The Early Days...

Let's talk about cool guy "ace" Silas with his classic look in a timeless photo. Way in the background you can see the bridge we passed running one fatefully strong day. This was among our first days in Lisbon at 'Castelo de sao Jorge'.
He should be on the cover a travel magazine 

Food, transportation, and the location of your hostel don't always line up as you'd like. Sometimes you have to walk up a ridiculous hill with a wonderful angle. The hill is so significant there's a trolley car alternative all the way up. My stance is only a minor exaggeration, it wasn't easy holding the pose for Silas's camera either. The graffiti in the back looks awesome, and it speaks to the cool grit of Lisbon. 

This was a scene I particularly enjoyed. Silas and I went hunting for some small local items...we came back with sardines! We decided on these spicier ones, no less delicious when we put it on the bread later for "dinner".  The shopkeeper was either desperate for company or simply loves sardines of all kinds. Silas and I spent a good amount of time looking at these considering the fact that it was a small corner store.

Hospitality - My First Moments

The good nature of Portugal's people made this trip such an awesome experience. Even those who have moved there in search of better lives have adopted this attitude. From the very first moments in Lisbon when seeking directions in a Starbucks, there was a great willingness from the locals to assist a curious traveler. On that same day when walking around the Portuguese Capital I entered a small grocery shop run by an older woman. All I wanted was some water and she patiently helped me through some new Portuguese words after seeing my willingness to learn. Time slowed down when I landed in Portugal, and these thoughtful actions by others were amplified because of the unmistakable human element they displayed.

While I waited for my buddy Silas to arrive, I wandered about the streets to acclimate to this new continent filled with endless new ventures. At a local cafe two Portuguese guys having a chill afternoon began speaking with me and were very interested in my trip. Needless to say they were excited to have a new comer in their country. After a nice conversation they directed me to a local bank where I could exchange some U.S. dollars for euros. These first moments in a new place have a significant impact on a person, and mine being positive made for a nice transition into a new culture. Although there is an inevitable feeling of displacement and confusion visiting a new place, this quickly dissipated as the minutes slipped by. Once it was time to move into the hostel room, I felt a great deal of relief being able to stow away my things. Silas arrived in the room unannounced, and a grand relief came about meeting a friend who I'd not seen for over a year. It was time for us to begin our adventure.

These are my initial thoughts on Portugal, its people, and my feelings in those first moments. I hope it brings some perspective which cannot be seen with the pictures that will be provided.

-Dallen

Searching for Paradise

Written in a cafe near the old Carmo Cathedral in Lisbon on Tuesday, May 27th @ around 16:00

We took a three and a half hour bus ride back from Lagos today. We were ready to go, fueled up and well rested for the journey ahead. For breakfast we had the left-over rice and beans along with the last two eggs. We've been doing well with our snacks and light groceries. So, now we're back at our Lisbon. It feels like a home base now.

I think we're both thinking about going home now. We're coming down from some sort of long term high. It's sad... in a way, but really good to be heading home, back to our regular pursuits. Although, as soon as I get back I'll be heading to Nampula for a month. That will be more of  living on the edge - without a consistent routine or level of predictability that people have .  i like the uncertainty for now. I'm good with going wherever I need to for the sake of living a full life.

Yesterday - Dallen, Benne, and i went off the path a ways and found ourselves right in the middle of the most beautiful beach I have ever encountered! It was difficult to get there. Naturally, there was a lot of walking to be done. first, we tried taking a short-cut and got lost in a well-to-do, exclusive neighborhood in front of a long stretch of white sand beach. there was a restaurant/cafe so we figured it was a good opportunity to rest and have our first coffee of the day. A cola for Benne - he's not a coffee man. And then we were on our way back up through no-man's land. Dallen mentioned that the place gave him a forbidding feeling. like, we weren't welcome in this place. It's not meant for pedestrians, only fast moving cars. It was stale, fake, foreign. And as soon as we saw what appeared to be a local walk down a dirt road, on the outskirts of this place, we followed, and started to feel normal again.

The dirt road turned into a single path through plants, and tall amber grass. the nature helped me feel more at home. I got into one of those hiking trances, where I wasn't noticing many of my thoughts, only the feeling of my body moving me through time and space. Completely immersed in the natural world of dirt, rocks, pollen, trees, and ocean air. Right where I belong.

Suddenly, the path opened up into more tall grass and the big blue sky above and up ahead. the land dropped of to the ocean below, miles, miles, and miles of dark blue water expanded out in front of us. We imagined our United States across this vast Atlantic Ocean. Continuing along the windy paths we worked around the cliffs, just admiring the scenery below. Really wondering if there was any possible way to get down to the imagined paradise below without high tech climbing gear.

I took the time to work with my camera. I had set it to fully manual so i could play around, experiment, with the various setting of aperture, sensor sensitivity, and shutter speed. I think I took some good shots. By the time we had worked our way around the edge of the cliff, we thought that it might be too difficult to get down to the perfect beach below. A group of tourist kayakers floated and paddled around the corner into the small bay below the cliffs. And across the cliff we saw a man, inching his way down the side of the steep path, closer, and closer to where we ourselves were being drawn. We never saw that man again. maybe he turned back half-way. fearing heights and the terrible fate accompanying the spacial factor and human error. One missed step.

