The Summer switch!

One minute, we were huddled under umbrellas, watching the rain fill up the barragens (reservoirs) like a kid getting carried away with a garden hose. The next, BAM—someone flicked the switch, and Portugal is in full summer mode. The sky is bluer than a tile in an azulejo mural, the sun is flexing like it’s been hitting the gym all winter, and suddenly, everyone remembers where they left their flip-flops.

The good news? Thanks to all that rain, we won’t have to ration our showers or give up on lush gardens anytime soon. The barragens are so full you could lose a jet ski in them. After years of nervously side-eyeing water levels, there’s finally enough to last a solid three years—unless, of course, someone decides to fill a million swimming pools at once.

And with that, summer fever has officially arrived. Beach bars are dusting off their caipirinha shakers, pastel de nata consumption is about to hit record highs, and tourists are already turning pink on the Algarve’s beaches. So, if you’re in Portugal, grab your sunglasses—because once the switch is on, there’s no turning it off.....and we love it!