John Collings

Things to do in Lisbon – Around the World Day 17

The capital city of Portugal, Lisbon, is the last stop of my European part of the trip around the world, and the first twenty-four hour were spent hitting the tourist spots. Some of them I went there because that was the thing to do as a tourist. Some of them I went there because that was the thing to do.

As soon as I arrived in Lisbon, I had enough time to drop off my bags and take the ten minute walk from my apartment to the Comercio Square. This is not the big touristy square that everybody needs to see on their visits to Lisbon, but it is where everybody was on this night. Portugal was playing Uruguay in the World Cup, and this was a win or go home game. The Portuguese were a little upset that it was on Saturday night because they thought they would have been the winner of the round robin play. To celebrate the game though, the city of Lisbon had set up a massive three story television so the whole town could come together to watch the game. There were numerous beer booths, and venders selling all kind of food. And even though Portugal lost the game, it was the perfect way to watch the match, and the best introduction to the city.

The next day started off by wandering the windy streets of the Alfama neighborhood. This is the oldest section of the city that survived the 1755 earthquake, and walking through its skinny streets reminded me of what it would have felt like to live during that time. There were thousands of decorations, and many beer booths all along the streets out here as well, and at first, I thought it was because of the World Cup, but later I found out that St. Antonio’s Day was the weekend before. He is the patron saint of Lisbon, and they have a huge celebration from that event. The decorations were just the hangover just waiting to be cleaned up, and it was nice of them to leave them up for me, so I could see what fun I had missed by being a week late.

The walk through this part of the city took me to the top of the highest hill in the city where sat Sao Jorge Castle. This is a military structure that was first built during the 7th century B.C. by the Moors, and then added on to by Romans and Christians over the centuries. It is a great military fortress designed to withold a long siege. It was not created so a king could live in the ground even though it was later adapted for that purpose. It shows you what a military castle would have been like, and it had some amazing views of the city. Everywhere I turned there was another example of the perfect picture.

After a long day of hiking through the city, there was only one place left to go, Time Out Market, for dinner. This is a long hall that reminded me of a modern day mead hall. The sides of the hall were lined up with small kitchens where I could choose from various kinds of food. They also served wine and beer, and once I got my meal I found a place at one of the long tables to enjoy my food. It brought me back to the community of Lisbon which seems like one of the important things about this town, and the main reason I am enjoying it so far. I can’t wait to see what the next couple of days have in store for me when the first one was so exciting.

My Own Paparazzi – Around the World Day 16

The problem with writing a blog series about my experiences while I take the time to circumvent the globe is that I am the one always taking the pictures, so rarely am I in the pictures. You get to read about my experiences, but sometimes it is hard to make the connection with the moment and the person who is having it. At the same time, I am not going to hire my own camera man to walk around with me to take pictures so I can share them with you. Yes, you would benefit, but I would always be in this constant weird place where I someone would always be lurking around the corner so they could record my life.

This is part of the reason that I enjoyed the experience I had on my last full day in Lagos. Christine and I went on a kayaking tour around the coast line to see the rocks up close and sneak into some of the caves along the way. The danger to cameras while doing this is obvious. A wave can come along, and sweep it into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Even if it just falls into the water, being soaked in salt water can’t be good for any piece of electronics. The company that took us on our voyage understood this, and had their own camera man come along to take pictures of us as we went along that we could use as we saw fit when we got back. Granted, it was like the old days where we had to wait until the next morning before we were able to access them, but it is okay in this age of instant gratification to have to wait for things a little while.

There was another added bonus that I didn’t even think about. We got to enjoy the moment without having to record it for prosperity’s sake. This is another problem that many people don’t realize in the age of digital cameras that can record every moment and share it instantly with everybody that we know. We are so concerned with taking picture of what we are doing instead of just enjoying the moment. Go to concerts and you will see people holding up their cell phones so they can record the whole show instead of just enjoying the music. Go to any tourist spot, and there are tour groups shoving each other out of the way so they can get the perfect picture. Even while going out to dinner, people need to take picture of the food before they eat, and take selfies of themselves enjoying it, instead of just enjoying it. You can’t take a picture of the taste. You are just going to have to savor it in your memory. So why do you need a picture of it?

