photography

Foz by the Sea

| Mairead

(See the house out on the edge of the cliff?)

We’re still in the place near the sea with the funny name – Foz. We’ve had our walk, I’m considering starting the couch to 5km running program again but I think it’s only because Denis is catching up on my walking steps. I might be more competitive than I realise. I’m no longer winning at the steps app and I seem to be putting a bit too much effort into thinking up a new strategy. Running might just be it. He doesn’t like running. I could win at running. I might well be losing my mind here in the Spanish rain.

(Close-up of some Lovely Lichen)

I can see a teeny tiny bit of blue sky so all will be well. In fact it was lovely and sunny this morning, only 7 degrees and a wind from the north or whichever direction the cold one comes from but still, the sun was nice.

(View of the mountains on our way here)

It’s something I don’t do enough of, look at the sky I mean. I was talking to my friend who doesn’t love reading. I, on the other hand, do love reading. I read all the time, even during meals if I can get away with it.

(Lots of cloud happenings)

She does something different in the times when I would be reading. So she was describing sitting in a deck chair with a cup of tea and a blanket around her shoulders looking at the clouds in the sky. And not just the clouds, she notices the birds, the trees waving in the breeze, the sounds, the smells and even the plants growing as she watches. Ok so she can’t see the plants growing but they do grow ever so slowly regardless.

(Big sky over the village with the narrow lanes)

Sometimes when she’s at work she finds herself thinking about nature carrying on with its work and it makes her feel good and at the same time long to be back outside just being in it. I was mesmerised.

(A few lovely clouds over Mont Saint Michel)

While we are away I spend far more time outside than I do while at home. It’s just the way it works out. I walk because I don’t have a car. I sit outside because our inside space is so small. And yet I don’t really see what’s right in front of my eyes. It’s like I’m so immersed in it I can’t see it. The practice of noticing nature seems so simple and so meditative and a perfect antidote to the competitive behaviour I seem to be practicing instead at the moment! When the rain stops I’m going outside (with my blanket) to just notice. Until then I can notice through the window.

Communing with nature, Mairead.

Nice cow

| Mairead

(Isn’t she adorable? All the cows have horns here. She seemed very friendly. The sound of her bell kept us company all day)

We are continuing our journey along northern Spain… slowly. We’ve reduced the driving time to an hour so Denis can work as normal. And we are zig zagging across the motorway (not as dangerous as it sounds) to spend a night near the sea followed by a night in the hills.

(There was an old graveyard near our stop with these pretty flowers just growing wild)

So last night was near the sea. 1.5km from the sea to be exact. We took down the bikes at 5pm and it was a lovely, mainly downhill, ride to the cliffs. Of course when it’s downhill on the way out it’s always uphill on the way back but we managed. We kept ourselves going by remembering the fitness goal might be getting closer.

(Beautiful view at the end of a short bicycle ride)

One of the new routines I started at New Year was drinking celery juice on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. I was very attracted to its benefits. It’s a bit of a palaver washing the stalks, chopping them, mashing them in the blender and then straining the mush through a sieve bag but any habit gets easier if you keep going. I checked with Denis before we left that the solar power battery would be up to the job of running the blender and he answered in the affirmative. We’ve been married long enough for me to realise that yes definitely doesn’t always mean yes definitely to the question you just asked. In this case it meant yes definitely that might work…

(Doesn’t that look like a face on the cliff?)

Now we’re here and I have a blender taking up space in the cupboard and three bunches of celery (from Spain via Tesco Greystones…) taking up space in the fridge with no way of bringing the two together to make juice. I’m lying, whenever we are hooked up to external electricity I can run the blender. This morning we were hooked up and I washed, chopped and began to blend. That’s when I realised how loud a blender is and how thin our walls are and how many people were sleeping around us in their thin walled vans. Maybe it was just about bringing the celery home.

To Spain, I mean. Mairead.

