A Most Unusual Situation

We have returned from Olhao ... not without some hiccups on the trip home. Everything was going very well with all connections clicking into place without any hitches. Then ...

Delta 767

One hour out of Seattle, Washington ... with only 1 more connecting flight to grab ... it all went South.
Well, to tell you the truth, the main problem was that we DIDN'T go south! Engine trouble on the 767 caused an emergency landing in Edmonton, Alberta. We still didn't think this would be a bad thing, as we could always grab a hop over to Victoria from Edmonton, and we'd be home before schedule! Bonus!

What we completely forgot about was the US Bureaucracy. Homeland Security will not allow anyone who is on an American airplane to deplane without going through their special Security Check at one of their airports. What this meant was that all of us were going to spend 2.5 hours sitting in the airplane at Edmonton while they tried to fix the engine, and then another 5 hours in the airport in a secured room while they flew another airplane from Salt Lake City to take us to Seattle. We listened while they announced Westjet flights to Victoria.*sigh* The unfortunate part of all this was that we missed our connecting flight to Victoria, and then the next 3 flights out were sold out. We had to spend the night in Seattle.

The best part of this whole story? There was a fellow on the flight who LIVES in Edmonton. They wouldn't let him out of the airport while we were there! He still had to fly to Seattle, miss his flight back to Edmonton, spend the night, and then finally get back to where he's spent half the previous day exactly 24 hours after he'd landed there in the first place! Nope, didn't make sense to us either ...

A Fish Dish

Local fisherman hauling his net

Yesterday morning, we all walked down to the waterfront to check out the sights and see if we could catch the fisherbirds at work. Although Art & Regis kept telling us about these amazing birds, we were beginning to think they were making it all up … we’d yet to see them. We were in luck this time, however, and they came to give us a demonstration of their skill. Sorry … no pics. They’re just too fast!

Pete and I decided to walk along to the ‘real’ harbour where the fishermen come in to unload their catch. We lucked in, as a large boat was just coming into the harbour as we arrived. They must have had a good haul, because the siren sounded for a fish auction. Immediatelly, a fleet of little trucks came careening along the road to load up on their fish. It was quite the sight!

My Dourada

One thing that we’re really enjoyed here in Portugal is the fish. It’s taken us a bit of time to actually figure out what KIND of fish we’re eating, but it’s all been good, so the point is moot.

Art's Octopus dinner

We’ve tried the local sardines, cod, the dourada (golden bream), the sea bass, the swordfish, octopus, tuna, shrimp, cuttlefish and some none of us could pronounce, let alone tell what they actually were!

Coffee

Espresso in Alte

 Much to Pete’s horror, I continue to love coffee. Although I have stopped indulging in the caffeinated variety, I still enjoy an espresso, and Europe has amazing decaf coffee’s offered at all the little shops. At the apartment, however, I am so lucky to have a brother with a travelling espresso maker! The local shops have great decaf ground coffee, so I’m in 7^th heaven in the morning. Ryan, where did you get that little gadget?

A Sagres or two go down nicely anywhere!

Of course, all the little street-side cafes … and there are abundances of these! … offer tiny cups of café any time you like for 1 Euro or less. The business class locals drink ‘em standing up, but you see the reforamados (that’s Senior Citizens BTW) lounging in the shade with either a beer or a café at each of the little restaurants.

Poor Pete ... he always had to make do with a Sagres or two while I sat and had my coffee. He suffered so.

Bridge in Tavira

Seven Arches Bridge

There are lots of bridges in Tavira. The most famous if the Seven Arches Bridge. We traversed it to find a lovely little cafe to have our lunch in when we went to the Medeival Market last Sunday.  It's more of a touristy town than Olhao, and the market had some beautiful handicrafts. We didn't, however, see much of the "medieval" theme that was supposed to be prevalent. Oh well.  We did visit the castle, and it was quite the experience. Not recommeded for the faint of heart ... no railings on any of the walls that you were allowed to roam at will.

Bridge players gather at Jorge & Lia's Snack-Bar

The other kind of bridge in Tavira is, of course, our favorite. The card kind! Never again will I complain about 5 tables at our bridge club. The Tavira club boasts that number as the most they’ve ever had!

On the 25^th of April, Pete and I celebrated his birthday (and the Independence of Portugal) by hopping on the train and going to Tavira to play bridge. The instructions to the bridge club were quite simple. Turn left off the train, go left again and across the tracks, then up the hill. At the top, turn left when you see some flats … then turn right and right again. Cross at the Zebra crossing and go through the gardens to the back of Lia and Jorge’s Snack-bar. You can’t miss it! We did. There are lots of “flats” up on that dang hill … tons of gardens … and a plethora of pedestrian crossings!!! Oh well … ask a local. 

