Every morning Carol and I get up and scan all of the news broadcasts and government websites to see how countries (especially Canada) are dealing with the Coronavirus virus. So far we are freaked out about the impact on China but still feel that the Canadian medical system has things under control. It is a mess in China and will be very difficult to bring back under control. I have done some rudimentary pandemic planning in the past and this is unnerving.
Today we enjoyed another beautiful sunny day with a temperature that hit 70 degrees. We watched the finals of the Australian Open then went to the beach to soak our feet in the Atlantic Ocean. Very nice.
Then a walk to the top of the cliffs and along the boardwalk and back into town. Once back we stopped at our local British pub for a beer, sangria, and a shared toastie.
These are nice sentiments don't you thinK?
Our 1st morning of walk was 2.5 kilometers to the local supermarket to pick up some chorizo, bread, cheese and other staples. We have a Supermercado across the street but the assortment is limited and the prices a little higher. We will buy water there rather than carry gallons of water 2.5K and wine we have found at a great local store. I have downloaded Vivino to help pick wine.
Our 2nd morning of walk - up 80 steps to the crest and then a couple of kilometers on a wonderful boardwalk followed by another kilometer on a path. When we hit a large valley we turned back. We will have a second look at the valley another day with the objective to get by and to continue on for a few more klicks.
The following is a photo of the main street of Carvoeiro. We are on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors of the building with the portrait of a lady painted on its side. The top floor is our terrace (if you look closely you might be able to see a pair of my travel underware drying in the wind.) The owner of our unit also owns the main floor jewellry shop (Carol has already picked out her piece, y'all should send your orders along.)
For those interested in our plans for Portugal in January and February I am posting the following information:
- Booking Website: www.homeaway.ca I think that it is important that you use the Canadian site so that you consistently get Canadian dollars for the search.
- Town where I have been looking: Carvoeiro, Algarve
- Price Range: $60 - $90 per night Canadian
- The unit that I have booked: I have included this so that you can see what you get for what you give. Regardless of what price is showing on this page, I paid $83 Canadian per night. Our landlord is a PremierPartner which is similar to an AirBNB SuperHost. We stayed with a SuperHost for several months in 2017-2018 in Toronto. I suspect that SuperHosts and PremierPartners try harder.
Our Unit The unit occupies three floors - 1st, living room, kitchen, 2nd bed and bath, roof top terrace.
- Billing Details: So that you can see a sample of the final cost calculation here is the quote for our unit.
I am currently looking for a 2nd month but I am taking a couple of days off to clear what I have seen from my head.
I intend to use the flight application titled "Hopper" to plan and book airlines. They have a unique algorithm that suggest to you not only what flight to take, but when to book it to get the best rates. Speaking of flights, I have not figured out the flights (Faro or Lisbon) and how to actually get to Corvoeiro (bus, mule, train).