Year End/Year Start

We went to Portugal to do some social distancing from the Berlin community (where the numbers are not looking so good) and to get some vitamin D.

While there we heard that the kids classes will be online-only until 18 Jan and since we brought our laptops we decided to stay another week. Apparently it is snowing now in Berlin so the sunny balcony of our AirBnB flat here in Lagos helped in this decision.

Most of what you do here is walk along the sea cliffs and check out beaches. Covid has killed tourism so most beaches are utterly deserted. We do interact with other humans at the grocery store but that's it. Sharing a mile-long beach with three surfers and their dog seems like the epitome of social distancing.

Restaurants shut for a 1pm curfew between 1-3 January, and officially there was a ban on inter-municipality travel for those days. But the local interpretation of these national rules was pretty relaxed. Especially here in the Algarve region, which has not been hit super hard.

The scenery here is defined by the limestone that underlies this part of the Iberian Peninsula. When it meets the sea this layer, which can be up to 60 meters high, is broken up into a wonderful landscape of cliffs, arches, and sea stacks towering over swirling torquoise waters. Little trails run along the tops of the cliffs and at intervals delve down steep ravines to pop out at serene little deserted beach coves. 

In normal season you can see how jammed this place must be: there are huge parking lots scattered up and down the coast near the beaches. In summer it must also be stiflingly hot. But now, in December, (and with help from Covid) you get the same scenery minus all the crowds and the heatstroke.

Some shots & commentary:

The finally-opened Berlin Airport was deserted, brand-new businesses all temporarily shuttered. The Easyjet flight was about 60% full, as you can see lots of empty seats.

This car has been sanitized!

The balcony of our AirBnB flat. It is a five minute walk down to the beach and a couple fish restaurants on the edge of the sand.

Some Berliner friends from school were down here already, so we met up and did a cliff hike. Here's the crazy Benagil cave from above.

Sea cliffs on the hike between the Benagil cave and Praia da Marinha.

Example of the types of water-scouring erosion of the karst limestone. Cody and Cassandra for scale.

Caves at the end of the Praia da Marinha.

The kids catch the sunset rays on Praia da Marinha.

Clean the feet! Praia da Marinha.

Praia da Mesquita. We're trying to figure out how to get down to those caves to enter the beach.

Took a drive the next day to explore a shipwreck up the coast at Vila Nova de Milfontes. 

After exploring the wreck we landed at the next beach and built sandcastles the rest of the afternoon.

Cody inspects the cannons at the Fort at Sagres, southernmost point in Europe. 

Rainstorms appeared suddenly, requiring quick thinking to get to the dry spots. 

Exploring some of the cliffs around Lagos, where we are staying. This is the Ponta da Piedade area, lots of sea towers mixed in with the cliffs.

Ponta da Piedade.

Porto de Mos.

Our "home beach": Porto de Mos

Back up the coast a bit beyond Sagres, we found Praia da Bordeira, the largest expanse of sand of any beach we've seen.

Praia da Bordiera. Large beach. 

Driving back from Bordiera we took a back road. Which is where you always find the interesting things happening.

Now we enter a slightly new phase of things: working from the beach instead of vacationing at the beach...Jasper was on class zoom calls for 4 hours today, Cody working on his online learning assignments, mommy and daddy on their laptops and giving tech support to kids whenever needed. 

This strange new reality of stateless workers where geography means nothing. Feels weird but comes with obvious benefits.

We return to Berlin on Friday.