April 28

Portimao is a tourist town on the Algarve region of Portugal with a population of 60-65,000. It followed the “usual” path to development, having been populated by the Carthaginians, Visigoths, and then Moors. Portugal conquered the area in 1249, but it was considered unsafe for settlement because of the pirates that frequented the area. By the 1600’s, an export trade developed and the region moved figs, olives, wine and fish to other areas. An earthquake in 1755 slowed the export business. In the 19th century, fishing led an economic comeback, but that was dampened by a recession.

Today, Portimao specializes in homes and chalets for tourists. There are 4-5 million visitors per year, mostly from the UK, Ireland and Portugal. Just about all of the advertised “things to do” are water sports or wine tours. They seem to have found their niche.

This morning, when we got up, I checked the wind speed….about 20mph. I said to Karla that there could be a problem anchoring and riding the tender into port. The captain, perhaps having overheard me, announced that we would be skipping Portimao…the wind speeds are projected to pick up. At these speeds, the tender moves up and down…perhaps 3 feet. We have no trouble timing our steps, but lots of passengers do. It’s scary watching someone with a cane or walker negotiate the step. I’m sure that Viking worries about injuries…and liability. Of all ports, this seems like a good one to skip. The captain is seeing if we can dock at Porto earlier.

With extra time, I checked in on Truth Social.

   “FAKE NEWS!  They aren’t covering it, but you are witnessing the MOST SUCCESSFUL first hundred days in our nation’s history. Tariffs have all of the other countries focused on ME. I’ve been cutting some GREAT deals. China is dying to talk to me. You know what else is working….TRUMP meme coins and 2028 hats. Talking about money, I have a plan to charge kids $1/egg for next year’s’ White House Easter egg roll. Let them get some skin in the game. The left wing woke media is claiming that I’m not getting all my campaign promises done. You know what…they don’t know when I’m sarcastic or joking. They should pay attention to what I mean, not what I say. Sleepy Joe Biden left me with a disaster. AG Bondi should find a way to put him in jail along with several disloyal judges. Did you see ME at the pope’s funeral mass? The turnout was nowhere near my inaugural crowds…but neither was the turnout at the sermon on the mount.”