Above: Carvoeiro beach from Big Sky
Big Sky is tucked into Lagos, Portugal for the 2018/2019 winter. When we weren't travelling to various parts of Europe, and North America visiting family and friends, we were searching for the “Just Right” house for our next segment in life. We found it in Carvoeiro, Portugal. 
CHANGE IN LIFESTYLE COMING
June 5th, our offer was accepted for a beautiful and unique villa in Carvoeiro, Portugal! We viewed 30+ houses in the last month, and at least 100 online. The house we selected is in fact, the second house we viewed in the Algarve. The kicker is that we cannot have possession until September 1, 2020. (We plan to change the name from Casa Laranjeira (orange) to Casa Ceu Grande (Big Sky).
Big Sky is now for sale, and we'll continue to live aboard until she sells or until our house possession. In the meantime, we are planning land trips to off the beaten path. Stay tuned...
​WHY PORTUGAL?
Portugal's 92,000 square kilometres it's jam packed with extraordinary diversity and beauty, situated on the west side of Europe with Spain wrapping its border east and north, and the Atlantic lapping at its west and south borders. As the Atlantic moves east the waters become bluer, steadily making its way toward the Mediterranean entering at Gibraltar’s narrow opening. Its landscape is rivers, mountains, plains, arid zones, wetlands, shale, and limestone offering ideal climate for excellent wines.The Portuguese are welcoming, friendly, and nearly everyone speaks English and don't mind when you screw up their language. Medical and dental facilities are top notch and immediate. With the purchase of our house, we can obtain residency and can stay longer than the 90 days in 180 currently allowed for Canadians. Portugal has some of the most beautiful beaches on the planet with icing-sugar like yellow sand and stunning cliffs and caves also medieval castles, religious landmarks, cobblestone villages, international cities (Lisbon and Porto), and islands, (Madeira and the Azores).  Cod and sardines are their national dishes but their produce is incredibly delicious, fresh, and affordable.
Our 2019 Diaries begin below.
January 1, 2019 — Happy New Year! 2018 wrapped up at the Castelo dos Governadores square along with a thousand or so people. Bands played through the new year, and when the countdown was complete at midnight, champagne corks popped, confetti canisters unloaded, followed by a spectacular display of colourful fireworks. When the temperatures dropped to 9 degrees we walked the 1.2 km back to Big Sky and were alseep by 2 am.
January 5 — Another beautiful day in Lagos! Winter in the Algarve has provided us with some of the nicest weather in our thirteen years living aboard in (and around) the Mediterranean, as Portugal sits outside the Med. This is our third winter here. Portugal resides in the most south western part of Europe. Cyprus’ comes close, but they experiences typhoon-like winds making the marina at times unstable.
Saturday is market day. We walked across the pedestrian bridge to the warehouse beside the bus station, loading our bags with oranges for freshly squeezed.  We enjoyed the company of two live-aboards, Nicki and Jeff, sharing a night of story telling, laughs, and the good ol’ fun of getting to know new people.
We made the mistake yesterday when we ordered the delicious-looking and ever-so-popular fish and chips with mushy peas, a British favourite, vowing to never do it again. We are definately not fish and chips and mushy peas fans. Below: Con scrutinizing his dish; another lazy afternoon listening to an afternoon of live jazz music.
In January we packed a bag, rented a car, and set off for Atlantic France curious to see what we missed when we crossed the Bay of Biscay on our first year sailing. But, most of all, we're excited to visit our long-time sailing friends Judy and Bruno who now live about two hours from Bordeaux. ​
January 26 — Our few weeks in France were fabulous. Check it out with the link above. Returning to Portugal makes us smile, as it's always sunny and warm. Life in the Lagos Marina is pleasant. Everything in Lagos is within walking distance or by bike.  Each week for a few mid-afternoon, the marina bar "Lazy Jacks" hosts live jazz music. In no time, the couple dozen outside tables are packed. We've been lucky to squeeze in and share a table with most welcoming strangers. The bar faces south, and it stays warm until the sun falls behind the low ridge of houses in the distance. A tall glass of wine is 3 euros, so you can imagine how delightful an lazy afternoon can be. Today temps were in the low 20s, and in our rental, we drove to Sao Bras, a small town outside Faro, an hour from Big Sky. We visited the Costume and Cork Museum, which was great. We were in the heart of what was once the busy cork production region. Early last century, Portugal experienced their Golden Years through the production and some farmers became so wealthy that their mansions can still be seen around the town. The museum was once a mansion.
