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Thursday, March 31, 2011

beautiful sunsets and one crazy man

You know those moments when you think… ok, where are the hidden cameras? Yesterday wasn’t too eventful, but I do need to recount the afternoon while it’s still fresh in my mind.

I’ve been doing a bit of “marketing” work for Tipi Valley this week, which means I've been walking into the village from camp every morning. The hour-ish journey is a surprisingly refreshing way to start the day, although I carry my ridiculously overstuffed backpack everywhere which can make it a little tiring. I have this desperate/prepared mentality since I never know when I'll be able to get in a good shower or where I'll be when the sun goes down and the temperature plummets, so I usually have a towel and fleece blanket strapped somewhere on my back... I'm sure it's quite a site. Yesterday I actually found a t-shirt of mine on the side of the road walking home. I have managed to start catching rides back in the afternoon. I don't think I can call it hitchhiking, because so far I have yet to actually stick my thumb up, it’s more like sympathetic foreigners (Dutch, English, so far no Portugeuse) pull over and ask me if I want a ride. That’s pretty passive hitchhiking, but I’ll take it.

Yesterday though, Laurie asked me if I wanted to ride out to this guy Mitch's “farm” to check out lumbar for tipi poles. It’s fun to see different areas of Aljezur, and especially since I’ve been walking everywhere, I jumped on the opportunity to go for a ride in the truck.

We stopped in the village to pick up this guy whose trees we were going to look at. I really wish I had a picture of this man because it’s so hard to capture him in words… Picture a backwoods drifter type.. He was British and everything that came out of his mouth seemed to be sandwiched by "bloody hell". I'm not sure when he had last bathed, but I put the truck window down when he got in. He was joined by another dude, mid-20s, similar state. not sure of his name but he had one front tooth so that will be the reference. One-tooth was also carrying a pot of food, the kind of pot you boil something in… but they were coming out of an internet café so I think he might have brought in a carry-in lunch?

Anyway, they hop in the seats behind me, watching out for the GNR (Guarda Nacional Republicana... aka the police) who they think are trailing us. I didn’t think we were speeding so when I asked why they were worried, I learned that it’s never good when the GNR are involved. There’s probably more to that, but fair enough.

After a few miles we pull onto a dirt road to Mitch’s place. At this point another van pulls up and this other guy they know hops in the bed of the pick-up. I'm a little nervous for this guy in the back as we continue into the woods because he walks with a crutch (I find out later he’s physically disabled from mercury poisoning and has come to stay with Mitch to fast in an attempt to rid his body of the toxins). Laurie’s also nervous because his surfboard is back there.

After we make it a ways into the woods, one-tooth and the guy on crutches take off on some trail for Mitch’s “camp”. I just caught a glimpse of the hut from the bottom of the hill where we were parked but it I didn’t get the sense it was any form of “glamping” (glamping = glamorous camping”) Mitch, Laurie (and his dog Sheesa) and I trekked through some more woods. This is when Mitch started to talk about why he was at the internet café earlier… he was checking the “world’s destruction calendar”, and proceeded to casually inform us of some specific dates when shit is going to go down. I think he said Australia and New Zealand won't exist by September of this year because of the poles reversing... you know, stuff like that. They went off to measure more future-tepee poles while I hung back… partly because I wasn’t prepared for bushwacking through prickers in my running shorts, but mostly because I needed some time to take it all in. I think that's when I looked around for the cameras.

Hah, oh man. I learned on the way drive home that my new friend Mitch is supposedly an ex-stock broker who “experimented” a bit too hard in the 80s, moved out to the woods where he now grows hallucinogenic cacti. Somehow, that cleared a lot up.



On a completely separate note, we caught a beautiful sunset tonight at Monte Clerigo!





Jodie and I are both leaving Tipi Valley on Monday. She’s headed to Peniche for a few days before heading back to the UK and I’ll be off to Lisbon for the next few weeks. We’re planning to catch an early bus to the coastal village of Lagos on Sunday for a touristy last-day in the Algarve. Should be a fun weekend!

Monday, March 28, 2011

holy shit, and a great canoe trip

Yesterday was one glorious, muddy adventure. Here is the evidence of me struggle to get out of a canoe.



This attractive photo below was taken after the feat of getting to shore, but before the preceding treck through an entire field of cow shit.



All in good spirits, of course… but our sense of accomplishment was slightly crushed after returning to Tipi Valley only to learn that we had no running water.