(There we are just west of Santander in a town called Cóbreces. €12 got us parking, electricity, WiFi, toilet and shower)

Scary Story by the Lake

| Mairead

2018 3

(Our spot beside the lake at Macedo de Cavaleiros)

On Sunday we parked beside a lake. People arrived and left all day to go for walks or just to have a look. They brought children, dogs or cameras. Some just got out long enough to smoke a cigarette. Then there was one guy on a bicycle with panniers full of camping gear. He rode around the car park first while taking a video with his phone. Quite impressive, to be able to manage riding the bike and videoing his surroundings. He headed off in the direction of the forest path past the cork trees. I wondered why he was taking a video.

2018 5

(Cork tree near the lake. The number 7 indicates the cork was last harvested in 2007)

The constant flow of people visiting stopped as the sun set and it was just us. So peaceful and quiet… I began to worry. A thought struck me… maybe the guy on the bike was videoing his route in case he disappeared under suspicious circumstances. This was a deserted lake. This is the kind of place scary movies are made. Maybe we should be videoing too? No one knows exactly where we are…

2018 6

(Path is flooded. There was a lot of rain in Portugal this year)

Imagination is a great thing but not that useful to me at a deserted lake. Unless I want to write a scary story… Do I want to write a scary story? Well I do seem to have plenty of material, there’s a deserted lake, a forest, a cyclist, the dark. Just one problem. Unfortunately I take scary stories very personally. I get into the story and the story gets into me and before I know it I think it’s real.

2018 2

(In summer the lake is used for swimming and water sports)

It would be so much fun to imagine a lovely story and think it was real. One where the cyclist is a future famous filmmaker who travels all over the world filming his journey. One night in the future we are watching a documentary called, The camping experience that changed everything and we are astonished to see ourselves peeping out the window of Ruby in the car park at Macedo de Cavaleiros! We contact the cyclist/filmmaker and he tells us the amazing thing that happened that night in the forest by the lake in the dark.

Amazing. Mairead.

Blue Skies and Craft Tables

| Mairead

2018 1

(Free motorhome parking beside the fishing boat harbour)

Yesterday was sunny and warm. We stayed at a fishing harbour. Even from the pictures I think you can see how it’s so different from the previous days. That’s another thing about Portugal, the variety. Each day can be different just by moving. Yesterday it was blue and green.

2018 3

(Little beach beside the motorhome parking)

I spent the whole day crafting. Even though there was a cycle path. Even though there was a town less than a kilometre away. Even though I could have written a blog. All because there was a picnic table… I mean, there was a craft table right beside our spot. Although it was warm and sunny, there was a breeze coming from the water so I was all bundled up but it was still fun. And it must have looked like fun because people kept coming up to me to ask what I was doing.

2018 4

(I’m not wearing the hairband to be fashionable… the wind was hurting my ears. Look at all the other craft tables!)

It’s hard to describe what I’m doing. Even in English. I’m playing? I’m working? I’m making cards of encouragement for others or for myself? I’m feeding some part of me that likes that kind of thing? The next time Linda and I run Mindcraftie (probably July) I’ll be making these cards. So if you want to come and watch me make or if you want to come and play or if you want to feed that part of you too, I’d love to see you there. I’ll remind you closer to the time but in the meantime if you want to see crafty stuff on your facebook feed click here and like us.

2018 1 1

(You’re a little treasure)

We’re still moving slowly out of Portugal through places we’ve never been before and seriously thirty kilometres or so the scenery changes and it all looks so different, the variety constantly surprising. As we leave we are soaking up every last sight, feel, taste, smell and sound of this country before it becomes just a memory.

A lovely memory. Mairead.

Sorry we’re late…

| Mairead

2018 4

(There’s Denis with the rusty canons at Sagres Fort)

It’s different on the way back. We’re on our way back. We have been passing places we stayed in on the way out to this edge of Europe and now it’s different. On the way out at every parking spot it seemed like anything was possible. Stay for the night? Stay for a month? Come back again? Put off that tour, sure won’t we be back this way? It seems like the only restrictions were electricity, water and permission to stay.

2018 3

(More flora from the fort)

On the way back there’s another restriction. Time. Time moves more slowly in Portugal and not just for us. If we had places to go and people to meet then we might be frustrated by the laid back approach here. We might be… but we are not because we had neither places to go nor people to meet. That is changing. Fortunately for us it is changing slowly.

