Visitors from Edmonton and Mum's 90th

 

Chris, Jason, Cigi and friends spent March break in Mexico

and there were plenty of photos and videos to prove that Cigi is a beach and water baby.

Equally interested in the water, Mike took Avery and Maya down to the lake as soon as they arrived for their 2 week visit to Ontario.

The next day I took them to Long Point, hoping to see bird banding but it hadn't started yet so we settled

for a walk on the beach.

She was supposed to be reenacting the scene from Karate Kid but I think she threw some Jurassic Park in there too.

She wanted to bring some driftwood home but after carrying it for about 10 minutes decided it wasn't such a good idea. They collected smooth stones instead.

The Rubbermade tub full of Chris and Mike's old Lego came out as did various games.

Then there was Mum's 90th birthday, with a banner, balloons, gifts,

lunch and toasts with Prosseco.

Mum with her 4 children. George was always the one remembering to take photos at family events, luckily Chris thought of this before Simon had to leave.

First time Mark had met River.

Cigi had a turn too.

Two of Mum's great grandchildren. The other 2 had a cough so we kept them clear.

They are so used to wearing masks for school it doesn't phase them.

Next day we had to burn off all that food and cake

so it was off to the park.

While River slept in the stroller.

A walk on the Lynn Valley Trail and

down to see the water

pouring over the dam.

The day was finished off with hot chocolate from Tim's at the pier and then perch from Knechtels.

Return to Spring

 Our early pick up meant that we were at the airport before the crowds and breezed through check in (managed to get seats beside each other this time) and security and had time for breakfast and a walk around the airport before boarding. The flight was not full so we had a row to ourselves. Strong headwinds meant the return flight was over 8 hours. I watched Dune, Best in Show and read. The arrival process was also a breeze though Aimee was picked for a random Covid test. We shared a taxi to our respective offspring's homes to pick up our cars.

The trip was perfect for a two week break in a warmer climate but I would not go there for a longer stay. I am sure there are still unspoiled areas, perhaps further inland, but we certainly saw no evidence of the little fishing villages along the coast that George and I had seen 15 years ago. Tourism has taken over and the coast is lined with hotels, apartment buildings and summer homes. The beaches however are still lovely, as are the people.

When I left it was cold and piles of snow lined the roads and driveways. 

I returned to misty mornings,

 

ducks on the lake and no snow.

A brief warm spell let me hang out laundry

and Rick and I attached hinges to the old cottage windows to make a cold frame out of the vegetable bed. I have added compost and sheep manure and will sow kale, chard and lettuce after the soil has warmed for a couple of weeks.

Then it got cool again and I had to prepare for the onslaught (next blog).

Algarve, Day 14 - rain and another relaxing day.

 

First item on the agenda - get the Covid test done so we can go back to Toronto. This little popup lab is about a block away. We just walked up, got tested and the results were to be e-mailed to us. Aimee's was but mine didn't come through so I walked back over and she printed both of them out for us. Spoiler alert - we both tested negative!

From there we walked down to the beach, in the rain, for our final visit. The beach was covered in gulls, peeps and this little bird which I haven't been able to identify (maybe a Turnstone?)

Then it was down to the pool for some

laps and aquafit exercises.

Lunch was - clearing out the frig.

 

Then we both headed off for our massages, a final treat for ourselves. The rest of our last day will be spent packing and finishing the books we've started. Pick up tomorrow morning is at 6am! Hope we can get coffee and breakfast at the airport at that time.

Algarve, Day 13 - rain and food

 Rain was forecast today (and tomorrow) and that is what we woke too. Aimee still went and swam at 7am but I didn't see much point in getting up early and went back to sleep.

Hungry when she got back, Aimee pulled out her breakfast onto the kitchen counter, grabbed my camera and took a photo. Then she reconsidered, wondered if people would think she was going to drink the wine and eat the potato chips as part of her breakfast.

So she moved it on to the table and took another picture. From left to right; the book she's reading, her first coffee of the day (there will be more), Portuguese custard tarts, a large cinnamon roll (not too sweet and the dough has a flavour we can't quite identify but its good) and the Maleta coffee funnel over the teapot (there was no coffee pot of any kind here so I am very thankful I thought to bring the Meleta).

