the stories that I'm telling.

Tag: nature

  • Back in Grimsby :: An update on what’s happening with this here blog

    Back in Grimsby :: An update on what’s happening with this here blog

    If you’re reading closely, 2 things are clear:

    1. Kevin and I are back in Canada
    2. Most of the posts about our travels are describing things have taken place a few months ago

    At the end of July, Kevin and I booked one-way tickets back to Canada. We’d been in Portugal since early 2015, and had been travelling/living in Southeast Asia before that.

    We didn’t anticipate coming back to Canada nearly this soon, but here we are. So, what happens to a travel blog when you’re no longer “travelling”?

    The immediate plan is to continue writing. There are still tons of photos and stories to share from our adventures in the first half of 2015. I’ll be posting those as a “Throwback Thursday” entry, once a week.

    Alongside the Thursday posts, I’ll be writing about what we’re doing and exploring in Canada, along documenting with any other shorter trips that we get to.

    When we left Toronto and set out on our ‘big international adventure’, we chose to plan a long period of travel because we like to take our time. In Portugal, we *really* took our time, exploring many nooks and crannies of the Algarve, often seeing the same place or thing many times, and yet appreciating it all the same.

    One thing that we learned very quickly is that it’s next to impossible to see all the incredible and beautiful and interesting things/places out there, because the opportunities to do so are limitless. If the opportunities to explore beautiful experiences abroad are so numerous, it stands to reason that the same thing applies wherever life finds us. Right now, we’re living in Grimsby, the quickly growing small-ish town where I grew up. Much to my surprise, there are plenty of things to see and explore here, as long as you look for such opportunities.

    As someone who has started and abandoned many projects, I’m still a bit shocked that I’ve maintained this blog for so long. Though I’m geographically back where I started, I’ll keep documenting Kevin’s photos and our stories. (Beside, this blog was started to share our adventures with friends and family. With most of our friends in Toronto, being in Grimsby can feel so far away that we might as well still be in a foreign country 😉 )

    I’m not at all looking forward to winter, but Kevin and I will be doing our best to get into some winter sports and activities, making sure we get the most out of the unique experience of a Canadian winter.

  • Roadtrip Day 2: Piodao

    Roadtrip Day 2: Piodao

    When I say that Kevin researched and planned our road trip with Tyler, I don’t mean that lightly. As soon as Tyler booked his tickets to visit, the research began. And not just some simple google searches of ‘best sights in Portugal’. If Kevin has ever helped you with anything, you know that his research-style is all-in and he stops at nothing to get the best possible outcome. Nothing exemplifies this more than our stop off in Piodao.

    A few weeks before the trip, Kevin showed me a photo of a place that looked amazing, and told me that it was a must-do stop. When I convinced him to shorten the road trip from 6 days to 3, Piodao was one of those places that was a must-see, not to be compromised. And he was so, so right.

    After our morning at the Knights Templar’s Convent of Christ in Tomar, we got back into the truck and embarked on what I can honestly say is the wildest, most breathtaking and most nerve-racking road trip of my life. Before I get into too many road trip details, let’s talk about why Piodao is special and worth seeing.

    Piodao, known as the “nativity village” is a small collection of stone buildings, tucked into a mountain side. Unlike most of the places we’ve visited on this trip, Piodao, due to its remote geographic location, was almost entirely disconnected from Portuguese history. How disconnected? This village didn’t have electricity until the 1970s. This geographic isolation is what makes Piodao so unique – because they were limited to local resources, which is reflected in the architecture of the town itself, their traditions were well-preserved over the years, due to a lack of outside influences. Entering Piodao, picturesquely placed in between 2 hills in a mountain range, feels like entering a fairy tale. As you stand on the hillside, you can even hear the echo of jingling bells from the goat herds. My only regret of this entire trip is that we didn’t stay longer.

    Now, about that road trip. It was long and a bit harrowing. And as the trip went on, we felt increasingly alone. There were long stretches (on this 2.5 hour drive) without seeing other people and cars, though we did see a herd of goats crossing the road. We climbed up into the mountaintops, driving along winding roads, on the edge of cliffs, surrounded by clouds. I was both in awe of the view and in awe of Kevin’s patience & composure while navigating these roads. There’s absolutely no way that a bus could have made this journey.

