Day 21 (Tuesday, October 19, 2021)
Costs for the Day are in the Table below:
We slept in late today and woke up around 8:30am. I made a cup of coffee, and did some research on blogging and newsletters.
Then we went to meet up Cathy and Gary for lunch at Cais J Cafe by the harbor. It is in a nice spot with a pretty view of the harbor and a pleasant atmosphere. I had the chicken baguette and Bi had the shrimp. (Cost: 22 EUR) In our view, the place was nice but the food was not something we would recommend. However, Cathy and Gary were good company and it we had a great conversation about their time living in Tulum, Mexico and the recent increases in violent crime and cartel wars in the area. They were both very relieved to be living in Portugal now where the situation is much more calm and safe.
After lunch, Bi and I picked up some groceries at Pingo Doce (Cost: 28 EUR). I biked back to our apartment to drop off the groceries and then biked over to meet up with Bi and Jules at MEO.
From there we walked to the Vodafone store and Bi and I picked up some sim cards. We got 1 pre-paid sim card each for 20 EUR/card. The cards last for 1 month and include 10GB data + 500 minutes calling in Portugal (or Portugal Numbers that are within the EU) + 30 min International Calls/SMS. These cards are good if you will be in the area temporarily and they are pre-paid so you can’t go over the amount which is nice for budgeting. They only last one month so you would have to pay again after that time. The 30 days starts whenever you insert the sim into your phone to activate it. Photo is on the left below.
Longer term plans require a 2 year commitment and are 39.9 EUR/ month for the first sim and 24.9 EUR/month for any additional sim. Those plans have unlimited data and calling within Portugal but no International data/minutes. Photo is on the right above.
After getting our pre-paid sim cards, we walked with Jules to meet up with Erik (her husband) at Beer & Co. where he was doing some work online. We chatted for a while and Bi and I shared a margarita. (Cost: 7 EUR) The margarita was mediocre but it was fun to hang out.
On the way home, I stopped by Jah Shaka surf shop and booked a Beach Transfer for Friday, Oct 22. (Cost 25 EUR)