Portugal 2023

Like a Postscript, but different I am writing this from the comfort of my ergonomic office chair in Washington Grove rather than wedged into an airplane seat or on a terrace watching crabs scuttle in the Algarve mud. It’s great to be home! Here are some “parting shots” from the end of the trip. Southern… View full post

Change of plan: Instead of puttering around the Portuguese countryside to wrap up our Portuguese adventure, we booked a last minute AirBnB in Alfama – the oldest, and clearly the steepest, neighborhood in Lisbon. Alfama In hopes of a hard cure for Marida’s chopped up right knee meniscus (lol), we booked the top apartment at… View full post

There really isn’t a “best” part of the Algarve – it’s varied but beautiful everywhere – so we decided to get out of town and do some touristing. Lagos This busy port overlooked by a seemingly endless stretch of cobblestoned, kiosk-lined walkways is known for its booming industry in kayak tours of the nearby cliffs… View full post

After the wilds of the Azores and the cold, wet crowds of Sintra, the Algarve was a kinder, gentler Portugal. It was unexpectedly laid-back, with just the right balance between retaining the local character and having an effective infrastructure for visitors. The repurposed fisherman’s cottage we had rented was small but comfortable and cute. It… View full post

For our week outside of Lisbon, we had rented a traditional Portuguese farmhouse in the country. This bucolic slice of down-home Portugal turned out to be long on history and extremely short on comfort. This was unfortunate as Marida’s sister, Sari, joined us from Florida for the week. Sadly for all of us, she almost… View full post

Years ago, Marida’s brother had a really bad experience with a used car – a real lemon – and from that point on, he and his wife referred to any lo-down dastardly evil-doer their lives by the name of the guy who sold them the car. For me, henceforward, any completely denatured, once-impressive but now… View full post

Flores: When pronounced by its inhabitants, this lovely romance word denoting flowers sounded to me like “Floorsch.” So, Floorsch it is. The wild and woolly volcanic geology, colorful history, and laid-back, friendly people on this tiny island made exploring a blast. We visited calderas, swam in tourist-free waterfall pools, explored coastal waterfalls and caves by… View full post