Leaving Portugal, a picnic by the River Erja, home again, picking more blackberries, family dinner, top countries my blog readers are from, Phoebe our cat turns 13, Elliot on holiday in Montrondo, Eladio my gardener, photos from his past and other stories.

 Sunday 30th August, 2020

Picking blacberries from our garden again.

Good morning all.

Today is the last but one day in August. Where has the summer gone? Well the weather is still great of course but we are now ending the holiday period. Not us though as today we are off to Santa Pola. 

Before I tell you about the week, let me reflect on developments of Covid which is not going away and is still causing worry and alarm everywhere. Worldwide the number of cases has risen to over 25 million people and the total death toll is 846.783. In Spain, France, Germany and Italy, the number of infected is still on the rise. All this with back to school looming next week in Spain. That has again been the main news. 

This time last week, we were packing to leave Nazaré in Portugal. We had a long haul to drive to Madrid, some 575 kilometres but we stopped plenty of times to refresh and stretch our legs as well as have our picnic. At about 10.30 or so we said goodbye to our hosts Bela and Antonio. They had been good hosts but their apartment, although comfortable and well located was not what we had expected and that's what I reflected in my review later. It doesn't deserve super host status as the listing is a little misleading. The apartment is not an entire house but is lodged in a big house the hosts have turned into 4 lodgings. Anyway, it was good enough but I shall be more careful when I look for Airbnb accommodation in the future. As we were leaving, people were going to the beach. We loved the Praia de Nazaré but were a bit sorry we never got to bathe because of the strong waves. I suspect the red flag is out most of the year. 

It took about 4 hours to get to the border. During the trip I was happy to get my 9th booking for our apartment in Santa Pola. I am very happy too I put it on the market this summer and wish I had done so before. 

As on our way to Nazaré, on our way back again we wondered too whether our GPS was right when it took us on an unknown road to cross the border with no signs saying "Espanha" anywhere. The only way we knew where we were was thanks to our mobile operator. We stopped where I would have liked to stop for lunch on the way, on the bank of the River Erja in a nice fishing and bathing area. It was 34ºc so we desperately needed some shade. It looked like a place people came to picnic and enjoy at the weekends or in the holidays. I would have liked a bathe in the river but the water did not look nice so I had to forego that idea. 

The spot by the River Erja where we had our picnic lunch

Still not sure whether we were in Portugal or Spain, a man out fishing clarified that one side, the side where we set up our picnic, was Portugal and the other side of the river was Spain. How funny there were no signs. I suppose there most be so many borders or roads between Spain and Portugal, that only the major ones are signposted. 

We didn't need our table or chairs as there was a wonderful and clean wooden picnic table. Here we got out the food we had left from our stay, including the doggy bag of "bacalhau a bras" which tasted a bit dry. 

Our picnic by the River Erja

It was far too hot to linger over lunch so we were soon in our car again and of course already in Spain just as we crossed the bridge over the river. Our GPS said we would be home in just over 2 hours and it was right. The dogs were delighted to see us; especially Pippa who is not used to my being away. It was great to see my Father and he was happy to see us too as well as to receive a printed copy of my blog all about our trip to Portugal to celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary. We greeted our French guests too, Jeremy and Pili. The kids, Eva and David had gone to stay with family and would not be coming back. Dear Eva had left me a sweet drawing on my desk. I can forgive her for spelling my name wrong (Macha instead of Masha) and found it cute she wrote the word "lave" instead of "love". Dear sweet girl, I love her too.

After the boring task of unpacking, I grabbed some time for myself on one of the sun loungers under the trees by the pool. I rang Oli and was happy to see little Elliot. They would be coming to dinner on Tuesday night, so not long till we were reunited. I tried to ring Suzy but her phone was busy. Neither Eladio nor I were hungry but had some dinner on the kitchen terrace; leftovers we found in the fridge. We were in bed early and it was wonderful to be in our own bed which is so soft compared to the hard bed at the Airbnb in Nazaré.

I was up at 7 am on Monday morning, raring to go. But life went at a slow pace that day. I had spied lots more blackberries in our garden and got Eladio's aid to pick them. I had to stand on the wooden picnic table to reach some of them. My husband took a photo of this lovely bucolic moment. There is something so satisfying in picking fruit from your own garden and it put me in a great mood. That's the photo I have chosen for this week's post. These are the blackberries we picked.

The blackberries we picked. 

We also have some grapes in the garden too and I went to taste them. I was surprised to see them turning black. I tried one and it was quite sweet yet not completely ripe. They are small with large pips, so not the greatest variety. That hasn't put off the birds though who have now eaten them all. Thankfully they haven't eaten the blackberries. Eladio reckons that's because of the prickle. I thought of putting them on one of the new ceramic bowls I had bought in Óbidos. I wonder if you like them. They are beautiful but maybe a bit cheesy. They are handmade by a local artist and I couldn't resist them.

Ceramic bowls from Òbidos. I bough the two bigger ones.

During our walk I mused on what to do with them. There were not enough to make jam so I decided on a blackberry tart. I am not very good with pastry and had some help from Lucy. I made my own recipe after looking up a few. First I made the pastry shell and baked it in the oven. Meanwhile I made the filling; the blackberries to which I added an apple and some pineapple, some brown sugar and a spoonful of flour as well as a few drops of lemon. I filled the shell and added some lattice type strips - inspired perhaps by the ceramic bowls -  and this is the end result; my first blackberry tart. We would have it for dinner that night when Oli and her family came.

My blackberry tart

I was able to read a bit in the morning before lunch with my father. The nurse, María, came that day. She showed me his wound which although still very red and large, is on the mend. 

I was completely free in the afternoon and even had the pool to myself as our French guests were working from their rooms. At 5.30 I had a skype call with my oldest and dearest friend Amanda. Our weekly calls are one of the good things to have come out of the Covid pandemic. The figures were going up and up in Spain that day and all week and there was talk of drastic measures in Madrid. I certainly hope we aren't put into lockdown again. If lockdown has to come it should be based on areas or post codes as where we live there are hardly any cases. It is  the suburbs in the south of the capital which are most affected. 

My skype call was interrupted by multiple Airbnb and Swimmy enquiries. So my peace did not last long. At  around 8 pm, Oli, Miguel and Elliot arrived. They had come to spend the night before leaving for a short staycation in Montrondo on Tuesday. It was lovely to see them and we had a great meal. The piece de resistance was the tart for which Oli had brought some vanilla ice cream to go with. I must say the tart was divine. 

Oli, Miguel and Elliot - our family dinner on Monday night. 

The only person missing at the family dinner was Suzy. She was on her way home from Santa Pola in a hired car with her friends Eli and Chati. She arrived as we were finishing our dinner so we all sat around for a while. The girls did not like the dresses I had bought for them from Portugal. That should teach me a lesson I never learn; don't buy them clothes which they haven't chosen themselves. 

We went to bed later than usual. I read for a while. I didn't sleep badly but woke up at 4.30,  looked at my phone which I shouldn't have as there was a new Airbnb enquiry. I responded to it and promptly felt wide awake. I forced myself to sleep again and was up at 7 am. 

