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!
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