Alentejo Autumn is Arriving

Although my heart aches at the separation from family, it is so good to be back in Portugal... is it Portugal, or is it because it's home??

Relaxed breakfast in Aeromar, our Algarve "home" and a chat with Vina on Reception - her sister is a teacher, kids are coming to school hungry. The lack of tourists is really affecting folk there, and so they choose to ignore the non-compliance with local rules (even in the airport and on the plane, some Brits weren't wearing their masks)… I'd say that if you can, and want some sunshine, come for a holiday as soon as you can. It is so good to walk barefoot on the beach in shorts and sleeveless T-shirt (as we did), blue skies, sunshine hot on your bones, and good, fresh food at reasonable prices, not to mention the wine. And you might be feeding some hungry kids, be generous with your tips, and wear your masks indoors or where there are a lot of people, it's not much to ask.

And then, because Mike now has his license, we drove up through Spain and ate at our favourite place, La Posada in Villablanca, absolutely delicious, as always.

Finally, our first glimpse of Mourão, just as the sun was setting (photo), our gate, our Land, the cats racing out to meet us. Everything in order, tangerines and grapefruit ripened, the garden is a jungle, it's rained. Lit the fire, gets cold when the sun goes down - it was 24C, but now going down to 7C. Aduro is trying to get between me and the computer; Feathers is sitting on Mike.

Gratefuls:
- making it home and everything OK, including the cats
- lighting the fire for the first time, and how quickly it gets warm and cozy
- Deb and family beginning to plan a trip, maybe next Easter