American Suburbanite in Portugal: a souvenir for my sister

With our last full day in Portugal upon us, it was time to do some housekeeping. It was not as if we had big parties or anything, but when we weren't at the beach we were picking up firewood. We had lots of sand bark in the car, and well, lots of sand and bark everywhere! After we finished tidying up, I built one last fire in the wood burner (bliss in one match for us or the next guest) and even netted the leaves from the pool since the sun was out again.

When all was said and done we headed out to do a little shopping. I had a very distinct idea of what I wanted to buy, my sister has a couple of wall plaques from Portugal. They were in the first house she bought and she has brought them with her to her new house with her husband. I asked her to send me a picture, but it didn't come through before I used all the 3G on the sim card, so I was going by memory. I remembered one was a church and one a smaller building. I had checked a couple of shops in Obidos the day before, but nothing seemed quite right, so we headed to São Martinho do Porto. The only shop we noticed was closed until 2pm so, after taking a few pictures of the extremely low tide and crazy waves at the mouth of the bay, we headed back to Obidos.

If 3 visits isn't indication enough, I absolutely love Obidos. Even though not on the water and we visited out of season, I think I could say it is my favorite town/village on the Costa da Prata. We walked a slightly different path this time viewing the inside of a gate we saw whilst walking the walls on our first visit. The gates are so impressive, they are well worth stopping in as opposed to just walking through.

Ceramics/ pottery is one of the primary handicrafts of Portugal. Not surprising when you think of the amount of natural clay within the Portuguese soil. We found numerous shops with blue and white painted plates and tea sets, but we were looking for a slightly more rustic approach to the craft. We found several churches and a number of doors, but many were overly decorated with flowers or had Obidos written on them. They just appeared a little too touristy.

We finally found the right style and purchased a clock tower. They also had a church, but thought that might be too similar to what my sister already has.

After a bit more shopping, we went home, out for a meal. I carefully packed the clock tower into our hand luggage.

It safely made it back to England and when we got to a point where I could check my messages...I discovered her church is the clock tower with a cross. Oh well, we only got ourselves a cork postcard (I'll go into cork another time), so I guess we have our own souvenir.

As for my sister, she also has a painting of the Alto Vista Chapel (http://www.aruba-travelguide.com/discover/attractions-and-sights/Alto-Vista-Chapel.html) that she acquired during some of her travels. She thought a companion canvas would look nice. Her initial idea was to print a photo on canvas based on a picture I posted on instagram. I have decided I might give a go at painting a church in acrylic on canvas myself. Wish me luck!

American Suburbanite in Portugal: Chuva, Foz, and the rest of the walls in Obidos

This was the first (and only) morning the mist didn't burn off. Instead it lifted a bit, but returned as light "chuva" or rain showers later in the day. We did not let it stop us though, after all it had been chucking it down in England not to long before we left.

I had wanted to see the "foz" or estuary Lagoa de Obidos. Along the way we stopped briefly at a cliff-top overlook and took in the cadet blue skies wondering when it would rain and where were the rainbows? In Foz do Arelho, we parked in the large public lot at the beach. First impression was a bit bleak as big diggers and heavy machinery sat across the foz. There were no grassy marshes or trees lining the water and only a few seagulls were first spotted amongst the fisherman and trash.

We walked along the shoreline of the lagoon and spotted some baitfish running as well as several different egrets and diving birds feeding upon them. More fisherman joined the coastline as well. The heavy machinery seemed to be laying some sort of pipeline down under the sand, hopefully they restore the water flow to the original inner shores of the lagoon.

As we came around the sand dune, along the inlet to the lagoon, and confronted the Atlantic ocean, the wind and waves picked up. Any warmth built up walking along the soft pack sand was blown away as we returned to the car. The weather was not without it's benefits as surfers were gathering amongst the waves. Once we returned to the car, we found a hillside perch upon which to park, eat a pear, and watch the surfers (6 now) from the warmth of our car.

Upon leaving Foz do Arelho, we headed to Obidos to finish walking the walls we started on Sunday. The rain held off thankfully, as the walls are very steep and narrow compared to York, and there are no handrails to make sure you don't fall off. I was also quite thankful to be wearing my Keens as opposed to my Sketchers for some extra grip and support. Although the views were not as picturesque in the overcast skies, I managed to take plenty of pictures, even a few of a black cat.

Since the weather was turning colder, we stopped in Rabaceira at our other holiday villa to sort the keys and return the electric heater (Mouraria was lovely and warm now after a few fires in the wood burner coupled with the underfloor heating). When our errands were completed, we headed back to Mouraria Vacation Villa, and indulged in a warm bubble bath before going out to dinner for the night.

Out and about, Costa de Prata, the silver coast of Portugal

On Sunday we ventured to Obidos, a lovely town surrounded by fortification walls. The gates in and out of the walls are as ornate as any church alter. Speaking of churches we saw three as we walked through town! My camera battery died less than halfway through our walk :( very unprepared of me, but I got some good snaps before and had the iPad for a few more.

My big adventure on Sunday took place behind the wheel of our rental car. I drove! It is left hand drive, so much easier for me, but it is a manual transmission. Driving used to be such a relaxing activity but put me behind the wheel of a manual and my shoulders tense, my brow furrows, and my heart races.

I gave us good reason for all of that once. We were on a tiny road that happened to be an extremely steep hill. My husband tells me to rev it up, so I think he has the hand brake on and I am going to do hand brake start. WRONG. We suddenly start going backwards very quickly. It took me a second to break, thank heavens no one was behind us. Once we both regained our composure I once again put the car in first gear, managed the start stop technology, found the bite in the clutch and got us up the hill. All in all, I am driving manual much better, especially after driving automatic almost exclusively before moving to England. Start stop technology is probably giving me more hassle than shifting, I am getting myself out of predicaments that my instructor would have had to do in the past, and most importantly I have not given up yet. Now I just have to drive again while here...

At the top of that steep hill lies our other holiday villa in the village of Rabaceira. One of the reasons for coming to Portugal was to check up on the holiday villas, make sure everything seems in working order, and let our business partner know if there are any major concerns before the height of holiday season begins. The views at this villa are absolutely stunning. We walked around the village using what little portuguese we know "ola" and "obrigado". When we returned to the house I was again struck by the gorgeous views across the valley in front of the house. I promise pictures to come soon as we need to stop back at the house before leaving.

Next stop Sao Martinho do Porto, see you there!



All of the pictures were taken within the walls of Obidos, hope we have time to go back.