Below: the museum and former mansion, clothing of the time, a dress made of cork, and cork.
Driving into Faro (translated as “lighthouse”) we stopped for lunch and to walk through the old part of town. Faro is the southern most city in the Portuguese Algarve and the largest. Storks have made enormous nests everywhere, including the church. Below: the civil governor’s palace; and Con walking toward the church, checking out the storks and their nests above. Check the nests above the palace too.
January 29 — Yesterday, I braved a new hair salon and was totally delighted with the outcome. I could write a comedy about the various hair salon experiences I’ve had in our years sailing in and out of different countries with Turkey winning "the weirdest" award. A Turkish man was assigned the task of highlighting and then cutting my hair. I offered a picture which he studied for the longest time. Usually the foil highlights are first, followed by a cut. Without a single word of communication he nodded, I propped up the photo from my iPad and he began. It took about one minute for me to realize he didn't have a clue how to cut hair! Within a few minutes, he'd destroyed one half of my hair and as I began to panic, two two young Turkish boys ran into the shop. They were cat calling and teasing him for his long pointy turquoise-coloured fingernails, gesturing his curly long hair, and tight pants and mustard-coloured short sweater, and red pointed-toe shoes. The man didn't skip a beat. He dropped the side of my hair, raced out the back door, after the boys with his scissors leading the way shouting in Turkish. I jumped up and scrambled to the front dest, “How much?”
The man returned, scizzors in hand talking animatedly to me in Turkish. The lady volunteered, “He’s not finished and wants to know why you go.”
"How much merhaba?"
"Five." I paid 5 Turkish lira, thanked him and was out the door. Below, I received a professional highlight and cut the next day at a different shop.
February 20 — Once back from northern France, (link above) we booked flights to The Netherlands and Southern France. The first location to visit family, the second to check out more real estate. As well, we're researching the boat-broker business to get ready to list Big Sky. Learning more about French Visas, Residency, Tax laws, inheritance laws, it's definately more complicated for us in France.
Continuing our tourist life in Portugal, today we drove to the town of Alte, a beautifully preserved Portuguese village, and walked the cobblestones streets to the river. Alte is in central Algarve, near Loulé. We also stopped in the cosmopolitan city of Vilamoura for lunch at the marina sea side. Sun is warm. Both of us were bare legged, me in a dress, Con wearing short.
March 12 — To Canada
Dragging our four suitcases to our rental, we started our trek back to Canada for seven weeks. We loaded the suitcases with items we won’t be needing this season as we anticipate a final sail to Southern France where we plan to put Big Sky on the hard for viewings. Our first stop in North America was Toronto meeting up with Doug and Merrilee at the airport Sheraton Hotel to share a few hours together. The next morning, we landed in Houston, picked up our rental car and drove 45 minutes to Courtney, Mike, and Hailey’s. Louie, their golden lab was beyond excited to see Con. Hailey is on spring break and the five of us have been playing board games and cards each night.
March 13 In Conroe — Nine-year-old Hailey, on Spring Break from 4th Grade joined us for a drive to Houston to visit the Houston Museum of Natural Science, specifically the Butterfly Center. It was an incredible experience. Beautiful big butterflies and moths flew delicately around us, sometimes landing on our heads, shoulders, fingers, and my elbow. For our peek behind the scenes, we watched as cocoons were hatching and beautiful butterflies and moths of all sizes pushed their way out and into the world. We learned about the Texas insects, with hand-sized spiders, enormous cockroaches, frightening scorpions, and the amazing underground world of the leaf-cutter ants. Oh yes, and we were stunned by the sizes of the various wasp and bees nests.
March 15 — Hey! It’s cold in Texas! Last year on this day, Courtney and family were swimming in their pool. Today, we woke to 10 degrees watching it rise to 16. For our last day in Texas, we all celebrated Hailey’s 10th birthday two months early over dinner at a Japanese restaurant.
