Thursday, 16th April

Weather unsettled and alternately threatening and warm and sunny. Off for bike ride in the morning. Sheltered in a road underpass during the first downpour. Then cycled on to our favourite cafe in Paderne where we sat and had coffee in hot sun. Set off home. After five minutes found ourselves sheltering rather ineffectually under a carob tree. Then on past Anita and Malcolms, resisting tempting offers of more coffee on the grounds that we only just had coffee and also rather wanted to get home before the next downpour ( which we managed to do) . Lunch at home ( watched hopefully by Benny the Barrel) and then set off to visit the nature reserve centre at Olhau. Managed to get on lost way to Olhau and then on the way to nature reserve and were refused entry because there was only half and hour to go before they closed. Bit of teeth grinding, and coffee in Olhau before we set off for home. Flower picture today for a change. Out for very good dinner at Mato a Vista, our most local restaurant where Luis the clown waiter and his mate Francisco work. Francisco has decided to teach us Portuguese (bit late really, though maybe useful for next year) and is being very pedagogical about it, repeating phrases slowly and carefully and getting us to repeat them.