Now, I am not saying that you should quit taking pictures. It is a fun hobby that I enjoy. I like thinking of the composition of each of my shots and what I can do to make them unique and tell a story at the same time. And they are a great way to preserve the moments for all time. All I am saying is to keep it in perspective. You do not need to take a picture of every moment you live. Sometimes, it is better to just enjoy the moment because that memory will be more vivid than any picture you ever take. And you will find that you enjoy the moment more that way.

This is what EZRides allowed us to do on that kayaking trip. It was fun to explore those caves, and I got to sit there a moment longer to marvel at the rock structures I was looking at instead of quickly taking a picture so I could move on to the next marvel. I got to listen to the guide explain how the cliffs were formed and about the beaches we traveled by. I got to enjoy the moment for what it had to offer, and because of that it was easily the best kayak trip I have ever taken. It changed my perspective on things. I now wonder if I should put the camera down from time to time and just enjoy the moment for what it is.

This blog post was written without the knowledge of EZRides, and I highly recommend their service if you ever find yourself in Lagos and want to go kayaking. You will enjoy the experience.

A Party Presents Itself – Around the World Day 15

One of the things I love about traveling through Europe during the summer is the fact that there is always something always going on that you had not planned for. There have been many times through my travels where I have run into a party already in progress, and have just gone with the flow of it. This is what happened yesterday when Lagos put on a World Beer Tour. It wasn’t the best beer festival I have been to because it mainly had mass produced beer that it offered, but it was still an opportunity to get together with the locals and see how they have fun during the hot months.

This happens no matter where you go. You just need to be up to the option of letting all of your plans go because the moment is meant to be enjoyed. Whether this is a celebration of the old town, or a soccer match that means a lot to the people there. Just become a part of the community for that day, and you will know what it is like to live there.

So with that in mind, Cheers.

The Simple Things in Life – Around the World Day 14

I know I have been writing about beaches a lot lately, but what else am I supposed to do. Everywhere I turn there is a new and more stunning beach than the last one and if I have the option of relaxing on that beach I am going to take it. And since that is all I have really done in the past few days that is all I have to talk about.

And this trip has been talking about a lot of the sites with great historical significance that I have been lucky enough to visit. It is kind of what you do in Europe. By being able to see these places, I gain a better understanding of how the countries of the world are related to each other, and why it is important that everybody understands this perspective because without it, we are heading to a society similar to ancient times where countries had a hard time getting along with each other; thereby, causing a lot of war and destruction among themselves.

It is really easy to get caught up with these cultural moments when you travel. It is part of the reason that we do it. But it is also important to slow down and enjoy other aspects of travel that we sometimes ignore because we want to get in everything we possibly can in the short time that we have there. That is why I took the time last night to grab a small picnic of fresh fruit, good cheese, and some jamon ham and travel up to the lighthouse at the edge of town and watch the sunset. It is doing small little things like this where the stories start to emerge.

Now, I am not saying that this is a unique idea. Many people go out to the lighthouse to watch the sunset. It is one of the attractions of Lagos. If you ever find yourself here, and want to do this, I would recommend going out early to stake out your place because even though there are many to chose from out there, the good one get snatched up quickly. Make sure you bring a good bottle of wine with you; they are easy to find because there are many to choose from in Portugal, and most of them are rather inexpensive as long as you stick to the ones made out here. This way you can enjoy the company of the one you brought with you and just revel in the moment.

We still had a few visitors, and one of them even wanted to join us in our picnic dinner. Who knew that cats loved fresh mango so much? And even though this could have been an awkward moment, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would. He left soon after he found out that we were going to give into his requests to go look for better prospects, but it was still fun to have him join us for such a short period of time.

