A rainy day

Today is Friday and, for the first time on our trip, it is raining (save some drizzle when we arrived at the Lisbon airport). Fortunately, we had not planned anything for today, so spent the morning reading, and with a bit of break in the rain, came up to the village over slippery cobblestone and little creeks and mini-waterfalls trickling along the steep streets and steps.

Since we have done all of our “distance” exploring of Portugal, Thursday was a day to relax, read, and sit on the porch. I should mention that we have actually been cooking – nice to be able to relax and have breakfast. Most days we have packed fruit, crackers, water for our day trips, and then either eat out for lunch or for dinner. There is a small grocery store within a short drive from our house but the selection is quite limited – but it has supplied the basics and has a nice bakery (yes, they sell the custard pastries, too).

Thursday afternoon we decided to venture out a bit with the hopes of renting a canoe on the Obidos Lagoon. I should explain that while we are near the coast, we are not on the coast (however, in the 1500 it was on the coast) but there is an Obidos Lagoon (about 5 km from here) that opens to the Atlantic. On our first day here we followed a sign indicating it, but it was a dead end. Here in the house the owners have a binder of flyers/brochures/ideas and we had noticed one for canoeing in the lagoon, with directions. So off we went. We found the lagoon and beach, but not the canoe rentals (may be just a weekend thing this time of year – we were supposed to turn at the Green Hill Discoteca, and maybe it went out of business since the brochure was printed). While it had been a little cloudy here, at the beach (Foz do Arelho) it was clear and sunny, so we took advantage of some beach time.

Whereas on the Lisbon coast and the southern Portugal coast, it is more international tourists, in this area the beaches are used more (and most certainly during the off season) by the locals. Beach was huge and not very many people (you can see that based on the pictures; you can also notice the ocean leading into the lagoon).

A few men fishing, a few groups of teenagers, two surfers, a few other couples, and a few moms and kids. No Frisbees, no beach volleyball, but lots of soccer balls, and a few topless women. We are definitely not in the US.

Heading out from the beach we finally had a “close encounter” with one of the old windmills.

On the way back we went to a “big” grocery store in Caldas da Rainha and Jim decided to attempt barbeque Portugal style, so we picked up fresh fish and veggies to grill, as well as some more Portuguese wine. This place, as well as most we pass, has a built in barbeque with a chimney, and it has been “calling” to Jim since we arrived.

You can see him on the patio – I’m also adding in the view from our front windows (the view to the left looks up at the village and castle, straight ahead looks out at Santuario do Senhhor Pedra (the hexagonal church that we went to last weekend for the concert). Beyond it is Caldas da Rainha. Across the street from the church there is a restaurant and dance hall – it was PACKED on Sunday evening – must be quite the hotspot. Anyway, we had a nice dinner on the patio, commenting how relaxing this has been but also how quickly the time is passing. The property manager actually called, with great apology for reminding us that our trip is winding down, to arrange for our checkout on Monday.

I have not yet mentioned what Obidos is like during the late morning and early afternoon. This quiet little village does fill up with tourists (it is a popular day trip for tourists in Lisbon, combining Obidoes with several other spots we have mentioned in previous blogs – can’t imagining trying to do all that in one day). But there are also adorable groups of kids on field trips. As they walk through the town in their group they will sing and dance in unison. As they encounter another group they sing louder and basically compete with each other. Too cute. Then in the late afternoon everybody disappears; some people stay on for dinner/drinks. The castle walls are beautifully lit at night. The restaurant we ate at the other night puts votives into the crevices of the wall, as well as hanging lanterns from it. The walled village is only 2 km in length. Amazing how small it is, yet each time we walk through it we find a street we have not yet been on.
People have all been very nice.

Jim has been better about learning some Portuguese, but in most situations waiters, clerks, etc. speak English (this is a big tourist area for the British, seeking some decent weather). The pace is very laid back, waiters do not hover over you and seem surprised if you don’t want to linger after the meal. Pedestrians appear to have the right of way. Nobody is rushing around EXCEPT while driving. The speed limit on the freeway (toll way I guess) is 120 km/hour, yet if you drive that “slow” people are on your bumper to move out of the way. We have yet to see anybody pulled over for speeding. In fact, the only law enforcement we have seen is at the scene of an accident.

There is a TV here so we do check in on the European CNN and see that Obama is now in Europe with us! Maybe he´ll take a side trip to Obidos...

That´s all for now!