Ringing in the New Year

 These are the. cliffs at the start of the Seven Hanging Valleys trail.  The apartment I'm renting is around the bend from the spot where I was painting this afternoon.  The cliffs as they go off into the distance give you a view of the towns of Carvoeiro and Lagos and others in between.  Last night at midnight, I could see fireworks going off at four sites along the cliffs!

As for my painting spot, I was 3-4 feet from the cliff edge, sitting on a wooden bench.  It's a hot, sunny day, and people were walking right up to the edge to take pictures.  Not me.  I was ready to abandon the pencil that fell from my art supplies rather than reach another few inches closer to the cliff edge (I did get a hand on the pencil and retrieved it successfully without leaving my bench).  In addition to Instagram photo-takers, there are fishermen who cast their lines out over the cliffs and as I said last time I was here, I dont' know how they do it.  

A funny thing about it being New Year's Day.  I hadn't given much thought to things being closed for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day when I was planning the trip.  As it turns out, the timing is just fine, as jet lag and coming down with a cold has given me ample reason to be glad to lay low yesterday and today.  It's no hardship to sit out on my patio in the sunshine, doze off whenever and work out painting ideas at 3 am.