Blog 3: In full Portugal mode at last😎🥳😴
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 as long as you want to sit. For those of us that need more than a thimble full, you can move up to the demitasse cup size “Americano”. No matter what your cup size, it is lovely to sit in the sun, and enjoy the street life all around you. Just a simple pleasure that we have adopted with enthusiasm. Most of the cafes have a wide range of freshly baked pastries that beg to be tried. I thought that nothing could beat warm buttery melt in your mouth croissants, but this is week 3 and after reading an article called “20 Portuguese pastries to try before you die” I’m on a mission…not to die but to try. “ Pastel de nata”, a baked custard tart is available everywhere and it does taste better than it looks. Not overly sweet and flaky enough to distribute crumbs all around you, even if you try and eat in one big bite. But moving down the try before you die list, I found two different pastries that totally satisfied the chocoholic within. The first has the strange name of “chocolate Salami” which I didn’t I understand because the cafes only have the slices on display, not the original salami shaped roll. The non baked recipe looks easy enough, a mixture of cocoa, sugar, butter, crushed tea cookies with a dash of flavour (vanilla, port wine or rum). The Portuguese also add a few nuts like almonds or dried fruit such as figs. I also tried a “Piramide” which is a small pyramid shaped concoction made from left over pieces of cake, covered in melted dark chocolate with a blob of whipped cream and a cherry on top. If I don’t expire from natural causes, then this may be the way to go…😋
 |
| About 14 degrees at 9:30 am and 22 by noon |
Sustainable Octopus (polvo) fishing is still done using the traditional clay pots that are lowered onto the seabed on ropes, trapping the unsuspecting octopus as he tries to swim back out of the narrow necked pot. But today we also saw many of the newer plastic and wireframe traps, baited with pieces of mackerel or sardines, that yield a somewhat larger catch for the backbreaking work of these fishermen who leave the port around 10 pm returning at 6 am with their catch ready to sell at the auction site on the shore. The price of octopus in 2020 was about 6 euros/kilo and the value of the Algarve catch was estimated to be just over 17 million euros.
We ate lunch at one of the restaurants along the waterfront and were surprised both by the higher than usual lunch prices ( 12 eu verses 5 eu)but also how delicious the food was when it arrived. John and Patricia had octopus, J and Krys had a tuna steak and I had the chef’s seafood spaghetti full of shrimp, octopus pieces, tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini. We cleaned our plates but got a pic of the octopus before it was devoured. When we got home and looked at our pics we discovered we had lunch at a Michelin rated restaurant..unexpected in this teeny out of the way fishing village.
As usual on Saturday evening we went to church to hear an amazing musical concert. This week was different in that the performers were both students at the local academy of music. There was a 14 year old girl who played the (Portuguese) accordion..she was incredible and got a standing ovation from the very appreciative audience. She was followed by a young fellow who I think was 17 and played an outstanding selection of classical piano pieces. The gold and gaudy decor of the old church somehow enhanced the young performers. In one of the pics below you will see the young girl’s proud father and brother.
Ending this with some pics of the library turtles sunning themselves. Beautiful flowering bushes near Sue’s place and outside John’s apt and afternoon fun in the sun.
5
Comments
Post a Comment