And eventually we got to enjoy the sunset. At this time of the year, it does not set over the ocean, but it was still a spectacular sight. It is moments like this that allows me to reflect on how lucky my life has been. I have seen sunsets over many different locations over the world from the oceans of Boracay to the beaches of Oregon, from the plains of the Serengeti to the mountains of the Rocky Mountains. I do think it is important that we put aside the petty bickering and fighting that we often tangle ourselves in so we can enjoy these smaller moments in life. When you find those small moments they start to seem more important than all of that rush that we subject ourselves to. I am glad to have gotten to witness the sunset at this new location, and I can’t wait to see where the next spectacular one will be.

(By the way, J.J. Abrams would be proud. Lens-flares.)

Cliff Walk – Around the World Day 13

The beach life continues, but today the goal was to travel from one beach to another so I could rent out a kayak to paddle out to a rock structure that can only be reached by boat. So I left Lagos early to make it out to the two famous beaches. If you look up the best beaches in Portugal, Praia da Marinha and Praia Da Rocha will show up in any search you look up, and not just because they have long stretches of soft sand, or because of the clear water, but because of the thirty minute hike between the two beaches.

The trail is clearly marked, with many paths that you can take to get to some spectacular views along the way. There are paths that are flat, and some of them offer some challenges with its rocky slopes, and there is a small dip along the way that you cannot overcome. But for the most part the path is worth the effort to take. I would recommend bringing shoes while doing this path because there are enough rocks and juniper tree roots sticking out that can cause some damage along the way. My wife was tripped up on one of these, and earned a nasty cut on her little toe, and this could have easily been avoided if we had just worn shoes.

You can start at either end to make the trip, but it is easier to find parking on the Praia Da Rocha side, so I would recommend starting on that side. If you want to the kayak trip though, you might want to risk the Praia da Marihna side because that is where they launch from, but you are going to want to get there early because they get booked up really quick. We were unable to do that part of the trip because by the time we got there, they no longer had any open spots.

Even though I was not able to go on the kayak ride, I was okay with it because I have another kayak trip booked from a different beach later in the week that will take me more places than the one spot that this trip takes you to, and there was enough to see along the way that kept me entertained that I didn’t have to worry about the lost boat ride. Every corner of this hike took me to another spot that just amazed me. There were hidden coves and unique rock structures that I was easily entertained.

I eventually made my way back to the first beach and enjoyed relaxing on the sand feeling like I had earned the respite because of the trek I had gone on. It wasn’t long, and the heat wasn’t unbearable, but it kept me out long enough that it made the hike feel like I had accomplished something. Not that I need an excuse as to why my lying on the beach is justified, but it makes the lying on the beach that much better. It was worth the little day trip away from Lagos to enjoy the day on a different beach, and makes me even more excited for the adventures to come next.

Finding My Beach – Around the World Day 12

Lagos is not only known for its historic town paths, and old building; it is also known for the lush beaches that stretch on the shore of its tiny peninsula at the southern tip of Portugal. I knew about them before I can out here, but I didn’t know what type of beach to expect. I was thinking that I would have to walk over a small knoll and see it spread out before me, but the beach in Lagos are much more dramatic than that. There are a bunch of different ones dotted along the shore, and you have to hike along a cliff until you find the right one for you.

They weren’t as crowded as I thought they might be either, probably because there are enough of them out there, and everyone wants to find there own little spot on the sand, so if one beach looks too crowded, they will just move on to the next one. I only ventured past two beaches before I found the one that I liked best, Dona Ana Beach. It was the perfect beach day too. The sun was shining in the clear blue sky. The sand was not too hot because a cool breeze blew in from off the Atlantic, and if things got too warm, I could just hop into the cool water. And yes, the water was cool, but once I got my under, I was okay with it. The best part were all of the rocky structure that nature had provided to look at. It made the beach unique and even though it reminded me of beaches in Australia, they were unique enough that I knew I was some place different.