Over the last few days I was receiving multiple enquiries for bookings this weekend at our home in Madrid. That kept me occupied too on Tuesday. Tuesday was the day our "French guests" left after 42 days with us. We couldn't quite believe we were to have the house to ourselves again, but not for long as that day I got a booking for 6 this weekend. Santa Pola too would be booked all week. Overall I am so pleased with how my Airbnb bookings have gone despite Covid.

I said goodbye to them when I came back from our walk just before they left at midday as I was going out shopping and they wouldn't be here when I got back. They were a nice family but their bringing guests here each weekend has been a bit stressful. I wished them well and sent my greetings to their darling daughter Eva, who I grew to love so much during their stay. We all loved her and her little brother David too.

It was on Tuesday morning that Oli and her little family set off on holiday to Montrondo. My daughter had had a small accident with their brand new Volkswagen car last week and that morning it was towed to the local garage for repair. They had to now fit into Miguel's Golf including all of Elliot's stuff. Their stuffed to the limit car reminded me of how I used to travel with my Mother and Father in my Aunty Masha's car from England to Spain most summers when I was a teenager. That was a squeeze hahahahah.  It looked like Elliot didn't want to go. He clung to his grandfather until his mother had to tear him away. Grandson and Grandfather are inseparable. 

Grandfather and grandson, inseparable

Oli then took a photo of the three of us saying goodbye to Elliot from the street. I suppose we did look quite funny.

Eladio, Suzy and I saying goodbye to Elliot on Tuesday

Eladio and I then went to do the food shopping. We took a break in between supermarkets to have a coffee at the Churros bar nearby. We came home with a whole load of food and that day I made pizza as it's quick to make.

The afternoon was ours for taking as was the swimming pool. I couldn't quite believe we had it to ourselves. Thus I skinny dipped in and out of the pool as often as I wanted. I normally wouldn't go in so much but that day mercury reached 36ºc - hot for me - I was reading under the trees while responding to Airbnb enquiries until I finally got a fixed confirmation for a family of 6 who were coming on Friday. Till Friday we would have the house to ourselves and it was glorious.

We had dinner with Suzy and were up chatting till late. Instead of going to bed to watch the TV, Eladio and I sat in the dark by the pool and I skinny dipped again. We spoke about our plans for the new house in Asturias; such an exciting project for us.

Wednesday came. It was to be another scorcher with the temperature rising to 37ºc. It was already hot when we went on our walk at 10 am in the morning. With no guests to disturb me, I had a skinny dip again  when I got home. 

That morning while I was writing my blog, just for interest's sake, I browsed its statistics. I started writing it in the summer of 2005 which makes it 15 years now. I really have been consistent and disciplined. The amount of readers always surprises me. The total number of visits for all time is a whopping 588.688 and the amount of readers this last month was 6498. I think it has been going up over the years. As to where my readers are from, well, the top countries are the US, then comes Spain, Russia and the UK. But there are many more countries.  It's annoying to see that they have lumped other countries into unknown regions or "other" when I would love to have the complete list of countries. This used to be possible but not anymore. These are the top ones.

The top countries where readers of my blog are from. 

I'm so curious as to why so many people from the many corners of the earth are at all interested in my tales. Perhaps you anonymous reader could post me a comment as to why you read it. I would be very grateful. 

It was basically a lazy day enjoying having the house to our own. The highlight was a Facetime call with our friends Kathy and Phil who live in Keighley (West Yorkshire). They, by the way, are some of my most loyal blog readers. I had heard from Amanda that my home town, Bradford was in semi lockdown and they ratified that. They are in lockdown too, or rather quarantining after a 6 week holiday in their camper van in France. They cannot leave the house, not even to take a walk. Thankfully they have a lovely garden to get their fresh air. 

We also spoke to Olivia who as you know was on holiday with Miguel and Elliot in Montrondo. They were having wonderful weather and spent most of the day outside. Elliot was loving exploring new territory. He had been before but at Christmas when he was just 3 months old, so of course, everything was new. Here he is playing with his father in the garden behind our house.

Elliot enjoying his holiday in Montrondo

The other high point of the day was dinner al fresco with Eladio and Suzy. I love our evening dinners. Later Eladio and I sat by the swimming pool terrace where we were joined briefly by our cat, Phoebe. She is a bit of an enigma. We hardly ever see her as she is petrified of the dogs and lives under the tiles of the roof over the entrance gate to the house. Facebook memories reminded me the next day that we got her 13 years ago! I well remember going on a walk that evening with Eladio and Suzy and coming across her by a big wheelie bin near our home. Suzy picked her up and we brought her home. We then went back to see if there were more stray kittens but didn't find any. Her beginnings were most humble but now she has a quiet life. She comes into the house in the morning via the window in the library lounge to eat and drink. She disappears again for the whole day and only comes back in the evening. We have had many cats over the years. I remember Henry, Felix and Joe but they all disappeared so Phoebe is our longest lasting cat. I wondered how long cats can live to and read that they can live up to 16. Here she is 13 years ago, such a delightful little kitten. I love her colours; cream and brown. Maybe her ancestors were a Siamese breed. Who knows? 

Phoebe arrived here 13 years ago this week. She was so cute.

Later we watched a documentary on WW2 until we fell asleep.

Thursday came, our last guest free day until Friday and we made the most of it. I get up early as you know but Suzy does too these days. She installs herself on the terrace outside our study and I often join her there to read The Times. Here we are together that morning.

Suzy and I on Thursday morning. 

I was busy in the morning. My first job was to prune the roses while Eladio did the same with the geraniums. Having guests coming the next day we wanted everything to look perfect. If I was busy, Eladio was busier, doing gardening that morning. I had commented on the amount of dry leaves on the path and in the rose beds as well as weeds in the cracks of the paving on the drive. He finished mowing the lawns and then just as I was leaving to do some emergency shopping, I found him dealing with both issues. Here he is, the perfect gardener, my own gardener. When I took a photo of him, he commented "the constant gardener" in reference to the film. My cheekier cousin, Zuka, posted "Lady Chatterley's Lover" in reference to her falling in love with her gardener, Mellors. I had actually never read D.H. Lawrence's most famous book but remember perfectly well that it was taboo when I was a child. Thus that day I downloaded a sample on my Kindle and hopefully will understand why it was a forbidden book. Of course it was because of the sex scenes but I can hardly imagine them being any more steamy than those written about in novels today. But then, of course we are talking about times past when sex in general was taboo.  I fell in love with Eladio for many of his attributes and he has proved to have many more than I could possibly have suspected when we first met. He is so good with his hands I often call him "Mr. Fix it". You all probably know that apart from being my gardener, he is my husband, lover, friend, doctor, vet, electrician, chauffeur, plumber, general handyman as well as our bank manager. This is him gardening that morning. Such a handsome chap still at his age. He will be 76 next month and I can hardly believe it. 

Eladio my constant gardener

If the morning was busy the afternoon was mine for the taking and I spent most of it under the trees reading and occasionally skinny dipping as it was so hot with the temperature rising once again to 37ºc. 

