The Merging of the Days…at least that’s how it feels!!

Warmth, sunshine, the pool, the beach, good wine, visits with friends…gosh life is tough these days!!!

Perhaps it’s simply because we return to Canada soon that I seem to have a more acute sense of everything around me right now.  The scent of the jasmine as it moves into its final days of blossoming.  The intoxication and sweetness of the orange and lemon blossoms………I swear one of us is going to pass out from breathing deeply when walking and even driving…..simply to memorize this wonderful experience.

The Fuzeta beach…..we spent a morning there to get away from the heat of home. As you can see, we practically had it to ourselves. Happily, within a half hour of arriving, a wonderful breeze came along and kept us company for the three hours or so we were there.

This happy man could easily spend every morning doing this sort of thing……if only he could find a way to paint at the same time!!

I love seeing the different activities that people enjoy while taking in the sun, sand and sea.

A lone kayak-er

Patiently waiting for a bite to come along.

This little fellow wasn’t straying far from his owners.

Whenever we beach it, we try to be out of the sun by noon to avoid the more harmful rays and the best way to accomplish that……lunch on a covered patio.  Today was Snack-Bar Galactica and fresh corniva,  also known as the corvina drum,a saltwater fish.  One of my favourite here in the Algarve primarily because it has a centre bone which is easy to remove and the meat……white and sweet.  We thoroughly enjoyed our relaxing time in the shade of the patio.

Tomatoes are grown year round in green houses and to us, they taste like late July tomatoes….full of sunshine and sweetness.

Perfectly grilled corvina.

Our afternoons at home these days means pool time……..

After a few lengths he was warmed up and cooled down!!!

First getting in is always a bit trickt

And then we head down to the square for a visit, a drink and a walk….not necessarily in that order.  Estoi is such a beautiful tiny village…….we always see something that we want to capture in photos.

These pretty bugs were all over this one plant.

Thee roses are blooming all around the countryside and many of the planters in the villages contain these tiny red variety.

The “boys” are out every afternoon for their chat and laugh. They seem to have a great deal of fun together and certainly add to our smiles each day.

On the way back home as we passed the Pousada property.

And finally, a wonderful meal on our patio at home. Cold roasted chicken, beet and blue cheese salad and a wonderful tomato salad. We promised ourselves we would eat one each day from now till home..

Saturday is market day all over the Algarve and our list of things to do before we head home was to visit the Loulé and Olhão markets at least one more time.  Today we chose the Loulé.  The drive was wonderful.

Last year, and again this year, Marc and I decided that each day when we are out, we will drive at least one route/road we have never been on before.  It’s so much fun to experience something brand new and we are usually surprised at where some of these roads end up taking us.  We’ve been doing that this past two weeks and are already finding areas we have never seen before and want to experience in more detail next trip.  It’s amazing how many tiny villages are tucked away close to where we live and yet we have no sense of them at all.  Great fun.

Finally, fresh sardines are available. They have not been permitted to fish them to try and build up the quantity.

Look at this massive box of fresh strawberries we got for 4 euros. They also grow these year round in green houses……..summer tastes yet again for us. Fresh crepes for breakfast….merci mon mari!!

I saw this place on one of the roads wee had taken and I stopped to take a photo…..just as I finished, I looked down and right at my feet was a large cluster of………

Woodcock Ophryx orchids. I had never seen them before. What a lovely surprise for me.

And, the pomegranates have started to form on the trees,

We headed down to the square for our daily visit but took a circuitous route to get a little exercise in and to see what might have changed since our last walk………always enjoyable.

Marc is becoming more and more Portuguese with his sweater and hat, always close by. Despite the heat, he claims he feels the coolness more!!

Poppies, poppies and more poppies………growing in a huge avocado orchard near the house.

They dance in the slightest breeze, which sometimes makes them a challenge to photograph

I love the red of the poppies against the white of the old water wheel.

We were walking below the pousada and this perspective caught my eye.

Marc is as enamoured with the flowers as I am.

This old window caught my eye.

Roses are huge, colourful and for the most part, scentless.

Four large piles of oranges had been dumped in the field for the sheep and to my surprise, they were eating them. I can imagine the cheese their milk might make!!!!

A large bush of these red roses with white interiors. They did have a slight scent.

And there you have a snap shot of some of the activity of our days.  There are loads more things but not everything goes in the blog!!!