A Quick Trip to Portugal

October 20, 2013

For those of you that are wondering, we did figure out the washer and then we strung clothes around our room to dry.  When you pack lightly, unfortunately it does require more frequent laundry duty.

Don’t speak Spanish in Portugal!  I guess we sometimes forget that we crossed the border since there was nothing more than a sign.  We were hoping for a passport stamp but no opportunity for that. When we break into our bad Spanish conversation, we get stares and then responses in English.  All the Portuguese people we came in contact with were great English speakers.

Navare is a great little town.  We had killer views from our balcony to the beach below, the marina to the left and the lighthouse perched on a cliff to the right.  Everything was within walking distance and walk, we did!  We kept waiting for the sunset on the Atlantic and finally, on the last evening, we got a partial one.  It seems the rain rolls in about that time each day.

Many of the women, at least many of those over 40ish, choose to wear the traditional dress—a dress with 7 petticoats.  We aren’t sure why.  There are several stories.  It appears to me to be a dress covered with a colorful apron and then most of the ladies would have a scarf on their head as well.  Many of those same ladies spent their day on the beach drying fish.  Fish of all shapes and sizes, well usually small ones, really, were on wire racks facing the sun.  The fish head is still intact but the skin is peeled back so that the sun is drying the meat.  It is quite a spectacle but I wasn’t tasting.

Speaking of tasting, the food was not my favorite.  Now, there are some good little egg custard type pastries that the area is famous for.  We had some rich soups that were also very good.  Seafood was plentiful, of course, but ohhhh, so salty.

We took day trips to  Sitia, Batalha, Alcobaca, Caldas de Rinha,and Obidos. Each town had its specialty. Sita was home to  the lighthouse we could view from our apartment. One was home to an ancient monastery, another one boasted its big cathedral, another famous for its ceramics, and another for its walled medieval city perched atop the highest hill around.  Each town had its unique personality.  We enjoyed them all and are sorry we missed Fatima. We took time to shop a bit and check out the local markets.  Each day, when the rain would begin, we would make our short journey back to Navare.

Three days isn’t much but it gave us a taste of Portugal.  We left via a very deserted toll road to the Algarve Coast then veering east back into Spain where our next adventure begins in Arco de la Frontera.