I’m in Albufeira, mixing a family visit in with my desire for a silent retreat. A big apartment with ocean view and a pool, I can’t ask for much more.

I’ve been to Albufeira a few times before, but now that I have no travel companion distracting me, my attention focuses on the sharp dominance of British tourists. Pasty white skin (often visible in too great a volume) that doesn’t seem to ever tan. “You can pay in pounds” signs by the cigarette stand. Beer at 8:35 in the morning. An entire street of restaurants showing the game.

I keep looking for local life. Where do people live among all these hotels, where do they shop, where do they eat, where do they go to the doctor, how do they get around town, where do they do their laundry?