ruthkennedysretirementblog

More of Portimao, 2020, Portugal

This is day 5 in Portimao and all we have done so far is walk, and then walk some more. It is pretty amazing, the new and the old side by side. At the top of “our stairs” the ocean is straight ahead. However if you look both right and left we are in a busy town. Apparently by June this place is full, currently lots of businesses are closed and it is a little cool. The temperature has ranged from 18C to 23C during the day.

There is a lovely old fort, Santa Catarina, just down the beach. Amazing that next year it will be 400 years old.

What has surprised me more than anything is the amount of graffiti on buildings and walls. It is everywhere!!

This break water goes way out. From the end you get a great view looking back at the city.

The next day we walked a little further afield….okay a lot further. We walked around this old building that was not open to the public. We think it was a convent.

On the other side of the old building there is a beautiful boardwalk.

There was art work all along the boardwalk. Not a lot of people, it was rather cloudy and windy. After the heat of Panama this feels really cold. Amazes me when we see people walking with only sweaters and we are dressed in practically everything we brought.

More darn grafiti.

There are lots of steps, I think we have tried them all…. everything is just so pretty.

We stopped at a sidewalk cafe. The Americano was very good, just super small.

And Daryl tried the green wine. It was crisp and tart. The glass of wine and the coffee cost 1.60 euros.

I am sure we will see more of Portugal than this town, but still so much here to see before we venture further afield. It looks like we made a good choice.

Cheers

Ruth

Arriving in Portimao,Portugal 2020

We had a flight out of Gatwick at 3 PM, left our hotel at 11 AM which gave us a chance to grab a bite to eat. Checking in was seamless…as was our arrival. Passenger rights was prominently displayed.

It was a three hour flight to Faro and then an hour drive to Portimao. On arrival it was dark and we were hungry. As soon as we got our apartment key and dropped off our luggage we went on a quest for food. Not many restaurants open this time of year. This tourist area seems to half shut down for the winter months. We lucked out, I had never tried fries, chicken, cheese and salad all together but it was good!

The view out of the living room window the first morning in Portimao. I knew we were staying in a tourist town, but it was still a bit of a shock to see all the high rises.

Sometimes booking a place on-line ends up living up to expectation, and beyond. This kitchen has a fridge, washer, dishwasher and stove. Certainly lots of space. We also have a corner unit so the balcony goes all around.

A really big disappointment is in this relatively brand new building there is no internet and no wifi!!! Data is not cheap.

Next item on the agenda was to find a grocery store. We didn’t even have coffee! This is the sight that greeted us as soon as we walked into the store. Our driver from the airport had given us a list of “good” wines to buy, not the posted picture, but one of his choices had 70% off. Oh, we have already tried a glass….or two….and it is good.

And joy oh joy!! All the fixings for broom.

Yes it is still my favourite breakfast.

Finally time to go look for the beach. It is about a 3 or 4 minute walk from the apartment. At the top of the stairs the beach is across the road and down the stairs.

I was totally blown alway.

We have three months to explore and enjoy. So much to see and do.

Cheers

Ruth

London 2020, Day 3

Our last full day in London. We again took the hop-on hop-off bus with a few main goals, but were open to where ever the spirit took us. Our first stop was Trafalgar Square. Could have easily spent all day there!! Lots of buskers.

We went to the National Gallery, and could have easily spent an entire day there. The square was full of people and buskers.

The National Gallery was amazing. Not just the art work, but the architecture. Talk about a head on a swivel…that was me!

I love the explanation as much as the picture. Maybe because I am there.

Canada House is right across the street so we decided to go in. It was rather disappointing. Only one small gallery was open to the public, which was lovely, just super small after visiting the grandeur of the National Gallery.

Our next stop was the Tower Bridge. We walked the bridge, then the upper level and then went to the belly and saw the old mechanical structures.

The views from above were pretty spectacular.

It is a long way down!!

Next on the agenda was a Thames River Cruise. We might be insane, it was freakin cold.

This is the first sign my eyes were drawn towards. Short river cruises probably doesn’t account for much spread of infectious diseases…lol

At some point the crazy bug bites over my left eye….a souvenir from Panama… will disappear.

The view from the water sure is different. We actually did not get a chance to go on The London Eye. Something to keep in mind for the future.

Big Ben is under repair and will be for another year or so. Still looks impressive.

On our way to our next stop we passed The Ritz. So if you are in the mood for a light lunch, you can stop by for a lobster club sandwich. It does look good, just don’t look at the price.

Not sure what this means, but it is eye catching.

Our last stop of the day was Harrods. Sooo over the top and a wonderful way to finish our London whirlwind tour.

There are six levels to Harrods…. five of shops, I believe. And I am doubtful if there is anything that you can’t purchase.

The entire food area was massive….and incredible.

