Current mood:	melancholy
Current music:	Celia Cruz - La visa es un carnaval
Entry tags:	pics, portugal

Portugal, first days
Just as I promised I continue writing about my holiday. Also going to post a few pics here :)

I arrived to Lisbon on a Saturday evening. It was cold and rainy and I felt all my hopes about spending another few days on the beach going down the drain... Cold, rain, my last destination on the trip - lots of things combined to make me feel awful. My uncle and aunt couldn't manage to come to the airport to meet me, so I had to take a taxi to to Campo Grange, then a bus to Tores Vedras.. There my relatives were waiting for me and when I saw them I forgot all my previous sad thoughts, I was just so happy to see them again =)
They told me that we would go to an island in the ocean next day if the weather got better. But I wasn't thinking much about the weather at the moment. Long conversation about everything and everybody.. Just such a great feeling to be surrounded by people who love you, who knew you since you were a little child, who care about you just because it is you and for no other reason. That's a funny thing that the closest relatives I have (of course I am not talking now about my mum, dad and sister) live that far but still remain very close.

Next morning I woke up early and saw that it was a bright sunny day which meant we were going on that island! We went to Peniche (for those of you who remember the pics of huge rocks and ocean I posted in the end of April) to get on a boat there. The one we could get tickets to wasn't too big and had no more than 18 people on it. We at on the nose of the boat watching the small waves cut by it...






Our nice captain offered us some wine (Muscatel if I remember the name of it correct) which warmed us as the wind was pretty strong and cold though the sun was shining.

After one hour trip we were on the island. It is actually just a rock covered with something green growing on it and lots of seagulls flying around and making terrible noise.
First of all we headed to the beach. Oleg and Andrei decided to go snorkling and I just wanted to enjoy the sunshine.


But after some time Alina (my cousin) started asking me to go into the water with her. I had to surrender after some time, get up from my towel and step into the water... Some of you may remember me saying how cold the water in ocean is. I got into the water knee-deep and I wa sready to jump out of it, cursing and crying that I don't want to go there again. Entering such cold water is like walking on needled... But I forced myself to go deeper and swam... First feeling is like your skin is burning from this cold. But if you don't stop moving you will start feeling kind of comfortable in it after some time. So I spent about 10 mins swimming there trying not to pay attention to people staring at me as I could clearly read on their faces they considered me to be crazy. Local people normally just go fast into the water and get out of it at once, thinking that 30 seconds is more than enough to feel refreshed after lying in the sun. I got out of the water and started shivering in the wind. I wrapped myself in a towel and said through chattering teeth: "I am n-n-not g-g-going into this water again!" But of course I warmed up in a few and the whole thing didn't look that terrible afterwards though I still didn't feel tempted to go swimming again.


After some time beach was in the shade and we decided that it was time to move somewhere else. So we got on a small boat taking people on a tour to see the caves of the island. I don't think I'll be able to find words to describe it and better will just post a few pics.







After it we went to a cafe on the top of the hill... There we tried to tame a seagull with some bread (please, don't tell me now they are not supposed to eat bread as it is too late anyways)... Then Andrei, Alina and I decided to go and see some more of the island (we couldn't go all together as we had two heavy bags with snorkling costumes) though there wasn't much time left before we had to leave the island.

We just walked on top of the hill.. Took a few pics... Here they are. :)







And of course I needed the picture of me on the edge somewhere... Nothing better than a pic of me "taking off" from it... First attempt wasn't successful as I lost balance by the time Andrei actually took the pic. Second time was better :)

When we came back down to my uncle and aunt they told me that the whole cafe was watching doing those excersises on the top of the hill seeing clearly my figure as the sun was behind us... Tanya said she knew at once it was me posing there :D

But it was time for us to leave, we got back on our boat... Captain offered us wine again, when I asked for it too he asked me if I would not start feeling seasick after it. Oleg told him I was from Moscow, captain smiled and offered me another glass :D
On the way back only Andrei, Alina and I dared to stay on the nose because of strong cold wind. So I had a chance to sit on the very nose and watch the ocean. I remember so well my thoughts then... Ocean really seems to be a living creature, it has such a power and still lets people travel on its surface not doing them any harm. I never felt that in the sea, it's really very different. When you think of the same water washing the shores of America thousands kilometres away it's really impressive. And here you are, so little, so helpless and still safe as the ocean is kind to you today and there are almost no waves.


Beutiful sunset and we are back to Peniche, getting in the car and going home...
What a wonderful day it was!