2018 8

(That’s the sound art, from yesterday’s post, to the right of the fencing)

Now we have places to go and people to meet. We have a ferry to catch and on the way we are meeting good friends. They will put up with us if we are late or if we just want to sit and stare at the sea or if we have nothing to say. They will give us electricity and a parking space and hot showers and if things work out like last time they will even feed us beautiful French food.

2018 5

(The view towards the east from Sagres Fort)

Hopefully by the time we reach Ireland we will know again how to be at a specific place at a specific time. Hopefully, we will successfully bring the car for it’s NCT while remembering that it needs a new battery before we can even get it out of the driveway. Hopefully, we will increase our trips to the washing machine and to the shower to allow more sweet-smelling encounters. I think we’re nearly ready but forgive us if we’re not.

2018 11

(Sunset looking at the lighthouse from Sagres)

We buy flexi tickets for the ferry each year, they allow us to move our booking if we need to. For things like snow and ice on the way out in February to staying longer on the way back. We’ve never used them but it seems this will be the year of flexibility so we changed our tickets. We even got a refund… of €5! But we’re not staying longer, we’re coming back sooner.

2018 9

(A single wild poppy at the castle in Silves)

While we were away the date for the Repeal the 8th Amendment Referendum was set and it turned out to be the day before we were due back. So we would miss it. That played on my mind. I have never considered myself political. I voted because I had the vote and my vote was hard-won for me by women who were long dead. But I never thought my vote made a difference… until the Marriage Equality Referendum. That’s when I realised, it’s not just the vote that makes a difference, it’s how the question, of which way I will vote, makes me different. It makes me reflect, which I love to do anyway but usually I reflect on myself! Why I’m here, what something means, how will I do this or solve that… But the reflection related to voting makes me think about others. I think it teaches me compassion and that’s what being political means to me.

See you soon… but I’ll probably be late. Mairead.

To the end of the land and back…

| Mairead

2018 1

(View from the car park)

We’re on our way back… we went to the edge of Europe and turned around. The edge was very lovely. It was hot and yet a slight breeze kept us cool. The edge is at an old defence fort near the town of Sagres. No military there now just flora and fauna and some rusty cannons and… a wall, of course.

2018 1 1

(Can you see Sagres? The little toe below it is the fort. And to the west at the end of the N268 is Cabo de São Vicente and the lighthouse)

But really Sagres isn’t the edge edge there’s another little peninsula of land jutting out further west, called Cabo de São Vicente but they have no wall (they do have a little wall but it doesn’t following any of my guidelines for wall building…) and the car park has potholes (we are being very gentle with Ruby since the operation…) they do have a lighthouse though. Anyway, the fort at Sagres has loads of interesting things to see… for one, fearless fishermen. They stand on the edge of the cliff that runs around the inside of the fort, leaning over the edge to… well, I don’t know why they were leaning over. Why do fishermen lean over very dangerous cliffs?

2018 10

(A fearless fisherman)

There wasn’t just one fearless fisherman, but I stopped taking pictures of them because although I could see the steep drop, the pictures don’t show it. Plus I didn’t want to catch them off guard, one false step…

2018 6

(Another fearless fisherman)

There were also fearless tourists. They had to climb over a fence with a very descriptive warning poster to get into position.

2018 9

(Can you see the fearless tourists? And the drop to the sea? Via pointy rocks?)

There was also a piece of art, sound art… I don’t mean it was sound (although it was) but it was a place to hear (and feel) the ocean in the middle of the land. Isn’t that creative? So, there are naturally occurring chambers (caves, I suppose) leading from the sea up to the middle of the peninsula and as the waves come in, sea water is blown up through the caves. They built a kind of maze but not the kind you get lost in, the kind you walk around in until you get to the center. Where there was a grid platform you can stand on… and wait. Then suddenly there’s a huge gust of wind up through the grid and you can hear the water roaring. It is so surprising. It was like being a child again seeing a funny magic trick… but I could see nothing. Very sound and all the feels.

2018 2

(Here’s some of the flora. Doesn’t it look like paper that’s been cut with a pinking shears?)