Starting from the beginning…

After some good food and wine at this cute café in Aljezur last night and some failed attempts at finding a taxi to get home (not too much going on in the village on Saturday nights), Jodie and I made the journey back to the valley on foot. In the pitch black, arms loaded with grocery bags, and a few glasses of wine in us…this takes about an hour. We headed to bed after our crazy night on the town, ready for the canoe trip we’ve been looking forward to all week.

The skies didn’t look too promising when we woke up this morning but we had to take advantage of our full day off. Laurie came down with a truck to help us get the canoe to the water. This involved off-roading through a cow field, which we then got stuck in before hauling it the rest of the way down to the river.



Rowing down the river took us maybe an hour and a half… and I think the best way I’ve ever arrived at the ocean.




We pulled the canoe across the beach and had some coffee at another café overlooking the water, enjoyed some lunch we had packed and spent the afternoon reading (and napping) on the sand…ah, Sunday.


On our canoe ride back, we pulled off so Jodie could collect some mussels.



The trip back up the river was a little more tiring but so peaceful. When we arrived back at the spot we had pulled out of, I jumped out to pull us on shore and quickly sank into this quick-sand like mud…laughing so hard at this point that I’m not sure how I managed to avoid a complete face plant. So now we’re so covered in mud that our flip flops won’t stay on feet, trying to make it through this field of cow shit, just dreaming of the shower that awaits us. But that would have made the night too boring.

After failed attempts at turning on the generator and trying pump more water, we resorted to boiling pots of water from the hose that fills the frog pond, and somehow bathing with that. I also forgot my one and only towel at Laurie’s yesterday, so needless to say, I've felt cleaner. But a good fire warmed us up and now it’s off to my humble abode for some mucho needed sleep… we changed the clocks last night… yay for an extra hour of beach time starting tomorrow!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

good ole rainy day


I woke up this morning (a 6:55 am internal alarm clock has yet to fail me since I’ve arrived here) to the sound of pouring rain. The gloominess outside didn’t make crawling out of my warm sleeping bag(s) too enticing, but nothing that hot oatmeal and coffee can’t fix. Good timing for a rainy day too, because Laurie had asked last night if I wanted to come down to the village in the morning and work on some marketing for Tipi Valley on his computer. 

It turns out that I can’t tolerate a cold shower long enough to actually reverse days of working in the gardens, painting, running at the beach, and trying to repair a bike (will get back to that), so I was also pretty excited to get in a legitimate shower at his apartment this morning. I trekked into town from the valley this morning… most of these walks between town, camp, and the beach are pretty eventful, with the exception of some pretty intimidating dogs. I’m walking along the side of the road and see two charging at me, their owner standing ahead of me on the roadside with his arms up, palms facing me. Hah, what the hell does that mean? I thought this sign was great though...

                                           

After dropping backpack off at Laurie’s place, I went off for a run through the village. Another plus of the cloudy, cool day… perfect running weather. I’ve been wanting to check out the Saturday morning farmer’s market in the “new” part of the village, so I made sure to tuck a few euro into my shorts and planned my route to finish at the market. I stocked up on some organic greens, which don’t seem to be available at the grocery store in town, and some clementines and peanuts (thinking I might try to make some peanut butter this weekend).  

Will write again soon about my plans for the next few weeks, after I leave Tipi Valley!


(hoping black and white pics capture the rainy-day-ness)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

fell in love at the seaside

ah, the kooks. love when the song playing on my ipod is so perfectly appropriate.

Hard to believe it’s already Thursday. The week seems to be flying by. Since my last post, not too much to update on work at Tipi Valley. The past few days I’ve spent painting, mostly the bamboo showers and wall by the yoga area. Some of the work has been more physically demanding, but overall I find it to be therapeutic, if that makes sense (that might be the paint fumes talking though). I’ve also got accustomed to taking a “tea break” halfway through the morning (the English girl Jodie drinks tea like I drink coffee… so it works out). Since we don’t have power in the kitchen, I’ve been making mine in a coffee percalator on the gas stove.

I usually stop work a little after noon to make us lunch. After the first day, that was the arrangement we agreed on, since I enjoy cooking and it’s actually easier for me to just make something I know I can eat (as a high maintenance vegan) and Laurie and Jodie seem happy with whatever I make so far.