It was dinner on our own that night as Suzy went to see her friend Elenita. Later we retired to the pool terrace sitting in the dark (on purpose) and me skinny dipping again. However we were not relaxed as we had news from Lucy my neighbour in Santa Pola, that our Brazilian guests were complaining the fridge was not working. That is the second complaint about the fridge from guests. However Suzy was there last weekend and it worked and the guests who left on Thursday morning said they had no problems. The Brazilian guests had broken the blinds in the master bedroom; something else to be taken care of. We spoke to them and to Lucy to see what the solution could be. Lucy told me that once again, like the previous complainers, the new guests had stuffed the fridge very full which could be the reason for it not refrigerating properly. The funny thing is that the freezer compartment was working. We chatted on whatsapp both to Lucy and the guests and ended up ringing them. We hoped the fridge would be ok the next day; otherwise we would have to get a new one and have it installed on Friday; no easy feat when we are here in Madrid. It sounds easy to run Airbnb bookings, but if things go wrong it can be a problem. At home it normally isn't as of course we have Eladio, "Mr. Fix it" but he can't really fix things at a distance.

Thus my peaceful day ended with worry and tension. The thing with complaints from Airbnb guests is that you feel a slave to their reviews. So you do your best to make sure they have the perfect stay but that, my friends, is not always possible. Thankfully that day, the previous guests who left in the morning left me a glowing 5 star review, so now I have 5 x 5 star reviews for my new listing in Santa Pola. I can't wait to go there myself. 

I didn't sleep well that night and was awake a few times during the night and finally got up at 6.30 in the morning. I had to prepare for our 6 guests coming that day for the weekend. I also had to deal with the problem of the fridge in Santa  Pola and the blind in our room which they had apparently broken. We went on our walk and I came back to skinny dip and then to find a message from Lucy confirming the fridge wasn't working. I was all action then, finding a local shop that could deliver a new one that would fit the space in the kitchen of the old one and that I could also buy on the phone. I found it in Euronics, a local home appliance shop and by 13 that day it was installed. But our guests couldn't use it for the first 5 hours and would have to make do with the old one until then. That meant having 2 fridges in our small kitchen there until the old one was removed on Saturday morning. Meanwhile a local fix it man that Lucy knows repaired the blind. The cost of all this far exceeded the income I got from the guests' stay but then again it was time to buy a new fridge to replace the one we inherited when we bought the apartment in 1999. This took up most of my morning and I was only free to start on lunch at about 12.30. I made pork rib stew which my father and Eladio love. In between I had to make sure everything was ready for our new guests who were coming at about 13.30. Lucy had cleaned the rooms but the final touches are always up to me. These include flowers and a plate of fruit in each room as well as a bottle of filtered water. 

Our new guests arrived promptly. It's a family of 5 and a 15 month old baby girl with the most unusual name - Latin - of Sapientia, meaning wisdom. No doubt she is probably one of the only girls in Spain with that name. I wonder if they call her "Sapi" for short. The family consisted of the mother, her two daughters, their partners, one called Ali and her grandchild. Families are usually a pleasure to host rather than groups of young people who are up late, leave the lights on and play music a bit too loud. These people are the perfect guests. 

We left them to it, giving them their space and we spent the afternoon on deckchairs in the garden while they splashed around in the pool. For once Pippa didn't bark so I didn't have to lock her away in our study hahahaa. No doubt Elliot would have loved to have a playmate in Sapientia but of course he was in Montrondo. He hasn't had much contact with other babies or toddlers and needs it desperately. Hopefully, if all goes well, he will be starting kindergarten at RTVE (Peque Prado) soon. Meanwhile he was enjoying his short holiday in Montrondo with his parents. 

Elliot on holiday in Montrondo

We spoke to Oli that day and heard they were having a very relaxing time. She has news by the way. On Monday she will be starting a new job as a reporter and studio  presenter in the new morning programme called "La Hora de la 1" with her broadcaster, TVE which will debut on 7th September. This is great news for her. First it is as promotion, second she will not have to travel and third and most important of all, she will be around to pick Elliot up from the kindergarten on site. Miguel, her partner will be coming to Madrid permanently from next week and will be working as a cameraman at the same premises as Oli, "Prado del Rey". Oli's programme will be on live from 8 in the morning until 13 which means she will have to get up everyday around 5 in the morning and Miguel will take Elliot to the kindergarten. Their lives are about to change dramatically for the better. Oli is very excited about the new job and we are very proud of her. 

This was one of our topics of conversation when Eladio and I went out to dinner that night to El Tinglado. We also spoke about our new house in Asturias and all the plans we have for it. As usual the food was lovely - I went for the artichokes and an amazing piece of steak and Eladio went for small calamari and his favourite cod dish. We skipped on a dessert as although I love their menu, I am not impressed by the dessert menu. If a dessert menu doesn't have ice cream on it, it gets zero points from me hahahhaha. 

We were home early and found our guests quietly organising a barbecue - good for them. The two main pulls of this place for guests are the pool and then the barbecue. Our guests are from Madrid and live in Rivas Vaciamadrid and Arganda del Rey. No doubt they  were looking for somewhere outside the city that was spacious, had a garden and a pool. All our guests this summer, apart from the French family - have been people from the city centre. They say that after lockdown houses with gardens outside the city are now much in demand. I have never ever understood the Spanish way of living, in high rise buildings like prisons when the country is so big and spacious. I did once live in a flat in the centre of the city with no garden and I felt stifled. But there again I am a country girl and not a city girl, like town mice and country mice hahahaha. Also I come from England where most people have a house and garden, big or small. 

The day finished watching a film we had seen before which is fascinating and terrifying at the same time. "Song for a Raggy boy" is a 2003 Irish film based on the book by the Patrick Galvin and is based on true events. It's the story of a young teacher who takes up a post at St. Jude's Reformatory school run by monks. Discipline is handed out by the sadistic Brother John. The teacher, Franklin, is a layman and coming from fighting in the Spanish Civil war, tries to fight for the rights of the oppressed children. He is also an outstanding teacher. 

I didn't sleep too badly; maybe because I only had one glass of wine for dinner and not two - and was up at 6.23 to a quiet and dark house. 

Saturday came. The temperatures went down as they did in many parts of Spain so we went from 34ºc on Friday to 24ºc which felt quite cool for us. Our guests didn't mind though and still prepared another barbecue. They have turned out to be a lovely family and a very international one at that. The two sisters have partners from Iran and from Russia. The girl from Russia, Marina, has an interesting history. She was born in Russia to a Lebanese father and Russian mother. They left Russia for Beirut in 1986 after Glasnost and she spent part of her youth witnessing war in her father's country. They eventually moved to Spain where he had family and was eventually able to practice as a doctor after great difficulties in convalidating his studies. I found her charming. She and her partner own a chain of massage salons and she wants to treat me to one; something I will most happily accept as there is nothing I like better than a good massage. 

While they were preparing an enticing looking Iranian dish of chicken and rice, Eladio and I went out on errands nearby. We usually stop for a coffee and yesterday was no different. It was while we were enjoying our coffee that my dear husband said to me "You are beautiful" and added "I love you" I was surprised as he doesn't often say this and replied "but what about all these wrinkles?" to which he added "you are still beautiful". Wow! that was so romantic and had me feeling like a young girl again. I asked him to take a picture to prove it was true. Most photos of me don't come out very well and I wasn't feeling particularly beautiful and only had some lipstick on. But the photo came out quite nicely, despite the wrinkles hahaha. This is it, a moment of feeling in love and young again even though I am now 63! 

The "you are beautiful moment"

I find it quite extraordinary that after more than 37 years of marriage, my husband still love me and I still love him; more if that is possible. I consider myself a very fortunate woman. What would I do without him? 

