Tavira

 I'm not sure how I am lucky enough to keep testing negative for COVID (well, you know...vax and booster and masking...but still...also, luck) but since I did, they let me on a plane to Portugal on Wednesday.

After landing in Lisbon on a hazy, mild winter morning...

...I headed straight down to the south coast, to the eastern Algarve town of Tavira, where I slept off the jet lag and began exploring. Sweet view from my Airbnb bedroom window:

And even sweeter views walking around this town, which is very sleepy in the off-season.

Each day I took long walks, including to Ilha de Tavira and its epic beaches. This anchor graveyard is at Plaia do Barril:

To get there from Tavira, I walked through endless lemon and orange tree groves and lovely farmhouses.

My initial impressions of the Algarve:

    1) It's a bit chilly and windy in the winter/off-season.

    2) It's very quiet, tourism-wise in the winter/off-season.

    3) The scenery is still beautiful and the towns still quaint.

    4) I love all of the above.