Sea, Sand and Sun

Another above average day with sunshine and warmth.  We had decided to head to Vila Real da Santo Antonio to have another look at the nativity display and to share the experience with James.  Still in awe of the overall detail and work that’s gone into preparing this beautiful display.  James was, in his words, gobsmacked!!  Baby Jesus and his parents had shown up since our last visit!!

The day was exceptionally beautiful, a couple of markets were underway in the various squares and James was wanting to find a beach towel which meant we headed into a couple of the stores.  He had great success…….let’s just say that more than one full shopping bag left Vila Real today!!!

Loved this old door

Loved this old anchor!

We had already decided that once done in Vila Real, we would drive towards home, stop in Cacela Velha and enjoy lunch plus a walk along the beach and in the tiny town.  Happily, the restaurant we hoped to eat at was open.

OK…so James and I thought we were ordering razor clams…….which in Portuguese is lingueirão. turns out the dish was actually linguado……which is sole!!!! Surprised but just as happy. Mine was fried……

James’s was grilled.

Marc has not been turkied out just yet….he ordered peru (turkey) grilled. The homemade fries more than tempted me but I dug deep and found resistance.

Marc didn’t particularly want to walk on the beach and opted instead to enjoy a quiet exploration of the town whilst James and I headed to the beach area.  The tide was very low……..it seemed lower than usual if that’s possible.  So many things bursting into bloom thanks to this exceptional sunshine and our almost nightly light rain showers.  Mother Nature knows what she is doing!

I loved the colour in this lantana. I truly don’t think I’ve seen this variety before.

The pear cactus were in full fruit and the couple of squeezed seemed soft enough to consider eating.

James parked himself in the sand and I headed down the beach for a lovely soulful walk whilst Marc explored the village. Alone time is such a precious thing and necessary for sanity.

I think this is my first spoonbill. It was having a grand feast and although wary of my presence, wasn’t all the skittish and stayed put.

Tranquility at it’s best!

This is the church at the top of the hill from the beach.

As I headed back the beach I recognized Marc at the top of the cliffs. I love my zoom.

Once James and I arrived at the top of the path leading down to the sea, Marc met us and we had a lovely walkabout in the village before heading back to the car.

The Christmas tree still sits in the main square. Notice the lovely balls on the tree? Have a look at the caption on my next photo!

Each “ball” was an old sock, turned into a ball with a small hooped string attached and used as decorations. I love it. What an ingenious use of old socks and certainly single socks whose partners have been eaten by washing machines and dryers!!!

My handsome man admiring the Christmas tree.

We love all the colour that Portugal brings to our winters.

A perfectly wonderful day and three very content Canadian Boys headed back to the quinta.  At present James is in his apartment working on his photos, Marc is reading his online newspaper and here I am, blogging.  Another grand and very full day.

Two of my favourite shots from today…..