Five Feet, Nine Inches Above Ground

The days are speeding by and suddenly the month of March is nearly half gone! The weather has been a mix of sun, rain and wind and the overall effect is a wonderful lushness as plants and flowers burst forth. There seems to be an abundance the Naked Man and other orchids, this year. I had the pleasure of being invited to Patricia and Gary’s new digs on Friday evening with Randy, Marc and Laurie. Of course the conversation turned to flowering plants as their new temporary home is surrounded by a lovely garden and orchard. Patricia gave us a pre dinner tour to see one wild orchids she had found and then Randy discovered an entire meadow full of them.

Saturday market in Olhão

It was my first visit to this wonderful weekly market in several years. There have been some changes but it remains essentially the same amazing experience. We knew it would be busy due to the lack of parking. It was great day for people watching! It’s also a great place to find people you know and not unexpectedly, we ran into Marc’s friends, Michel and Louise.

Following several exploratory turns around the indoor and outdoor market and several purchases, I was revived by a Portuguese version of an espresso: un bica. Actually, it was a bica with a little extra hot water and then it was time to wander off to lunch at the marina restaurant further down the way. It was a wonderful lunch; good food and drink accompanied by lots of conversation that lulled while we each tucked into our food. Mine was one of the daily specials – a white fish (not cod) with potatoes and toasted garlic bread. It was very tasty and it was good to the last bite.

Sunday morning gypsy market in Estoi

Once per month, a temporary gypsy market sets up in Estoi -usually the second Sunday of the month. The vendors provide everything from fresh produce to clothing, to household goods, hardware, and live birds such as chickens, doves, songbirds, peacocks… and the list goes on. It’s a great place to bargain hunt and haggle over prices and simply enjoy the ethos of a transitory market. The colourful affair was blessed with clear skies, sunshine and a bit of a breeze.

After lunch at my apartment, I enticed Randy and Laurie to take a loop hike on a series of roads outside of Estoi. Randy has done it many times and I have seen most of it on various occasions, sometimes in a vehicle and sometimes on foot. Spoiler alert! There was an abundance of orchids!