You probably know we met 40 years ago (this summer) and that he was a priest at the time. Out of the blue, Olivia sent us some old photos of him, some we had never seen. I asked her where she got them from and apparently a second cousin of Eladio's - Rosi who lives in Gijón - had done so. Rosi reached out to Olivia some time ago and they are now in touch. She is the granddaughter of Eladio's uncle on his father's side which makes Rosi his second cousin. She sent Olivia an amazing photo of Eladio aged 12, the year he entered the Seminary in León as a child. That was in about 1957, the year I was born. When that photo was taken, he could never ever have known that his future wife had been born the year he entered the Seminary and that she would be from outside Spain. I suppose he probably thought he would never marry either as he was destined to become a priest. How life surprises us. This is the lovely photo - old and out of focus but still charming. It's rather sad too to see such a young boy being sent away from his parents at such a young age to a place so far and so different from his home. 

Eladio aged 12 in a cassock

Rosi also sent Olivia a photo of Eladio aged about 16 which he doesn't remember. He is wearing a jacket and tie which seems unusual so maybe he was at a wedding. He was so good looking don't you think? Maybe you do, maybe you don't. I do probably because I am biased.

Eladio aged 16 or 17, a strapping boy.

Eladio was the oldest child and the strongest. He was a strapping boy and his father used him like a work horse when he was back from the Seminary on holiday. His memories of his holidays are of working hard for his father on the farm and in the fields. While he worked in the fields and studied in the Seminary, I was a small child growing up in England and could have no idea either that my future husband was from a small village in the mountains of León in northern Spain. He is now about to turn 76 and his life with me has been very different from his humble beginnings. I'm glad fate brought us together. 

We spent the afternoon together as we usually do, both of us reading in the garden while the guests enjoyed the pool. Suzy was out. She had been to the hairdresser and then for lunch with Elenita. 

Suzy back from the hairdresser. Isn't she beautiful?

Oli and her little family were travelling back from Montrondo and invited us to dinner at their place that night. We readily agreed as we were dying to see not-so-little Elliot again.

Dinner at their place was lovely and always is. There was a wonderful spread of food and it was great to see Elliot. But, oh how boisterous and strong he is. He is a handful but a wonderful charmer. Here he is playing with his grandfather who he adores.

Eladio and Elliot last night. 

It's so easy to take photos of Elliot as I swear it, he poses - just like in the photo above. He cried when we left and broke our hearts. We were home by about 10.30. Suzy was here with her friend Juli and our guests were around. I sat with Marina for a while exchanging information on our lives. What a lovely girl she is. I fell asleep quite late and was up later than usual this morning at nearly 7 am. Today we are off to Santa Pola and I am looking forward to a few days at the beach.

I shall leave you now as I have to get ready to go. You will hear all about our stay there in next week's post. Cheers till then,

Masha. 

Coronavirus on the rise in Spain, Elliot turns 11 months old, grandparent duty again, a trip down memory lane to Nazaré Portugal to celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary, Batalha, Alcobaça - meet Joâo Paulo Ferreira -and Obidos, Sitio, time on the beach, Obidos revisted and other stories.

 Nazaré, Portugal, Sunday 23rd August, 2020.

Together on 21st August, our 37th anniversary, at the top of Nazaré, in Sitio.

Top of the morning to you all from Nazaré in Portugal, our last day here. It's been a great 5 days away from home and a wonderful break from domestic duties. We thought we had got away from it all but we have not got away from corona virus. This week the WHO predicted the pandemic would be with us for another 2 years. Others are more skeptical and think it will stay forever. In Spain the number of new cases - mostly young people - has risen dramatically. Worldwide there are over 23 million case and a death toll of over 800 thousand. It's not looking good. While we have been here in Nazaré and surroundings, we have not kept up much with the news and sometimes we totally forgot the virus, except of course when wearing our masks. In Portugal they are only obligatory indoors and it felt strange not to wear one in the street. Perhaps we should have as this place is much more crowded than we had expected. Today is our last day, well, rather the day we are leaving; time to go home. 

Last Sunday feels like ages ago but it has only been a week. We have done so much here I can hardly remember last Sunday, a quiet day at home. The highlight of the day was a family barbecue, just the three of us, my Father, Eladio and I. The girls didn't come until the evening. We went for a walk in the morning and then before lunch made a dash to Decathlon to buy a camping table for picnics in Portugal. When we first met and fell in love in the summer of 1980,  we went camping in Portugal and I suggested to Eladio that we take equipment for picnics for trip here. He heartily agreed. Just as we left I realised I had forgotten my face mask, obligatory everywhere in Spain. Thus I had to wait in the car while Eladio went to buy the camping table. We now had everything we needed, two beach chairs, the table, a parasol and a freezer bag. In the end we only used the table twice though and ate out a lot more than we had planned. 

We were home well on time for Eladio to prepare the barbecue. Here he is tending to the gourmet hamburgers and sausages which were delicious. 

Last Sunday's barbecue. 

By then the French family's grandmother and daughter, Eva, had arrived as well as the mother's brother who she hadn't warned us about. We were a bit put out as they have had far more guests than originally agreed. I didn't read by the pool that afternoon as it wasn't hot enough to swim - just 28ºc (hot for some, but not me) and sat on one of our green beach chairs under the trees in the garden. 

Meanwhile my latest set of guests had left the apartment in Santa Pola and had written a glowing review - I now have 4 x 5 star reviews which places my listing at the top of all listings in the area. I am still amazed that despite Covid, I got 8 reservations this summer, so far, since  I first listed our apartment on Airbnb. I am wishing I had done that 3 years ago. What a waste. 

It was under the trees in the garden that I finished Mary Trump's book about her infamous uncle. It's not all it's made out to be be, is actually very short and the only really revealing details are about his and his sibling's childhood which was governed by their cold and cruel father Fred Trump. They all yearned for his love and favour and never got it which Mary tries to explain is the reason behind her uncle's behaviour. She claims he is still the three year old who needed parental love he never got. I then started on another Kristin Harmel book, set in Nazi occupied Paris and called "The sweetness of forgetting". It tells the somewhat unknown story of how the Muslim community in the French capital tried to help the Jews. 

It was a very quiet day for Eladio and I until Oli and Elliot arrived at around 8 pm. We hadn't seen them since the Tuesday before and were delighted to be reunited with them, especially with Elliot. He was delighted to be back too and immediately rushed to his grandfather's arms, bypassing me, hahahhahahha. I had him on my lap though when we were having dinner. I offered him some of his father's home made gazpacho from my glass and he lapped it up. When I put some of it  in one of his baby bowls, he rejected it, far preferring the glass!  Like all babies, he was needing his bath by then and we took him up to our bathroom. Oli and I then went off for a nice mother and daughter tete a tete and when we returned we found Elliot sitting in my basin (with the tap off hahahhaaha) and playing with my toothbrush. Eladio was combing his hair and I suppose teaching him how to brush his teeth. 

Grandson and grandfather together in our bathroom last Sunday

Even though he only has 2 bottom teeth, Elliot is very interested in the tooth brushing ritual. He was so funny I had to capture him on camera. Here he is in double as he is facing our bathroom mirror. He nearly always poses for the camera.