This visit, we were combatting lice. It was our second day in Texas, when Courtney spotted a small bug in Hailey’s hair and moved in for a closer look. Lice! As the week progressed, we all (Courtney, Mike, Con and me) had the lice removal treatment in our hair. All week we washed bedding, pillows, clothes, towels... in hot hot water, bagging pillows, toys... At one point, Con, Hailey, and I went to a jumbo laundromat with all the bedding and our clothes.
March 17 — Yesterday we said our good-byes to Courtney, Mike and Hailey and all of us headed toward Houston. Us for our flight, and them for a big-deal Houston Rodeo. We arrived at Nick and Dex’s house in Calgary just shy of midnight. Canada (and Calgary has had no exception) has been caught beneath a winter wonderland with sub-human weather temperatures for a few months. We woke this morning to spring! Temperatures reached a sunny 12 degrees. Nick, Dex, and I took Tank (their Italian water dog) to a natural park area beside the Bow River for a romp in the spring slush and mud. At one point, Dex slipped, landing in the mud soup and continued to slipping for a meter or so. He then stomped the ice floes off the river’s edge, wading shin deep (at times over the height of his rubber boots) in icy water. I was tempted to join him!
Below: morning walk in Calgary by the river with Dex, Nick, and puppy Tank. Temperatures rose finally after a few months in the deep freeze. We hit 12 degrees Celsius.
March 21 — Still assessing the "Just Right" country to settle in after Big Sky, we flew to Vancouver Island tucking in with Elserine and Hugo (Con’s brother). We had a great reunion and the best weather we’ve had since last fall in Portugal! The sky has been brilliant blue the entire time. We viewed a few water front properties, one with a stunning view. The price tag was high end, and still required renovations. Portugal is seeming like a real possibility at this time.
Elserine and I hiked to the water on our first day, and I asked what the barking was all about. We rounded the bay, and there were the male California Sea Lions having loud conversations. Elserine says they’ll soon leave for California to meet up with the females. From Elserine and Hugo’s house, we can hear the sea lions barking late at night and early in the morning. They're are all over the waters here. 
Elserine and Hugo have created a garden oasis in their yard, using their creativity and skills. The flowers are about the bloom in a few weeks. Last night, we went to the Cuckoo Restaurant for dinner. It’s the place along the highway where the goats are on the market roof in front of the restaurant.
Today, we ferry to Vancouver to visit friends Shirlee and Mark.
The photo above is a California Sea Lion living around Vancouver Island. One weighs 900 pounds, and there are thousands and thousands of them barking and creating quite a commotion. Their population has been growing steadily since 1970 when culling on the west coast was banned. One California Sea Lion can eat 10,000 salmon fry (baby salmon) in a day! They also eat herring, hake, squid, small sharks, anchovies, rock fish... And, people on the island are concerned about the depletion of the herring and salmon stock here, blaming humans and over fishing. Sheesh.
April In Red Deer — We learned that Sandra Loring, Les’ mom (Nana to the kids above, and mom-in-law to our daughter Lindsey) suffered a pulmonary embolism on her return flight from Europe. She was a volunteer on the school European trip (pictured with her grandson also on the trip). As they were landing in Seattle, Sandra was given CPR, received oxygen, and the defibrillator was administered by firefighters on the flight. Les flew to Seattle joining his brother and dad waiting for Sandra’s prognosis. Tragically, she’d been deprived of oxygen and was pronounced brain dead. Lindsey flew to Seattle to be with family and then to BC where Sandra was transferred and the larger family said their loving good byes. We're grieving the loss of a beautiful woman, taken too soon. The town of Hope where Sandra was a secretary at the school, lowered their flags to half mast, along with the other schools. She made a significant difference in the lives of many and will be tremendously missed. Con and I watched Kate, 4 and Amy 2, until Lindsey and Les returned. Spending a week with Kate and Amy has given us enormous joy. The two girls are full of love and kindness.
April 11 — In Saskatchewan
We drove to Saskatchewan a few days ago to visit our oldest daughter Brit, husband Kris and grandson Nolan, 11. Winter is melting into spring slowly in Carrot River. Snow lines the roads, and trees are yet to bud. Living on 160 acres of land outside the city, we can hear the long-horned owl calling in the early morning. Brit has adopted a now 9-week old French Bulldog, Luna, (pictured below) the size of a small cat. We watch her carefully when she's outside to make sure the birds of prey and other animals don't fancy her for a tasty meal.

