Scribbles Abroad

It was hard to say good-bye to South Africa but the surf season was winding down and we had spent almost 4 months exploring the country and its neighbors.   It was defiantly time to move on to our next destination, Portugal.

Some time during our trip Kahi got an offer through one of his credit cards to sign up for a Priority Pass.  This pass gives us access to many of the lounges in airports all around the world.  Since we’ve been spending a lot of time in airports lately it’s been a wonderful investment.  Access to these lounges have not only increased our comfort level but have made a big difference in our view of airports all together.  8 hour layover, no problem.  Flight delayed, no biggie.  These lounges are usually equipped with internet, showers, offer a variety of snacks ranging from cheese and crackers to prosciutto sandwiches, and best of all a fully stocked open bar.  After lugging our surfboards and other bags to the airport and going through the dreaded check in process it’s so nice to have a place to unwind.  I do have to admit that we almost missed one of our fights because we were a little too comfortable.

This is what happens when you have one too many free beers from the lounge

Our original plan was to spend around three months in Europe traveling through France, Spain, and Portugal.  Lets face it, Europe is expensive and we were in a little bit of a time crunch (Noel, Kahi’s sister, is getting married)  so we decided to skip France and Spain.  Save it for later in our lives when we have more money.

Couldn’t skip Portugal though, we were looking forward to meeting up with our friend, Rui or as we like to now call him, BRUI.  While Kahi and I were in the Philippines surfing Cloud 9, Rui was our neighbor at the surf camp .  After mentioning to him that we were headed to Portugal he invited us to stay with him.  It was such a great opportunity that we couldn’t pass up the offer.

Rui, Kahi, and I having a few drinks in the Philippines

When arriving at the airport it can be difficult to figure out what the best way is to get into the city or to our accommodation.  Each country is different.  Some have subways that pick you up right from the airport, but some times you need to catch a bus somewhere then take a train, other times you need ride a shuttle into town or hire a taxi.  It’s usually a little confusing and can be stressful especially if you don’t speak their language and are carrying surfboards.  Rui made this very easy for us.  He told us which bus to catch and which train to transfer to, then picked us up right from the train station.

The bus stop at the airport and the Lisbon train station

A sick mural at the Coimbra train station

Rui lives in a small farm town just outside the city Coimbra.  It was nice to catch up with him and to get the opportunity to experience real Portugal with him .  Having a local show you around is the best way to experience a country.  They know best.

The breakfast feast Rui prepared for us almost every morning 🙂
Rui took us on a tour of his local surf breaks.  Some of them weren’t working but it was still awesome to check out the spots.  We surfed a break that they called the J-bay of Portugal.  At the moment it wasn’t working like J-Bay but we could see how it could with the right conditions.  Another spot was next to a jetty with a strong current and huge dredging barrels.  It looked like a board breaker to me so I went for a jog along the beach.  The nice board walk ended and I ran down by the water.  Didn’t know it was a nude beach and saw way too many portuguese sausages.  haha!  Traumatizing. 

Rui’ s the proud owner of the ultimate surf car.  A yellow VW Westfalia.

Portugal’s J-Bay, well so they say.

A few of Rui’s local breaks.  The conditions weren’t perfect but it was till nice to check out the different spots.

Our friends Nat and Kyle from New Zealand also happened to be in Portugal at the time.  They drove from London in a big red van that was converted into a camper.  The thing was sweet!  Perfect for a long road trip and equipped with everything you needed.   They drove to Coimbra to kick it with us for a while.

Kahi, me, Nat, Rui and Kyle kickin’ it at Rui’s

One day we piled into Rui’s super sick yellow Westfalia and he took us on a tour of Coimbra.  First he took us to the Montimo??r Castle near his house.  It sat on a hill surrounded by rice patties and farm lands.  Very beautiful and majestic.  Inside the tall stone walls bordered lush green gardens and an old church.  Nat though it was a perfect place for her dream wedding and I could see her planning  everything as she walked through the gardens.

 

Nat planing her wedding

The overlooked the surrounding village and rice patties.  The view was spectacular.

Castle gardens

Next he took us into the heart of Coimbra to his alma-mater, The University of Coimbra.  Tons and tons of history here at one of Europe’s oldest universities.  The roads were narrow, windy and made out of cobble stone.  The buildings were tall, narrow, and built right next to each other.  When I thought of Portugal before I got there, this is what I imagined.

Apparently a student wasn’t very fond of this statue.

Narrow streets and walk ways

A beautiful and old Catholic Church

Self cleaning public toilet.  It’s like a vending machine.  You put the money in, the door opens, you do your thing, the door opens and closes behind you.  After the door closes the inside is completely sprayed down.  It’s great as long as you do nt take too long or the door will open and all of Coimbra will be see you pooping.  Amazing and weird.

Check out the guy on the rights super cool hairdo.  Very creative.

Rui’s mom prepared for us a Portuguese specialty called feijoada.  It has beans, tomatoes, cabbage, blood sausage, some other type of sausage, and pork spare ribs.  I think this is what our Portuguese Bean Soup in Hawaii has derived from.   Think about it.  The beans, the cabbage, the sausage.  No noodles but hey its pretty much the same stuff.  It was yummy!!!  I’ve never really had blood sausage but it was a-okay. It’s one of those things that if you’re not use to eating, it’s better to not know what it is and to just give it a try.  That way you don’t have any predetermined negative judgements towards the food.  You just eat it, if you like it you like it, if you don’t you don’t.

Kahi and Kyle looking forward to eating feijoada, all that cabbage and beans promised for a very competitive gave of fart tennis.

Fo-real kine Portuguese sausage, they call it chorizo, but in Hawaii we call it Portuguese sausage.  Same same but different.

Some yummy Portuguese pastries.  Very very sweet.

One day while we were surfing we ran into a guy that we met in Jeffery’s Bay.  His name is Goncalo and he is a travel writer.  It seems like he has traveled to almost every country in the world and has so many amazing stories.  He drove us around Fig. de Foz after our surf and showed us around town.  It was nice to drive up into the mountains and see the town from a bird’s eye view.

View from the top of the mountains

Intermarche!!!  The grocery we shopped at in Portugal.  Gotta love it.   The name has something to do with the three musketeers. 

Off to Amsterdam for the Arctic Monkey’s Concert, hehehe!!!