Okay, I know we really don’t live in a city. Vila Real de Santo António is a town. But while Steve Wonder’s lyrics have absolutely nothing to do with this post, the melody is very catchy. Just like the one that drew us to the square.
On Our Block
The video above was recorded in August of this year. We were sitting in our new home and since the windows were open we could hear music coming from the town square.1 It turned out the evening’s entertainment was doing a soundcheck. Having the opportunity to enjoy this sort of free, mid-afternoon entertainment is just one of the benefits of living just one block off the square.
It’s strange, but I can honestly report that we spend more time just walking around town than we did before. Yes, our old apartment was just 7 blocks from the center of town. It wouldn’t seem that this short distance (an 8-minute walk) would make that big a difference … but somehow it has. And the truth is, we don’t even need to walk to the square. On our block, we have nearly everything we need:
At the eastern end of our block, we have a store that sells wine and linens. An odd combination, but lovely people nonetheless.
Across the street from the wine/linen store, we have a neighborhood bar. I visited there several times a week to purchase €1 beers for the construction workers (and, on more than one occasion, me).
At the other end of the block is a cafe offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And across the street a pharmacy.
We Walk A Lot
While it seems possible that we could survive without leaving our block for several months, the fact remains we both walk a lot more than we used to. While living in the US I typically took a 1-hour walk each morning in hopes of getting in my 10,000 steps. For a while, I even wore a FitBit. But since moving to Portugal I have not felt the need. Even on those days that I do not take a morning stroll, or walk 18 holes on the golf course, I will likely hit that goal. We can walk to:
The train station in about 15 minutes;
The ferry or bus station in under 5 minutes;
The nearest grocery store in 3 minutes and the Mercado in 4 minutes;
The pickleball courts in 12 minutes; and
The beach in 25 minutes.
The other night we ran into friends at the high school where we take our Portuguese classes. 2 They seemed surprised that we had walked to class…but it takes just under 10 minutes. There really isn’t anywhere in VRSA that you can’t walk.
Fitness and Safety
I can’t leave this topic without noting two final and very sad observations. First, in addition to healthier (i.e. non-processed) foods, it would seem that walking contributes to the fact that Portugual’s obesity rate is 1/2 that of the U.S. Second, as I strolled to the beach Friday morning, listening to an American news podcast, I learned that the gunman responsible for shooting up a youth bowling league in Maine was still at large.3 And I thought it is also safer to walk here.
As orações não são suficientes,
Nanc
This Week in Portugal: In case you missed it… I wrote previously about Halloween in Portugal and about how the Portuguese celebrate All Saints Day.
I am pleased to report with the windows closed and shutters down we do not hear music in the square after our bedtime. While the Portuguese routinely party till 1 or 2, we do not.
Yep, we signed up for the B1/B2 classes. Again these are on Mondays and Wednesdays from 19:30-21:45. Our class currently has about 15 students and our teacher is an energetic Portuguese woman who teaches English. So far, so good!
This post was originally written on Friday, 27 October. On Saturday I learned the suspected gunman was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A stroll 'midst two city's concrete sparks,
Then shots in the dark … and safety departs.
In urban canyons, chance weaves two different tales,
Two countries , two cultures which story prevails?
Fat chance, they claim, in this concrete game,
In one city’s pulse, safety finds its name.
While far away the balance shifts far to the right
It’s guns, not roses that frame that other city’s urban plight
Love your description of living in your beautiful town. We feel the same way about living in the heart of old Tavira. We walk everywhere and call it our “big little town” because while small in population, so many amazing restaurants, cafes, festivals and celebrations. And we are so aware now how gun culture in America hung over us like a cloud. Always looking for the bearings exit and subconsciously thinking what our escape plan could be. Very happy to be living in this amazing country.