On Wednesday afternoon Jodie and I walked down to Amorera beach, which is where the river meets the ocean. We didn’t catch the tide at the right time, so couldn’t cross the river, but hung out on this side…the views are breathtaking. She swam here for a bit and I had myself a little workout on this pier (you can’t complain about pushups when you’re looking out at this) and then went for a quick run. My hips have been feeling great, which is such a relief but my shins still aren’t great so trying not to overdo it (trying… but how can I resist this??)




Before walking back to the valley we had to stop for a coffee at this café, which sits alone atop this cliff. This picture makes me beyond happy…



Today I’m back in town trying to sort of my plans for the coming weeks. I’m not sure I’ll be staying at Tipi Valley the whole time I’m in Portugal. Jodie is headed to Peniche in a few weeks before heading back to the UK, and I’m thinking I might try to find somewhere around there to stay for a bit. I love what I’ve seen of the Algarve region but it would be fun to explore a different area, especially Lisbon. 

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

I could use a helmet

It’s Monday night and I’m sitting in the Moroccan lounge, which is now pretty much fully furnished and decorated... pretty luxurious if i do say so. We obviously don’t get internet down here, I’m posting this Tuesday afternoon from town.
It’s nice to be settled in down here, but I have been a little homesick last night and today… hoping it will pass as I get into a bit more of a routine. Last night I left the village a little too late and by the time I went to grab the bike at Laurie’s to head back to camp it was pitch black. Luckily I happened to have my headlamp in my backpack it was still a little tricky getting back because there aren’t streetlights and the road back is basically all up-hill and full of hairpin turns. Once I got on the road that Tipi Valley is on, I had to keep turning my headlamp from the road in front of me to the side because the long dirt road down to the valley is hard to find in the dark. Drivers are pretty crazy here too. I´m not sure there´s a speed limit and red lights seem pretty optional.
When I finally got down here, Jodie was in the kitchen bundled up reading so we made some tea and talked for a while before heading to our separate tents. Here’s mine below…



I was worried about staying warm during the night, especially since both my sweatshirts hadn’t dried outside yet but it turns out sleeping in 2 sleeping bags with about 7 other blankets wrapped around your body keeps you pretty toasty. Who knew?





This morning, Laurie didn’t being the other Thai guys that have been working so it was just the three of us. I worked mostly in the gardens, planting some lettuce, zucchini, and cucumbers. I hope I´m here long enough to see some of the fruit trees blossom. I saw a tiny peach today but the apricot trees are definitely my favorite. I´ll try to get a picture of one.

We didn’t start until 10 this morning so I worked until about 3, took a refreshing shower (a picture of our bamboo and cork tree outdoor shower below) before biking back to village. I’ve been trying to call home with this calling card I bought at JFK but turns out it doesn’t work in Portugal (many thanks to my new Portuguese taxi driver friend who helped me figure that out after witnessing my struggle at the payphone). I was able to find one at another shop in the village and finally spoke to my mom : )
When I got down to the valley, Jodie had made a fire but we decided to hang out in here. For dinner I had a weird combination (“weird” being a relative term for my eating habits, I suppose) of the food I’ve been traveling with and what we have here at camp. Tonight’s delicacy consisted of some zucchini, avocado, and cashews, a blueberry smoothie from the natural food store in town (with some of my brown rice protein powder added in) and of course, some chocolate. Not bad. And a meal just seems a little more badass when prepared with a headlamp.

Wrapping up for now. We´re going to explore another beach this week and hopefully on Saturday, will be taking our canoes down a river to the ocean!

Side note: I already found a prime spot for my TRX,  hanging from a cork tree. This is the yoga area when guests arrive in May.  I´ll have to take some moer pictures of the cork trees that fill the valley - they are beautiful!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

First night in the valley -eve

Today was my first day off of work. It´s strange but I don´t really have any sense of days and time here...partially because I don´t have my phone with me but also because I really just work between breakfast and lunch, go out to the beach or exploring the village until the sun goes down and it gets too cold to be outside (which is a lot colder than I expected) and go to bed when it´s dark...which usually means reading with my headlamp because I have a hard time going to sleep too early. Monday through Saturday are pretty much the same schedule, and then I have Sunday off... so today was the first day without any real structure.

We slept in till 9 or so and then I got a ride down to the beach Laurie, who was spending his day off surfing. I went for a run on this dirt road that follows the cliffs pictured in my last post and met up with Jodie for some lunch at a cafe by the water. I´m trying to spend as little as possible on food, but it´s been tough sort of living between the camp and the village as far as meals go (also given how often I´m used to eating). Luckily food is pretty cheap... I just bought an avocado, 2 oranges, a bag of figs, and a mango at the corner store across from where I´m writing now for just 3 euro. But it will be much easier once I´m actually sleeping down in the valley and using the kitchen there... which starts...tonight!

