BALEAL

It is hard to believe that we have been in Europe for a month and a half and in Portugal for two weeks already! Time is flying by.  France already seems long ago, as does living in New York.  Portugal is so different than France, though equally as beautiful in completely different ways.   In many aspects I have been surprised and in others, it is just as I imagined.  We are staying on a tiny island called Baleal that is joined to the mainland by a sand bar.  The island naturally separates two beautiful sandy beaches on either side.  The beach to the south stretches in endless dunes all the way to the town of Piniche, which is a fisherman's village and where we go to do our shopping.  To the north, the beach has beautiful rock formations with cliffs that line the sea.   The beach to the north is the one I prefer given its dramatic landscape and amazing colors.  From our kitchen it reminds me a bit of the Santa Barbara coastline, but up close the cliffs take on amazing hues of red rock, ash blue and slate grey.  The north beach also provides a sheltered little cove from the wind and has great tide pools for Annabelle to explore.  The island of Baleal is up on a rocky cliffs providing dramatic scenery, particularly when the surf is big.  The climate in Baleal has a desert feel.  Despite being on the sea, not much grows here, leaving the island quite stark with the exception of succulents and ice plant.   Just a few minutes inland, however, is lush farmland and rolling hills.  The central coast of Portugal seems part undeveloped So Cal, part Mex, and part Greece all in the same country. 

We have come upon what Nate calls the "dog days of summer".  Many of the homes on the island have shut their storm shutters in preparation for the winter ahead, and everyday the beach seems more and more vacant. We have had a few chilly days with high winds that make you imagine what it is like here in the dead of winter, but also have had those long Indian Summer days where the sun still warms your skin late into the afternoon when the sun begins to set.  We shared our first week here with my parents and are looking forward to more visitors in the coming weeks.  More of Portugal to come...

Baleal

Baleal North and South Beaches

Pinniche

View from the Kitchen

Piniche