I am in love with Portugal. The people, the food, the sights and the entire "off the beaten track" of it. We left our little slice of heaven in the Alentejo and headed north and west about 3 hours. We stayed in a great little apartment in Porto for 3 nights while we took in the sights, tasted some port and again tried to blend into the local culture. Porto is also under siege by tourists like Paris, but not as many Americans. Mostly French and Scandinavians. Very interesting city with a rich history, but after 3 days we were ready to head to the quiet places again. We drove an hour north to a beautiful beach town, called Afife. Just north of Viana de Castillo, which is another lovely historical town complete with beautiful beaches and an active arts and tourist scene. One thing that has dominated our time here in Afife is the wind. It has been incessant until today, when it finally died down, and the weather heated up about 20 degrees. I can tell summer would be tough in Portugal for this heat phobic gal.
Ziggy has discovered the beach. And she loves it! This is one of the most beautiful stretches of beach I have ever been on. My pictures cannot do it justice.
We have been riding our bikes every day; battling the wind in one direction, and loving the tailwinds in the other! Yesterday we did a longer ride, and decided to stop for a bit of lunch. Normally we stop for a tosta and a coke, but this time we landed in an authentic restaurant which was doing an amazing lunch business. No English, no menu, just rattled off the 4 dishes available. I had seen the fish go by, and it was fried, which doesn't go well with another 15 miles of riding, so when I heard the word for chicken, I nodded yes. I asked for only 1 entree for the 2 of us, as the portions were huge! This is what we ended up with....
Firstly, it was all chicken gizzards, so a total fail for me, but also 2 huge servings of rice, fried potatoes, veggies, salad. Everyone else at the restaurant was also consuming a bottle or two of wine or a beer. BTW, grand total with a Coke was e15. Too bad I didn't like it too much.
And finally, my mother Ruthmary has met her match. This woman has been hoeing this field for the past 3 days. This morning she was out there before 8 a.m, and last night she was there until after 8 p.m. This is another thing I love about Portugal; all the small farms that dot the side of the road, no matter where you are. Even community gardens in the heart of the city. What makes it even more amazing is how cheap
vegetables already are in the grocery store. It must just be in their blood!
A few more pictures from Porto....
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| Lunch by the river. |
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| Art is a big part of the culture in Porto. A phone booth... |
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| The Porto trolly |
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