Photo by Raphael Diaz
Today was by far one of the best days of my trip so far.
Thank you good karma !!!
But before getting into detail about how karma rewarded me with, i'll start from the begining.
I had decided the day before that I would go surfing to Costa de Caparica so after having breakfast with Lien, moving my luggage from the room to the other one (i want o stay in the cheapest room for 12.5€ so I have to change rooms two times.. :D) and getting my stuff ready, I headed to the kiosk downstairs to charge the public transport card Lien had given me. Unfortunately the lady working there only knew Portugease, so I couldn't really communicate with her in Spannish nor understand anything of what she was saying to me. I decided to 'fuck it' and strolled to the terminal, where from the ferry would leave to the island. The guy working there told me in (English!) that the next one would leave in 50 minutes so I tried to figure out how to kill the remaining time.
I decided to go the near by café and have a coffee and finally taste that famous pastry "pastéis de nata". I've been getting by just fine by talking Spannish to people (after - of course - asking them "hablas español") but when I ordered a "café con leche" (café latte) I got this tiniest cup of dark coffee in it - an espresso. I don't like that stuff but I didn't really care so I just sat outside with my delicious pastry, coffee and my brilliant book in my hand. I was just feeling so incredibly happy. I don't know if it also had to do with the fact that I was in the middle of a good happy happy joy joy chapter in "The Marching Powder", but at that point I just felt so good.
I got on the ferry and watched the beautiful scenery and smelled the ocean. Oh, how I love that smell... :) I'm so happy that next summer I'll be smelling the ocean for three weeks if everything goes as planned...! When we arrived in Trafaría, I found out that the bus was due to leave in 20 minutes so I just wandered around for a bit. I felt almost ecstatic. It was such a beautiful day - the sun was shining, I was walking on a freaking peninsula in Portugal, the scenery and the buildings were ashtonishing and I was about to surf (finally!!!). I was just so unbelivably happy. And also, just so grateful to be traveling on my own. Once again I was going through a list in my head of things that I appreciated about traveling alone. I just loved it how I could fully absorb everything without any interference. If I were to travel with someone, it would mean that I would need to keep that person company - which would mean talking. Don't get me wrong, I love long conversations but sometimes it's just pleasant to be in silence and enjoy the environment.
After the bus journey I was dropped off at Costa de Caprica and I wandered to the beach. I was looking for this surf shop the receptionist in my hostel had recommended for me. He told me he had a friend working there ("just ask for philippe") and that I could rent a board and a wet suit from him. I had to get my map out to see what the street was called and suddenly this guy in board shorts, who was passing me, asked me in English whether I was looking for something. I gestured at the address and he told me he knew that place and asked whether I was looking to buy a surf board.
"No, I just wanna rent one and a wet suit too. I'm staying at this hostel and my receptionist told me that his friend works at this surf shop."
"Ok I know where it is, I know the owner too."
"Oh, really?" (thinking that I'd better get a good deal know)
"Yeah it's just there *points at the flags of the shop* But I mean I have a board and a wet suit, you culd just borrow them."
"Really? That would be sweet, for how much?"
"For free"
"No way, that would be so nice of you! What kind of board do you have? Long or short board?"
"Both."
"Well could I borrow the long board? I don't really have any paddle power for the short one."
So yeah. Good fucking karma. I saved so much money today and hang out the whole day with the coolest life guards. A wettie would've cost me 20e for haf a day (so fucking expensive!!) and a board god knows what. I was so grateful for Rafa, the Portuguese life guard that lent me his board :) I went surfing and was froffin'... It was so good to be in the ocean again and all those bad memories from Morocco, that I might've combined with surfing in my sub concious, where whiped away :) After surfing I was just hanging out in the life guard tower with Rafa and his work mate Mali, a Brazilian guy. Just sun bathing, enjoying life and reading my book. I was just so amazingly happy. Eating my fruit and smiling to myself :) "Life is better when you surf" - so true.
It was funny when Rafa left out for lunch and I stayed back with Mali. He doesn't speak really any English so I was having a conversation about Brazil (world cup, weather and how they have winter when we have summer) with him in my basic Spannish and his Spannish/Portuguese :D Amazingly we did actually succeed in having a convo and I was just even more proud of my Spannish skills :D
Mali and Rafa have to use radio phones while working so at one point I just grabbed the phone and started chatting into it in English/Spannish about taking Mali and Rafa as hostage and how I "Necesito dinero rápidamente" !!! Mali was cracking up also - when after talking into the radio phone - he sighted very loudly and I told him "Hard work, hey". Yeah, so hard, sitting on the beach the whole day and looking at girls !
I was a bit bummed that I had't taken my camera with me (I left everything valuable back home and didn't even take a wallet with me so that I could go into the ocean without a worry) but luckily Rafa had his camera with him. He has a Nikon D200 and a SICK lense.... It was a sigma 200-500mm and cost him 2000e..... eheheee. (He is a photographer while he is not rescuing lives on the beach). We made some great "baywatch photos" and he promised to e-mail them to me. I told him that tomorrow I would come to Costa de Caprica with my camera so I could take some photos myself and surf some more (since I can use hi board again, yay !). He invited me to stay and have dinner with him and his friends tomorrow so I might do that too.
When I left home after five hours on the beach (I applied sun screen many times!) it took me two fucking hours to get back to my hostel so all the shops were closed since it was half past nine already. Luckily had some stuff at the hostel so I made a salad (without feta boo) and joked aroun with Lien and Marta. Too bad the girls are leaving tomorrow but yeah, I don't think I would be hanging at the hostel that much anyways... TIME TO SURF!
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