In Tavira

 What does one do on a cool stormy morning on the Algarve?    We'll see.

We woke up to the wind howling and the rain pounding on the roof. When we crawled out bed at about 7:15, we quickly realized that the power was out as well.  

Although it was starting get light outside, the apartment was still quite dark. It is normal for window and patio doors to be fitted with exterior metal roll-up blinds.  Some are manually operated by an interior strap. Other are operated by a motor. This is the type of blind on the patio door in the living / kitchen area. Without power and no alternate method of raising the blind, we were stuck in darkness. Not only that,  the electrically operated blind totally blocks exit, in a power failure situation.  Not a problem in this apartment but it occurred to me that it could be an issue, in certain emergency exit situations.

 Shortly after making breakfast in the dark, the power was restored and we were able to make the necessary morning cup of coffee.  A huge relief for Linda!

We are staying in a very nice little apartment in the village of Santa Luzia. Santa Luzia is located about 3 kilometers from the town on Tavira, in the eastern Algarve. We spent the last couple of days exploring the area on our bikes.  This area is quite flat and there is a good network of small roads, both paved and graveled, that are bike friendly.  Bikes are a popular method of transportation here. 

These are a few photos of Tavira taken yesterday.  It is spring time and blossoms are on the trees.

These two photos are of a popular plaza in the old town

 There are a selection of cafes and restaurants around the outer periphery of the plaza.

The heavy morning rate dissipated and by 9:30 there was a good amount of sunshine so we headed out for a walk to find a nice spot for our second cup of coffee and a chocolate croissant.  

The sky soon started to cloud-up again and it looked like there was a possibility of continuing showers.    It looked like a good day to head for the shopping centre in Faro. A new pair of jeans were apparently calling out for Linda's attention.  So we headed for the train station.  Walking quickly, to try to stay ahead of the approaching rain.   Almost made it!

 

 

The train ride from Tavira to Faro takes about 40 minutes. Faro is a major town on the Algarve. Most visitors fly into the Faro airport.  Our destination,  the Forum Algarve,  is a 20 minute walk from the train station.  We spent a couple hours perusing the mall stores and having lunch. Unfortunately none of the stores had quite the "right" pair of jeans to satisfy Linda's fashion requirements...  But I was very happy buying a 3-pack of my favorite underwear from Pull & Bear.

  Here are a few of the great variety of plants that grow here in the Algarve.

   It's looking like rain again tomorrow. Good for the plants....