DAY 238

Monday 5 March 2012

Another shitty day in paradise, we used to joke in Santa Monica, and that applied to the Algarve region on the south coast of Portugal as well. A bit ironic that we'd been seeking out the sun and warmth we enjoy nearly year round back home, surrounded by Brits, Dutch and Germans escaping to Algarve from their frigid homelands. Okay we liked to brag but even WE were astonished at how arrogant we could sound.

Charles and Dian both took separate morning hikes, Charles loved rock formations jutting out into the ocean that gave him the vantage point to take in the crashing waves and ebbing tides. Dian being a true beachcomber didn't find much sandy beach for combing. Nicole rested her irritated eyes most of the day in the van but managed to crank out quite a few postcards for friends. We hope they are appreciated (Dian sent out a ton too) because they were danged expensive to mail everywhere in Europe, almost two bucks each for postage and a card.

The local Irish pubs in Luz opened at 11AM -- why is that mentioned? Because they were the best source for Wi-Fi and electric plug-in. Charles put in a couple hours then marched up the street to do some grocery shopping and as he came down the street who should he see but a familiar face, there in Luz, Portugal -- Dian!! They walked back to the van together, and after she and Nicole trekked off to the thrift shop they found he had fired up the stove and put together a dinner of bratwurst and seasoned new potatoes, a feast that proved too irresistible and became a late lunch instead.


Among the booty procured at the charity shop were two blouses for Nicole, a dress for Dian and a couple of gifts for her mom's birthday which of course we can't reveal here.


After nightfall she and Charles hiked back to the outdoor area of The Bull to call her folks on Google Voice where the Wi-Fi was good and it was not as noisy as inside.

The vote was for an early turn-in, around 9, about five hours earlier than Charles was accustomed to, so he took a flashlight to bed and his copy of Don Snowden's "Make the Music Go Bang!" a chronicle of the LA punk/new wave/underground scene of the late-'70s early-'80s. He loved Don's style on the intro chapter, then reveled in the first guest chapter by Phast Phreddie, reliving those days and finding out a lot about what he missed before he got there, as Phreddie ran down a list of important sites. Sweet mosh pit dreams.