Five Feet, Nine Inches Above Ground

The Estoi Pousada bell tower from the Quinta parking lot. It’s feels wonderful to be back in Portugal, again! We (Jackson and I ) arrived in Estoi, Portugal last evening, Monday January 8, after a flight to Lisbon from Montreal and a train trip from Lisbon to Faro. It was the best kind of trip…

Tulips as a symbol of friendship The Ottawa Tulip Festival has been on my bucket list for a long time. Each year something would clog up the short time frame in May when the tulips would be be in bloom and it would get put off until another year. This year turned out to be…

There were walks through the tidal pools near Faro Beach, the beach itself, exploring local pathways, tracks and roads and most of all, the people. It became my home away from home because of the people – and Jackson! It was a hot, sunny day and the boardwalk and trail through the tidal pools was…

Monchique and storks go hand in hand from my point of view. As we drove into the historic town, the hills were lined with stork nests on top of electrical poles, and posts of all kinds. It was a road trip for Randy, Marc and myself. Jackson had a rest at home that day as…

The end of my sojourn in the Algarve came too soon on April 3 when Jackson and I boarded our flight in Lisbon for the six hour journey to winter. It now appears to be Spring where we live on Rigaud Mountain. A fitting time to look back and revisit share some recent travel memories.…

At this point, the village of Estoi does feel like home. Exploring its small streets and alleys with Jackson is always good fun. He now thinks most of the territory is his – although he does have considerable competition in that department and the p-mail is more than extensive. Shopping in the local stores and…

As you may have gathered by now, we do eat well here in the Algarve. Thus, one sun-filled day, Randy, Marc and myself, made the trip to a favourite restaurant of ours: Tia Bia. I had wanted to celebrate my birthday there in February but they weren’t open so this was a makeup visit. Of…

The hiking trail at Fonte Benémola has become a favourite: it’s not too far away, it’s a loop, and not a difficult walk. So Randy, Jackson and me went for an encore edition on March 17 Saint Patrick’s Day. The weather was perfect, there were a profusion of wildflowers including heather in full bloom.

in Just-] BY E. E. CUMMINGS in Just-  spring          when the world is mud-  luscious the little  lame balloonman  whistles          far          and wee  and eddieandbill come  running from marbles and  piracies and it’s  spring  when the world is puddle-wonderful  the queer  old balloonman whistles  far          and             wee  and bettyandisbel come dancing  from hop-scotch and jump-rope and …

It’s been more than a week since I’ve returned to the Algarve from Istanbul. It was wonderful to be back, to have Jackson’s company and to acclimate to familiar surroundings. The weather over the past few days has been cool, wet, and windy. The result is that everything is green and flourishing now that the…