Bum Cheeks & Bathing Suits: a Beautiful Thing!

Thong, cheeky, hipster, or brief bottoms on monokinis, bikinis and full pieces for girls (note: not a tankini to be seen, anyhwere). Speedos & shorts of varying lengths and tightness for boys. Regardless of body-type and age, anything goes. It's refreshing and awesome and beautiful! 

She loves giving herself a wedgie and saying "I'm Carnaval!"

We saw lots of bum cheeks during the Brazilian-style Carnanval!

And contagious.  My girls are quite comfortable being topless, and even naked on the beach; Mark hangs out in his speedo after his swim across the bay, and blends right in; no one here seems to stare at anyone or gawk at anything. Confidence to strut the skin you're in abounds, and I love it.

The Portuguese love their sun. So the more they can get on their skin, the happier they are.
Sunday was a balmy 28C and our beach was full.  I would hazard a guess at about 10,000 people. From what I could tell, about 1 in every 100 people wore a hat, and a total of 3 people had on a sun shirt. And you bet, those were my 3 children.

Some habits die hard.

I'm not one to be up on trends, but it's hard not to notice:
frills are in this year, in a big way!

Frills on the top and the bottom

Some of us are more conservative than others in our swimming attire.

At Peace with the Pandemic

I had angry moments the first many weeks of coronavirus. Why THIS year?
But with COVID19 de-confinement in full force, I am honestly, and surprisingly, at peace with it.

Our Karate Kid, feeling ZEN

Don't get me wrong: I'd still rather a pandemic NOT have shut down the entire world for a month, and left in its wake all the negative long-term social, economic and health impacts.

But being now on the other side of this first wave, with everything open to us, lots of time to get through our bucket list, and ample family beach time unencumbered by in-class school schedules, Mark and I agree--best that it happened during our year abroad. With me not working, Mark only part-time and from home, in a village where there was no chaos or food/supplies shortages, calmed by the view of the sea and the sun, with the kids supported nationally with a great schooling program, and in an economy where our stable Canadian earnings were enough, our only real stress was parenting 3 kids confined indoors for 5 weeks (!!).

They do get along well, most of the time!

Despite some stressful moments of too much togetherness in tight apartment quarters, the 5 of us finally found time for card games, movie nights, drawing (Mark did not know of my mad skillz!), hiking, skipping rope, playing "racquetball" in our courtyard, and building with bamboo and lego--activities that seem to have eluded us. And the kids became closer: sure, they figured out exactly which buttons to press...but more often came up with neat ways to stay busy together.

 We were/are privileged, and we know it.

Love watching a storm roll in...

Date night, while the kids watch a movie inside

During lockdown, my balcony was "my happy place": taking in the sunrise/set, eating meals, drinking wine, admiring the waves and colours of the sea, watching the fishing boats/battle ships/cargo ships/sailboats float by, cheering for seagulls as they fished, admiring dolphins in the bay (a rare but heart-warming treat), watching storms come in, reading Portuguese historical fiction, cuddling with a kid or two or three on the hammock, FaceTiming with family and friends...

Sigh, love this view.

In the 5 weeks of lockdown, I witnessed significant environmental changes from my deckchair:

1. We could see farther out to sea and down the Portuguese coast to the east, than we were able to before. Cleaner air.
2. It used to be that we couldn't walk 10meters along the beach in the early morning after a stormy night (before the city's cleaning crew arrived) without filling a garbage bag of washed up trash. During lockdown, there was no garbage.
3. We saw dolphins a few times in the 8 weeks of quarantine, and watched the seagulls settle and play along the quiet beach much more than before. More wildlife.
4. It was nice having sun and heat for the duration of lockdown: helped boost our mood! The climate here is incredible.

All of us enjoy this "happy place"

So, if COVID19 quarantine had to happen, I'm ok that it was this year, thankful that my family had each other during isolation and happy that we were living in this little gem of a town with all that it gave us.

Oh boy: we are going to miss living here...

Rainbows:
COVID19's symbol of hope

Camping on the Atlantic Ocean

Restaurant, coffee shop, bar, discotheque, swimming pool, grocery store, swimming pool, games hall, communal dishwashing areas, and no fire pits, tables or assigned campsites...camping in Portugal is a bit different from what we're used to. We ain't in Kansas anymore!

Our purple tent on the far left.
You'd think sleeping on a bed of sand would be soft...mom and dad's hips say NO

On a whim, we borrowed a tent and sleeping gear and packed up our little Fiat. We spent one night,  Wednesday to Thursday (national holidays) at Praia da Gale, a campground about 1.5 hours south of Sesimbra.
Random note about the drive: The radio plays songs in English, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian...We had fun deciphering which was which.

Miraculously, it all fit!

