September, 2022 – May, 2023.
By mid-September the Vagabonds arrive at their new Portuguese home – a villa in the village of Praia da Luz, Algarve.
The villa has a lovely little tropical garden, a pool, a terrace for grilling and eating outside, and a nice sea view from the upper floor balconies. It has ample room for us and is nicely appointed.
The Atlantic Ocean coastline here provides stunning cliff views . . .
. . . with beautiful sandy beaches gracing many small fishing villages.
Just a view kilometers west is Cape St. Vincent, the southwestern-most point in continental Europe, with impressive cliffs high above the rolling sea.
Lagos
Lagos is the largest town nearby. It greets us with large sun-filled squares and decorative cobblestone walkways.
In the 1400’s the first great Portuguese maritime explorations originated here under Prince Henry the Navigator. Fort Ponta da Bandeira was built in the 1600’s to protect the town from the pirates and the Spanish.
Much of the old city wall and the first African slave market in Europe remain here as well. At the seaward tip of the town called Ponta da Piedade are fascinating cliffs and rock formations.
Every Saturday morning we come to Lagos to buy the best fresh fish in the area, and acquire home-grown fruits and vegetables at the farmers market. Older and more rural Portuguese, such as many of the farmers at this market, speak only their native language. But we find that most younger and more urban Portuguese speak English and often German and French.
There are a half-dozen nice golf courses in the area. The vagabonds drive around to see each of them, and settle on a membership at Penina Hotel and Golf Club. It isn’t the closest course, but it is flat, challenging (lots of water and strategically placed bunkers) and the personnel are very helpful. It was the first modern golf course constructed in the Algarve, built in the 1960’s. Each of the other courses in the area are quite hilly and so not as friendly to walk as we like to do. We play two to three times each week – a treat through autumn and wintertime.
At the end of October the club gives us tickets to attend the Portugal Masters Tournament at a nearby (and fancy) course in Vilamoura. The field is young players (in their 20’s and 30’s) known only on the European tours. But they are marvelous golfers.
Another “pastime” is learning to negotiate the Portuguese government processes. For example, it required six months to obtain the preliminary visa, tax identification number, and local bank account that we needed before arrival. When we got here we were required to appear at the immigration center (the nearest one being an hour drive away), figure out which counter to approach, and file additional forms (in Portuguese) to complete our visa and obtain a residency permit (which took an additional month to reach us). Then we could go to the local government health center to apply for a card that would allow us to enter the queue for scheduling medical services. Just to make it easier, each of the government agencies operates independently with their own rules, forms and computer systems. Patience becomes a watchword.
Cascais and Sintra
In November, we do a one-week pet-sit in Cascais, a town west of Lisbon, for a couple (Claire and Andy) who just moved in from Britain in August. It is sprawling residence with several out-buildings (an office, guest house, garage, stable), a pool and gardens. Max and Dougie are our dog-charges. They are big, like to swim in the pool, and Max (the younger one) likes to take walks.
While there, we visit Sintra, a nearby historic town. It was the summer get-away for the Portuguese kings and nobility in years gone by, and is filled with interesting architecture:
Quinta da Regaleira, built by an Italian designer, is just outside of town. It has a mansion with fancy spires but the draw is the lush grounds with secret underground passages and elegant follies.
Palacio de Pena (Pena Palace) sits atop a hill overlooking Sintra. It was built in the 1800’s by German-born Prince Ferdinand in a flamboyant, fantasy style with splendid tiles and towers. It is on the site of a monastery from the 1500’s – about as isolated as one could be 500 years ago. It has a large, lush grounds / park as well.
Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle) is a thousand-year old, classic castle connecting two hills with crenellated walls. It was constructed by the Moors from Africa who ruled much of Portugal for 600 years in the early middle ages.
Even this time of the year, we find that Sintra is crowded with tourists.
Carcavelos and Lisboa
Soon thereafter we do a week pet-sit in Carcavelos, also just west of Lisbon for an Italian couple, Luca and Keyara. Lipo is our dog-charge this time. The town is up-scale and very near a beach with Lipo loves to explore.
We are just a block from the train station, so we take advantage of it to tour Lisboa (Lisbon) on several days.
We start by taking a tour of the old city given by Rita, a knowledgeable and interesting young woman. She explains about the city’s history – especially the earthquake of 1755 that destroyed so much of the city; the four big sections of the old city (Alfama, Baixa, Bairro Alto, and Mouraria) with their winding streets; Castelo Sao Jorge overlooking the city; the Salazar dictatorship era; Commerce Square (the site of the royal palace before the earthquake); and other sights.
On our own we visit the National Tile Museum to learn about the special local tiles, called azulejo in Portuguese.
On another day we visit Belem, on the outskirts of Lisboa. Here we see:
The National Coach Museum, featuring dozens of fancy carriages, including this one that is said to be one of the oldest in existence
The Monastery of Jeronimos, a gigantic white limestone church and monastery with intricate stonework built by King Manuel to give thanks for Portugal's maritime exploration successes
The Monument to the Discoveries, a huge statue of Prince Henry and other explorers built along the waterfront
Casa Pasteis de Belem, the large pastry shop where the ubiquitous local desert favorite pastel de nata was created.
We are blessed with lots of visits from our family and friends: Ben and Janel in December; Christine in January; Ben again in February; Annie, Robin, Ken, Kyle and Sammi in March; John and Terry in April; Matt and Rose in May. Together we explore the Algarve and nearby regions:
Little fishing villages like Vila Nova de Milfountes
Tidy, colorful towns like Tavera
The yummy “octopus capital” of Portugal, Santa Luzia
Elegant wineries
Beautiful churches decorated with gold from Portugal's glory days
And impressive antiquities.
In between times, we enjoy local festivals like this one celebrating the Age of Discoveries, arguably Portugal’s finest hour.
We so enjoy our time in the Algarve that we make plans to return next winter. Saude!