Brit had been nominated as the Citizen of the Year in Carrot River, a huge honour. Last night in a ceremony, the winner was announced, and to our great pride, it was Brit. We are so proud of her endless volunteer work for this community and delighted that she has been recognized in this way.
Below our Saskatchewan family: Kris’ parents left, with Nolan, Kolton (our step-grandson, and Kris right).

Our nine-hour drive to Carrot River gives us a beautiful view of western Canada’s prairies. Along the way, we saw two porcupines, Mule deer, one red fox, dozens of gophers, a squirrels, a half million snow geese and Canadian Geese grazing together and Flying V-form further north. For a moment we thought we spotted a black bear, but it could have been a large black dog.
April 13 -- Rosco Tangles with Mule Deer
Brit, Con, and I hiked through some of their 160 acres this morning searching for the Great Horned Owl. No luck. We've spotted eagles and hawks. Luna (above) and the sturdy rough and tumble Boston Terrier, Rosco joined us on the walk. Rosco tangled with either coyotes, or the Mule Deer, and we suspect the latter. It was awesomely quiet, along the walk, with the whish whish sound of the Canadian Geese flying overhead and the distant sound of woodpeckers until we heard Rosco’s frantic barking about 500 meters away which moments later turned into horrid-sounding yelping. Twenty seconds later, a few Mule Deer came bouncing through the wooded area 50 meters in front of us. Rosco was quiet. Hours later, he limped up to the front door completely spent with a very deep gouge in his leg. The Mule Deer are magnificent animals, named for their mule-sized ears, indigenous to western Canada. Their antlers are dangerously forked and lethal to predators. We kept our distance, and once Rosco heals, we hope he too will keep his distance. A bit further on our walk, Brit found a set of antlers shed by one of the deer. It’s like baby teeth. They shed the small ones and grow the adult ones. Below, far right the coyote den, centre the baby antlers found, and roasting hotdogs for lunch in the back yard.
April 19 — Driving across the two Canadian prairie provinces, Saskatchewan and Alberta, Con and I were reminded of their rich natural resources: oil and gas, uranium, potash, cattle, and fields and fields as far as the eye can see waiting for agricultural seeding. It seemed spring was about to arrive until it started to snow — again.
For Easter, our families from Red Deer, and Carrot River drove to Calgary where we all had a chance to hang out together. We missed our Texas family.
Not yet ready to count Vancouver Island out as a potential place to settle, we booked another flight to the island. We've tossed away the idea of France because of the various taxes; not too excited about Vancouver Island because of the rain; and in a few days, we'll be viewing houses in Portugal. 
It was 24 hours, door to door, from Calgary to Big Sky in Portugal. Waking refreshed aboard Big Sky, the sun shining in our windows, we set off hand in hand to our favourite Lagos fish restaurant. Jan, Anna Marie, and Choco, their dachshund met us there, visiting Portugal from The Netherlands. 
Below: photos from Sidney on Vancouver Island.
For photos and stories from May to July in Portugal, use the link above.
​
July 10 — Back in Canada
Con and I arrived in Canada on Canada Day, July 1st and tucked into Nick’s place in Calgary for a few days. Ten year old Dex was in Hawaii for his dad’s marriage. We drove to Red Deer, 1 1/2 hours by car. Kate 4 and Amy 2 smothered us in love, reminding us about what’s important in life. A few days later, Con left for Calgary to help with Dex’s math tudoring schedule; I stayed a few extra days in Red Deer, taking the comfy ebus back to Calgary. Con, Dex and I went downtown to the provincial sentencing court so Dex could get a sense of what lawyers do. The lawyers were presenting sentencing recommendations to the female judge for a man who had assaulted a woman. The judge was not convinced probation was enough since he may be a hazard in his work place, caring for seniors. He was to return in six months. We walked around the downtown taking in some of the Stampede activities. A small horse parade with local Indians and a singer were slowly making their way down 8th Street. That night, we met Mike and Donna over dinner at The Nash in Inglewood. It was Donna birthday.