The bridge game consisted of 2 tables. We simply played 16 boards and compared our results with the other table. Pete and I swapped partners with Marianne and Doug, another Canadian couple who, get this, are from Qualicum! We had a great time laughing and chatting. The bridge was really secondary.  The other table were two ladies who were playing their very first bridge game plus their instructor and his wife.

3 Tables of bridge

We went again on the 2nd of May, and they actually had 3 tables!  We got to play against some very lovely people from beginners to the "Expert Dutch Ladies". They were delighted that we played 5-card majors and couldn't care less about anything else :-)

Just to make our club proud, we probably won. No way to find out yet, but we'll check it out next Thursday.

Killer Kobblestones

Olhao walkway

The cobbled walkways here in Olhao are really killer on the knees and hips! Poor Art … he’s suffering more than any of us, but I can really understand, since my hip is not very happy with me either!

So shiny and smooth, they look like metal!

I mean ... LOOK at them! They're so shiny and bright ... can you imagine what it would be like after a rain? Geeze! No wonder there are so many people around here with casts on their arms and legs and all the old timers have canes!

Tiled Streets of Ayomonte

The streets in Ayomonte in Spain were tiled, not cobbled. It also seemed that the city engineers lay down a level bed of sand before they put down the road tiles. Olhao and the other working towns of the Algarve that we've visited seem to just plunk down some square stones and then spread dirt over them and sweep 'em clean. They follow the various undulating surfaces that were in front of the workers ... paying close attention to the design of the pattern. Interesting, beautiful, but deadly!

Intricate patterns everywhere

The streets of Lisboa where we were staying were narrow alleys or wide boulevards and everything was one way. Since we were walking, it didn’t make any difference to us, but I would NOT want to drive a car here! I think that even with a GPS, you’d have a hard time navigating without a guide.

The public squares are fabulous and frequent. The cobblestones here were smooth for the most part without the changes of level being so prevalent. The designs, however, often fool the eye!

The square in Lisboa

Huge monuments perch liberally among the historic buildings … and you can see remnants of ancient buildings (you think that used to be a church?) in the background. The castle up on the hillside is fully restored and you can tour it if you are so inclined.

Hobbit Cake

We have our favorite bread and pastry shop here in Olhao. The girls will give you the freshest rolls and bread and they don`t mind that we only want one of these and one of those. (we`re determined to sample each and every one of the yummy little offerings)

Hobbit Cake

Today was the best, though. They had a beautiful pumpkin colored cake with chocolate glaze, and I asked what it was. The girl said that it was `Hobbit` cake. I was sure I`d misunderstood, and asked her to write it down. She did … h-o-b-b-i-t … then she drew a little picture of a carrot. Ah! It all becomes clear! We bought a chunk of it and it will forever be Hobbit Cake for us.

Oh My GAWD!!

Regis' beautiful new look

I went on a mission the other day searching for a salon where Regis and I could get a manicure. Although I found a couple, nobody could speak a word of English. Finally, lost and exhausted, I found a salon called "Afro Algarve". The ladies inside were no better at English than any of the others, but they were VERY enthusiastic about our business, and we finally agreed on 6 Euro and 10:00 the following morning.  Well, at least that's what I thought we agreed upon.

Linda's lovely nails

Promptly at 10:00  we arrived at the salon to find locked and shuttered doors and 5 women waiting outside. Hmmm. At 10:15 and no change in the door situation, we decided that we`d come back after going to the market for our day`s shopping. Art was going to make us a roasted chicken.  On our way back with fresh rolls, pastries, a chicken, some crayfish and shrimp we saw that the doors were now open and one of the women that had been waiting outside earlier was actually our nail tech! It was quickly decided that Regis would pack the groceries home and I`d get started. Regis hurried back, and arrived just as my manicure was finished.
Now you have to understand that the main reason for this manicure was to get the gel polish off Regis` nails. She thought it was starting to get a tad tacky. I tried to warn her that a little roughing up and a dab of Acetone was not going to cut it, but she poo poo`d me. The tech proved that she really did have better English than all the rest. Upon finding that the polish was going to require the power tools, her only comment was ``Oh my GAWD!``  With Portuguese and hand gestures, we determined that her mother lives in Florida (at least that`s what we think we found out)!
We exited in fine style with our nails bright red and fresh. I think I have an appointment next week for a pedicure at 10:00 in the morning. Hmmmm ... I wonder ....