Elliot in my basin last Sunday 

He was very wide awake and not at all interested in going to bed. He doesn't like sleeping. This was in sharp contrast to the two small children, Eva and David, our guests from Paris who, aged 7 and 4, go to bed at about 8 pm. Their parents had gone out that night to see friends and their grandmother was babysitting but Eva told me that sadly her "abuelita" had told her they mustn't leave their room. They were wide awake when their parents had gone and came out of their room when they heard Oli and I. We invited them to visit Oli's room and they had a grand time exploring her things. They are very strictly brought up but are charming kids in general. 

Eladio and I had just started watching a film on Netflix (The Angel) when Suzy came back from a lovely weekend with her bosom school friend, Copi. She was rather put out the grandmother had come back - she hadn't planned to - which meant Suzy didn't have a room of her own and would have to sleep on the inflatable mattress in the annex to our room. I was sorry for her.

I was awake at 6.15 on Monday morning, ready to start a new week. We were on grandparent duty for Elliot that day as we would be too on Tuesday. On Monday he turned 11 months old and seems so so big. He had slept badly that night - he is a dreadful sleeper - and was not his usual cheerful self that day so being on hand most of the time with him was a big challenge. I kept thinking, roll on Wednesday. Eladio is his key person and the one who fed him and took him to the swings. Here they are together at lunch on Monday.

Eladio and Elliot at lunchtime on Monday

If it was uphill day for me, it was a difficult day for my father or at least the morning. Lucy couldn't lift him out of bed onto his wheel chair and asked for my help. I was useless as I have no strength. Eladio came to the rescue of course but we were worried about this as we were going away and wondered how Lucy would cope. The nurse came to change his dressing as she does almost daily. He keeps taking his bandage off for some reason so she had to change the type of dressing so that he cannot remove it. He worried me and I wondered if he was feeling weak after his fall.

We only left the house to take Elliot and the dogs for their walk. Since the heatwave has gone we have resumed our walks. Otherwise we did not leave the house and in a way I was beginning to feel trapped. I commented on this to my dear friend Amanda when we skyped that afternoon. She commiserated with me but she has had it worse as she has hardly left the house since lockdown. Oh, lockdown and corona virus, what a bane in our life. Suzy was feeling miserable that day when she heard that she may not be able to return to Bali until December. She would like to go somewhere like our apartment in Santa Pola but of course it is being rented. As if the day hadn't brought enough problems, my new guest - my hairdresser Elena - who was delighted with the apartment told me the fridge was not working properly. Lucy, my neighbour would have to deal with it and I was worried how the guests would cope until it was fixed or until, somehow, I got a new fridge. Thankfully in the end I didn't need to.

Much more worrying are the number of cases in Spain of corona virus - more than 9000 in the last week. My father's nurse, María, told me that at the local medical centre where they are doing massive testing, that were so many young people and children infected, nearly all of them without symptoms. I really think that if all countries were doing the same amount of tests their numbers would be on the up too. 

In Spain that day, the main news apart from the virus, was about the shamed former King of Spain whose whereabouts were a mystery since he announced he was leaving the country on 3rd August. A short note from the palace that day informed he is in the United Arab Emirates. That's all we know about our disgraced ex King. 

We couldn't wait for Oli to be on TV, not just to watch her but for her to come home. If she is on at about 8 pm, that means she is home by 8.30 and by 8.30 we needed her to take over responsibility for little Elliot who played up a lot that day. I dread to think what will happen if the creche at TVE doesn't open or if it closes because of cases of virus. As I told Amanda, I just don't think we are cut out for long term grandparent duty. I also think Elliot desperately needs the company of other children. 

The day ended with diner together, just the 4 of us and Elliot. I got Lucy to make us some tortillas to which I added a salad. Later I helped Oli bathe him and then I spent some time with Suzy listening to her playing her ukelele and singing. It had been a long day.

Tuesday came, our second day of grandparent duty which would start when Oli left for work. That gave us some time to go and do food shopping to take provisions with us to Portugal and to leave enough food in the pantry and fridge for the family. I was bushed that day. I was up at 5.30 and my continual lack of sleep was taking its toll on me. Plus I had to deal with the fridge issue at our apartment in Santa Pola at a distance. Then things multiplied and there was a blockage in the kitchen sink and the washing was not working because water wasn't getting through. Of course our guests were not happy and it had to be sorted. Thankfully Lucy was on hand to do everything she should. I spent the whole day groveling to my guest and in touch with Lucy about the repairs. She got some handymen to come who didn't arrive until 4 pm. Thankfully they fixed the blockage which was also affecting the washing machine. As to the fridge, they said it was working fine, the problem being it had only been switched on the morning before and the guests had stuffed so much in that it was taking ages to refrigerate. I had to deal with this which made me anxious and unable to sleep a siesta. Then I had to deal with Elliot who didn't want to sleep his siesta and Suzy was getting desperate. So I sent her upstairs and spent time playing with my grandson. He hadn't eaten well, so I made him a smoothie from a yoghurt and fresh pineapple. I had to make the smoothie with the baby in my arms who refused to let me put him down which made my task difficult.  I was later told I shouldn't have given him a yoghurt that comes from cow's milk. He seems only to be fed on breast milk, fruit and veg and very little protein so I wasn't surprised he devoured the smoothie. It was obvious he wanted to sleep but kept refusing. It was Eladio who managed to get him to fall asleep later and we got a 20 minute respite. Here we are with him, on grandparent duty. A friend commented, "how lovely" and yes it is lovely to be with our grandson but it's tiring. I feel sorry for all those grandparents out there who look after their grandchildren full time. I couldn't do that.

Eladio with  Elliot on Tuesday

Me with Elliot on Tuesday

I kept thinking roll on Wednesday for our trip to Portugal. When Elliot was asleep I went to find the album with photos of our trip to Portugal in 1983. We had taken my parents that spring before our wedding in the summer, 37 years ago. I remember we took them to meet Eladio's parents in León and from there drove via Salamanca to Portugal for a road trip. The road trip included Braga, Coimbra (that beautiful University town where I spent a summer learning Portuguese in 1979), Nazaré with a visit to Obidos and then Lisbon. From Lisbon we drove to Seville where my parents were robbed and then back to Madrid. It was a trip I shall always remember and I was sad that when I showed my father some of the pictures that he didn't remember. How could he not? The answer is his age (101). We especially remember the picturesque fishing town of Nazaré now a hot tourist destination for the surfers where the biggest wave was recorded once, or so I read; not that I am interested in surfing or any other water sports. I found the photos I was looking for and although a little unfocused, there I was aged just 26, wearing clothes of the time - flared skirt, red tights (!) and court shoes and a red jumper my mother in law had made for me. One of them is of me on the beach by a typical Nazarene fishing boat. I look so sultry and carefree and of course so young. Someone said age has been kind to us. I'm not so sure.

Me in Nazaré in 1983, 37 years ago. 

We stayed there for a night and then on our drive to Lisbon stopped for a picnic. It was during the picnic we realised we had left our passports at the hotel in Nazaré, so my Father and Eladio drove back for them while my Mother and I waited. 