July 15 — Awesome family summertime fun. Lindsey received a big surprise when she answered her door and Courtney and Hailey were standing there. They surprised her showing up from Texas. On the way to Red Deer from Calgary, Con stopped at the Wetaskiwin museum with Dex for a surprise ride in an open cockpit plane. Dex said it was the “best day of my life”. The two are carrying on the Carrot River. I remained in Alberta.
July in Calgary! One moment the dogs are playing in the backyard sunshine, and the next a thunder cloud covers the sky, loud booms, and marble-sized hail covers the ground.
For the next three months, we bombed around Portugal. Con came up with a cool idea that we should take a cruise through the Norweigen Fjords and into the Arctic Circle. Why not? 
IN CANADA
November 2019 — Our plane touched down in Calgary November 7th and our first stop was Nick, Bryant, and Dex’s new place in Discovery Ridge. A gorgeous house on a ridge overlooking bike paths with the Rockies to the west. We were able to help Nick set up, as Bryant is still living in the USA with every-other weekend trips to Calgary. Remembrance Day (Monday) we drove to Red Deer with Dex, 11 for lunch with Lindsey, Kate, 5 and Amy nearly 3. Les was called out to work. Tuesday, we were packed early for our flight to Texas to visit Courtney, Mike and Hailey, 10. First stop, the medical lab, with time remaining to get the car returned and to the airport. At the car rental, I realized I left the passports in my other bag at Nick's! I called Nick, 45 minutes away, who said, “I’m on my way!”
We finally checked in with time to spare. Our suitcase, however, didn't arrive in Houston and we later learned it had been pulled out by customs for inspection. A day and a half later, it was delivered -- at 3:30 am. (We'd been waiting for it as per the delivery instructions since noon the day before.) Below: Dex and Nick hanging up the TV, Amy’s first day of Montessori school, Hailey and me, Courtney and I gardening.
We had eight awesome days with Courtney, Mike and 10-year-old Hailey in Texas. Flying back to Calgary, we rented another car at the airport and continued our journey to Carrot River to visit Bridget, Kris, and 11-year-old Nolan for a week. On touchdown, I felt a familiar tickle in my throat — a cold was coming on. Sure enough, a week later, Con was battling it too. His turned nastier resulting in a round of antibiotics to attack an infected ear. We arrived in Red Deer for grand daughter Amy’s 3rd birthday. Their house is a beehive of wonderful childhood activities, and I jumped into the middle of it all, getting Kate 5 to school, and Amy to Montessori school both three days a week. Exhausted is a mild way to describe it, especially fighting the nasty Canadian cold. Returning to Nick and 11-year-old Dex’s house in Calgary is always a time to catch up on our energy. 
December 15 — Last Day in Canada
We had a delightful last day in North America with Roc and Lori at their ranch house. Roc took us on sleigh rides under the bright blue sky, pulled by Farmer, once a Stampede Chuck Wagon horse, now retired. Afterward, we sat around the campfire in their teepee catching up with where life has taken us since we last were together.
We celebrated my 65th birthday a few days before, at Nick’s house. Con planned a beautiful dinner, having asked me in advance what my favourite foods were and served it up. The Red Deer family had planned to come down for the weekend and join us for sleigh rides and s’mores around the campfire, but 3 or the 4 of them were sick.
The morning before heading to the airport, Dex and I made delicious whipped shortbread cookies.
December -- Back in Portugal
Con and I ended our year on fabulous hikes and outings in the Algarve with delicious weather. Below the cliffs and hiking paths around Carvoiero. Specifically Benagil Beach The ocean rushes in between sky-scrapper cliffs for spectacular crashing waves, especially when there’s a south breeze like today. We walked to the top for a pleasant hike along the edge keeping safely away from the crumbling cliff sides. Sadly tourists have tempted fate and died for the perfect selfie. At 60 meters above the ocean, we came across a bed of shells that were once at the bottom of the ocean. Where did the water go to retract THAT much. The shell against my foot (for size comparison) is likely the largest scallop shell I’ve ever come across.
December 31 -- New Year's Eve
We bought our champagne and have a handful of plastic flutes to share it with the crowds near the castle at midnight.