Pleasant
It's been a quiet week for me here in the Algarve, mainly because I have hardly stuck my head out of the garden gate. Maybe the letters page in the local newspaper is seething with discontent, and no doubt I am suffering attacks from all quarters for the views I express there quite regularly, but just now I know nothing of that, and I think I prefer it that way.
I have always maintained that the best way to appreciate Portugal is to simply be here and be quite detached from the daily life of the country. I came here to write and make music, and I do that quite comfortably.
Summer officially starts here on May 1st so the weather is fine, just like a Northern summer, but it's not as warm as in previous years. That's fine by me. I dont like it too hot.
In my new surroundings things are relatively peaceful. Last saturday night there was mayhem at the local restaurant, but I'm told that only happens about once a month. Most of the rest of the time I have the place to myself, which is rather nice. If the restaurant is shut, which it mostly is, I can take my food down to the barbecue area and cook it myself. I can then amble down to the jetty and sit in a lounger on the floating landing stage, and look out at the countryside. The nearest town is framed on one side, and the wooded hills on the other.
The sun comes up in the morning and throws a great spurt of blood over the water in the marshes. The roses crowd round my door, and form a wonderful archway into the garden. Geraniums are everywhere, and there is a whole bank of jasmine just below my patio, and the scent which billows up in waves is amazing. In the garden below are various fruit trees and I can pick fruit for breakfast, crush oranges, and squeeze lemons, or simply sit in the shade.
And at night the lights from the houses on the other side of the valley link hands up the hill, while the town glitters away just the other side of the marshes, which reflect the lights. It's all rather nice.
Some friends stopped by the other day, and we had a typical Mediterranean snack, which lasted for a couple of hours. Then I did some work. Then I went for a long walk along the river bank, and then came back and dreamed in my armchair on the gently rocking landing-stage.
I am now pretty well insulated from all the hassles of the state, which means I have a much more stress-free life. It's true that the internet goes down about four times a day, but that is a good excuse to stop work and open a bottle of manzanilla, and drink it down by the river. And when my new friend Gilbert gets the swimming pool functioning I shall practise a few more swimming strokes. And maybe I'll snaffle a banana or two when they are ready as a couple of trees overhang the pool.
It's amazing how good life can be if you let it. Perhaps I'll stay here a little longer after all. With rents so low there is no incentive to move on.
john
It's been a quiet week for me here in the Algarve, mainly because I have hardly stuck my head out of the garden gate. Maybe the letters page in the local newspaper is seething with discontent, and no doubt I am suffering attacks from all quarters for the views I express there quite regularly, but just now I know nothing of that, and I think I prefer it that way.
I have always maintained that the best way to appreciate Portugal is to simply be here and be quite detached from the daily life of the country. I came here to write and make music, and I do that quite comfortably.
Summer officially starts here on May 1st so the weather is fine, just like a Northern summer, but it's not as warm as in previous years. That's fine by me. I dont like it too hot.
In my new surroundings things are relatively peaceful. Last saturday night there was mayhem at the local restaurant, but I'm told that only happens about once a month. Most of the rest of the time I have the place to myself, which is rather nice. If the restaurant is shut, which it mostly is, I can take my food down to the barbecue area and cook it myself. I can then amble down to the jetty and sit in a lounger on the floating landing stage, and look out at the countryside. The nearest town is framed on one side, and the wooded hills on the other.
The sun comes up in the morning and throws a great spurt of blood over the water in the marshes. The roses crowd round my door, and form a wonderful archway into the garden. Geraniums are everywhere, and there is a whole bank of jasmine just below my patio, and the scent which billows up in waves is amazing. In the garden below are various fruit trees and I can pick fruit for breakfast, crush oranges, and squeeze lemons, or simply sit in the shade.
And at night the lights from the houses on the other side of the valley link hands up the hill, while the town glitters away just the other side of the marshes, which reflect the lights. It's all rather nice.
Some friends stopped by the other day, and we had a typical Mediterranean snack, which lasted for a couple of hours. Then I did some work. Then I went for a long walk along the river bank, and then came back and dreamed in my armchair on the gently rocking landing-stage.
I am now pretty well insulated from all the hassles of the state, which means I have a much more stress-free life. It's true that the internet goes down about four times a day, but that is a good excuse to stop work and open a bottle of manzanilla, and drink it down by the river. And when my new friend Gilbert gets the swimming pool functioning I shall practise a few more swimming strokes. And maybe I'll snaffle a banana or two when they are ready as a couple of trees overhang the pool.
It's amazing how good life can be if you let it. Perhaps I'll stay here a little longer after all. With rents so low there is no incentive to move on.
john
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