New Friends in Setubal

Did we ever have a fun-filled weekend! We went to this fishing town about 50 km south of Lisbon called Setúbal and stayed in a cool B&B called Ha Mar ao Luar (which literally means “There is the sea in the moonlight”)

   It really was a unique place with rustic charm in the heart of the Arrabida Nature Reserve (more about that later). They renovated an old windmill on the property, which you could stay in,  but it was not available when we were there.

Our place was nestled in lush green hills and when it wasn’t raining, we had a great view of the River Sado Estuary and Setúbal bay.

We made some new friends (who live there)   and the 3 month old puppy sure liked dad (I mean really…who doesn’t).

The puppy really liked Smudge too….

Where we stayed was right next to this giant park called Arrabida Nature Reserve so we went for a walk through the woods and ended up being able to see our place from across the valley. 

 See the windmill in the distance?

After our long walk and all the new smells, Smudge, mom and I had a little cuddle before mom and dad went out for dinner.  Mom went on and on about how good their “peixe” (fish) dinner was, while in the meantime, Smudge and I dined on the usual “food ala dog”…I’m not sure if it is exactly fair!

Enough whining though…cuz on Saturday we had a really big day! Although it rained until early afternoon, it didn’t stop us from exploring. First we went to the local market and did it ever have a lot of stuff…  And just look at all the peixe …

Then we went to this amazing beach that Cristina recommended called “Praia do Portinho da Arrabida”, which was connected to that giant Arrabida park I told you about.  It was a neat little port, which is what Portinho means. See…even though mom is the one taking Portuguese lessons, I’m learning “muito tambem” (lots also). We started out on a walk along the beach when

the tide was low …  but by the time we were finished our walk and mom & dad had lunch (at the little restaurant you can see in the background), it was high tide and some of us got a bit wet!  

Back to the beach part though…it was a beautiful, long beach and we walked all along it …getting wet of course cuz it was raining.  We walked amongst the multi-coloured rocks and very soft sand. And did I mention all the cool smells and nibblies on the beach that we are not supposed to eat (or roll in)!  So of course we had to walk back the way we came…and by then we were all quite drenched, but it was still good fun!  

Smudge and I dried off and napped in the car, while mom and dad had lunch at the little seaside restaurant (sound familiar so far?)

After lunch, we drove along the coast and made a few pit stops in Arrabida park…since it had finally stopped raining and the sun came out. This park goes on forever  and there was a cool old quarry that dad got really excited about…  Smudge and I particularly liked all the new smells and things to explore, but mom and dad kept going on and on about the view.

   and look at that sky!

When we got home dad was excited about trying the new sym card he bought for the ipad… (we fondly refer to him as gadget-boy) and Smudge and I had a nap…after all, it was a very long and busy day!

On Sunday we visited Castelo da Sao Filipe (Castle of St. Filipe). Well actually, dad walked around the castle and the rest of us walked around the grounds, (which was pretty cool too)…    It was one big, old castle and it had great views of the area….like the marina in the town of Setúbal.  And the beautiful bay…  And of the place we stayed at for the weekend…

On the way home we took the scenic route to see the local villages and countryside. There sure are a lot of cork farms in Portugal 

And dad wanted to take the Vasco da Gama bridge on the way back into Lisbon since it is the longest bridge in Europe (at 17 km) and the ninth longest bridge in the world!   

Well like I said, it was a fun-filled weekend and here we are back at “home sweet home” again…and guess what, it’s time for a nap…and a wee bit of wine (but just for the two-legged ones).  Adeus e ate logo!

It sure can rain here!

I’m sure some of you will be happy to hear that it isn’t always paradise here. In fact it has been raining and mostly cloudy for the last several days. I can’t believe mom and dad expect us go out in this weather, but then I guess a guy has to do his business and I am not sure if Auntie Linda and Uncle Dave would like us soiling their new balcony!(Not to mention the people living below us, where our balcony empties…they likely wouldn’t like it either.)

One thing that is great about the weather here is that one minute it is raining and ohhhhhhhh soooooooo windy, and the next minute the sun is shining…but the wind is likely still blowing! You gotta admit, it does look a bit ominous.

But enough grumbling about the weather! On to sunnier memories.

