Portugal - Week 2 (ending August 19)

Hi everyone! Welcome to fun, food and the beach in Week 2. Thanks Genny for your wonderful comments!

Sao Martinho do Porto
Start the week in the same place I had ended Week 1 in - the resort town of Sao Martinho. Forgot to mention last week how clean and safe each of the three places are. Noticed that beach goers are very conscious to take their stuff with them. There are tractors on the beach in Sao Martinho in the early morning to groom the beaches. The town has workers sweeping the beachfront streets every morning. Really does make a positive difference in the beach experience.

Oh yeah, the other experience I forgot to share is how many more people smoke here. While smoking is banned from inside the buildings, smoking is allowed in the outdoor sections of bars and restaurants. Guessing that I may have initially overlooked the smoking because I grew up in a family where my father smoked until he was 58. And the smoking is everywhere so I have had to adjust my sensibilities.

Small confession. Still getting used to the idea of planning my time here in real time. Discovered early in the week that I had a two day gap in my hotel stays. I had booked my Martinho hotel until August 16 with my next hotel stay in Foz do Arelho scheduled to start on August 18. Oops! Well, good fortune was mine as the Martinho hotel has room for me for the extra two days. This is a real busy time of year so hotel rooms at beach resorts can be hard to find.

On the writing front I've been keeping busy with my daily journalling. Great to track all the sights, sounds and experiences happening each day. Also finally completed a summary of my Ethiopian experiences that I shared with the three Ministers who have oversight for Global Affairs Canada; the government agency that provides 90% of Cuso's funding. Completing the summary was cathartic; slowly realized how disappointing my experience had been and what potential issues I see with how Cuso operates in Ethiopia and in Ottawa. I chose sending my feedback to the Ministers instead of Cuso because I had limited, if any, confidence in Cuso's ability to manage themselves given what I has seen in Ethiopia. Had to share that I was sending my feedback to the ministers to get the attention of the person within Global Affairs Canada responsible for Cuso. Shared all that stuff with the ministers as well. Time to close that chapter, so to speak, and move on. Need to spend time in the upcoming weeks focusing on the full range of writing I am interested in doing.

Couple great service experiences from my hotel to share. First, at breakfast, the woman overseeing the breakfast would bring my espresso out to me on the terrace unprompted. Always had this warm smile and a small pat of my back, wishing me well for the day. Amazing start to the day. And the woman at the front desk in the evenings helped me find the best restaurant to eat at so far.

Loads of great fresh fish and seafood to eat - at reasonable prices!

Grilled shrimp with Thai rice - Granada Restaurant

Grouper (Before) - Pesca no prato Restaurant

Where my Grouper friends hang out

Clam starter - Pesca Restaurant

Grouper (After) - Pesca Restaurant

Vegetable soup - Pesqueiro 25 Restaurant

Where I found my Sea Bass for dinner - Pesqueiro 25 Restaurant

Sea bass (after) - Pesqueiro 25 Restaurant

Sides - Pesqueiro 25 Restaurant

Yes, I have continued jogging every day. Tried to extend my time each time out; reached 60 minutes on one day. I also discovered my left hip flexor. Wow! Can that cause discomfort. Decided to do more stretching before jogging. Thank goodness for Google and the internet. A number of hip flexor stretches happen to be yoga movements I am familiar with. Now back up to 45 minutes with minimal hip flexor discomfort.

Some more photos from around Martinho

Overlooking Sao Martinho

Sao Martinho

What freedom may look like

One happy guy - Sao Martinho

Inlet leading to beaches

Another beach - 20 minute walk from hotel

Beach close-up 

Home of morning espresso - after daily beach walk

Foz do Arelho
Friday was move day. Took a taxi, more convenient for the 15 minute trip south, to Foz. Great news! Festival happening this weekend!

Party time in Foz

Festival Street decorations

Traditional dancing - Wedding 

Found this amazing boardwalk just outside Foz that follows the coast for about 2 km

View from Boardwalk

Boardwalk

View from Boardwalk

View from Boardwalk

Coolest thing - swivel seats for a 360 view without getting up!

One happy guy - continued...

And the great food continues in Foz...

Mussels - Tibin Restaurant

Sea Bream - Tibin Restaurant

Sides

Next night - Olives and bread (Tibin)

Tuna Steak - Tibin

And more photos..

Oh stop it! Are you still happy?

Beautiful morning! 

The Road Ahead
Have now firmed up my plans until August 31. I leave Foz do Arelho on August 23 for the city of Porto; north of my current location. Plan to take the bus from Caldas da |Rainha to Porto. Let the travel adventure begin. Porto is Portugal's 2nd largest city and is supposed to be beautiful. Going to switch up my activities to do a little more touristy kind of stuff. Porto is my furthest destination north; will being heading southward afterwards. You can learn more about Porto here:  http://portoportugalguide.com/index.html

On August 27, I leave Porto by bus, going south, for the town of Lousa for four days. Read about some interesting hiking in this part of the country. You can learn more about Lousa here: http://www.cultuga.com.br/2016/11/o-que-fazer-na-serra-da-lousa-roteiro-portugal/

On August 31, I leave Lousa for a destination yet to be determined. One possible destination is going to Lagos in the southern tip of Portugal; part of the Algarve region. Warm weather, beautiful beaches and warm water. I plan to be in Lisbon for the last few days of my trip; see the city and convenient for my return to Canada.

Thank you for joining me this week. See you next Sunday!