The part that caught my interest the most though, was a small cliff off to the west side of the beach. There was always a group of swimmers congregating over there, and working their way over the outcropping. I wondered what could be so exciting over there, that I needed to investigate further. When I looked over the little cliff, I found a new small sandy beach that was carved into the cliffs through a cave that the ocean had slowly made. I knew I was on to something great because even though I saw many people climb over this tiny cliff to get here, none of them could be seen. There had to be more beyond that cave, so I had to investigate.

It was worth the little adventure, because I found a secluded beach with even more impressive rock structures. The people that made their way over here would take a picture or two and then head back to the more populated part of the coast, so the beach was not populated much at all, only visited from time to time. I became one of these few that hung here for a bit before going back because I had been on the beach for a long while before investigating this tiny spot, but I wish I had taken the time to go a little further because that would have been the relaxing spot that I was looking for. It just shows me that sometime we feel like we have found the perfect spot on the beach, and settle for it, but if we had just pushed ourselves a little further, the perfect spot is just over the ridge, and through the cave. We should be willing to look for that perfect spot a little more.

I really shouldn’t complain though because the place I found have plenty of interesting things to see, and I enjoyed my time in the sun. I don’t think there is ever a time when you can’t enjoy the beach, and that is the main thing to do while out in Lagos. It just means that there are more beaches to explore, and I need to go over the ridge tomorrow to find a new one to enjoy.

Travel Day – Around the World Day 11

I went back to heading west, and can now add Portugal to the 35 countries I have visited. It really blows my mind that twelve years ago I had only visited two countries, and one of those was Canada. Back then Canada was our friend, so I am glad I got that one in before they shut their borders to Americans.

Even though I did travel to a new country, I have not really had the opportunity to enjoy it yet. It took all day to get to the town of Lagos on the southern tip of the country. My journey took me on a bus, plane, and for the first time on this trip around the world, a car. It also highlighted what I dislike about travel days. They make you feel like you are doing a whole lot of nothing, but it takes you all day to do it, and by the time you get to your destination, you are completely worn out. You get shuffled around from place to place in the hopes that companies can transport people quickly and efficiently. The sad thing about it is they sometimes forget that they are dealing with people.

The day was crazy. We had to catch a bus to take us to the airport. Traffic cut it a little short for us, but we were still able to grab breakfast because on our first flight was a little delayed. This made the transfer to our second flight a little stressful because we arrived at the exact moment they started boarding, but we were lucky because the people who worked there had to get two large groups of middle school kids onto our flight. Luckily, they were there so we could make our flight. Unluckily, they were on our flight, but it was only a forty-five minute flight, so it was like teaching a overcrowded class of middle school kids. We then got a car and drove the rest of the way to our Air B+B, having a little difficult time navigating the skinny streets of the old part of Lagos. We got up at six in the morning to arrive at five and didn’t want to do anything but enjoy a glass of wine on our patio.

It was exhausting, but we were able to see some fun sites along the way. The landscape of Portugal reminds me of the northern part of New Mexico, it has small little villas tucked away on small hills dotted with short trees because that is all that will grow in this environment. But the sun constantly shined, and the air is a refreshing change from Korea’s because it is clean and you can see for miles around.

The town of Lagos is also a warm and welcoming place with many pedestrian avenues to stroll down with many small shops and cafes to enjoy. I only got to do a small walk through town, but it made me excited for what I was going to be able to see during the next couple of days. It also has a beach, but I haven’t made it to that section of town yet.

Even though the day was a little bit of a struggle, it was completely worth the effort because I now find myself in a small seaside town where the pace of things will slow down considerably. Knowing me, I will still have to get out and explore the area a little bit, and I have a car to do just that, but for now I will just enjoy this little town and see what it has to offer.

Thoughts about Guernica – Around the World Day 10

Today was the only day that I would travel east, and I only did that so I could make it to Madrid’s airport in the morning to continue traveling west. So I had a one night stay in this town, and there was only one thing that I could do while in this town, and that was to visit the Reina Sofia Museum to see Spain’s greatest painting, Pablo Picasso’s Guernica. I would show you a picture of it but they would not allow me to take a picture of it, and it is heavily copyrighted. With that in mind, if you have never seen it, just google the image and you will see a million copies of it, so I am sure that I could show it on my website because I do not have enough visitors for somebody to care, but knowing my luck, they would come after me full force.