By the time we left Harrods it was dark. We got such great city views from the top of the bus.

We certainly had 2 1/2 busy days in London. No way could we see it all, however we sure got a good sample.

The next day we got on a plane and headed to Faro, Portugal.

Retirement has been a wonderful experience so far. I am beyond grateful and thankful.

Cheers

Ruth

London 2020, Day 2

As we only had two full days in London, we decided the best way to see as much as possible, was to buy a two day hop-on hop-off bus pass. Initially we “did the tour” and listened to the commentary. It was interesting, and so much information.

We drove past Westminister Abby and the church but did not get off just yet.

An interesting tidbit from the tour, London had the first electronic billboard. It is in Piccadilly Circus and has been up over 100 years. Coke has the longest running continuous ad at over 50 years.

Trafalgar Square as we are passing by. We did stop here the next day.

Our first stop was Hay’s Market. Neat shopping, food and architecture.

From here we walked to Borough Market. I had never heard of it but both my daughter and a friend said go, so we went. If you like food it sure is the place to be.

Truffes, a tad pricy I would say!!

Borough Market was packed at lunchtime, even the steps were full.

We did more touring. I particularly liked the upper level on the bus, we were looking down or eye level with so much. Tower Bridge is in the background in the picture above.

I thought this was kind of cute, as we had just been to Miraflores Lock in Panama City.

We stopped at Parliament Square. Such a momentous day to be there, Brexit. There were tons of police and ambulances. By early afternoon there were protesters and supporters….. all very loud.

Not sure if you can read the flag, it says “Bikers for Brexit”. If you could not see their flag, you could sure hear them.

Then we went to Westminster Abby and Westminster Cathedral. The church was absolutely beautiful on the inside. We did not go inside the Abby… have to pick and choose when time is limited.

We were pretty well done for the day, time to start walking back to our hotel.

And what woud a trip to London actually be if you did not pose for a picture in front of an iconic telephone booth.

A quick stop for a libation. Daryl’s friend told him to go to Wetherspoon’s and there just happened to be one close to us. It was packed. Met a couple who had come to London to go to Parliament Square for 11 PM…Brexit.

Another tough day. And we did it all again the next day. Well, different sights but packing as much as possible into the our days in London. Now I won’t promise to have all the names correct as my memory bank can only hold so much:)

It was an early night.

Cheers

Ruth

London 2020

We had a couple of days at home, thanks Heather and Mike for the wonderful hospitality. Before we actually had a chance to catch our breath we were off to London. I actually slept for a coupe hours so wasn’t dead when we arrived.

We took the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station. It was quick. Our hotel was quite close to the station, however seeing neither one of us had been to London before, and we really did not know where we were going we took a taxi to our hotel. It did not take us long to get settled in and we were ready to roll.

We headed out to Buckingham Palace as it was just a short walk. My eyes were all over the place, trying to take it all in.

And then we saw the guards.

No changing of the guards, but they sure look good in their uniforms.

We were assured that while they might look like toy soldiers, only the most elite, seasoned soldiers get to guard the royal family.

It looked as awesome in real life as it has in pictures. Even the light fixtures have crowns!

Fatigue settled in, and it was getting dark. Time to head back to the hotel. Again, my head was on a swivel as everything looked so different and interesting. First stop was the Queens Gallery Shop.

Just a pub that we passed on the way home. It was kind of eye catching.

And, of course, on our first night in London we had to have traditional fish and chips. It was really good….but no newspaper.

And we still had two more days. So many pictures. Total sensory overload. But enjoyed every second.

Cheers

Ruth

Saying Good Bye to Panama 2020

Our time in Panama has come to an end.

Three months was enough for us to do a fair bit of exploring.

We were fortunate enough to meet wonderful people and do lots of interesting things.

We had returned our rental car the previous evening, so bright and early the next morning we took our luggage and walked the couple of blocks to the shuttle pick up. The street was empty, but a great way to say good bye to Pedasi.

Marie’s seat mate was a chatty young man, and quite an artist.

In Panama City the hop-on hop-off bus is a great way to see a lot of the city in a short time.

Our first stop was Miraflores Lock. Our tour guide said Panama Canal should be considered the eight wonder of the world, and it is spectacular.

In the background you can see a container ship using the new larger part of the canal.

There is also a four floor museum that has a ton of information about the canals history.

For sure an enjoyable couple of hours…. actually most of the morning.

And our bus picked us up at exactly the time indicated.

Our next stop was Punta Culebra Nature Centre. It is on the Amador Causeway and a very pretty drive to get there.

That was totally enough for one day, all that walking sure made for an early night.

Next day we started out at Mi Pueblito, a made up little town depicting the different cultures in Panama.

Allbrook Mall was our next stop. Mostly it was just to look around and go to the food court….and an ice cream shop.

