Wow … I´ve just had an incredible week of surf and (remembering how to!) down in Sagres … the most southwestern point of Europe. Amazing little beach town that reminds me of so many places on the nsw east coast … in fact after a little nap in the sun I very often felt confused as to why people were speaking in Portugese, not Aussie english for the first few moments of awakeness! Never thought I would find a place where the beaches compare to Aus, but Portugal has them!!
Have just spent the last 3 days on a surf camp down around the Sagres area … you need a car (and insider knowledge) to get to the best surf spots, so surf camp I did … SUCH A GREAT GREAT WEEK! Met some great Swedish girls there as well … photos below.
Off to Barcelona tomorrow for Summercase festival … the good times keep rollin
Summer and beach is perfect
a little beach espresso to kick us into action … life I’m sure does not get better … louise (aussie chick) jen, linda (swedish gals)
my surfing girls … stretching out the muscles after a hard day of it … linda & jen from sweden, louise from aus
Just had 3 days of glorious live music in Lisbon … the greatest thing is that it was only a tiny festival that half the people in Lisbon didn’t even seem to know about it … and only one stage … so I got myself there nice and early and found a prime little spot right at the fence and didn’t move all night long … every night!!! Was perfect!! And I am completely musically inspired and re energised … and more of the same but with Flaming Lips, Air and others in Barcelona in a couple of weeks … hooray! Festival run down thru photos below …
In the south of Portugal – Lagos – at the moment … the beaches are fabulous but the whole town feels like it is on a continual American summer camp. Really really does … feels like I am at the opposite end of the world from my little town in Laos! Anyway … met an Aussie chick from Dubbo and she feels like a kindred spirit compared to the rest of the world around me … so we are off to Sagres … a little beach surfing town south west of here tomorrow for some camping and surf time. Our goal is to find someone with a combi van with two spare seats that wants our company for a few days!
in lagos … and feels like I am on an 18yr old American summer camp … so when tiring of the same same conversation entertained myself with some experimental dance moves
gig of the festival … 3 violinists, two trumpets, trombone, french horn and all sorts of weird and wonderful other crazy percussion bits and pieces … indescribeably amazing … true musos … go see them in aus
these guys were in my top two … awesome tunes, great happy energy although the bass player needs to work on his dance moves
some great tunes but unfortunately these boys have developed significant egos over the last couple of years which they were happy to share with all of us!! in fact I think they are becoming a little too ‘coldplayish’ … that’s my word on that one anyway
the world olympic sailing (incl windsurfing, kitesurfing etc) on in Caiscais (just north of Lisbon) so I became part of the very small aussie cheer squad!! Aussie flag flying there …
In Peniche … famous on the world surfing map … Went to ´Toobula´ today in search of some “tubes” … although this is clearly far and beyond any surfing technique I have mastered … but the locals tell me that there has been no swell for days … very flat … so I had to suffice with a continual rotation of swimming and lazing on the sand. The water was FREEZING I might add, so the swimming was more like “dipping”. Am staying in this amazing converted old stone villa on the beach … is actually a hostel that can fit up to 30 people, but tonight I am the only one here, so have this amazing place to myself for a tiny price! Off to Cascais tomorrow for some more beach time enroute to Lisbon for my first hit of non asian pop live music in over a year! Maybe I won’t come back …
Some photos from around here …
rows and rows of these crazy unplanned, tiled, vivid coloured beach shacks all along the beaches
Originally uploaded by katiedecarteret
just another everyday suburban street … no pleasantville housing estates here
