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Blog 4: mid April Easter in Tavira

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With multiple friends and relatives sick with Covid and other more serious ailments, not to mention a horrendous war in the Ukraine destroying hundreds of thousands of innocent lives and a bone chilling storm raging across the western Canadian provinces, I have been questioning the relevancy of writing a travel blog from sunny Portugal.  But hopefully a minor diversion is also helpful at times.   Sidewalk Amaryllis  Fig tree avoids pickers My time in Portugal has also made me appreciate how very fortunate I am. The simplicity of life here has given me pause and pleasure.  Walking to pick up freshly baked hot bread and the few groceries I can carry,  also means I have time to notice when flowers are poking out of cracks or a lone fig tree leans out over the river. Time to appreciate the huge diversity of bird species all around in the air, the salt pans and singing from the trees and bushes.  And who knew two cars could snuggle up and share one parking spot....
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Blog 3: In full Portugal mode at last😎🥳😴

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 Think I’m getting worse at this, not better, and strangely enough, one week seems much the same as the other, so finally I’m fully in Portugal mode. Weather report first…we now have had 3 to 4 beach walking days so things are warming up! But I also bought a hot pink puffer down jacket for 19 euros, both to keep me warm at night and so cars can see  me as we stumble errr walk home on the cobblestones. So  This week two of Jeanette’s friends,    Krys and Patricia arrived  from Toronto so a busy time and lots of laughs.  Last night was Patricia’s BD so we celebrated in style. I made Linda P’s maple chicken curry, we drank Prosecco and enjoyed the night with John, Sue and two friends Ab and Lia joining us as well.  As you may have already guessed, multiple stops in coffee shops is a way of life here. The Portuguese, like most Europeans drink their espressos in thimble size cups in one gulp. The glass of water that comes with it reserves your spot for...
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Week 2 brings weird weather to southern Portugal

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  Recently,  we’ve been bemoaning the unusual weather in (usually) sunny Tavira.  Apparently a year ago the average temperature was in the low 20’s and brilliant sunshine everyday.  Last ‘week the temperature was about 16- 18 and dampish. But the strange part was around March 15th the murky sky seemed like we were surrounded by forest fires without the sparks or smell. When I looked at the forecast I discovered we were in the midst of a rare sand storm blowing across from the Sahara desert in North Africa.  It was especially bad in southern Spain , where people with respiratory issues were urged to stay indoors. Other than the brownish grey sky, didn’t seem so bad here but when we got up in the morning, every car in Tavira was covered in a fine film of sand.  Guess what? It was wonderful to have a supply of face masks with us. The first two pics were taken around noon on day 2 of the sand storm. The 3rd pic is what Tavira typically looks like on a sunny day...
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