Kyaking adventure #2!

So exciting!!!!

Last week we jumped in our kyaks for part 2 of our kyaking adventure. Since the waves were much calmer, we were able to head out to the grottos and manouver ourselves between huge rocks and inside caves. VERY FUN! Here are some pictures, we took them with a waterproof
camera so the quality isnt the greatest, but it is better than nothing!

Who needs a prescription anyways?

Well, not if you are in Portugal!

I heard that it was easy to get things from the Pharmacy that you would usually need a prescription for. I've been sounding like a dying dog for the last 3 weeks...a chest cold that just isn't going away...I've tried oil of oregano under my tongue, natural pills to boost my immune system, sleep (which..well...I do a lot of anyway) etc etc. Nothing...so I thought id give it a go.

I strolled into the Pharmacy yesterday and told the pharmacist that I had a chest cold - deep cough and all...so he says "cough syrup or antibiotics?"....right now I'm pretty excited "antibiotics please!"....I'm worried he is going to ask me for a scribbly piece of paper from a doctor with a prescription on it...but nope...just rings it in.

I figured I may as well try my luck and ask for the Hep A shot while I was at it (I need one more before I get to Asia)....he grabs it off the shelf behind him and rings that in too....Pure craziness! This would never ever ever happen at home....EVER.

I am not that crazy to give the Hep A shot to myself, so my boss Carol gave it to me instead since she used to be a nurse. She is legally blind though (well, enough that she isn't allowed to drive), so I had to make sure all the air bubbles were out of the needle before she administered it for me...too funny.

Day-trip with some friends...

I made friends with 3 guys that were on vacation in Lagos together last week, 2 were Dutch and 1 was from New York. They all met 10 years before while they were traveling in Australia, and ever since then they have met up in places all around the world for vacations. Since 2 had girlfriends and 1 had a boyfriend, I figured they were quite harmless, so when they invited Aurelia and I on a road trip to the Monchique mountains and West coast, we didn't hesitate to take them up on it. We crammed ourselves into their VW Polo rental and off we went...gorgeous mountain vistas around every hairpin turn. We enjoyed some bicas (espresso) in a cute little cafe, and some homemade chocolate from a charasmatic chocolatier who loves Johnny Cash. We wandered up to an old monastery from the 1600s which was a bit sketchy, it looked like the guy who worked there also lived there, we walked past his washing machine on the way in...there was a goose tied up by the foot squawking away, and it looked like they hadnt had any visitors in years...very strange...

We then stopped on the West coast in a renowned surfing town...which...if I had my Portugal book with me right now I would remember, but it starts with a C and that is all I got. Regardless, there were at least 100 surfers in the water all trying to catch a good wave. No one was on the beach though, you would get sandblasted with all that westerly wind. We got some great pictures from the top of the cliffs though.

After a day of fun road-tripping with some new friends, we arrived back in Lagos just in time for Aurelia and I to go to work. Never know who your going to meet when you are traveling, or what side-trips youll find yourself invited on....its all part of the fun.

Kyaking!

Allen, a regular at my bar here is a kyaking instructor in town, so I thought to myself, hmmm...I've never set foot in a kyak before, it might be fun! So Aurelia and I got a private lesson yesterday out on the Ocean. I made Allen promise me that I wouldn't die out there since I cant swim, and he promised me that if I tipped my boat he would save me, so off we went (me looking down every now and then to make sure my life jacket was still securely buckled and tied and all...some waves were BIG!). Water is a powerful thing indeed...I see people jumping in the waves all the time and when they are REALLY big, some people get s m o k e d! Taken down, pulled back out from the strong undertow....arms flailing and all. Anyways, yay to not tipping over....it was a fun little adventure, paddling along, dodging rocks in the water, and getting a different view of the beautiful coastline. I may go out again once more before we leave Lagos, we couldn't go too far along the coast because the waves were too big the day we went, so maybe when the Ocean decides to calm itself down a bit more, Ill give it another go.

It rained here last night and my clothes were out on the line drying...does anyone know if I should wash them again? I have no idea!!!

Sugar went home

Its true, my sweet little laptop is no longer with me any longer...im going through a bit of withdrawl. So this is my new way to keep the blog alive from wherever I happen to be in the world at the moment.

Nothing is new lately! Work, relaxing on the beach, work, etc etc. We did, however, find ourselves a very cute apartment in town so I will post the address soon. Yay to being able to cook and hang out on the balcony and sip tea in the morning overlooking the fort wall that is hundreds of years old.

Oh, I suppose I did celebrate my birthday here on Tuesday...that was good times! Carol my boss at the bar made me some yummy popcorn and brought it into work and gave me a really cute green stone bracelet...very sweet. I spent the day at the beach, worked a few hours at night and then met up with Aurelia afterwards for a few drinks and late night pizza...mmm.

A quarter of a century old! I dont feel 25! Age is just a number anyway....or at least that is what I like to tell myself :)

Sweet lovin´ to you all

Mary-berry