a week split between south and north. the weather in algarve was amazing. i wore shorts and a t-shirt for the first time this year, which is always the moment i think of as the official start of summer.

we drew hands in art class, in all sorts of positions, in pencil, pen and ink. they all looked funky in the moment, but now i like them — they grew on me.

my parents were around this week and dad found a goldfinch nest in our olive tree! i had noticed a pair of goldfinches flying away every time i walked by the tree, but now i can actually see the nest. how cool! i hope soon we’ll see some babies there as well.

it was 25 of april and my carnations bloomed just in time! <3

on sunday, i ran the 10k in aveiro, without stopping and without dying! i did my best impersonation of a japanese grandpa, shuffling through the streets at a steady slow pace — the slowest i could go without walking — and it felt ok! i managed to do the whole thing at that comfortable pace, taking the time to look around and get myself acquainted with aveiro. meanwhile, other friends and family ran the 10k at a faster or slower speed, the boy and my brother did the half-marathon and another friend surprised everyone by doing the marathon! it was a nice family affair, that i look forward to repeating at some point. :)

the week started with a 6km run through the rain in manta rota, and then a 19km hike a few days later, between lagoa and albufeira. this was the last hike of the “walk-the-whole-algarve-coast” project: we’ve now walked all the way from vila real de santo antónio to sagres, and from sagres to porto covo too, which is pretty neat. :) it took us a few years, but we did it! it’s the perfect season for hiking here too — the views and the nature are just beautiful.

now we’re looking for some other long-distance paths to do! we kind of like coastal paths… so maybe this one in menorca? if you have tips or suggestions, let us know!

my parents are in town for some days, and we took them to see the easter procession in são brás, which we had never seen ourselves.

reading-wise, yu hua’s boy in the twilight was a disappointment, the stories too violent and non-sensical (and yet somehow, so chinese?). i’m giving him another chance though, with a non-fiction book about 10 chinese words that seems more promising. i finished listening to john green’s everything is tuberculosis, and although most of the stories and context were familiar already, it was still very enjoyable to listen to — especially narrated by john himself.

after months of the boy watching short clips from suits suggested to him by youtube, we finally started properly watching the series. :) it’s light and fun so far, but i’m not sure we’re going to make it through 9 seasons… 😱

finished reading limpa, via biblioled, the new portuguese digital book lending service. on one hand, it was nice to read a chilean author, and to do so in portuguese for a change… but it was a strange book with a heavy story. i forced myself to finish but didn’t really enjoy most of the time. oh well.

the week had a few nice meals, including brunch in olhão, on our way to faro to get the boy some new running shoes.

i ran only once this week, in the walkways around manta rota beach, which are almost exactly 5kms. sometimes i forget we live so close to the sea, and what a privilege it is to have all this beautiful coast to ourselves in the low season.

we fixed the electric bike, which had a lame tire/pump issue and i’ve been using it to speed to the new gym, which i found out, is also open on the weekends! speaking of the gym, i unexpectedly started training with a personal trainer there. turns out, the gym has a PT standing by at all times, just waiting around to help people. i’m a bit shy about these things, but the person seemed so eager to help that a simple question prompted her enthusiastic assistance. :) it was nice.

omg! apple tv is launching a series based on the murderbot diaries and i’m so here for its moodiness and snark!!

for entertainment, we re-watched hidden figures, because the boy didn’t remember watching it. still a good movie! and i did some body sketches in art class this week, which was a fun challenge!

finally, a week where we’ve been home the whole week and did lots of things… though perhaps not all of them. :) it was a quiet, productive week to welcome in the new quarter.

i think the highlight of the week was the new gym membership. for a while now, i’ve wanted to use a gym so that i could slowly do the “liftoff: couch to barbell” program, using dumbbells and weights (that i don’t have at home). this gym is a short bike ride away, is often empty, and offers use of their equipment plus the sauna!

there are some studies that link regular usage of saunas with lower incidence of alzheimer and dementia, and having the gene run in the family, anything that reduces that risk is something i’d like to explore. so i tried it out a couple of times this week, doing a couple of short weight training sessions and in the end used the sauna for 20 mins. it was really nice and i look forward to making this a routine!

i had two art classes and a chinese class this week, finished reading the last of the court of thorn and roses books, had a couple of breakfasts in town and even a pizza. :)

i also went running once, because the race date is looming on the horizon and i can still only run about 5kms… 😬 it’s a nice time of the year to run though, the days are long and the countryside smells wonderfully of orange blossom. also, there are poppies everywhere!