Welcome to the Algarve! Outside, it’s a glorious 16°C (61°F) with bright blue skies. Inside our apartment, it feels like a walk-in freezer. If I am cold, you know it is cold, as I run hot. This is our third season here, and honestly, it does not get easier. It hits you like a ton of bricks, and it seems like it hits overnight.
No one told us about this strange phenomenon: it’s colder inside than outside. I am not exaggerating when I say we go outside to warm up.
This is what they call the “Algarve Winter Surprise.” You move here for the 300 days of sun, only to discover that you spend your evenings wearing a beanie and a puffer vest while watching Netflix. It’s a shock to the system. Thank goodness I was finally able to crochet Mike a suitable beanie for his bald head. My head does not get cold, but my feet feel like they are cold even with slippers on.
It’s not you; it’s the building, lol. We learned this right away. Here are some facts about this dang “Algarve Winter Surprise”: (This surprise phenomenon is felt throughout Portugal, but it is felt the strongest here in the Algarve because it is normally warm and sunny, unlike the north, which is always cooler.)
Things are built for summer: Algarve homes are constructed with concrete and brick designed to keep heat out during the scorching August highs. In January, that same design traps the cold in. You can touch the walls and feel the chill.
The dampness is no joke. Living near the ocean means high humidity (often over 80%). Wet air feels significantly colder than dry air—it chills you right to the bone. The best purchase, besides my Bimby/Thermomix, was the dehumidifier. We have two of these machines, and they operate 24/7 during the winter. Growing up in California, I never needed nor even heard of a dehumidifier. They are brilliant. Here is how they work: dry air heats up much faster than damp air. By removing the moisture, your air conditioners (see explanation below) become more efficient, and 19°C actually feels warm instead of clammy. These machines extract the dampness from the air. There is something so satisfying about getting up in the morning and dumping out the water the machine collected throughout the night. Another way this machine has been invaluable to us is with our laundry. Not having a dryer in Europe is not uncommon, and honestly, I have grown to like line drying my clothes, except in the winter. Nothing would dry because of the temperature, but when you put the clothes inside on a rack and turn on your dehumidifier, it removes the moisture from them too..
However even though the dehumidifier sucks some dampness out of the air we do still use our heaters to warm us up. Funny fact, they call them air conditioners here, they are a dual machine air/heat. You should see people look at me when I tell them I put my heater on today. They look confused and say ” You mean your air conditioner? “No I mean heater” I still do not get it but the portuguese are very literal and maybe we are the wrong ones in the US. I guess it is conditioning the air. Hmmmmm I digrese,
Yes, the nights are chilly, and the tile floors are unforgiving even with slippers. But when you wake up to coffee on a sunny terrace in mid-January, you realize the extra layer of fleece is a small price to pay and we still have ZERO regrets.
PS: Just say yes
