Painting & Olhao market

 I had primed yupo paper in permanent scarlet acrylic gouache, so I could paint on an easel today.  The priming adds just enough grip that the paint doesn't slide off even though it's on a vertical surface.  Even so, it's still got that slippery feel to it, since yupo paper doesn't absorb the paint.   I used regular gouache on top of the the primed/dry surface, otherwise you can't mix them.  I am continuing to find that I much prefer it over watercolor paper which is truly absorbent.  I was on a bench in town facing the tides-out marsh and there was paddle boarding group next to me stripping off their wetsuits.  A few came over to check out what I was doing once they were back in dry clothes.

This was early afternoon.  In the morning, I made a quick trip into Olhao to buy fish at the market.  The kitchen in the place I'm in now is pretty nice but has some odd things missing.  The owners were here just before me and then moved on the day I arrived to another condo they'd purchased.  My guess is that they both bought new things for this kitchen and they took things they needed with them.  So, for example, I have a cutting board the size of a postage stamp and no baking sheets to put in the oven.  Anyway, I do think I can cook a meal here and I want to cook some fish.

But not those fish.  the market had beautiful, fresh and enticing fish and shellfish, but for the most part, my English and the fishmongers Portuguese overlapped very little.  We did have a meeting of the minds on local shrimp, heads on, which I bought, accepting the recommendation that smaller shrimp are more flavorful.  I will cook them tonight.

I saw many (hundreds?) fiddler crabs coming in and out of holes in the mud today.  They are well camouflaged, so no point in showing you a picture.  You only realize they are there because of the motion.  The spoonbill was much easier to spot.