The Snowbird has landed

Hi all,

Here in Vila Nova de Milfontes the sky is blue and cloudless. There are beaches for miles and miles up and down the coast and my town is at the mouth of the Mira River where the water is still and perfect for kayaking.

Getting here takes a bit of time...Kenora to Winnipeg to Toronto to Frankfurt to Lisbon. That took a total of 16.5 hours from start to finish. Portugal is in the same time zone as Great Britain so here I am 6 hrs ahead of Winnipeg (until today when CST became CDT). This morning I wondered if Portugal had switch to Daylight Savings Time too but the church bell at the end of my lane tells me that I needn't change my watch yet.

My biggest excitement getting to Portugal was meeting the dour German security official and serious young Aryan Polizei who "detected" explosives in my backpack. At 2AM and with a tight connection onward, they unpacked and examined my gear. I hope I'm not on a persona non grata list now.
In Lisbon I paused overnight to catch up on sleep. Lisbon is a very interesting place and the hostel where I stayed (same one I used after my Camino trip) was perfectly located, quiet (unlike last time), and a great place to meet people. I ate custard tarts and wandered with a woman from India and a man from Denmark. Tha accommodation was $24 and a home cooked group meal of soup, pasta, cheesecake, and wine was $15.

The next day at 4 PM, I took a modern bus 2.5 hrs south to this idyllic town of 5,500 people. My apartment is movie-worthy cute, well-appointed, and in immaculate condition. There is a fully equipped kitchen with teeny walled patio, living room with wood stove and tv, bathroom with washing machine. Upstairs is a bedroom with luxurious four-poster bed, full ensuite bathroom and tiny balcony with views of beach. Up the small wooden circular stairs is a larger rooftop terrace with marvellous views of beach and river/Atlantic Ocean waves.

With 5 weeks to relax here I am taking it one day at a time. Today is my 5th day here. The weather is exactly what I wished for, sunny and 20ish. There are miles of beaches but the water is cold (like Lake of the Woods in May/June). There are famous hiking trails in 3 directions. English books are available for borrow!!! Wine is $2-3/ big glass and less by the bottle in the supermarcado. My $12 home cooked Portuguese cafe dinner will feed me for 2 days.

I'm signing off to make my lunch and then walk about 5 km down the sand dune cliff trail toward Porto Covo. Starting easy!

I hope my home people are hanging on through the last fierce month of winter.