Picnic with my parents outside Obidos

It was there too that we discovered we had stopped unknowingly outside the prettiest village in Portugal - Obidos, a medieval walled village. When Eladio and my father were back we visited it walking all the way around the wall and visiting the castle which is a "pousada", like the Paradors in Spain. We toyed with staying the night there and I have always regretted that we didn't. Here is a photo of Eladio who has aged well, in Obidos that day so long ago. 

Eladio in Obidos 37 years ago, just before we got married. 

Eladio and I have always remembered that trip and especially wanted to go back to Nazaré and Obidos. I don't know why we have waited so long. On Tuesday, I couldn't wait for it to be Wednesday when we set off on our trip down memory lane to celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary in beautiful Portugal. 

The whole afternoon was spent with Elliot. Eladio gave me nearly an hour's respite from Elliot as he had had his during the siesta so I had some quiet time under the trees in the garden until it was time to watch Oli on the TV. She was home by 8.30 and we had another family dinner. 

Wednesday finally came. I was awake early as usual and had plenty of time to pack and get ready for our journey. At around 10 am we said goodbye to everyone and set off for 4 days away, just the two of us. We hesitated about taking Pippa knowing she would be locked in an apartment while we would be on the beach so decided she was much better off at home. I also had to say goodbye to little Eva and David as I wouldn't see them again. I asked Eva to look after the dogs and she said we must Skype when she gets back to France. 4 year old David, repeated her words which had us laughing.

We had a 575km journey which we would break for a picnic on the way. We took the N5, the road to Portugal and of course used Google Maps. I was looking forward to crossing the border to say, "here we are in Portugal" but it was actually my mobile phone provider, Yoigo, that let me know we were in Portugal after they sent a roaming message. Google maps took us a very strange way through tiny country lanes and we were sure there was a better way but just had to carry on driving and following the instructions. Once in Portugal and on a very warm, dusty eucalyptus tree lined country road we found a place to stop for lunch. Everywhere we signs of litter louts. I hate it when people strew litter everywhere. We found a spot in the shade under a tree and set up our picnic. We had brought along the  new camping table and our two beach chairs. I got out our lunch; tortilla, salmon pies, gazpacho followed by melon and raspberries. It was delicious. Here is Eladio sitting at our new 15 euro Decathlon table which I thought was a great investment.

Our picnic on the way to Portugal

The drive seemed endless and it was ages until we hit a motorway. We had been told that on some motorways in Portugal payment is automatic but you have to have a toll card of some type associated to your registration plate. If you don't the fine can be 10 times more than the price of the toll. I looked up what to do and read we could buy a card at a petrol station. So we stopped at one and using my hesitant Portuguese tried to buy one. The chap turned out to be half Spanish which put an end to my endeavour. He was very honest and told us we could buy a cheaper one at the next petrol station 30 km away. We took his advice. At the next petrol station I did have to use my Portuguese and bought a card for 5 days. I couldn't read the instructions on the back which were in such small print I couldn't see a word even with my reading glasses on. The young chap (rapaz in Portuguese) was  a great help and set it up for me and we were on our way again.

It was a very warm day and we went past signs for interesting places such as Fatima, Alcobaça, Coimbra, Batallha and Caldas de Rainha. Finally at around 4 pm we arrived in Nazaré. It took a while to find our Airbnb house. 

The house we are staying at

Outside and everywhere in Nazaré, we saw women, some in local dress, sitting on plastic chairs with signs offering rooms or apartments. It's very typical in Portugal to hire a room in someone's house. We had our Airbnb which we found quickly. It turned out to be a big old house - lovely on the outside - turned into two flats. The owners, Bela and Antonio live on the ground flat and rent out the upper flat. Soon Antonio was showing us around. The listing had great reviews and the host was a superhost. I did not fall in love with it because of its awful cheesy decor with fake flowers and plastic tablecloths but had to admit it was clean and spacious and near the beach. We soon settled in. Eladio tried to sleep a siesta on the very hard bed while I unpacked. I then went to sit on the terrace which was two floors down. In the listing it looked like it was on the same floor as the apartment but it wasn't. In any case I enjoyed quiet time there even if I was completely shrouded by Bela's washing. I decided to venture out and walk down to Nazaré beach which I hardly remembered. I couldn't believe how crowded it was but also very beautiful.

The beach on Wednesday

I also couldn't believe just how hot it was. The forecast was for about 24ºc but it was much warmer. Eladio soon joined me and we strolled up and down the promenade passing ladies selling dried fish. Some were dressed in typical Nazarene clothing which we remembered well.

Local ladies selling sun dried salty fish

Eladio asked them how the fish was eaten and they said; "just like it is". We could see where the fish had been dried in the sun and baked in salt. Not our cup of tea but interesting to see.

We walked to the end of the town beach, Praia de Nazaré and were happy to see just how well organised the Covid rules were for using it. 

Happy to be back in Nazaré even though it has changed a lot. 

Many people used or hired colourful little tents which I thought was quite novel. 

Colourful beach tents in Nazaré

Once back at our starting point, we walked the other way, towards the famous funicular which takes you up a steep hill to a neighbourhood called "Sitio" and towards the famous North Beach. This is where the highest waves in the world have been surfed on by surf mad tourists. In fact Nazaré is the world's centre for surfing big waves. It's not my thing - I am not into water sports- but it has put this old fishing village on the world map and it has thrived ever since and all year round. We could see the village was now big business but I was happy to see it has retained some of its charm. 

I was also happy to see that there were some of the old fishing boats on the beach, similar to those we saw back in 1983 although they are now musuem pieces. We did not see any fishermen though and I wondered where they were; perhaps out fishing for our dinner.

I remembered the old fishing boats very well. 

From the end of the beach where the funicular is we walked back, this time, masks on and looking at the enticing little shops. I spied some pretty dresses going for a song and there and then bought 3 for the girls and me. Here is the greenish dress I bought and which I would wear for dinner that night.

Buying dresses on the sea front in Nazaré

We came home to freshen up, me to change, wash my hands and feet and soon we were out again, ins search of a restaurant for dinner. Our host, Antonio, had recommended "O Veleiro" as the best restaurant in Nazaré and I had my doubts. I had rung to book but they don't take bookings. They don't need to as the place seemed very popular. We were lucky to get a table for two without having to wait and there began a wonderful meal. I had been looking forward to the Portuguese bread and the sparkling "vinho verde" wine and they didn't disappoint. Eladio went for sardines - he loves them and they are very typical in this country. I went for the clams, not expecting anything special. They turned out to be the best I have ever tasted. 

The best clams I have ever eaten were here in Nazaré at O Veleiro restaurant.

The bill came to a paltry 37 euros, probably half of what we would have paid in Spain. Before heading home we took a stroll by the beach again enjoying the atmosphere. Portugal, like the UK, is one hour behind Spain so we were home by 9.30 which seemed very early. I was worried the bed would be too hard for me but I actually slept quite well. In fact I slept until 7 in the morning which was a little miracle. I woke up to rain believe it or not.

We were in for a very wet day and at times it poured it down and I got drenched. But there was a little respite in the morning before breakfast which I went out to the local indoor market. I was told by our host, Antonio, I could get fresh bread there so off I went before Eladio was up. 

