Waking Up in Odeceixe, Portugal!

Good morning, Odeceixe!

​What do we hear on a sunny March morning in the Portuguese countryside?

Chirping!  Lots and lots of chirping from nests of swallows just feet away from the balcony where we sip coffee.  At least eight nests full of tiny baby birds are chattering while their excited, attentive parents coast nearby on the morning breezes.
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​The view is idyllic. Directly below our cottage we see the typical white walled houses of the Portuguese Algarve, each with its windows outlined in bright yellow, blue, green or maroon.

Some houses are newly painted and refurbished while others are dilapidated, like the abandoned house just across the tiny stone street.
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Odeceixe is not dying.  If anything, it appears to be a town in the midst of rebirth.  

This is a story we hear a lot in Portugal.  The economy is improving.  People feel optimistic and excited about their future.  Natives are proud to be Portuguese.  Outsiders feel confident about investing in the country.  It’s a good time to visit.

In the distance echo sounds of hammers, saws and construction... a family-style, community kind of construction involving a few men, some makeshift scaffolding and a bucket of paint.  

There are no corporations in Odeceixe. The town has thankfully not been swallowed up by Starbucks or Burger King.  

Instead we find just a handful of mom-and-pop style restaurants and one tiny market that seems about ten feet long and ten feet wide. 

"How late are you open tonight?" my husband asks its young proprietor.  

"Seven," he replies and looks at the long line of customers waiting to purchase goods from his tiny store.  "Or maybe, a bit later." 

The dark haired man smiles. Business is clearly going well for the only grocery store open in town.  

This sleepy neighborhood feels as though it's just on the cusp of waking up for the summer.  April 1... that's the date we see posted on signs in windows throughout the village.  Odeceixe will officially come alive for the year on April 1.  
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Beautifully maintained church in Odeceixe, Portugal.

Adjacent to the AirBNB we are renting sits a tiny church whose bells chime once every fifteen minutes between eight AM and ten PM.  It's topped by a surprisingly adorable shiny black rooster with red painted feathers.  

​If the health of a town can be measured by the loveliness of its church, it’s easy to see that Odeceixe is doing just fine.  The exterior is in great condition with a new red tiled roof and beautiful white paint lined in gray.

Just behind the church on the hill behind the church sits a tiny graveyard... its carefully tended gravestones naming those who lived and loved here in the past.  ​
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Beautiful Odeceixe cemetary.

Just past the graveyard there is a  horse.  Yep.  A horse.  He's pretty sweet too, always quietly watching passersby over the wall of his backyard with big, sad eyes. Someone should write a children's story about this lonely, thoughtful Portuguese horse. 
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This guy keeps an eye on things...

Looking further across the valley beyond the white houses, we see rolling green fields and a small winding river making its way out to the sea.  Its water is clean and tranquil, no trash or litter anywhere.  

This is a theme.  Even in the smallest towns we’ve visited, cleanliness is paramount.  Whether rich or poor, Portuguese people take great pride in keeping their towns and villages clean.  

(In Lisbon, a metropolis just 2.5 hours away, an elderly granny yells at our 12 year old son in Portuguese.

"I don't know what she was saying exactly," he explains, "But she was pointing toward the trash can so I went and threw my bag away.") 

Beyond the tiny village, its rolling green fields and winding river, you can see low mountains rising.  Covered in brush, bushes and Eucalyptus trees they rise gently and gracefully - topped with a long narrow stand of tall Eucalyptus trees that look intentionally planted, maybe as a wind break.
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A stand of Eucalyptus along the horizon.

Bright, blue skies overhead are streaked with long, thin cirrus clouds I’m certain I’ve read about in a high school science class twenty-five years ago. They look like jet streams, but there are too many of them and all heading in different directions.  
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Cirrus clouds above Odeceixe.

What will we do today? We wonder aloud in the unhurried fashion of people on vacation; people who have - for the first time in months - slept in.

Shall we walk down the long trail to the Praia de Odeceide, the rugged beach with black hued cliffs edging up to the Atlantic?  Should we head into the mountains to determine if that unusual shape on the horizon is, in fact, an ancient castle or the ruins of a church?  How about a road trip south to explore more of this spectacular Algarve region?

Or we could just linger here in the Portuguese sunshine a bit longer before heading out to find a perfect lunch of fresh fish, cheese, olives, wine and crusty bread? 

​Yes, please.  Yes to everything.

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Life is short.  Get out there and choose your own adventure! :)

Blissed out and ready for the day!

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