituted cod baked 

with onions, potatoes, and cheese.

It's sooo good!

And check out the produce off to the right.

Stork and nest up close. 

Stork and nest from river front. This is not the

same stork I pictured earlier.

These teenagers are part of the sailing club. We watched them out on the river until it got too windy and they called it a day. The sound should give you some idea of wind's intensity. I'm sure gusts reached 30mph (48km).

Sunset from our balcony.