Our Home in Loulé

Aug 3  Friday  

The country is beautiful - and very old - so much history.  We have an old castle here in the city - haven't been there yet.  The people have all been very friendly and welcoming.  Many speak at least a little English, so the transition of changing languages hasn't been too difficult yet.   We understand that the most beautiful beaches in Portugal are just south of us - maybe about 10 miles away or so.  Can't wait to go there, and our Mission President told the Sisters that they could wade up to their knees (or so we hear).   Beach here I come!

We received an early morning phone call from Elder Alder asking me if I could play the piano for the baptism tomorrow and to accompany Sisters Madsen and Kelson for the special musical number. 

The main thing on our agenda today was to purchase some kind of internet service so we could have access to the outside world again.  We were referred to Vodafone where we hoped to purchase a hot spot wifi modem that would also work with our MagicJack system.  After a few trips back and forth getting all the right information and equipment, we came home to test it.  We prepay €15 every two weeks, so that is equivalent to about $38 per month.  We didn’t want to get a two year contract (which was less expensive), because we don’t know how long we will be in Loulé.   

We also found a little store next to our condo building and purchased a clock and batteries, and another small fruit store where we bought some oranges and cold fruit drinks.  The heat continues to drain us of our comfort and energy.  

We are living in an apartment building.  Our apartment is on the second floor (we do have a small elevator in the building).  There is an old, kind of scary parking garage under the building.  The ground floor of the building complex (4 buildings) is little shops and businesses.   There are little cafes and eateries all over the place. 


We have a nice three bedroom apartment with 1 1/2 baths. Elder Egbert would argue that the 1/2 bath is more like a ¼ bath.  It is small with a very tiny shower and is located next to the room we have made our bedroom.  He tried to shower in it and could hardly turn around.  I have claimed the other bathroom, but I said I would share the tub/shower with him.

We have a small but adequate kitchen with a small refrigerator, small freezer, and small clothes washer.  We are having difficulty figuring how to use the stove and oven - all strange pictures, combinations of pressing buttons, and no writing.  We are still working on that.  










The front room is a decent size with a long dining room table (seats 8) on one side, and a sofa with a side table and another shelf unit.  I am currently using one end of the table for my  desk.  The double doors open into a hall with the kitchen, spare bedroom, Elder Egbert's "office," and "my" bathroom.


The main bath is good sized with the bonus of a bidet.  Haven't found a good use for it yet.    

We have an enclosed balcony on the east side, but it has been too hot to even consider going out onto it.  A variety of things are stored on it.

The sister missionaries live in the building next to ours.  We can see them from one of the other bedroom windows.  They have been great to get to know and to help us figure out life here.  

We decided that if we were driving to Faro tomorrow for the baptism, we should get gas for the car.  We drove around the narrow, congested streets, found a gas station, and did a little sight seeing. 

We stopped as a large Continental grocery store on our way home and found good deals on fruit and vegetables.  Here you put a coin in a slot in the handle of the shopping cart before you can take one; when you return the cart, you get your money back.  Everyone either brings their own grocery bags or pays €1 to buy one – which you won’t forget to bring back next time.  We will return later to do some real grocery shopping, but we needed to be home by 9:30 pm so the Sisters could pick up a fan that the other mission couple (Laytons) had left with us.  We also shared a honeydew melon with the sisters when the stopped by.

Night view behind our apartment complex.  Remains of very old housing/shops are bordered by current houses.  Cars actually pass through this very narrow passage way that winds in circles.  Many of the current streets in the "old town" look just like this.  Our apartment is located right in the center of everything that goes on here. Pretty amazing!