We parked in the fort’s car park that night and saw the sun set over by the unwalled lighthouse in the distance at the edge edge of Europe. So that’s it, we can’t go any further. It’s time to head north and home. There’s still lots of time until we board the ferry at Cherbourg and I have to be very careful not to miss this last bit. Missing something when it’s right in front of you is a bit of a pity. Oh and we’re actually coming back early too but I’ll tell you about that tomorrow.

From the middle of a thunder-storm in Portugal, Mairead.

Uncomprehensive Guide to Castle Walls

| Mairead

2018 5

(View of the town of Silves from inside the castle wall)

I realised I didn’t show you pictures of the castle walls or even the town walls around Silves. Probably because I was talking about the hidden things, like the well and mosaics. Castle walls are a little harder to hide and why would you want to hide them anyway? Castle and town walls are by definition supposed to be seen. You really want the marauding enemy to think, Oh look at the size of those stone walls, we’ll never get in there, let’s go to the next town!

2018 1

(The entrance to the castle with huge statue)

Or in modern times you want the tourists to think, Oh look at those amazing stone walls, let’s go have a look! Walls give the best value for money when they can be seen. The colour of your wall is key too. You don’t want to look like all the other town walls but as stone is very heavy it’s probably best to choose it from your local area, that cuts down on delivery costs. I just hope it’s a good colour. 

2018 9

(Inside the castle walls)

The positioning of your walls is very important. The absolute best place to site your wall is on top of a hill. If your chosen hill is a bit high and you don’t want excessive gusts of wind you could build your wall into the hill and use the hill as a natural defence. This would have the advantage of also looking very attractive to the tourists.

2018 13

(Deep foundations of the old town walls. Can you see the arch up top for a gateway?)

Of course you will also need to have deep foundations. These will not be seen (unless things go very badly for your wall… ) but everyone will know they are down there under the earth keeping everything in place. Let us not forget gates. Without them no one can get in. I know what you’re thinking – keep everyone out – well yes, but… you will starve.

2018 12

(Can you see these foundations? There were palatial houses within the castle walls)

Finally, if possible please add some toilets. Each monument I have visited in Portugal has excellent toilets, I am so grateful. You don’t know for sure what future visitors to your wall will need… except for toilets, they will definitely need toilets. Not too visible is best but err on the side of easy to find, if you are unsure.

Have I forgotten anything? Mairead.

May Day! May Day!

| Mairead

2018 1

(Here’s me in happier times… at my favourite breakfast place in the town with the house of the oranges, having my favourite breakfast)

We’ve moved on! We are not at the house of the oranges, we are in Ruby! So, the clutch is fixed. We arrived at 5pm on Monday to pick her up, Denis went for a test drive and all was great. Then he went in to pay… This might be useful information for you some day… the garage doesn’t take credit cards. Nope. What were we thinking? We were thinking, how else would you pay such a huge amount? The answer is: In cash…

2018 6

(Most, maybe 98%, of the houses are painted white… here’s the rebel)

We went to the bank to get out the cash. The bank was closed. The bank closed at 3pm. Never mind, there’s an atm. You can’t take that much money out, there’s a daily limit on bank cards. Never mind, we’ll ring the bank, get that raised. Yes they can raise it but… only after midnight, come back in the morning… Nooooo! We looked at each other… now what? We rang the Swiss doctor. Remember him from the day we broke down? He said ring anytime we needed help. We needed help.

2018 1 1

(We have a translations app (above) and this is how we were going to explain to the mechanic that we didn’t have the money. Do you remember the Popeye cartoon in the 70’s where one of the characters says, I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today?)

He didn’t know what to do either. We went back to the garage. On the way we extended our stay at the house of the oranges… again. We didn’t really know how to explain to the mechanic that we didn’t have the money. We had both started to say, Problem! when a man came up to us and said, it’s ok I’m here. Do you remember the Dutch man who just happened to be in the garage the previous Monday and translated for us? Well, he happened to be at the garage this Monday to arrange a chat with the boss mechanic about selling his car! He translated that we didn’t have the money but we would be able to get it tomorrow. Then the mechanic said something… It didn’t look like, that’s great! It looked like, that’s terrible!