I want to tell you about some highlights from the past week or so. In fact I forgot to mention on my last blog that we all met up with Cristina, who is mom’s friend and Portuguese teacher. We went to this neat cafe on the beach (where else would it be?!)  called Avencas.  Mom and Cristina are yakking and Smudge and I are resting…sound familiar?

 and dad’s taking photographs of the beach and cafe…  

I know it’s going to get hard to remember all of the great things we are doing here. After Monsanto park, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. And THEN we went to Guincho beach last Saturday. OHMYDOG was it fun!!!

This beach goes on and on and on……if you look closely, you can you see mom and Smudge wayyyyyyy down there towards the cliffs? They ran ahead of us.

As we walked along, of course we met other dogs…they sure are friendly here in Portugal… We slowly made our way towards the cliffs…I can’t believe how much sand there can be in one place! …and look at those cool waves behind mom. Dad and I almost got caught by one… We had so much fun…playing in the sand, but REALLY, does Smudge think he can actually CATCH me!?  

Until finally, we had to walk back the way we came.  Then we took a little break on the rocks where I had a drink of water (sand makes me thirsty)  and dad watched the waves…Smudge was exploring and ignoring mom (as usual) so he’s not in the photos!

And then mom and dad had lunch at this cool restaurant and hotel at Guincho beach.  which had a great view of the water!  Aunty Linda brought mom and dad here on a previous trip.

On our drive home, we stopped near Cascais to watch the waves crashing on the shore. It was pretty amazing to see, even though they left me in the car with “he who whines when he is left alone”, so I couldn’t hear the waves or smell them but they still looked pretty cool! Watch the progression and regression of this one wave…

Well, all in all, I would say that it was another full week. I think we better take a nap, eh Smudge? Smudge!?  I guess he is a bit ahead of me, I better catch up…

Adeus os nosses amigos…ate logo

(I can’t figure out how to use accents on this new keyboard)

For those of you who do not speak Portuguese yet, it means “goodbye my friends..until later”

Typical week in my life in Portugal!

Disclaimer: Please do not read any further if you are currently experiencing angst in your life and are potentially looking to escape from it all…this just may push you over the edge…don’t say that I didn’t warn you!

Where to begin….my days are pretty busy you know.

How about a glimpse into how Smudge and I start a typical day after going for our morning walk and constitution.

The sun shines into our front room and it is a great place to relax, nap and enjoy the view.

Speaking of views, this is my swimming pool and tennis court…ok, so maybe it isn’t actually mine, since they have this silly rule about not allowing dogs….go figure…but it’s in our backyard. Mom and dad haven’t tested the pool or court out yet, but they look inviting. and I am pretty sure that I could out swim them…if they let me.

But that’s not all, not only do we have the beach down the street and a pool in our backyard, there is this great dog park across the street too (if you are standing on our balcony looking straight out, it is to the left of the tennis court).

We go to this park many days to play in the grass or to visit the other dogs in the ‘hood’ who come here to play too. Here’s a couple of photos so you can see it better.

In the next photo, you can see our apartment in the upper right corner…we are on the 5th floor, which is the corner unit the second from the top.

A day hardly goes by that we don’t go to the beach. One morning when we went last week, it was really low tide… it was so much fn to explore the beach and rocks.

Look closely for Smudge, he is hard to see against the backdrop of the light rocks. 

And look at these waves.  Not to mention the crazy people who are always in the water…can you see them, they look kinda small?

Many days mom and dad have lunch at the beach, while Smudge and I hang out and watch the people and dogs.

We also have some great walking paths along the water… so mom  usually takes us for a walk after lunch.

Dad wants to buy this really cool old house that is on the Marginal, which runs along the water and is not far from our beach.

  After our  walk, we usually go back home for a nap…this is hard work you know …and mom has to do a bit of Portuguese homework.

We had a special outing this past Sunday…we went to Monsanto park. It is a huuuuuuuuuuuge park not too far from us. Mom and dad have been there before with Smudge (on a different visit to Portugal), but it was my first time.

There was grass and trees and skateboarders and mud puddles! As you can see, we both like the grass and Smudge is more of a black dog than a white one now.

 He sure loves mud!

I like mud too, maybe a little too much which is why dad put me through this bike wash….the nerve of him!

       but then we got to walk more…

Until finally, we all took a break.. …and went home and had a bath!

These busy days and weeks make me want another nap…

All this napping reminds me that I may be losing some of my stamina. I used to be able to run and chase balls for hours and hours and hours. But now I need to rest a wee bit more. But after all, I am almost 8 (in people years….which makes me a heck of a lot older in dog years…I don’t even want to do the math!).

