Written on the sunny balcony of the Gold Coast Hostel in Lagos, Portugal on Saturday, May 24th @ 17:30.
We arrived at our hostel at around 18:30 last night. There were a lot of people cooking their dinners in the kitchen. It seemed like groups of people had been there for a long time and had become friendly with one another. Dallen and I went around the corner to get some hot beef stew from a small take-away restaurant. We sat in a park that had a natural amphitheater, with soft green grass and ledges that had been carved out of the earth. We were grateful for that hot meal. And excited to discover a new place. We stocked up on groceries afterwards, the highlight being the dried "blood sausage" we have been looking to try. That night we went to get some gelatto ice cream in town with a group of young travellers from our hostel. We talked for hours. It's so fun to get all of these people from different parts of the world to share their experiences.
Today we woke up late, and after a light breakfast went for a run along the coast. We saw some beautiful cove-like beaches down at the foot of tall cliffs. We ran along the rough trails, high above, and we dashed and jumped, being careful not to slide and fall, staying light on our toes. It reminded me of running to school every morning in Guatemala with my Dad on his bike through those rugged back alleys. That's where I really learned how to trail run, light on my toes! Everyday!
We've been going at an easy pace. No beach time today. I think the highlight will be this Champions League soccer game tonight. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will be playing in Lisbon soon. I better go find Dallen and get moving to find a good place in town to watch the game.
Written at the hostel computer on Monday, May 26th @ 10:34
Well down in the town center on Saturday we found our Swiss friend, "Benne", watching the big soccer game. It was awesome. Around halftime I went across the street to order some pizzas for the four of us guys. Meanwhile, I struck up a conversation with some young women from Australia. The game was great. It looked like Atletico was going to win the whole time until Real Madrid scored in stoppage time - the 93rd minute! With a clutch header goal from Sergio Ramos. Later that night we danced and mingled with the younger crowd at crowded bars and clubs. I was ready to crash into my own top bunk at the hospital by 02:30. And that's considered early.
Yesterday was a sweet day. Our friend Benne decided to stay in Lagos a couple days more so that he could hang out with us. He eventually has to make his way to Malaga in Spain to catch a plain back to Switzerland. He's travelling around before he starts law school in Switzerland. We spent the day at one of these amazing beaches. Being the intrepid explorers that we are, and wanting to capture some more adventure footage with my camera, we hiked down into a crack in the cliffs that lead down to the beach. We noticed a group of girls that we had met the night before so we wanted to make our way down to the beach in secret to surprise them. Besides some scratches and splinters we made it down unharmed. I had heard that the water was icey cold but I wanted to go in anyway. I recalled the time my sister, Clare, and I rushed down to the ocean water in Tofo to bathe and transform into our new beach selves. A form of spiritual cleansing. Well, the water was frigid, but I embraced the feeling, it was a rush. I dove in with heart wide open. Yes! I feel like it was good for my sore muscles. But Dallen and I still wanted to get in some exercise so we got in some pushups, abs, and stretches on a little wooden platform. We met two women from Portugal. One of them was covered in tattoos. I practiced my Portugues a little bit but we ended up speaking English for Dallen and Benne's sake. We had lunch together up at a cafe near the lighthouse. I think we'll head back to Lisbon a day early because it's kind of cold here and we might visit a place called Cascais near Lisbon before we have to fly out.
One more thing! Last night the hostel manager, Carlos, showed me how to make rice and beans a totally different way! We added the blood sausage to the black beans in a pressure cooker. It was so tasty. I'm so happy that I learned a new way to cook.
Check out some of these pictures from the past couple days.
We arrived at our hostel at around 18:30 last night. There were a lot of people cooking their dinners in the kitchen. It seemed like groups of people had been there for a long time and had become friendly with one another. Dallen and I went around the corner to get some hot beef stew from a small take-away restaurant. We sat in a park that had a natural amphitheater, with soft green grass and ledges that had been carved out of the earth. We were grateful for that hot meal. And excited to discover a new place. We stocked up on groceries afterwards, the highlight being the dried "blood sausage" we have been looking to try. That night we went to get some gelatto ice cream in town with a group of young travellers from our hostel. We talked for hours. It's so fun to get all of these people from different parts of the world to share their experiences.
Today we woke up late, and after a light breakfast went for a run along the coast. We saw some beautiful cove-like beaches down at the foot of tall cliffs. We ran along the rough trails, high above, and we dashed and jumped, being careful not to slide and fall, staying light on our toes. It reminded me of running to school every morning in Guatemala with my Dad on his bike through those rugged back alleys. That's where I really learned how to trail run, light on my toes! Everyday!
We've been going at an easy pace. No beach time today. I think the highlight will be this Champions League soccer game tonight. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will be playing in Lisbon soon. I better go find Dallen and get moving to find a good place in town to watch the game.
Written at the hostel computer on Monday, May 26th @ 10:34
Well down in the town center on Saturday we found our Swiss friend, "Benne", watching the big soccer game. It was awesome. Around halftime I went across the street to order some pizzas for the four of us guys. Meanwhile, I struck up a conversation with some young women from Australia. The game was great. It looked like Atletico was going to win the whole time until Real Madrid scored in stoppage time - the 93rd minute! With a clutch header goal from Sergio Ramos. Later that night we danced and mingled with the younger crowd at crowded bars and clubs. I was ready to crash into my own top bunk at the hospital by 02:30. And that's considered early.
Yesterday was a sweet day. Our friend Benne decided to stay in Lagos a couple days more so that he could hang out with us. He eventually has to make his way to Malaga in Spain to catch a plain back to Switzerland. He's travelling around before he starts law school in Switzerland. We spent the day at one of these amazing beaches. Being the intrepid explorers that we are, and wanting to capture some more adventure footage with my camera, we hiked down into a crack in the cliffs that lead down to the beach. We noticed a group of girls that we had met the night before so we wanted to make our way down to the beach in secret to surprise them. Besides some scratches and splinters we made it down unharmed. I had heard that the water was icey cold but I wanted to go in anyway. I recalled the time my sister, Clare, and I rushed down to the ocean water in Tofo to bathe and transform into our new beach selves. A form of spiritual cleansing. Well, the water was frigid, but I embraced the feeling, it was a rush. I dove in with heart wide open. Yes! I feel like it was good for my sore muscles. But Dallen and I still wanted to get in some exercise so we got in some pushups, abs, and stretches on a little wooden platform. We met two women from Portugal. One of them was covered in tattoos. I practiced my Portugues a little bit but we ended up speaking English for Dallen and Benne's sake. We had lunch together up at a cafe near the lighthouse. I think we'll head back to Lisbon a day early because it's kind of cold here and we might visit a place called Cascais near Lisbon before we have to fly out.
One more thing! Last night the hostel manager, Carlos, showed me how to make rice and beans a totally different way! We added the blood sausage to the black beans in a pressure cooker. It was so tasty. I'm so happy that I learned a new way to cook.
Check out some of these pictures from the past couple days.
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