    Visiting Piodao was a truly surreal and magical experience. I recommend it very much. And beyond being beautiful, the town itself offers great food and friendly people. Check out our many photos below!

    we saw some goats running across the road!
    look at them, just chilling out!
    hey buddy!
    a river
    and a dam!
    climbing up into the moutains
    climbing higher…
    … and higher
    … higher till we’re in the clouds
    soon we’re descending
    and as we come around the corner, we get our first glimpse of Piodao
    we get to to take a break
    and from where Kevin stands, you can see the town
    When we entered the town, we first saw the church
    We also took a little hike up the hill to get a great view of the town and its surrounding valley
    you can hear little goats’ bells jingling & echoing all around you here
    After staring in awe at the town from above, we embarked on a trek up and down and across all the little roads to see the homes.
    Piodao is now a protected heritage site, so the doors, etc must all continue to be painted blue.
    even in a town this small, there are 2 churches
    stopped for coffee, and then we headed out!
  • Roadtrip Day 2: An Aqueduct “just around the corner”

    Roadtrip Day 2: An Aqueduct “just around the corner”

    While we were visiting the Convent of Christ in Tomar, the map of the site said that there was an aqueduct attached. Tyler was pretty excited about this, never having seen a real aqueduct. Kevin and I had seen some in Lisbon, but agreed that it was pretty cool.

    While Tyler and I searched for the aqueduct ruins (which we found outside, attached to the Castle of Tomar), Kevin searched on Google. When we were done at the Castle/Convent, Kevin said he had one more stop he wanted to make. He handed me the phone with a seemingly random spot marked on the map nearby. He told me what we were up to but hadn’t said anything yet to Tyler.

    5 minutes of driving later, we came to the Pegoes Aqueduct, to which the aqueduct ruins at the castle were attached.

    But rather than just a couple of arches, what we saw was a full aqueduct crossing a valley. And the best part? It was open and also empty! From where we parked, we walked just a few steps to climb up onto the aqueduct through an old water inspection station. In the silent countryside, we walked along an ancient aqueduct, just the 3 of us.

    A quick little surprise, and one of the highlights of our trip. Enjoy the photos below!

  • Roadtrip Day 1: Exploring the Convent of the Capuchos

    Roadtrip Day 1: Exploring the Convent of the Capuchos

    After stopping at the Cabo da Roca, we drove back into the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. The drive alone was incredible: beautiful trees, winding roads that twisted up a hillside. Our next stop was at ruins of the centuries old Convent of the Capuchos.

    Literally translating to the “Cork Convent”, its name comes from the insulation used in the construction of the buildings here. It was first formed in the mid-1500s, and according to the lovely brochure that I’ve been saving for this exact occasion,

    The Cork Convent was built in accordance with a philosophy that stressed harmony between human and divine works, for which reason the building merges inseparably with nature and the surrounding vegetation, incorporation enormous granite boulders. Through the exercise of contemplation, fulfilling the teachings of Saint Francis of Assisi, the friars worshipped the Creator through what they considered to be His greatest work; the natural world”

    Though the convent has ceased to be operated as such, and is now simply a series of ruins to be toured by visitors, you can easily see the convent’s philosophy at work. It’s impossible to wander through the small buildings, built into the side of a hill, without reflecting on the beauty and calming effects of nature. The smell and feel in the air of so much nature all in one place was truly magical. And this magical place really was the perfect start to a magical day in magical Sintra.

    We spent about an hour exploring all the nooks and crannies of these small, simple buildings. We snapped some great photos, and also some “band photos”. There were lots of laughs at this early point in our roadtrip, and that continued on throughout the day.

    Check out the photos below!

    kicking off the tour with a little bit o’blasphemy?
    selfie time!
    this place is not for the tall
    exploring the old living quarters
    the map here was pretty decent, so I was obviously giving directions.
    the courtyard
    rooves of the various living quarters
    for the second album
    cover page!
    behind him is an old outdoor oven
    siblings in a band
    getting introspective… or making sense of the map.
    climbed up this boulder here
    to get here
    for this great view
    siblings climbing.
    a cork tree!
    help!
    just chilling in a 500 year old courtyard, no big deal.
    old rock
    old arch
    a new view of old stuff
    old bench
    old church
    old path
    old path
    cute kevin near some old stuff
    old tree above old path
    old triangles?
    old staircase
    old fountain with cool old building in the background
    old tree is empty
    not anymore
    again empty
    chilling beside the truck… let’s gooooooo
  • Roadtrip Day 1: We went to the edge of continental Europe!

    Roadtrip Day 1: We went to the edge of continental Europe!

    A quick post today before we head out to the beach. This post is a bit late coming, but Kevin’s best friend Mark is currently visiting, so we’ve been out and about (we also drove to Lisbon to pick him up 2 days in a row, because the first day we drove up we were a day too early).

    Anyways, when Tyler was here, our post-Lisbon road trip began with a drive to Cabo da Roca, a lighthouse at the westernmost point of continental Europe. Perhaps not the coolest claim to fame of all time, but it was gorgeous nonetheless.

    The western coast of Portugal is dotted with gorgeous cliffs, and Cabo da Roca is no exception. It’s a popular tourist attraction in the picturesque Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, and was the first of many beautiful spots that we saw in Sintra that day. Because it was March, we were 3 of maybe 8 people there that day. Being along the cliffs, with the beautiful green fields behind us felt magical. It was a great to start to an excellent day.

    See below for the photos!