Saturdays are market days. It is when the local farmers and merchants bring their products into the Mercado.

From December to January in the Eastern Algarve, festivities and decorations are abundant. It is easy to be enamored by the twinkling holiday lights and unknowingly walk right past something of significance.

When we arrived, it felt like we were in vacation mode. Then sometime over the month, we realized we had shifted out of being a tourist. We can't really pinpoint the moment, rather, it is all the little things that come together.

We arrived to Portugal on Nov 15 and again on Dec 15. Why did we enter twice? The first time, as a tourist and the next time on our D7 Visa. To get the entry stamp into our passport, we needed to leave the EU then return to Portugal.

Clearly we packed for warmer weather. We are used to the Santa Ana winds in Southern California that bring warmth and drop humidity to frighteningly low numbers. The wind that arrived to Tavira must be the Santa Claus winds because it has a bite to it that I imagine is a mainstay at the North Pole. Our humidity is at 60% and the temp is 7° but with the humidity and winds it feels like 4° (Celsius).

This was going to be our week. We would be all settled in and speaking some sentences in Portuguese. Well, maybe over estimated that.

This post recounts the various experiences we have had as we explore and as we try to live as a resident of Portugal

Week 1 highlights. We arrived to Portugal on the 15th via Lisbon then traveled 3h to Tavira. Most of our week has been settling in but we have managed to get some exploring in too.