I was feeling less than a hundred per cent when we arrived at Prana Casa – a yoga retreat centre close to Aljezur on the southwestern coast of Portugal. Since Lisbon I had been feeling a distinct loss of energy and the stirrings of a cold brewing. Situated in the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina (the South West Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park), this place felt miles away from the tourist hotspots of the Algarve. Prana Casa is owned and run by Eve, a vibrant ex dumpster-diving surfie, while Hector, a gentle giant of a man from Mexico, helps out with the cooking and maintenance. Eve’s yoga class in the morning (at a quite civilised hour of 8:30) was followed by a big casual breakfast. Then we have the day for ourselves – nice . . . Another hour of yoga at 5pm (one of which was on the beach) and then dinner – vegetarian. My highlight was a barbecue, prepared by Hector, over an open fire pit in the garden. We had a great group of fellow guests from Germany, the Netherlands, Argentina and Spain. I thrived here and within 3 days was relatively back to normal, health-wise. The house and garden have energy about them – I can’t put my finger on it, but I just felt incredibly chilled. The environment is beautiful – quiet and natural with birdsong and, in the distance, the sound of surf at the nearby beaches. If anyone is looking for a place to restore – come here – it’s magical . . . The sea on the Atlantic coast is completely different from the Mediterranean. The water temperature is chilly and the waves big - this is real surf country. The beaches are stunning – raw and natural. It’s wonderfully quiet and far less built-up than the Algarve towns we travelled through. Portugal has one “national” and thirteen “natural” parks – this area being in the latter category. Wikipedia has a convoluted explanation of the difference between the two, which completely befuddled me. Looks like it was written by some bureaucrat at the end of a very long lunch. But the system obviously works judging by the absence of featureless high-rise apartment blocks and hotels. Next stop – Cadiz on the southern coast of Spain . . .
2 Comments
No its not the Lagos in Nigeria, as Google maps keep wanting to take me to, but the Lagos on the southern Algarve coast of Portugal. Interestingly the two seem to have a connection, the Nigerian Lagos having been visited by the Portuguese in the late 15th century and who eventually settled and were granted a slaving monopoly. Well the less said about that the better . . . ! Lagos is a nice little town. Its popular with tourists but not quite as tatty as other package holiday hotspots like Albufeira (about 45 minutes drive from here), described by someone on Tripadvisor as a “skanky neon strip full of pissed Brits”. Lagos admittedly has elements of skankiness, but it does have character in the older part of the town with winding cobbled streets and locals out and about doing their shopping. Our Airbnb this time is in an apartment in a slightly characterless complex called Iberlagos. Its saving grace is its proximity (2 minutes walk) to a gorgeous little bay called Dona Anna and massive swanking swimming pool - part of the complex. For a nice 2 bedroom apartment with kitchen, living area, 2 bathrooms, large balcony and wifi we are paying about $NZ 190 a night. On our drive down here from Lisbon we experienced the awesomeness of the European toll road system. Yes its expensive – over 20 Euro to travel about 300 km – but man is it fast and hassle free! The speed limit signs placed every 10km or so instruct you to keep to a maximum of 120km hour. Well I can tell you that we were just about the only car on the road to keep anywhere near that limit – routinely we were passed by late model BMWs and SUVs that literally left a bow wave after them. One, I am sure, must have been doing well over 200 kmh. The second half of September is such a great time to travel in the south of Europe. The summer holiday crowds have largely gone (school holidays are over around the end of August here) and the temperature is not so sweltering. It looks like temperatures will be ranging between 18, in the evening, and 29 degrees during our stay – I can handle that. The best part about Lagos, in my opinion anyway, is its proximity to a number of small, stunning beaches. Dona Ana, right in front of our resort and pictured in the photo at the start of this post, is described as the most picturesque beach in the Algarve – well that is according to the authors of lagosportugalguide.com. It was great to do a bit of body-surfing on our first day – but since then I have been feeling a little under the weather. Hope things improve before our yoga retreat starting tomorrow . . .
It was 26 years ago when I was last in Portugal – that time Jo and I hung out in Amarante, a small town in the north where Jo had volunteered as a physio for a year in the late 80s. Lisbon is relatively small for a European capital – between half a million and 3 million depending on what definition you use for the city limits. Apparently Lisbon is recognised as an alpha-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group. For goodness sake – who pays these groups to come up with tosh like this? Whatever “alpha-level” might mean anyone, I personally found Lisbon a seriously cool and laid back little city. The people are friendly but not in your face, many of the old buildings on the cobbled streets are bedecked with azulejo (ceramic tiles) in a variety of colours, the food is cheap and delicious and the pace of life relaxed. We are staying in an apartment in the Alfama – the oldest district in Lisbon. Traditionally the area where the fishermen and poor lived, the place has been slowly touristified (try looking that word up by the way) over recent years. Cafes are everywhere, with the more popular hosting fados in the evenings. The fado, a form of singing, comes from Lisbon and typically has a mournful ring to it. The lyrics are often about the sea or the life of the poor and the mood melancholic. So not exactly dancing on tables stuff . . . but definitely atmospheric. Our apartment is on the second floor, overlooking a bustling street and square. A couple of interesting characters on the street have appointed themselves as honorary parking wardens, which essentially involves assisting cars to park when one of the many street parking spots is vacated. The service is usually accompanied by much shouting and gesticulating – the latter made problematic when one or both of them is clutching a beer. Why this service is considered necessary is beyond me – I never saw any money changing hands . . . In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal was at the forefront of maritime discovery. Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, Vasco de Gama ten years later continued on to India. The Portuguese were the first from Europe to discover Brazil (Brazil still maintaining the Portuguese language to this day) and then later Japan. During the renaissance Portugal became the world’s main economic power with established international trading routes. Things were sweet . . . Today the Portuguese economy is very different. Things aren’t as dire as they were in 2009 following the world financial crisis when Portugal was unable to raise further international funding and essentially was put on life support. Economic growth has continued, albeit slowly since then. Jo got talking to her neighbour on the flight from Amsterdam, a girl from Lisbon with a reasonable job in a bank getting paid just 900 euros per month. Paying the 500 Euros required to rent in Lisbon was impossible for her so her commute from the family home was over an hour each way. She said it was common for younger people to work elsewhere in Europe and send the higher wages back home. While in Lisbon we caught up with Danielle’s old mate Frances – great to see her and catch up with all the goss over a beer or two. Off to the south coast tomorrow . . .
|
Richard and JolandaJo and I have decided to give up our work, our house and our lives in Wellington NZ to see the world. Our big adventure started on April 6th 2017 . . . Archives
January 2018
Categories
All
|