The bus station is pretty crazy, worth visiting just for the energy coming from the crowds of people.

We had to do one more tour of Casco Viejo to show its charms to Marie. For me the churches are always a big attraction.

This 83 year old young lady looked fabulous in her traditional dress. During our tour of Mi Pueblito we were told the dresses can take from 6 months to a year to make and can cost between $3000 to $5000.

Marie and I were thrilled to get a picture taken with her.

It was already a long day and we were ready for a good meal. We stopped at the Mercado De Marisco for some great sea food. Everything was fresh and well prepared. A terrible picture but the only proof we have that Marie was enjoying a beer…lol

18,000 steps later we were back at the hotel. The three months just flew by. We will go back.

Cheers!

Ruth

Butterflies, Anton Valley, Panama, 2020

On our recent trip to Anton Valley we visited a butterfly place. I don’t remember the number of different types of butterflies there are in Panama, but it is lots. They are so pretty, and colourful. Just getting there was a beautiful walk too.

This young man had a lot of information to share, from showing us eggs on a leaf, to caterpillars, chrysalis, and the eggs covered in mesh bags for protection from predators.

The butterflies above that were brown when their wings were closed, and bright blue when opened, were very hard to catch the blue color as they were moving targets.

At the door on the way out there was a full length mirror to check yourself, to make sure no butterflies were escaping. A good plan.

Another enjoyable couple of hours in Anton Valley. Educational too.

Cheers

Ruth

El Valle de Anton, Panama, 2020

El Valle de Anton, Anton Valley, is a little town nestled in an extinct volcano. We left Santa Catalina, another little town on the coast, and it was incredible hot. Four or five hours later when we arrived in Anton Valley the temperature was considerably cooler. Hot when the sun was shining, much cooler at night with lots of wind. The road either went straight up, or straight down, at least that is what it felt like.

El Valle de Anton is a walkable town, and believe me when I say we walked it. There are several hikes up into the mountains which apparently provide panoramic views of the mountains and the town. A little beyond my comfort zone, especially the hikes where you have to use ropes to pull yourself up.

The town itself is beautiful with lots to keep a person entertained. Even the bank has personality.

What would we do without our phones!! SIM cards sure help.

The sidewalks throughout the town looks like they were designed for everyone including bikes and both sighted and visually impaired walkers. There were a few glitches, I imagine it is difficult when you retrofit a road.

We really splurged this time and stayed in a hostel:) Although it is great when you have a private room. The added benefit is a kitchen. And you get to meet so many people from around the world…no, we weren’t the only old geezers staying in the hostel. Although ours was the only vehicle in the parking lot:)

This town has a lot of very fancy houses, most you can’t see behind the high fences and thick foliage. A local told us helicopters start arriving Friday to take people to their weekend homes. Sounds pretty good to me.

We had planned to visit this museum, but the power went out for an afternoon. We did not have enough time to go back.

The town seemed to close up shop by 6 PM. Finding a place to have dinner could be a wee bit problematic… but we managed nicely.

El Valle de Anton was pretty near perfect in so many ways. I liked the climate, just a bit cooler in the evening so you had to wear a sweater. I would definitely go back.

Cheers.

Ruth

El Valle de Anton, Orchids, Panama, 2020

Our road trip continued to Anton Valley. We went to visit an orchid “farm”. It was an incredible display even though many plants were not flowering, many were.

One of the things I found surprising was the number of tiny, tiny orchids. They could be so easy to overlook.

The flowers on this plant were so tiny you practically needed a microscope to see them…well not quite!!

On the rock wall there were many different orchids, all small.

This lady was very knowledgable, pointing out the different types of orchids with their names. It sounded like a labor of love.

Even the orchids that were not flowering were interesting to look at.

There were also many plant that were not orchids. The ornamental bananas were cute. And the gourds came in all sizes.

If you ever find yourself in El Valle de Anton while you are in Panama, going to see the orchids is a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours.

And well worth the price!

Cheers

Ruth

Santa Catalina

We left Pedasi late morning and drove to Santa Catalina. It took us about five hours. The road was in great shape except for the last half hour or so. It is a small rustic town and the road ends at the ocean.

We stayed at Mama Ines hotel. The rooms were small but clean. The location was fabulous and the food was good. Would certainly recommend it.

Lots of crafts on display that was made by the staff using local products.

A quick refreshment and time for a dip to really cool off….it was a hot drive.

The hotel is right on the ocean with a river running into it. At high tide the water is chest high in the inlet. At low tide it barely comes up to your ankles.

We also saw a group of divers coming back with their catch of lobsters.

This is the first time since being in Panama we have seen the sun set over the ocean as in Pedasi we get a different view.

The next day while Daryl went diving, Marie and I went exploring. It truly is a small, colorful town with a most interesting sign posted near the beach.