Muddy Marge

Praia de Sao Juliao.  (Day 2).

Last night it was nice once again to be lulled to sleep by the sound of the sea. We hadn't realised how much we'd missed its soothing sound. First thing this morning it was so quiet, the waves were the only sound to be heard. Until, a couple lost their dog. It had run up through the greenery on the side of the cliff. After lots of calling its name, Lucky, (questionable name in the circumstances), and whistling, the owners driven by adrenaline set off through the undergrowth to the cliff top. After a while, Lucky materialised back at the bottom, and was being held by someone in the car park. Good game Lucky! 

Being a Sunday, we would normally take advantage of the roads being quieter and travel for quite a few miles. But the roads in Portugal seem fairly quiet, away from the cities, most of the time. Originally, we thought we may travel in to Lisbon, but the entrance to the secure parking for Marge was not wide enough, so Lisbon will have to wait for another time.

So we opted for a more leisurely day, beginning with a walk along the beach, dwarfed by dramatic layered rock, amongst which we could see tiny fossils, mostly shells. 

John picked up a couple of decent sized 3 - 4 inch across fossilised bivalves, which we shall bring home with us. The beach was busy, and out in the sea there were quite a few surfers. 

The tide was out when we set off, walking along the long stretch of white sand, peeking in to the rock pools as we sauntered by. By the time we decided to turn back, the tide had also turned, and the sand we'd imprinted with our footsteps was now under water, so a quick scramble over some rocks saw us safely back.

Late this afternoon, at high tide, John went off fishing, and Angela set off for a walk along the coast path.

The change in terrain on the coast path was amazing after only a few metres. Still up on the cliff, but with a flatter, elevation. Almost like the surface of the moon at one point, then leading into a small ravine. It was so tranquil, she sat a while to enjoy the scene, all the time the pounding Atlantic could be heard colliding with the rocks below. Returning to John, the sea had picked up its pace, throwing waves over the rocks he was fishing from, all a little unnerving. It was easy to see how people find themselves being swept into the sea.

The afternoon was once again warm, and sun hats were required. But as soon as the sun goes down a little chill arrives in the air. But we're not complaining. About five thirty this afternoon, just as we were working, (yes working), on some, accounts queries, a telephone call (face time), came in from Angela's son Chris, his wife Kirsty, and our grandson, one year old Elliot. We were told the weather was awful at home, affecting their television signal. What's a television? We suggested they book a cheap flight out to Portugal, there's no television here either. Weather's nice though. We then used John's phone to show them our view of the sea, and the other vans parked with us. Chris asked, "are you in a car park with market vans?" "Yes", we replied, and here is our box of vegetables left over from this mornings market, showing him the contents of our veg box. Nothing wrong with a parking area to stop over in, it's free, and in most cases you get the best view in the house, we've certainly stayed at some magical places, and seen some amazing sights. Talking of sights, an older surfer, thought it would be nice if we all saw him in the buff earlier this evening. How we've missed the German's love of naturism!