Nonetheless, you might guess with certainty what we did. We ventured to explore the condition of this trail back across the heights of paradise bay. And we did find it. And we did work our way down. Carefully. Yes, mother. Carefully... And down a conveniently placed for assistance down the most treacherous portion of rock and sand. I said, "don't trust this rope too much and don't trust the rocks either." "So we can't trust anything?" - Dallen said. "Exactly" - was my response.

We had arrived, "Peace", "Bliss". One of those moments in my life experience I hoped I would carry with me forever.

-Silas Dickie

Lagos

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.

Catching Up

Written in the Independente Hostel common room on May 22nd at 11 a.m.

A lot has happened since my last entry: "Clean Socks" - about our day for recharging on Sunday, May 18th. It's now Thursday morning and we are back at the same hostel we started at in Lisbon. Let me backtrack a little bit to get you readers up to speed.

Monday, May 19th, was our last full day in Porto. We got a late start in the morning because it was pouring down rain. The rest of the day was quite nice. As usual, we did a lot of waling. Porto, like Lisbon, is set up along coastal, hilly terrain, that slopes from the highest elevation, furthest away from the coast, all the way down to meet the waters edge. The historical center of Porto is around the mouth of the Rio Douro. dallen and I walked down there, snapped a few photos, and then walked across the river to the neighboring city, Vila Nova da Gaia. This is where the waterfront and small, steep, back-alleys are lined with big stone wine cellars. Our Polish friends had given us some coupons for free tours and wine tasting here. I don't drink, so Dallen was able to enjoy a double dose of the famous Port wine. It is strong, with between 19-22% alcohol content, and I also hear that it's very sweet. The wine tour was okay, it smell good in there, and was somewhat interesting to learn about the history and fermentation process. Our tour guide was Portuguese, but had a red hair. He was squirrly, and reminded me of the artist brother in the movie, Wedding Crashers, who invades Vince Vaughn's room. We ran into our English and Chinese friends at a cafe, where we each had a bowl of hot soup for about 1 euro each. The scenery from the water, looking out across to the big metal bridge, tower, various cathedrals, and colorful buildings made for some real sweet pictures and memories we'll cherish forever.

The next day we hopped a train back to Lisbon. Dallen and I sat in separate carriages (is that what you call them?). I know I got some good reading and meditation in. Dallen met me for some potato chips and a bite of chocolate in a vacant pair of seats in my carriage. He had started reading some of my Earnest Hemingway collection of short stories. And he mentioned how surreal, or prototypical it felt to be reading Hemingway on a train in Europe. I said, "enjoy the feeling". He couldn't have planned it that way - I think it's as authentic as ever. Near the end of our trip, I heard the conductor say the next stop was Lisbon, so I collected my things and got off the train. I didn't see Dallen on the platform, so I imagined he was spacing out and would miss our stop! I rushed back into his carriage and yelled, "yo dallen, let's move!" He grabbed his things and jumped off the train. The lady he was sitting next to poked her head out the windown and said, "actually, your stop is the next one in the city center. You can get a metro train to your destination from there". Without a word, we scrambled for the door, as the train started to pull away and we made a running jump back onto our train, and on to the correct platform. I felt a bit like a fool but got over it soon enough. I guess it's true what my grandfather always says: "A man who gets into a rush makes a fool out of himself."

Later that evening, we found ourselves in the middle of 10-12 women, from various parts of the world, cooking up a storm in the kitchen. I didn't even get to cook rice to go with our pot of beans! We had been down in the restaurant with a pair of English girls who were staying in our dorm room. the restaurant has this deep ledge with comfy pillows where we were able to lounge. We conversed and relaxed as the rain poured outside. it's been so easy to meet fellow travelers here. Dallen is adept at starting conversations with strangers. I'm more reserved and dislike a lot of what I perceive to be trivial, small talk.  But, I do appreciate it when Dallen puts in that work up front to spark something with interesting people. I liked talking to these Brazilian girls at the dinner table that night. In this case, I was the one who started the conversation. Neither spoke English very well. They were both studying abroad in Europe. Anyway, we've met a lot of cool people, but I've been craving any opportunity to practice my Portuguese.

This post is getting a bit long, so i'll have to sign off and tell you about our day trip to the Moorish Castle at Sintra next time. we took a 30 minute train ride out there yesterday, May 21st, with the English girls we met.

Now, Dallen and I have the hostel common room to ourselves. Actually, he's gone out I'm not sure where. And I'm still here typing up this post! Truth be told, earlier we were jamming our favorite tunes from the speakers and working on our stuff! A couple of hours ago we took a break from our work to have an espresso down the street. for once, I initiated some small talk with a pair of young ladies from Vancouver, Canada. They're on a 3 month tour of Europe in between semesters at school! So, it was fun to chat. We exchanged contact details and think it could be fun to get together later for drinks of dinner somewhere.

