Obrigada Tavira

Obrigada means thank you in Portuguese if you are a woman – men say Obrigado . We hear it often and try to say it many times in a day. We have found the Portuguese people to be welcoming, friendly, kind and proud of their country and it’s bounties. And bounties there are many. We wanted to do a little formal touring after a few days of wandering on our own so we signed up for a Culture and Food tour hosted by Karina – a young Mom who lives in Tavira and shared her knowledge and city with us.

We gathered at the meeting point and it was Karina and three couples. Believe it or not – all from Canada and all loving Portugal. We sat and shared Um galão – A milkier (and slightly larger) coffee and of course, pastel de nata (we aren’t the only people that love these tarts – it was unanimous in the group). It was nice to share some time with fellow Canadians and share travel stories.

The meeting spot was the Mercado, a huge building near the river where local fisherman and quinta owners – agricultores bring their fresh produce to sell. We knew we had a few kilometre walk ahead of us or we would have bought more but we did stock up on olives, oranges, pears, and apples – all from a 70 year old farm couple who do all their own work and harvest. They shared tastes of oranges and olives – soooo good. There were fish stalls with every type of fresh fish I had ever heard of and many that I had not.

We ended our market time by visiting the seafood restaurant Água Salgada Marisqueira- that adjoins the market. Without question it is where we are returning for dinner tonight. The owner was so friendly and so happy to hear we were from Saskatchewan- her best friend moved there 7 years ago. She wasn’t sure of the place but knew Saskatchewan. She was so proud of her place – they offer every type of fish that is locally sourced. Jim is excited about oysters and then we are going to enjoy a platter of lobster, mussels, crabs – the works!

Katrina then led the group on a walk by the river toward the castle and shared highlights, history and pointed out some beautiful architecture – especially some of the ornate historical doors of Tavira – as we walked. We stopped and visited a wine store and learned about Port wines and green wines and some of the great wines of the region and how reasonable they are to buy.

We ended our time with the group at the Castle. We live right nearby and had toured that area yesterday so we ambled home from there. We really enjoyed the tour and Karina was a wonderful guide. Obrigada

After a very short siesta – we walked to the river and jumped on the ferry out to Tavira Island and then walked across to the beach on the Atlantic Ocean. It was a warm afternoon and it was great to be out on the water. For 2 1/2 Euros it was an enjoyable couple of hours.

In every city we do one special meal out and tonight was the night. We went back to the restaurant we had visited in the morning Água Salgada Marisqueira and Jim had his favourite – oysters and then we shared seafood rice with lots of mussels and lobster meat. The sangria was delicious. We walked home along the river and tucked in. Obrigada for a great Tavira day.