Even if you do not know what this painting is, I guarantee when you see it, you will be like, oh yeah, I’ve seen that one, and then you will wonder why somebody would want to talk about it. Because, even though I have seen pictures of it a million times, it is different when you see it live. It hits you hard, and makes you wonder why you haven’t felt the same way when you see a picture of it. It might be the fact that you can see the paint strokes up close which adds to the power of the image, or it might be because it is twelve and half feet tall and twenty-five feet long. But when I saw it live, a rush of emotions came over me.

Picasso painted it response to the Spanish Civil War and the fact that Franco allowed Hitler to test out his bombers by leveling the town of Guernica. It depicts that madness of war as it shows a woman with a broken leg trying to crawl away from the destruction, a man who has been thrown from his horse and has a severed arm still clutching a broken sword blade, a woman screaming to heaven as she clutches her dying child, and a bull, a representation of Spain as it looks on in horror and disbelief, wondering how it could ever comprehend the pain that it had witnessed. It is all painted in black and white to show the image as it would be seen in the newspapers of that time. It is a powerful reflection of that horrible time in history.

The crazy thing is that it still had power behind it today. You do not need to think of it tied to the terrible leader of Spain, Franco. It is applicable to any world leader that allows destruction to take place within the borders of the place they have sworn to protect, and then ignore that pain and suffering because they are safe in their comfortable home eating a slice of the best chocolate cake they have ever had. Picasso gave a human face to the horrors of war, and what the madness would be like if you were down there among the pain and suffering. Some leaders do not want to see this so they chose to ignore it because it does not fit into the ideology that they wish to practice. Human beings are still human beings, and nobody should be held on too high of a pedestal to forget that. They should forced to witness that sense of confusion and despair no matter what level it arrives within their area of influence.

Now many people would associate this with war, but that is not always true. There is pain and suffering that is happening because of the decisions made by the world leaders that is reflected in the eyes within that masterpiece. It could be from a natural disaster that gets ignored because the people who have endured it do not necessarily concern the person who is supposed to help them. It could be a group of people who do not have the natural resources they need in order to survive because a larger corporation can make money by destroying those common needs. It could be people who are looking for help in order to avoid the destruction that is happening in a different community, but are getting ignored because it might mean losing face with a group of people who do not care about those in need.

These were the thoughts that ran through my head while I looked upon this painting. It shows the power behind it if someone can still be affected by its true intentions long after its intended audience has left this earth. It is the reason that art is important. If you have ever been moved by a painting, or a sculpture, or a story, you will know what I am talking about. And it might not happen every time that you appreciate one of these pieces, but the reason I keep on searching out for them is because it is profound when they actually hit me in this way. I hope someday that my art might be appreciated in the same way.

Day Trip – Around the World Day 9

Salamanca has been a great town with a lot of interesting things around every corner, but I have been there for four days already and it was time to go check out other locations. Another town in the area that attracts tourists is Segovia, and even though this town is smaller than Salamanca there are a lot of get things there to look at, and makes for a perfect day trip from the my home base in the college town. It is only an hour train ride away and the people are warm and friendly, willing to take in the thousands of visitors that travel here during the summer months.

The most obvious feature is the old Roman aqueducts that run through the town. They were built in the first century A.D. without using any mortar, and I am told that even though they are not in use right now, they could still supply the town of Segovia with water. There are many spots in town that you can inspect these impressive feature because they run 15 kilometers throughout the city landscape, and they are always in the background.

But this is not the only feature of the town. Of course there is a cathedral, and I did not chose to visit it because I have been to enough of them on the course of my travels already. Instead I went to the other place that you do not get to see as much in European towns, the Alcazar. Alcazar is Spanish for castle, and this is one of the more impressive castles that I have ever seen. It is also an important part of Spanish history as this is the place where Isabella was crowned Queen of Spain and set off one of the most impressive times in European history.

