Green Glencoe

Glencoe is a valley in the highlands of Scotland. The walk up the hill (Sgorr na Ciche or Pap of Glencoe) was very steep but I found that listening to the BBC programmes "Desert Islands Discs" and 'The Unbelievable Truth" on my ipod really helped going up. Appreciating the view from the top of the hill, sheltered from the wind in a clear and sunny day is the best medicine to charge batteries for another working week.

Brown chanfana with boiled potatoes

 

Chanfana is a traditional Portuguese dish of old goat cooked in a clay recipient with red wine, garlic, laurel, pepper, paprika and salt. We were recommended a small restaurant in Miranda do Corvo to eat this delicacy. We arrived and were received by a small lady who spoke 'gallego' to us. We thought that we were going to make a mistake: eat chanfana cooked by a 'gallego' cook?!. After an hour which we used to cycle around the town, we sat at the table in the restaurant and just enjoyed this food of the gods. The 'gallego' cook could not have cooked a better chanfana for us.

Gondramaz - The brown schist village

 

Gondramaz is one of the many schist villages of the centre of Portugal. They are lost in time and because of that they seem enchanted. People have left many years ago to the city or abroad, and only few still insist in living there. Walking in the silent streets we appreciate the architecture and the stories it buries inside each house. In a corner we find a couple of people, those who insisted to stay where their heart lives. What they tell me I already read in a novel by Aquilino Ribeiro while waiting in a hospital bed to be operated to my ankle. Five years later, it was my ankle who brought me here, pedalling my bike eight kilometres up the hill to experience one bit of the environment that provided Miguel Torga the inspiration to write Bichos - a masterpiece of Portuguese literature in my opinion.

Grey octopus

The second time in my life I caught an octopus (third time I went fishing) I felt again that hunter instinct I discovered some time ago. It must be remains of primitive human instinct left on me and I was surprised to find out how alive they still are. The fishing tools are very simple and traditional: a pole with a net in one hand and a pole with a crab attached to attract the octopus in the other hand. I need a bit of patience and perseverance to go from rock to rock and from pool to pool. Suddenly, big tentacles surround the crab with a strength I am not used to. The heart beats faster, and mum comes to help. I caught an octopus. 

Orange sunset by the sea

This was by far the best sunset I ever photographed. Photographed, filmed, looked at, everything we can imagine possible during 10 magic minutes. Time the sun takes to hide behind the sea. Or better, 10 magic minutes that the Earth offer us while rotating around its own orbit. Adding this to luxurious and almost deserted beaches (well, not so deserted this year!), exhilarating sea cliffs, romantic countryside and we have the perfect combination for idyllic holidays. And this is my village, Cambelas...