Notes from Portugal

The next three months Max and I will be living in the village of Ferragudo in the Algarve region of Portugal. We have rented a two bedroom apartment overlooking the beach and a castle, it is very picturesque. The center of town is a five minute walk to the bottom of the hill.
The streets leading down to the shops and the water front are steep, narrow, and cobbled. Everywhere we look we find little alleys branching off from the streets. Some include stairs and all lead down into the village. Houses are entered from these paths and seem to have no order, they are close together and on many levels.
Yesterday we shopped. At the butcher’s we bought a small chicken which he skinned and chopped into four sections. We stopped at the bakery for some fresh rolls and then on to the little grocery where we bought some vegetables and wine. Walking back up the hill we glanced into a tiny shop and saw fish. It was late in the day but a few still lay on a bed of ice. We bought one for dinner.
I have no idea what kind of fish we had but it was delicious. I put garlic, sliced onion, salt and pepper, and sliced lemon in the cavity, then rubbed it with olive oil and baked it with the head and tail intact. My first attempt at Portuguese cooking was a success.