The place holds many pieces of artwork from the time period as well as a bunch of suits of armor, medieval weapons, and maybe one of the largest collections of cannons ever. The castle sits on top of a large wall that would have made it a very difficult building to siege, making sure that the monarch was safe against any attacks that might have come their way. The artwork can be a little disturbing from time to time. There is a depiction of one of the kings ridding the land of moors by decapitating them and riding over their heads on his white horse. There is also a large painting depicting the coronation of Queen Isabella, but the painter only left black holes in place of where the subjects eyes should be, giving it a feeling that everybody in the picture actually belongs on another plain of existence. I am surprised that parts of the picture have not been used in some horror movies, but I can see how it has been the inspiration for some of them.

Wandering through the town is also a treat. There are many places where you can grab some tapas, or a cool cup of gelato. There are also tons of shops in the area if that is your thing to do, even though they are pretty much the same as you can find in any other town in Spain. In other words, they sell lots of zapatos here as there seems to be at least two or three shoe shops on every street.

But the real joy from this place comes from looking at the building that come out of many different periods of time as it is easy to see that Segovia has been around for many centuries. Every corner has a new statue or government building, castle, or cathedral. It is a wrapped safely in the confines of a medieval city wall that would have protected the citizens from conquering armies but somehow cannot keep out all of the visitors that come here all of the time.

I was not the only person going on a day trip to this great little town. It seems as if a lot of Spaniards had the same thought that I did because the train station was packed when I decided to head back to my little hotel room in Salamanca, except they were going the other way to the even closer town of Madrid. There are tons of towns like this all over Europe and it is worth taking the time to find them and journey away from your home base to enjoy a change of scenery. I would be willing to bet that you wouldn’t even need to travel to Europe to find that little small town in your corner of the world, so maybe the next day you have off, instead of spending it milling around the house, you could go enjoy a day trip.

A Different View from a Cathedral – Around the World Day 8

As I’ve stated before, when you go to Europe, you spend a lot of your time touring various cathedrals. You become well versed in the ways of architecture, and you can start to tell the difference between the gothic style and the baroque style. You also get to see the Catholic church’s collection of great pieces of art. After awhile they start to blend together unless you come across something completely new and unique with the cathedrals that you tour. Catedral Nueva in Salamanca is one of the cathedrals that adds a new twist to the experience.

It has its various chapels like all the other cathedrals in Europe. It even has a special artifact, the left forearm of saint that they have preserved in a case that you can pray to. It even has a boring audio guide that explains all of the things you are looking at by some old British guy with a monotonous voice. So then why should this be one of the places that you visit while you are in Salamanca. Well, because after you take the tour, you will notice a small door off to the side of the building that will give you access to the roof. This is where the views are spectacular, and you really get to see Salamanca from a different perspective.

The winding paths that they give you access to will allow you to view the main cathedral from up above, and will actually take you all the way to the bell towers high above the streets of Salamanca. The give you access to this part of the cathedral even at night while it is all lit up and Salamanca looks completely different from this perspective. I do recommend that you watch out while in the bell tower because they do ring the bells every fifteen minutes and they are really loud when you are right next to them.

But you start to feel like Quasimodo in Notre Dame Cathedral as you get to skip around the rooftops. Not many people know about this access either, so while I was up there I ran into only a handful of people, and there are so many hidden little corners up there that even when I did run into these people it did not feel like I was overrun by tourists. And you just want to take pictures of everything because there are so many photo opportunities up there.

And you do get to watch the people as they make there ways down the winding paths to their jobs or their lunches or to their classes. It is the hidden gem of this city. If you do find yourself in Salamanca, I do recommend that you visit the cathedral because it is a nice example of gothic architecture, and it is connected to the old cathedral, so in one visit you can see two great buildings. But make sure you find that door that gives you access to the roof because that is where the great views actually are, and it makes the visit to this site truly memorable.