I want to try and touch on a few of the little things that catch my attention now, but probably won’t in a few months. Today as I walked round our neighborhood with Michelle I tried to take pictures of things that are very commonplace – but slightly different than the suburb we previously lived in.

This is the view as you step out our front door and look to the right (West). We live on a one way street and people are very considerate when parking their cars. We always try to walk on the sidewalk of course, there are many electric vehicles that will sneak up on you VERY quickly if you meander in the roadway. The sidewalk here is plenty wide to walk along with your pet by your side, but not wide enough for two people abreast. Also, note how the doors and windows open directly onto the sidewalk. People will enjoy the afternoon sun by leaning out their open window – which has oft caught me by surprise when rounding a corner since their face will be inches from mine.

Olhão’s recorded history goes back as far as 1378, but the town was officially chartered in 1826. Either way, it is quite an ancient city and that stands out quite clearly when looking at the sidewalks. They are made of hand placed irregular stones. When municipal work has to be done beneath them it can be quite discombobulating since you quickly realize that they are magically suspended above great holes that contain all the normal underworkings of a city. You also get to see how the municipal workers carefully pile up all the stones so that a technician can put them back (by hand!) after the work is completed.

Most of the city wasn’t built to accommodate vehicles and that is most apparent when you walk down very skinny streets where the “sidewalk” can diminish down to about 6 inches on just one side of the street. That third picture with teeny sidewalks is a place many people walk (it’s the fastest way to a grocery store we use regularly) and whenever a vehicle goes by everyone squishes up against the buildings with a couple inches to spare.

When you start traveling through our city on foot you will see A LOT of the sidewalks. They have dips and divots, you’ll catch your toe on a stone that sits a bit high, you’ll stumble at an unexpected curb. You will be forced to keep a diligent eye as you maneuver step by step. It’s very similar to hiking on a rocky trail. Looking down will also help you avoid the doggie landmines that are unfortunately quite frequent on certain streets.

When you do look up you’ll see cords that provide electricity, internet, and whatever else strung up along the building facades. Some neighborhoods have very neat bundles while others are rat’s nests that appear to be pure chaos.

Crossing the street should be done at a crosswalk, as pictured, whenever possible. Most drivers are good about stopping but diligence is required nonetheless. Knowing when to cross is almost a game in and of itself. Remember how sidewalks range from lovely promenades to almost nothing? That change can happen between a couple blocks. Or sometimes there is a busy cafe that will completely take over the sidewalk area. Knowing what type of walking zone is ahead will dictate when you should cross the street, sometimes you should do this a couple blocks before you have any visual indication about the upcoming change.

It took me a couple days to realize the street signs are placards right on buildings, a small difference but one that made getting around quite difficult for a bit.

Above are two recycling stations, found every few blocks throughout the city. I didn’t take a pic of a dumpster station (imagine two to four dumpsters sitting next to each other on a corner). There is no “garbage pickup” like we were used to in our stateside residences. You grab your refuse and haul it to the nearest appropriate receptacles. Our garbage drop off is about a block from the house and recycling is two blocks away.

I’m going to do a detailed post about the amazing Olhão graffiti, but here are a few examples I see almost every day. I thought “Fuck Farense” was a grand political statement for about two weeks, after Googling it I realized it has to do with a soccer rivalry.

Now a few quick pics, see the captions for info!

And I think I’ll end it there. Those are some of the very common sights we’ll see on one of our daily walks. The weather has turned from too hot to OMG we are in paradise so we will be walking quite a bit in the upcoming weeks. I’ll try to get some better pics so I can go into more detail about a few things, post in the comments if you are interested in anything in particular!