oct, 27th - portugal: the beaches.....

day 1355 / 454:

i might feel differently if i visited Portugal in high season......but i loved the beaches in our area......they were wide and sandy (not always the case in Europe) and all seemed to have wonderful restaurants right on the sand......

on our very first, full day in Portugal, we went to the beach in the afternoon and then just wandered up the wooden walkway to sit on couches and beanbags, on the sand, for drinks and snacks....

such a great way to start a holiday with friends....

jan, 23rd - rock pools....

day 1072 / 171:

as a child, growing up near the coast, i remember being utterly fascinated by rock pools. i would spend hours trying to catch teeny tiny fish, putting them into a glass jar and then 'releasing' them back into the wild again.

while we were away, one of Limi's favourite things to go down the beach to some rock pools. she charmed the local fishmen who launch their boats from there and they even gave her a gift of a squid (or 'squod' as she called it). if fact she was more excited by her 'squod', that she proudly carried back, than by the calamari it was turned into for lunch. on another day there was a local kids party happening on a beach and we managed to join in for a bit......

on all our visits to the rock pools, we didn't manage to capture any fish (which may have been due to using the world's smallest fishing net) but we did get to spend time completely absorbed in staring at pools of water looking for any darting movement and reliving our own childhoods all over again. 

safe to say, the magic of rock pools hasn't faded over time.....

aug, 31st - last day at the beach....

day 934 / 33:

our last morning at the beach.....the holiday really delivered what we were after.....a change of scene, some easy outdoor living and dedicated time with Limi (to help her adjust to having to share us these days). given that she walked around the Shoebox singing 'we're all going on a Summer holiday' for weeks beforehand, we're so glad that we took the hint and made it down to the beach.

sitting outside in the evening listening to the waves, waking up to seagulls, feeling soft sand between our toes, flying kites, jumping on sandcastles and getting to know Claya just a little bit better too were all great tonics for the lack of sleep. 

and after the morning on the beach, one last coffee at The Gallivant {see day 931 / 30}.......

p.s. about the two sugar cubes in the pic above....one is for my hot coffee and according to Limi, the other one is a back-up in case the first one goes 'missing'.

dec, 28th - a day at the beach....

day 318:

i lived close to the beach as a child in South Africa. during the holidays, visitors would flock down to coast from places like Johannesburg and Bloemfontein and we would always be amazed that they would go to the beach even if it was raining and the wind was howling the sand into a dust-storm.....

well today....we were those people. it's been raining non-stop and our raft building is coming along nicely, so we decided to take a break and head to the beach. (the only consolation is that it's warm rain and you're going to get wet anyway....oh and Limi doesn't have to discover the love affair between of sunscreen and sand)

sadly for Limi whether she's in England or Oz, her experience of the beach has been a bit drizzly this year (see day 151)

we finished off our day at the beach with fish and chips....Limi's first. 

(love the curling toes.)

dec, 21st - eating sand....

day 311:

i really want limi to love some of the same things that we love. A. and i both love the sea, the beach, swimming and playing games on the sand.

i think limi loved her first visit to an Aussie beach a little too much....she ate what seemed like a bucket load of sand.