The local market

I brought back some lovely local bread, a chocolate croissant (naughty) and a rye bread roll for Eladio. As we are on holiday we are changing our breakfast habits. I have to say I am a bit fed up of oat bran porridge.  The rain continued and we had to decide what to do or where to go. The beach was out of the question so we chose to visit places of interest in the area; Batalha, Alcobaça and of course Obidos, one of the prettiest villages in Portugal. I remembered the enormous Gothic monastery in Batalha which means battle and refers  to the battle in the war of succession here in Portugal; the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. The gigantic monastery was built in commemoration. I well remember visiting it in 1978 when I was doing a 3 week course in Portuguese at the University of Coimbra when the course directors arranged weekend trips to local parts. I took Eladio there too when we first me as well as my parents. It was a pity it was raining as there is so much to see in Batalha. 

The 14th century Gothic monastery in Batalha

We were wearing raincoats and donned umbrellas but I had flip flops on as I had forgotten to bring walking shoes or trainers. Thus I had to buy a pair and found some grey Nikes which are comfortable but I don't really like. I am not into sports' brands I'm afraid. 

We visited the monastery inside which is so gigantic I can't imagine how it was built. From Batalha we drove to another monastery town, Alcobaça. I am not sure I had been there before but certainly knew the name. The church and monastery there were the first Gothic buildings in Portugal. It was built by King Alfonso I  as a gift to Bernard Clairvaus after the conquest of Santarem from the Moors  in 1147. But I think it is more famous in Portugal from the nations' love story, that of Don Pedro, King Alfonso's son, and Doña Ines (de Castro a Galician nobelwoman - 13.20 - 1355)  Don Pedro as heir to the throne was to be married in an arranged marriage to Constança of Castela (Spain) but he fell in love with one of her maids, Inés. He had to marry Constança who later died in childbirth. Don Pedro thought he could then marry Doña Inés but his father the King wasn't having any of it and forbade the marriage. So they lived together and had children and supposedly later married in secret. But the marriage wasn't to last as the furious  King ordered her death and she was killed by his knights at Paços de Santa Clara near Coimbra. Pedro was desperate and wanted to start a war with his father which his mother stopped. He also wanted to kill the men who killed his love which he did once his father died and he became King Pedro of Portugal. Pedro and Ines were reunited in love as both their tombs are at the church and monastery in Alcobaça. Amazingly, King Pedro, crowned his love, Inés, Queen posthumously. I would love to have seen their ornate tombs full of symbols of their love and death but that was not to be as the church was closed that day. Isn't that a beautiful story? 

Alcobaça monastery and church

Something very beautiful happened in Alcobaça that day. As we walked around the pretty town we heard singing and always attracted to classical music I made my way to where it was coming from. Under a large old doorway there was a young man singing with a beautiful countertenor voice. He had chosen a place with perfect acoustics. There he was busking it when he was obviously a professional singer. His name is Joâo Paulo Ferreira and he is well known. I was mesmerised. He is such a young man  - just 30 years old and very handsome too.

Meet Joâo Paulo Ferreira

We hadn't yet seen the monastery but for me the main attraction of the day was to meet and listen to this amazing young Portuguese singer. I took many videos too, including this one of him singing Ave María which you can listen to and see on my You tube channel. Of course I bought his CD too and we had a little chat in between songs. He told me is from Alcobaça and that because of the pandemic cannot sing publicly so he sings in the streets of his home town. I was bowled over. 

By then it was nearly 1 pm and we decided to drive straight to Obidos and skip seeing the spa town of Caldas da Rainha. We arrived to torrential rain, not a good day to see beautiful medieval Obidos which we were visiting for the first time in 37 years. We decided to have lunch and possibly visit it again on our way home today.

In Obidos on Thursday

We had lunch at Restaurante Comendador Silva which was recommended on various sites such as The Fork. It was quite a good lunch but more expensive than in Nazaré and with full stomachs and torrential rain we left for our apartment to go home for a rest, a change of clothes and also a siesta. I slept for an hour and later we strolled outside to walk along the beach. It was no longer raining hard but as it was not cold we didn't really mind the drizzle, plus we needed some exercise to work off lunch. The beach was so empty, very different to the day before. I was wearing flip flops on purpose so as to go down to the water and enjoy wetting my feet in the sea. Oh but it was too rough for that. The waves were high - nothing like the surfing waves on the North beach of course - but the sea was far too rough even to approach with just my feet. So I contented myself with the view and the sound of the roaring waves. 

On the beach in Nazaré in the drizzle

Eladio joined me and later we walked to the end of the beach but on the seafront as the sand was difficult to walk on. We got to the end near the lighthouse and contemplated the wonderful views, so different from the day before.

Eladio on Thusday by the Nazaré beach

We ambled home feeling refreshed from our walk and the sea breeze. I got caught having to chat on Airbnb for more than an hour with a woman from Mexico whose daughter is coming to study at the University near us and she would like to rent a room from me. There is no rest for the devil I thought, even when I am on holiday. Eventually we had a makeshift dinner and then both quite tired went to bed to read. I spoke to both girls. Suzy was on her way to Santa Pola for 3 nights - nights I had blocked on my Airbnb calendar - and Oli was at her flat in Mirasierra trying to make Elliot fall asleep. We eventually fell asleep while reading.  Later we heard from Suzy that their car had broken down on their way and that they got to the apartment really late. The car belonged to one of her friends and the next day it was towed to her home far away. Thus the girls were "carless" during their stay. I suggested they hire one but Suzy didn't seem bothered. Later she sent me a photo of the 3 of them which I think was taken on the cliffs overlooking the island of Tabarca, my favourite spot in the area.

Suzy with her friends in Santa Pola

Friday came, Friday 21st August, not just any date, but the date of our 37th anniversary. Of course that was the reason we were here in Portugal; to celebrate so many years together, and where better than Nazaré where he had a romantic holiday with my parents the year of our wedding. What can I say? As I wrote on social media; ours has been and is a marriage, as good as they get. It's amazing how after so many years with my life partner our love is still going strong, stronger than ever. I am a lucky woman to have such a person by my side. I love Eladio to the moon and back as the saying goes and in our twilight years all I can hope for is that we may be able to celebrate our anniversary for many years to come. 

That morning we decided to take the famous funicular up to the top of a cliff to a place called "Sitio" (meaning place) which is really a neighbourhood of Nazaré. It commands amazing views of the beach here but also of the much more famous Praia Norte (North beach), a surfers' paradise. Here at the viewing point we had our photo taken which I have chosen as this week's feature photo. If the views of Nazaré are wonderful, equally wonderful are those of the North Beach. 

It's the biggest waves there, the highest recorded was 30 metres - the highest in the world -  that have transformed Nazaré into what it is today. The high waves only come out of season so the ones we saw that day, although impressive, are nothing like the ones in the winter. When the surfers discovered the North Beach, they came in their droves and are all over town now, many living here. The locals know and knew just how treacherous the sea is here and that's why you still see many wives of fishermen dressed in black. 

One of the many black widows to be seen in Nazaré, women who lost their fishermen husbands to the sea. 

They were worried the surfers would die, as so many fishermen have over the years. The locals could never have predicted just how their waves would put the town on the map and transform it so much. 

The entrance to view the giant waves

Eladio on the cliff overlooking the North Beach

It was fascinating to watch the waves and we were lucky enough too to see surfers, launched off jet skis to ride the giant waves. We watched and watched and couldn't keep our eyes off the scene unfolding before our eyes.