I'm ready to have some lunch and exercise. Tomorrow, we're headed down to Lagos for some beach time! We'll be running away from soccer madness in Lisbon. The Championship League Final is Saturday.

Peace!

Silas

Clean Socks

Written at a Winery in Vila Nova de Gaia on May 19th, 2014

Dallen  and I spent a really laid back day at the hostel on Sunday. We went to the grocery store to stock up on some food to last us the next couple days. At the hostel I put on some beans to soak and be ready to cook for dinner with onions, garlic, and spices later. We prepared a simple meal, basically toasted cheese sandwiches and spinach salad. Out of left-field came some grilled chicken breast, and later the best chocolate mousse for dessert. The hostel owner had his extended family over for an afternoon BBQ. We were just fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time!

Sunday was also laundry day. Except not in your typical, modern sense, with a washer and dryer. We had to do it like our ancestors used to do... in the sinks with liquid hand soap. It was a chore, for sure. We got them laid out or hung up to dry on the counter off to the side of the bathroom with some open windows overlooking the courtyard. The weather here has been cool and humid. So it took a while for our clothes to dry. the alternative was going to be 5 euros per load at the nearest laundromat. Dallen referenced how Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump always talked about the importance of always having clean socks! The irony is that he later ends up getting his legs blown off as a result of combat in the Vietnam War. I guess it didn't all pay off for Lieutenant Dan the way he had planned. But maybe that's not the point of wearing clean socks. Lieutenant Dan certainly made an impression on Forrest... and me! I don't know what challenges the future holds, win or lose, it's great to put on a clean pair of socks today!

So, yesterday, was just a really nice way to rest up and prepare ourselves for the week ahead. We cooked delicious rice and beans for dinner and shared it with some new friends from England, Northern Ireland, and Germany. I learned about the long, complicated history between Northern Ireland and Ireland.  It reminded me of the feud that Huckleberry Finn talks about in the end of his book. Remember? He says that the two families forgot what it was that got them fighting to begin with. They just knew that the other was bad and they needed to get back at them for the past offense they committed. The time with our new friends passed by so quickly. Before I knew it, it was already 11 p.m. and time for me to get some rest. We planned on spending the next day, our last full day, exploring more of Porto.

Casa da Musica

Written in a park in Porto - May 17th, 2014 @ 13:35

We are sitting in a terraced park overlooking the Rio Douro in Porto. Thereºs a nice wooden benched, covered in a layer of dirt brought in by the wind through the ages, and a green moss tyope of growth, in the comfortable shade of the big trees surround the grassy ledges. We've had a little snack and now we're talking about intelligent life on other planets. Apparently, Aden says that an earth-like planet has been found in another solar system, far, far away, and it has a 100-day cycle around it's red sun. It's enterntaining to think about all of the possibilities for other life in the Universe. My tiny glimpse on reality shows that, on Planet Earth, the birds are chirping, flowers are in bloom, and the sun is shining.

We don't know where we will go next. That's on a few different levels: after the park, after Porto, after Portugal and back into the stream of professional life. In the meantime, we're enjoying the slow pace of the river of time's flow. Last night we saw a couple jazz bands at the famous "Casa da Musica" - "House of Music". It's  a big place with lots of event halls. One of the bands was from Portugal and the other was from France. It was easy to get lost in the rythms, the musical patterns, how the instruments all blended together to support one another or stand out. One of the drummers put on a really frowny face at times which communicated the intensity he felt about the music, it was quite unsettling, somehow. I took some good photos and film footage, working my way around the room for different perspectives and trying out different settings on my camera for the right "look". After the show, we happened to strike up some casual conversation with the artists. Dallen and I bought their album and got them signed by the band. I'm looking forward to listening to their music when I'm back in Mozambique.

Written at the hostel - May 18th, 2014 @ 12:28

Now, it's a brand new day! I got about 9 hours of sleep last night, which was slightly unintentional. I would have liked to find a good church service, but alas... tiredness. It's a poor excuse. Dallen, I'm afraid, is at the opposite spectrum. He was out at bars and clubs until the sun came up. I hear that it was a good time. I did what was right for me, though, so no regrets. Today I feel good! I love spending time in the morning to get into my pocket New Testament and a companion book called Desiring God by John Piper. It's all about finding joy in God. And this morning I read that the way to give glory to God is to ask for help through prayer, acknowledging that He is the great Giver. So I've been receiving my mana from heaven this morning. Good stuff, I tell you!

Today is sure to be another beautiful day. I'm hoping that Dallen and I will be able to spend some time with some Polish girls who are staying at our hostel. They are going back to Warsaw tomorrow. I have no idea what we're going to get into, but I'm really up for anything!

Oh yeah, we've decided NOT to go into Madrid after all. We're going to stay here in Porto for another two nights and then make our way by train down to the Algarve, still in Portugal. We just don't want to be in a rush to find "greener pastures", when truth be told! It is so good here. We'll save some money and spend more time getting to know Portugal.

Sending love your way.

-Silas