Can I possibly learn Portuguese?

I am 67 years old and have been going to Portugal for the past six years, the last five to the Algarve. I once read that The Algarve is not the real Portugal due to all of the English pubs and restaurants. I decided that the Algarve can be the "real" Portugal if I learn a bit of the language and go mostly to small, local places. I was correct. Now I go to Olhos de Agua each year for two or three months (one year I will stay). I have two favorite places one of which is called Bar Escondidinho which is truly a little hidden away place. Manuela owns and manages the bar with help from her two daughters, both of whom speak excellent English. One day a Portuguese couple who spoke English came in while Manuela & I were talking. The man asked me if I spoke Portuguese and I replied "not much". He said but we know Manuela and you seem to be having a good conversation. I told them, in Portuguese so that I knew Manuela would understand, falamos um pouco em portugu�s, um pouco em ingl�s, um pouco em espanhol e muito com as m�os. I recently asked a Yahoo question about whether to say queria or quero and in out, after she answered my question, jokingly said if I say queria, they may think OK you wanted a beer and now you do not? That may explain why, when I said to Manuela's 5-year-old grandaughter, "Bianca, queria mais uma caneca" she looked at me and very seriously and very slowly asked "queria mais uma caneca?" She knew what I wanted but she was having fun with my bad Portuguese. The child is brilliant. My attitude, when I meet Portuguese people, is that yes, the Algarve has many British tourists and landowners and yes, most Algarvians speak English, but, I am in Portugal, it is your country and you are Portuguese. When I go into any place in Portugal, if I'm not sure how to ask for what want, I always begin by saying " desculpa. n�o falo muito Portugu�s, That attitude has served me well. I try to explain to people, not only British, that small efforts like speaking the language may open doors for you that would not otherwise be open. Now, since I guess I am supposed to ask a question, do any of you Portuguese speakers think that it is possible that an old Americano like me can possibly learn to speak Portuguese? Obrigado.