The waves on the North Beach

By the North Beach

We got even better views when we went into the Sao Miguel Arcanjo fortress where the lighthouse is.

By the lighthouse at the fortress in Sitio

We spent hours up by the fortress and on the cliffs overlooking the North Beach and watching the waves. Eventually, we walked back to the small village of Sitio, pleased with the lovely morning we were enjoying. In the main square we had a cup of coffee and feeling hot I went in search of a hair band and some hair pins. I had to look up the words for both as I didn't remember the word for band and never knew the word for hair pins. Hair band is "laço de cabelo" and hair pins"grampos de cabelo". I eventually found both so could put my hair into a pony tail. I am loving practicing my Portuguese here and am always annoyed at Eladio speaking to everyone in Spanish and interrupting me. Things in that respect have changed too. When I used to come to Portugal in the 70's and 80's, very few spoke Spanish and didn't like to do so - neighbours never like neighbours. But Portugal and England, being the oldest allies in the world or so they way, have always had good relations and everyone speaks good English here. Now, though they also speak Spanish. French used to be strong here but I think it is dying out. I, however, kept insisting on speaking Portuguese, even if I was often spoken to in Spanish. 

With my hair up in a pony tail,  we went to take the funicular down to Nazaré and had to join a big queue. While waiting I read the notices around me and found out that the funicular was built 131 years ago. I think it must be as old as the one in Hong Kong which takes you to The Peak. 

The 131 year old funicular in Nazaré

Once back down in Nazaré and on the beach front we looked for somewhere to have lunch and spied a lovely hotel I had had my eye on for a while. In fact I had booked rooms at the Ribamar which I later cancelled preferring an Airbnb apartment. I suspected it was the hotel we stayed at with my parents and now I am pretty sure it was. 

The Ribamar hotel

We decided to have lunch there. I loved its oldie worldie look as I did back in the 80s and still do today. We had a magnificent lunch, both of us going for the cod fish (bacalhau) which Portugal is so famous for. 

Cod fish for lunch on Friday (bacalhau) at the Ribamar hotel

Being an ice cream fan all my life, something I have inherited from my father, we had one at bar next door after our lunch. We then ambled back to our apartment for our siesta. Later in the afternoon, we took all our beach stuff and headed down to the sun on Praia de Nazaré. Here we set our chairs down to enjoy the late afternoon sun. 

Eladio on the beach on Friday afternoon

However, no way could be bathe as the waves were really really strong. It was a red flag day and the life guards were out in force to make sure no one went anywhere near. They were a sight to see and we watched them together with other people, quite fascinated. I have never seen anything like it and I have been to beaches in other towns famous for waves such as Biarritz or San Sebastian, but this is on another scale. 

The waves on the beach on Friday

Even though we couldn't bathe we enjoyed the show and the sun. We even watched Oli on TV, her last appearance as a presenter on España Directo. She will now be on holiday for a week. My youngest daughter sent us a photo of her and the main presenter in the studio together as a keepsake.

Oli's last appearance as a presenter on her programme España Directo.

It was past 8 pm by then and we picked up our things to head back to the apartment. I have to show you though just how organised they are here vs a vs Covid. To enter and leave the beach you have to go a different route. Flip flops are obligatory or similar, there is hand sanitiser everywhere and of course people have to keep their distance.

Covid precautions on the beach at Nazaré

On our walk home, we saw many of the local ladies offering private rooms in their houses, something so very typical here as I mentioned above.  I had to have some photos of a tradition which is rooted in Portuguese culture. It's a sort of sui generis Airbnb.

A black widow offering rooms to rent

You see women everywhere in Nazaré offering rooms for rent. 

I came home to have a shower, wash my hair and get dressed up to go for anniversary dinner. I wanted to go to Taberna D'adelia  which I found in the Michelin guide but it was fully booked. I thought a reservation wasn't necessary but it was. In any case I booked a table for last night. Instead we went to an Indian restaurant which had fab reviews and as both of us love Indian food and couldn't stomach more "bacalhau", Maharaja was our choice. It didn't disappoint.

We chose to have an Indian meal for our wedding anniversary dinner

We then walked along the sea front until it was time to head home.

Saturday came, our last day here. We decided to go back to Obidos to visit it properly after our short and rainy visit on Thursday. I expected it to be very crowded but thankfully it wasn't. After parking our car we had a photo taken at a sort of photo call at the entrance to the walled village. Here we are like a King and Queen hahahaa. Actually Obidos is the town or village of Queens as before Portugal became a republic, the town was offered to the Queen of Portugal. 

Eladio and I at the entrance to inside the walls of Obidos

Everywhere you look in Obidos you see beauty. It's beauty in overload but I love and loved every corner. As soon as you enter the village inside the walls there are 3 streets to choose from. Eventually we walked all three. Here is Eladio at the entrance.

Elado in Obidos

There are shops everywhere but mostly in very good taste and the village is spotless. There are flowers in every corner too, especially bougainvillea which we love. Eladio took one of the best photos of me during our trip,  next to this plant  in a pretty street in Obidos that day. It's such a colourful photo.

Me in Obidos yesterday next to a spectacular bougainvillea plant. 

We explored the shops and even tried the local cherry liqueur, Ginja, and then got to the end of the village from where you can climb the steps to walk around the village on the path of the walls. That is not as easy as it seems as the path is not railed. I only managed a bit as I am not good with heights. I was relieved when we came down.

Obidos yesterday

We walked and walked and walked but did stop for a break and a cup of coffee in the main square. Both of us were feeling relaxed and happy with life. We continued our walk and also bought some beautiful local ceramics and then we went in search of lunch. We found it at a place called The Lounge which I chose as it offered one of my favourite Portuguese dishes; "bacalhau à brás". It's basically cod fried with egg and potatoes. This was my meal which I couldn't finish as the portion was far too big. We got a doggy bag and plan on eating the rest today as part of our picnic lunch on our journey home.

Bacalhau à brás yesterday in Obidos

We then made it a day and drove home for a short siesta. Later we  ambled out again and headed to the beach for the last time.

Eladio on the beach yesterday

Again the sea was too rough to swim which disappointed me as we will leave Nazaré without having being able to swim in the sea. It was another red flag day. Instead of swimming we walked to the end of the beach, towards the cliffs where we thought we might be able to see surfers but we didn't. Then suddenly in the area we found ourselves in, the life guards changed the flag from yellow to red, but just in that area. Suddenly there were lots of children in the water and I decided to join them. In the end I didn't dare go in the water because of the strong currents.

The sea was rough again yesterday

We left the beach at around 8 pm as we had a table booked for dinner at Taberna d'Adelia at 9 pm. I found the restaurant in the Michelin Guide, the only Nazaré restaurant included. It was very full and seems popular. The waiters, strangely for Portugal, were a bit surly and we did not get good waiter service. Neither of us was hungry so both of just had a starter - sea food soup for Eladio and prawns for me. The service was too slow to bother to wait for a dessert so we had some fruit at home before hitting the sack. It was not the best meal we have had here but I'm not complaining as our trip to Portugal has been fanstastic.

It is now Sunday morning and soon I will be packing to leave. As usual, all good things come to an end. 

I hope you have enjoyed reading the tales of this week. Cheers till next time or as they say in Portuguese "até logo". 

Masha