I’ll let you into a little secret… and I know all the right people! Portugal will be the country we’ll all be visiting first when we come out of lockdown.
No, it wasn’t Maria dos Anjos, the niece of the last Little Shepherd of Fatima, who told me though she probably knew this already, and that COVID-19 was coming.
I consider myself partially responsible for not sharing the impending pandemic.
Because Maria was trying to tell me something of import back in 2018. It’s just that my Portuguese stretches to Obrigado and Obrigada.
Which, going off on a tangent, my Dear Old Dad loved to screech out long after we’d returned from the Algarve.
Susana mirabilis
We all have Susana Cardoso, the Director of Portuguese Tourism in Ireland http://www.visitportugal.com to thank for giving us a preview of what Portugal will look like in the coming months.
And the good news is that we will all hopefully be able to see first hand with September slated as the month…
When Irish visitors will all be reacquainting themselves with an old and trusted friend.
Yes Portugal, and for me also the best guide a man or woman could have, and that man and woman is me and the Scary One.
The one and only Jose Madomis https://www.madomistours.pt, the Special One, who showed off his beloved Coimbra and Portugal Centro.
When September comes
The end of the year is a great time to go.
Autumn/Winter is still warm as I discovered on my most recent visits to Portugal Centro and The Campus https://www.thecampusqdl.com/en/about/ https://www.quintadolago.com/en/ at Quinta do Lago , Secret Portugal and SPORTUGAL.
The Portuguese are showing the way as the gold standard on safety and accountability with their Clean and Safe stamps which almost 3000 tourism companies have signed up for.
Beach life
And for those of you who are sick and tired of being palmed off with promises that amount to very little.
Under the guise of ‘The New Normal’ or ‘O Novo Normal’ as they never say out there.
Let me now tell you that there will be sand.
Not for sunbathing yet, but then what a waste of time that is, but you will be able to book your own space on the beach and also go into the water…
And that means you mad surfers too with Portugal a Nirvana for those who walk on water.
All the old favourites
Social distancing is key to us all enjoying all the things we always love in Portugal.
Hotels, restaurants, cafes, golf, museums, castles and parks and it is a price well worth paying.
Of course, all of this is marivilohso, but are we going to be able to get out there.
Well, Susana informs us that Portugal is continually monitoring the situation with the airlines Aer Lingus, Ryanair and TAP Air Portugal…. http://www.aerlingus.com, http://www.ryanair.com and http://www.flytap.com.
Obrigada Susana
And, of course, I’ll keep you up to speed with what changes there but again September may be the month.
So Obrigada Susana and Ola Portugal.
And see you later this year.