2018 2

(Helpful poster in one of our favourite restaurants in the town)

It was terrible, because the next day was the 1st of May – a holiday in Portugal. The garage would be closed. The banks would be closed. Most business in the town would be closed. We would have to wait two more days. Another extension at the house with the oranges… But no, it’s ok, our Dutch translating angel told us he was hoping to meet the boss mechanic for a quick chat the next day and maybe he could arrange for us to bring the money then. He took our number and said he would ring later when he knew. We went to sit in the square. He rang, yes we could meet the boss next day at 10am!

2018 3

(Saw these olives on an olive plant (remember plant not tree!) on the road near the school)

I did not sleep. At 9am we arrived at the atm. Everything was going to be fine…right? Not yet. Our limit had been raised, we started taking out the bundles of cash and then we reached the atm’s limit per card. There’s an atm limit per card… (I hope you’re taking notes.) We still didn’t have enough money. We found another cash machine… it was out-of-order. We did that look again, the one where hope ebbs away. We rang the bank again. Ok, if we buy something using a card at a shop it will reset it. We bought a box of After Eight (I found them very useful later) at the only shop open in the town. The After Eights didn’t reset the card.  We wandered around the town for another twenty minutes looking for another atm… Then we realised we could get cash out on our credit cards… We had two credit cards, we started withdrawing money. (FYI: There’s a card limit on those too.)

2018 5

(One of our favourite tapas dishes last week)

We sat on the footpath outside the bank counting the bundles of notes. (It was a lot of notes – the atm’s in Portugal only handle €20 and €10 notes…no €50 notes.) We finally had enough cash. We set off for the garage. The boss mechanic was there, we handed him the notes and he handed us the keys. We said goodbye to out translating angel and we drove back to the house of the oranges one last time to load up our stuff.

I might have cried on the phone to the lovely lady called Leanne from the Revenue help line later that day but that’s another story. Mairead.

One stitch after another…

| Mairead

2018 1

(This is an old Roman road at the entrance to the olive farm)

Still here at the house with the oranges, in the town with the olive farm, waiting for Ruby to recover. The mechanic has started holding his head in his hands when he sees us… no translation necessary. It seems there’s still a problem. My mother reminded me that this is when I do craft stuff. I left the crafting stuff in the van.

2018 2

(Yummy yarn)

Then I remembered I had two balls of yarn and there was probably a crochet needle in my pencil-case. When I searched I found the laundry bag. Oh yes, the washing… thinking there would be a washing machine I carried our laundry the twenty-minute walk to the house with the oranges. There was no washing machine. First I hand washed the clothes, then I started crocheting.

2018 3

(It says Camel Wool…)

On the first day we arrived in this town we saw a shop with a sign offering accommodation. The lady explained the rooms were a bit far outside the town unless you had transport and we didn’t. As we chatted my eyes wandered to a colourful display – yarn. I realised she sold yarn. She had wool and cotton and a camel wool mix! Camel wool? Really? Anyway. Beautiful colours. Irresistible. I wanted one ball of every colour – just to look at. I bought two balls.

2018 4

(Granny square)

Crochet is very forgiving. Well at least it is the way I do it. My sister-in-law, Kate, taught me that you can join odd unmatched pieces of crochet work together like a patchwork quilt. So that’s what I have been doing ever since. Before that I was stockpiling squares, hiding them in cupboards, finding them when I was looking for something else. Taking them out to marvel at their colour, their texture, their comfort. Wondering how I could have forgotten them. The first one I pieced together made me laugh and cry, it was so surprisingly lovely.

2018 5

(Looks way bigger close up)

I kept crocheting over the weekend. I have no crochet books with me but I know one pattern off by heart, so that’s the one I’m doing. It’s called granny square and it starts with six stitches which are joined together to make a circle. By the third row it starts to look like a square and the square gets bigger as you continue. You can keep going until you run out of wool… or you decide this piece is done. I decide a piece is done when the work in my hand feels big enough, which is different each time. When it’s done you have to close it off so the yarn doesn’t unravel. The piece is actually finished when the yarn is cut. There is a moment when I realise something has been accomplished. Sometimes I notice this moment and sometimes I don’t but when I do it brings a feeling of contentment. Imagine if contentment was so simply attainable.

What if it is? Mairead.