In fact, did you know it is my birthday in two days?  Please…no gifts! Living in Portugal with mom and dad and Smudge is the best gift I could possibly wish for…

…not to mention the big blue sky and endless supply of water…

                                   It’s a dog’s life and I’m loving it!!!!!!

Abracos e Beijinhos (hugs and kisses) from mom and dad…. and Lambidelas (licks) from me and Smudge

WOW…Blogs are cool, especially the comments from friends and family!

WOW…this blog thing is cool. I wish I would have known how easy it was and I would have done this sooner. Well, easy is a relative term, given that I am working with four paws. But seriously, all you do is type a message, upload a few photos, push upload and PRESTO! Then you get all these great comments back. I l love it and it is so great hearing from all my friends and family.

Speaking of friends and family, it made me a bit nostalgic reading all the notes. In particular, I thought about those who are not with us anymore and how much I miss them, like my big sister Kalley and my cousins Zena and Buddy. And I sure have lost a lot of good friends, like Guiness, Hobbes, Jade, Misty, Rain, Oakley, Pepper, Tag, Ziggy, and Baby Sly. Although I didn’t know Tag, Ziggy and Baby Sly that well, mom tells me they were really cool cats (at least as cool as cats can be, compared to how cool dogs are).

I’m sure I have missed remembering someone…sorry about that…but rest assured that I remember you in my dreams. In fact many times we are all running around in a big field together and the cats are chasing bugs, while the dogs are chasing one another and sniffing stuff!

I don’t mind remembering those I have lost even though it makes me sad….and don’t let anyone tell you that animals can’t feel….cuz we do and it hurts us too. But it reminds me how lucky I am to have such a great four-legged family, like my big brother Bear and my little sister Smudge.  She was named after Smudge the dog (in Portugal) since mom liked the name so much, but then she never actually calls her Smudge, she calls her SmudgyMudgyPudgy (which is kinda long if you ask me…but then no one did ask me). But you gotta admit, she is kinda cute, even though she is a pain in the you-know-what sometimes. I think it is her cuteness that let’s her get away with so much….like helping herself to food off the counter and dad’s milk (don’t tell him that she drinks it when he isn’t in the room)

And then there are my cousins Cinn, Willow and Mrs. Trouble too, although I am not so sure that Mrs. Trouble really appreciates my finer points.

I have sooooo many friends that it is hard to keep track of them all, like Kokanee, Bella, Ben, Leonie, Libby, Piper, Faith, Willow, Ilam, Scout, Sky and Chase. Not to mention all the new ones I am making here, like Smudge (the dog), Gold, Brownie, Dakota, Woof, Than, Ice, Kieser and Cookie. There’s more from the dog park across the street, but I don’t know all their names yet.

Speaking of Smudge (the dog I am living with in Portugal), we are really getting on now. He keeps following me and snuggling up to me….go figure!

We (mom and dad came too) took the train last weekend to Cascais (which is a lovely village west of us along the coast) for an outing. It was my first time on a train. It was a bit weird for me, but Smudge seemed ok with it, in fact he just went to sleep. The great part about the train ride is that people really like dogs here so lots of folks smiled at me and patted me. I like being patted, but I didn’t understand a word they were saying to me!

Then we walked home along the ocean and that was really cool! Smudge really knows how to enjoy the beach and he likes the wind blowing in his face.

 

It was a bit of a long walk, so we stopped for a break at Jonas Café and Bar. It is one of the places that Auntie Linda and Uncle Dave took my folks to on their first visit to Lisbon over four years ago…and they really like it cuz they keep coming back (both to Lisbon and Jonas)! Mom says the break was for Smudge (because he has such short legs), but I think she and dad just wanted a beer and some Sangria.

You gotta admit though, the view is quite nice from here…

 

I have to admit…life is pretty good here. We go to the beach alot, which I really like, but I don’t understand why the water tastes so funny!

And I spend a lot of time waiting around while mom and dad eat…

But I don’t really mind cuz they look so happy…

And you have to agree, life ain’t so bad when this is your backyard…

My new home is on the fifth floor of the apartment building you can see on the far left side of this photo. And this is “our beach” that I play on every day and wait for mom and dad to finish eating or drinking!

OK….enough galavanting on the beach. Dad has to get back to work and Smudge and I need our naps….not sure what mom is going to do….

 

Lots of Lambidelas from Portugal (that means “licks”, which I just learned from mom’s Portuguese instructor – Cristina…thanks for teaching it to me!).