It has rained all day.

I went for a short walk to book massages for us tomorrow

The front desk called up to tell us that our transfer will pick us up at 6am on Wednesday (Oh joy)

Aimee went out and picked up Thai for lunch

Shrimp, lemongrass and ginger soup. I also had Endemame. Aimee had Coconut and mushroom soup and Pad Thai.

Basically went spent the rest of the day reading.

Rick sent me a photo of Rasta. Must of known I was missing him.

Algarve, Day 12 - into the countryside

 The forecast today was to be mostly sunny, cloudy later and cooler. The next couple of days call for rain. We decided to walk, back from the coast and find some countryside as that was one of the things we had loved about the jeep trip.

I looked on Google Earth Satellite and identified a possible loop into the country. Although the roads/tracks had names I was not sure they would actually be identified out in the real world. I was also not sure that the lines on the satellite pictures were roads, tracks, dried river beds......

It didn't take long, the coastal development is pretty narrow here.

Wildflowers,

pine trees, a dirt track and lots of bird song. We were happy.

Cork trees.

Portugal is the biggest cork producer in the world. Cork trees don't start producing until they are 25 years old.

That first harvest, which is known as virgin cork, isn’t actually good enough to be used in the production of wine bottle stoppers. Wine cork makers have traditionally been the target buyer for most cork producers as 75% of all cork produced is made into wine bottle stoppers. Corks, particularly champagne bottle corks, can command some of the highest prices of any cork product and often fetch several Euro per cork.

Even the next harvest, which takes place 9 years later, isn’t good enough to be used for cork bottle stoppers. It actually takes another 9 years, 43 years from planting, before the tree produces cork that’s of a high enough quality to be used as corks. This cork is known as ‘amadia’ cork. 

The good news is that a tree can live to between 270 and 300 years so, with a harvest every 9 years, the owners can expect another 20 or more harvests – although the tree does stop producing as much amadia cork over time: the amadia cork period lasts for around 50 years after it begins producing amadia cork at around year 43. 

Although the cork that’s harvested in years 25 and 34 won’t get used for wine bottle corks, it does get ground down and used to make building materials, in fishing products, and in fashion products, so there’s no wastage.From Portugalist.com

Aimee and I both bought cork purses this trip.

Back to the walk...An Almond tree

We missed the almond blossoms, happens in late February and early March, but the fruit is progressing well.

 
Legend has it that when the Algarve was still called Al-Gharb and ruled by the Moors, a young king, Ibn-Almundim, fell in love with a Nordic princess, Gilda. They got married and the king loved her very much. So when he noticed the princess was growing sadder with each passing day, he resolved to find out what was causing this melancholia and to cure it. According to the tale, an elder told him that the Nordic princess missed seeing the snow she was so used to in her home country. The king ordered that thousands of almond trees be planted outside the palace so that when they were in bloom, she would look out her window and see the landscape covered in white flowers, giving the appearance of freshly fallen snow. The princess was cured of her sadness almost immediately. From aportugueseaffair.com

There were sporadic farms and houses along the trail

Beware of the dog.

Orange and lemon orchards and bags of oranges for sale at the end of driveways. We are only here for 2 more days and the bags were too big.

More flowers

beside the track

and some impressive backyard vegetable plots.

At one point the scent of orange blossom wafted beautifully up from the orchard. Club Med, the tall hotel in the background is on the coast.

At another point the scent was lavender.

We came out onto a busier road, past an agriculture co-op and a couple of restaurants (without an English menu in sight)

then we turned off onto another small road and back into the countryside

with some huge Prickly Pear Cactus growing wild.

Avocado

and orange groves ended at apartment blocks and we were back into Olhos do Agua.

Funny little three wheeled truck..

We felt we had earned a trip to the bakery

So many choices.

Cafe con leite and I had a coconut slice and Aimee had an apple strudel.

 Back at the hotel, Aimee went down to the pool to read and I read on the balcony. I then went down to the indoor pool and swam for a while. We didn't feel like cheese and crackers so went in search of supper.

The Thai restaurant was open. Endemame, chicken satay and spring rolls. Aimee had Chicken dim sum and Pad Thai. We were very impressed and plan to go back for another dinner.