We moved my stuff out of Laurie´s when we got back from the beach this afternoon. It´s a little overwhelming to move down there because the other volunteer is only staying for another 2 weeks, and after that I´m not sure if anyone else will be coming. The guests don´t arrive until May 1, and I would really like to stay here long enough to be part of that, but I also don´t want to be sleeping in a tent in the middle of a secluded valley by myself. Worse case, I can try to find somewhere else to volunteer at, but we´ll see what happens.

I have to walk back to the apartment now and get a bike so I can ride to the valley before it´s too dark. Definitely feeling the effects of a full day in the sun right now. A good shower would feel pretty amazing, but once the sun goes down, an ice cold shower outside kind of loses appeal. I´ll have to do a better job strategizing shower time after a run.

Wish me luck on my first night outside!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Is this real life?

Today was my second full day in Portugal, and my first day of work at Tipi Valley. The land here is absolutely beautiful, and hopefully these pictures can do more justice than the 1000 words I’ll still end up writing. So here goes…

After my stop at the café I was writing from yesterday (where I’m also sitting right now, sipping an espresso and eating a…mango, what else) I walked around the village a little more before heading back to Laurie’s to make some lunch. Here's what a look at his apartment from inside...






Laurie arrived back shortly after that to drop off Jodi (the other volunteer) and asked if I wanted to go with him to check out the camp. So the three of us (Laurie, myself, and his dog Sheesa who rides in the front of the pickup truck, preferably on my lap) made the 5 minute or so drive down to the valley. It was really exciting to see the camp… He gave me a tour of the gardens and Moroccan lounge, and talked a little about what Jodi and I would be doing in the next few days. I can’t wait for the vegetable gardens and fruit trees to be ready… So far only lemons are ready to pick, but there are tangerines, oranges, peaches, figs, olives. We picked some fresh mint and he had me taste some growing peppercorn. I’ll have some pictures up of the camp soon. I’ll be moving down there in a few days so will have plenty of time to explore the area.

We hung out for a while before driving a guy home whose been doing some landscape work there. He’s from Thailand and doesn’t speak a word of English… but sometimes we smile at each other, hah! Laurie had got a call from a friend who was trying to get rid of some trailers on his property so we stopped to check them out on our way home. This Englishman, who was working to get his house ready to sell told us all about coming to Portugal years ago with his wife on somewhat of a bohemian-surfing voyage. Four kids later though, they were headed back to Wales for good. He gave us a tour of the quant and secluded house, which he hopes he’ll be able to rent out for the season to some travelers chasing the area’s renowned surf. Laurie and I headed home, after stopping for a glass of wine in the village. Jodi was out with some friends who were visiting nearby, so I made dinner for us. I’m not sure if he just really appreciated having someone cook or if he actually loves tofu and veggies, but dinner was well-received. We pretty much go to bed soon after dinner, as there’s not much light inside but my body’s still not adjusted to the time so was up pretty late reading, headlamp style.

Today was the first day of actual work. We were up and out by 7:30ish and working by 8. I also found out this morning that I only work until 1pm (6 days/week and then off on Sundays), which was kind of amazing because I assumed it would be a full day. Jodi and I were in the kitchen the whole day cleaning. Here’s a picture below… This is the “before” shot, so I’ll try to get an “after” one up within the next few days.




Jodi and I walked back to Laurie’s in the early afternoon. Here's a view from the road home...



This is the view looking back from Laurie's apartment...


I made a quick lunch and headed out for some exploring. There’s a bike here he said I could use whenever, which is great for exploring and also to get some exercise, considering I can still only run short distances. I still hadn’t been down to the ocean yet, which is about 10 or so minutes from the valley. By far the hilliest course I’ve ever rode, but I love me some downhills. It is a little scary though because the cars here fly but the roads aren’t busy so you can see them coming in plenty of time.
The views from the cliffs are absolutely breathtaking. The only people I came across from these spots were a few fishermen… I’m sure it’ll be busier during peak season, but it’s incredibly peaceful the way it is right now.


 













Later in the evening, Jodi and I went to check out a hostel in the village we had heard has wireless internet. Not sure how often I’ll be in the village once I move down to the camp, but it’s a good place to skype and catch up with messages. Before coming to this café, I picked up a few things at the natural food store. It’s tricky trying to read ingredients in Portuguese but I’ll do what it takes to get my chocolate fix.
           