They were so excited to go camping!

They loved running down to the beach, and back up.
Barefoot all weekend, just like dad.
See the sand dunes - wind carves them like that!

The campground faced west--the waves were MUCH bigger than our "ocean pool" in Sesimbra!

Watching the sunset--we can see Sesimbra!

Wine, sunset, family and happy kids.
Life is so good!

When asked what was different about the experience, the kids answered:

Gabi: "We get to pick our own spot--that's cool" - there are no assigned sites--you can pitch your tent anywhere in a set zone. You and a hundred others...You aim for morning shade so the blazing sun doesn't cook you. But as we were willing to walk a few minutes downhill from our car, we were the second closest to the ocean, and only had...5 other tents as neighbours.

"Camping is so cozy" - Yup, it is!

Jonty: "There are so many people, close together". True, but our spot was far enough away from the central hub and, with the constant crashing of the waves, it was quiet and perfect for sleeping.

Jonty: "It made me homesick". We are big campers back home. We love being in the outdoors and the kids adore the freedom to explore and run around. Not surprisingly, camping reminded us of our true north strong and free.

Poolside, enjoying ice cream, beer and Sangria.
I could get used to this!

We had no camp dishes, coolers or cooking gear.
Good thing there is a full restaurant in the campground!

The view from our tent. Can you see the ocean past my cowboy!?

Forest fires are a big concern in Portugal. So no campfires allowed.
There are these communal BBQs though.
There is a fishmonger on site--sardines were popular this weekend!

Pine cones are HUGE here!

#campingisinourblood

GAME BACK ON! In "holiday mode" once again

Hello beach. Hello restaurants, museums, friends...SO nice to see you!

We have eaten out 8 times in 14 days...
All that money saved during lockdown...well spent!

Phase 2 of de-confinement got us back to "good". Yes, masked everywhere but home, the beach and when entering restaurants, but we are making up for lost time and once again revelling in what this incredible country has to offer!

On Monday May 18, Phase 2 of de-confinement kicked in. We were now able to enjoy:

• unrestricted beach and water access;
• restaurants (restrictions on number and physical distance of customers); and
• museums open in limited numbers (minus any information points that require touch e.g. interactive screens and dress-up stations).

During lockdown, a family with kids the same age as Gabi and Jonty moved into the building across from us. What started as chats from our balconies (about 6 meters apart), has now blossomed into joint outings, pizza on the beach, dinner parties and playdates. It has made all this fun that much sweeter!

Bright and early on May 18--enjoying pastry and coffee at "O Caseiro".
The county's President urged the Portuguese to get out and stimulate the economy.
We are doing our best!

Trying our hand at traditional Portuguese tile-painting.

This little Portuguese artist did an amazing job with her tile.

Barefoot and shirtless in the middle of Azeitao village.
They get this from their dad! Ok, it was 35C...

Queluz Palace - the Versailles of Portugal
Portugal holds the title for best country to visit 3 years in a row now.
Possibly the best time to sight-see: no lines, no crowds, JACKPOT!

Cooling off and making our royal selves at home in the Palace gardens

Wine touring and tasting in the Alentejo Region
We were the first visitors to Cartuxa Cellars since lockdown.

Olive oil, presunto (cured ham leg), and full bodied wines...
I drew the short straw and had to drive!

The Alentejo is in the interior of Portugal, close to the border with Spain.
Our car registered 40C...thankfully the cellars were cool, and the restaurant air-conditioned!

Months with no "R" are the best to eat snails:
"Maio", "Junho", "Julho" and "Agosto".

Positive peer pressure is a powerful thing!
Not our favourite gastronomic delight,
but with beer, sun, and good friends, snails hit the spot.

Beach season officially opens June 6, and with it, a self-regulated, nationally 

organized traffic light system to control physical distancing on the beach.

Time will tell how well it works!

Staying cool and floating easy in salt water.

Jonty, the gondalier, paddle boarding with Gabi and their new friends.
It's a hard life, this...lol.

June 1: Phase 3 of de-confinement starts. Pre-school opens!
Catarina was excited until she saw the beach...
We have become beach bums: 6 hours/day, most of May.

COVID19 Update

Despite being on week 4 of "de-confinement", Portugal's numbers (pop 10 million) seem to be OK (May 31, 2020). Naturally, they are expected to go up with the heat and the mass flocking to beaches, but here's hoping they don't spike too high! 

• in the last 24 hours: 297 new cases and 14 deaths (2 weeks ago it was 227 new cases and 13 deaths)
• 32,500 total cases, 1,410 deaths 

Canada (pop 35 million), comparatively:

• in the last 24 hours: 757 new cases and 222 deaths
• 90,947 total cases, 7,295 deaths