Its St Martins! The actual Saints day is November 11th and traditionally the days before and after the day are marked by sunshine and warm weather - the Portuguese refer to it as 'St. Martins summer'. Yes true to tradition the weather over Portugal is stable, warm and sunny - in the north of the country villages have 'fairs' where they celebrate with roast chestnuts and drinking the first 'young' wine of the years vintage - very similar to the Beaujolais nouveau in France. In the Algarve the hedgerows are full of bright red pomegranates and furry green quince with griffon vultures riding the thermals overhead before they head south for the winter. Last week a walker and keen birder told me there were at least 400 vultures circling over the Sagres peninsula - it was a sight to behold!