Starting to get chilly right now and I’m still sitting outside, so heading back to the apartment for some dinner. Once the sun goes down, the temperature drops pretty drastically…incentive to be in my sleeping bag early. Goodnight! 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Here!

Arrived safe in Aljezur last night! A long night, day, and another night of travel but wasn´t too tired having slept a few hours here and there during flights and bus rides. The owner of Tipi Valley, Laurie, picked me up last night, along with another girl from London who has been working at a similar camp a bit inland for a few weeks. We stopped for a late dinner in the village where Laurie lives. Wine here is 85 cents a glass... just saying. We slept at his house (where we will be for the next few nights until the camp is ready for the other volunteer and I to move down to). The village is small but pretty amazing..hilly, .narrow stone streets and little cafes (I´m at one now that has internet access from a computer outside). There´s even a little natural food store across the street from this cafe. The weather is gorgeous and he told me to sleep in this morning and just relax and explore today. When I did wake up, they were already gone but there was a fresh pot of coffee and a hot pot of this delicious apple pear oats dish he left for breakfast. So basically, I love today.

Laurie showed me this old fort at the highest point in the village from the truck last night so I´m going to see if I can find my way up there right now. I´ll try to get some pictures on here soon...

Monday, March 14, 2011

And I'm off...

Holy shit, I'm going to Portugal today. I'm in Boston right now (pretending the airport Starbucks is Uncommon), catching a flight soon to JFK. I fly out at 10 pm tonight, land in Madrid in the morning, where I have a brief layover before the final connection to Lisbon. I'll have a few hours in Lisbon before I hop on a bus for the 4 hour ride to Aljezur. The bus doesn't leave until early evening, so I'll have some downtime (probably a good thing given that I just realized the bus doesn't leave right from the airport so I'll probably have to catch a cab to wherever it is I am leaving from). The plan right now is to get picked up from the bus stop in Aljezur late Tuesday night (insert crossed fingers here).

Very excited! But a little bit nervous. The only reason I know I'm nervous is because it's almost 4pm and I've only had 3 meals today. I'm sure that won't last. I was just saying to my mom this weekend that I've never understood the appeal of drinking before getting on a plane, but I think I get it now.

Time to grab a coffee and let google translator transform me into a fluent Portuguese speaker.  If I can get online in Lisbon, I'll have some time to get back on here.

And thanks for a great weekend at home... will miss you Mom and Dad!

Friday, March 4, 2011


Next week, I'll be jumping the pond to embark on a WWOOF-ing adventure in the western Algarve of Southern Portugal. 

WWOOF, or World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, is  global exchange program, in which hosts provide volunteers food, accommodation, and opportunites to learn about organic lifestyles in return for their work. These opportunities aren't limited to organic farms, though. Included in the international network of hosts are hostels, sustainable-living communities, eco-retreats, restaurants, B&Bs, yoga centers, etc. 

I've known about WWOOF-ing for quite a while. I always thought it seemed like such an incredible adventure. What better way to travel, meet new people, experience a different culture, and perhaps most enticing ... immerse myself in an environmentally-sound, socially-conscious lifestyle, a lifestyle grounded on the very ideals I find myself committed to learning from and working towards every day, both personally and professionally. 

I've realized, especially over the past year, that there is never a better time than the present to leap into something you are most passionate about. I've been fortunate enough to have some some strange and unexpected reminders of that. 

So my WWOOF search began with a few criteria in mind. Although I wasn't opposed to straight-up farm work, I focused my search on an even more holistic vision of sustainability. This was a vision that embraced environmental conservation, social change, and an active, organic lifestyle. Enter.... Tipi Valley



Tipi Valley is a surf and yoga eco-retreat. The camp is situated in a secluded natural valley amongst 16 acres of native cork trees at a short distance away from several surf beaches. It doesn't look too shabby... 

  


I'll have more to post soon regarding the site itself and the nature of the actual work I'll be doing to help get the camp up and running, but in the meantime, check out the link above to learn more about Tipi Valley, or watch this short video (which offers some further insight into Tipi Valley's "simple living" philosophy and conservation endeavors). I'll   have limited access to internet while there, as the camp itself runs on solar polar, but I'll do my best to keep up with this blog by traveling into some of the local townsIt's my attempt at capturing and documenting this adventurous window in time for myself, as well as communicating and sharing my experience with friends and family. 

Thanks for reading : )