We don’t travel like other people, that’s for sure. We like to settle in and stay put for awhile… maybe three or four weeks. However, we do like to make day trips to nearby places. Sometimes that’s a matter of walking, which we love to do, or possibly taking a bus or an Uber. For example; we took a local train from Belem to Cascais and spent a couple of nights. We went from Lisbon to Setubal by bus to stay a few nights. Uber took us to Obidos from São Martinho do Porto for the day.
Down here in Portugal’s Algarve I hunted around for a visit-worthy town and found one. Carvoeiro is an adorable large village. It spills directly down a crevice to a small beach lined with restaurants. Up each side, skirting the beach, are walking paths. The path to the west is mostly on the road, but has beautiful views. The eastern path takes you to a stunning boardwalk that feels like you’re suspended over the edge.
We walked for an hour or so until we came to a set of stairs leading down to a patio wedged between the rocks. Naturally, we felt we’d earned an adult beverage and a snack at this point, so down we went. As we shared a burger and fries yet again, Joe noticed from his vantage-point that people were walking between the rocks and disappearing for a while. Intriguing. This was something we’d have to explore after using their bathroom (and the roll of toilet paper we brought for these little emergencies where so many places don’t have any paper).
The narrow tunnel opened to a little room with two openings. It had a creepy feeling of being inside some ancient monster’s empty skull. Everyone waited patiently for their opportunity to pose. I am one of those people who offers to take a photo of couples and families. I know, for us, it’s rare to have a photo where we’re both in it, unless of course you count the endless selfies, which I don’t. When a couple I’d taken a picture for offered to return the favor, I happily posed with the hubby.
After leaving there we cruised around the rocks for a bit and then found a cenote (a hole in the ground). The ocean surged in and out of it in such a powerful way that only a video could really capture it. A narrow ledge circled around it, so we followed it. This led us to ancient carved steps in the cliff. As I went up I couldn’t help thinking about how many feet had done the same thing. It was a beautiful plateau.
After searching around, we realized we were going to have to climb the wall to get up to the boardwalk, or retrace our steps. You guessed it—up we went!
That night we tried to figure out where to eat dinner. The places we’d found that had good food reviews were cash only. We like to hold onto our cash. Typically we won’t go to a restaurant if they don’t take debit/credit (except cafés where the cost is only 1-3 Euros for a glass of wine and a beer is 1.50-2.50 Euros). Anyway, while I was googling restaurants standing in the street overlooking the beach, Joe was hobnobbing with the host at the restaurant directly behind me. Next thing I know we’re up on their gorgeous terrace having a fantastic and cheap meal at Don Carvoeiro.
I’m a foodie… obviously. We went to a little pizzaria here in Armação the other day and got into a half-hour chat with the owner about Portugal’s charms. He asked us to come back on Friday night for their free live music. He made a reservation for us because he said it gets really crowded with locals there to dance. We went and had a blast. The one-man-show was a guy singing and playing the keyboard with piped in music. He did Portuguese songs and also French and American. He also got the crowd on their feet, including yours truly, with Mediterranean disco that reminded us so much of Club Med music. When they started the electric slide, I joined in. The problem was, they’ve added a step. I swear, it took me half the song to get the hang of that extra step.
On one side of this limited space was a table along the entire wall for about thirty people. As the second half of their group filtered in, they would applaud. This applause got louder and more rambunctious as the last stragglers came in. Note to self, in Portugal you don’t want to be the last ones to arrive!
I’ve had a bit of teasing over the years of writing this blog about only walking, eating, and drinking, unless of course we’re on a scuba diving trip. So I decided to let you in on how we entertain ourselves outside of these noble pursuits. First of all, we start every morning with working out (usually in our apartment but sometimes the beach or a park). Almost every day we return to our place in the afternoon to chill out, read and write, watch travel videos, and nap. During dinner, if we eat here, or after dinner when we eat out, we almost always watch a movie. Hercule Poirot is our favorite, but I can usually hunt down a free movie on You Tube if we want something different.
I also like playing games like Wordle, Words With Friends, and being artistic on my coloring-book app on my cell phone. My BFF back in California and I have been doing puzzles together for years. Three months seemed too long to go without this, so she found an interactive puzzle app. We do the puzzle together, and it allows us to be on microphone so we can chat. It’s brilliant really.
One of the reasons we want to move here (or Italy) is we are a restless pair. We get bored sitting around the house, but it’s so expensive in California to go out to eat and do some people-watching. Don’t get me wrong, we love hanging out on the American River Parkway behind our house, but here we can just walk out the door and we’re amongst people, cafes, promenades, and parkways. Like I said, having a glass of wine and a couple of beers is only about six bucks. Back in Cali that would set us back at least thirty-five. Plus, I’m saving a fortune on groceries here. A big bottle of mouthwash was only €1.45! My grocery bill has never been over thirty-five dollars… and that’s three bags.
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