Portugal

16/04/14

I wrote this down when I was in Portugal...

I looked in the mirror after a day at the beach and thought ‘shit’. It was stupid thinking that the sun wasn’t strong in Europe and there is no such thing as a bad sunburn ... my back could be mistaken for a tomato, I was that stupid.

It was my first time going to a beach here in Europe. I thought I was back in Australia when I looked around at the surroundings: there were a few eucalyptus trees but then I looked at the people and knew I wasn’t in Australia. To put this straight forward, some people in Australia want to reveal everything and they may as well, but they decide to cover up in the slightest way possible. Here, who cares? No one does, so wear what you like ... or should I say don’t wear anything. Everyone was happy at this little beach even though the water was freezing, well that is what I thought but apparently it was, ‘so warm’.

Too cold to go in the water. So I lay on the beach and people-watched (something I love to do in new places). There was one family who really fascinated me. I couldn’t quite work them out but that is what I liked about them: they weren’t like every other family sitting on the beach. There were three kids, a mum, a dad and a family of dogs consisting of a mum and her three little puppies. The family were travelling and had a nice old camper van with a big trailer which may have had a kitchen in it. They were the type of people who I would have liked to ask a few questions and ask about their travels but it was impossible to. They had set up for the day just next to the beach on a big sand hill. No one could disturb them unless they climbed up the hill. There they sat with their washing drying on a string attached to two things; the kids were playing in the sand and the dogs were running around playing with the kids. No iPads, phones,TVs, anything; it was just the family and nature. I can’t even imagine what a better way would be to spend time with the family and really get to know each other. The puppies were also growing up with the family right by their sides.

Portugal

Portugal. A place which I can’t quite work out even after spending a week there. It isn’t like Paris where you know exactly what you’re in for the minute you step into it. Not much is mentioned about Portugal only that is a ‘beautiful place’. Yes, that is true but what are the surroundings really like? It’s a place where you really have to see with your own eyes because the place changes when you get in the car and drive for 20 minutes. It goes from lots of life and houses which all look similar, narrow roads, poor people, heaps of restaurants and then to a little town where everything seems to be dead, one shop in sight with lots of shrubby bushes everywhere. The beautiful part of Portugal in my opinion would be the beaches and the views because everything seems untouched even though so many tourists have visited the place but there are still the old rocks and ruins in their same shape. 

It was good being able to understand everything again (don’t think that I speak Portuguese). If the locals know you're a tourist there is no question about it but English is spoken. Most of them can speak English very well because that’s how they make their money through tourists. I would say most of the tourists come from England and America; all the beaches are swarming with English accents and extremely white people who then turn to red.

There isn't much to say about Portugal itself but it’s a place that you must visit to be able to experience a different culture and to see places which you don’t get any of in other countries.