This is about our one-week stay in the Azores from the 12th till the 19th in April 2019. We flew in from Praia, Cabo Verde, and departed for Lisbon, mainland Portugal. To explore São Miguel Island, we rented a scooter for a few days. Ponta Delgada is an excellent base to zoom around the island to all the funny corners. Unfortunately, I didn’t hitchhike. You can see all the places and our routes on the map at the bottom. Contents1 Background2 Day 0: Arrival in Ponta Delgada (Friday, April 12th)3 Day 1: Exploring Ponta Delgada (Saturday, April 13th)4 Day 2:Continue reading
Europe
Here you’ll find lots of articles about my hitchhiking and kayaking travels in Europe. As you may know, Europe is my ‘homing’ continent where I’ll – like a stinky pigeon – always return to even if I’m trying to stay away from it. And to be honest, it’s not bad; there’s always more to explore.
I undertook many of my trips around Europe while at university in Maastricht (the Netherlands) and Aarhus (Denmark). That’s why I dropped out. I honed my hitchhiking skills here and set the most personal records and firsts such as:
- First solo hitch: from Kirkenes Airport in Norway to Kirkenes town with a military guy with his son
- Longest distance hitched in 24 hours: ~1200 kilometers from Maastricht (the Netherlands) to somewhere east of Lubljana (Slovenia)
- Most hours in one ride: 3 days with one British driver with a rental car in southern Spain and Portugal (his contract said he couldn’t take the car across the border)
- First plane hitch: over Malta (A to A)
- Longest sailing yacht hitch: from Corfu (Greece) to Malta, which was 340 nautical miles over 2.5 days. Here’s my CrewBay profile
Besides hitchhiking, I also kayaked a long distance in Europe down the Danube river in an inflatable canoe named Zucchini. But before I did that trip with my partner Jonas, I returned to university to finish my degree to erase my student debt. Thesis here.
As you can see, it’s not always a fun continent for me; it’s also the locus of worry about the people and pets I’m close to, of bureaucratic fuckery, and of most of my childhood memories. For most of my life, Europe has tied me down. Now I’m trying to experience it from a place of choice and freedom.
If you are not interested in the Danube trip, you can click this link to not show the Danube posts.
Things to do in or from Campo de Ourique, Lisbon
From the 3rd till the 15th of January 2019, we stayed in the neighborhood named Campo de Ourique in Lisbon, Portugal. After Lisbon in winter, we traveled to Cabo Verde for 88 days to catch some of their abundant sunshine. Jonas worked from our cold but comfortable Airbnb and I finished my university thesis. These are some of the fun activities we did inside and from our cool neighborhood. To scroll down to the map, click here. To read some tips about staying in Campo de Ourique/Lisbon in winter, click here Contents1 Mercado de Campo de Ourique2 Planespotting from Amoreiras3Continue reading
Arrábida Natural Park Scooter Trip + Learning Portuguese (the Hard Way)
These events happened on Tuesday the 8th of January, 2019. While staying almost two weeks in Campo do Ourique neighborhood in Lisbon, Portugal, we did many day trips. This trip to Parque Natural da Arrábida was the biggest one. Contents1 Preparation + Travel to Setúbal2 Renting the Scooter in Setúbal3 Portinho da Arrábida4 Pedreira do Jaspe5 The drive to Sesimbra6 A Hard Lesson in Portuguese7 Sesimbra to the Convent of Our Lady of Arrábida8 Driving back to Setúbal + Facing the Consequences9 Bus from Setúbal to Lisbon10 Map of Arrábida NP Scooter Trip11 Learned from our mistake? Consider buying meContinue reading
Maastricht: Wholesome Activities in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter
You might already know that I’ve lived in Maastricht twice, both times as a student. To be precise: from summer 2010 till winter 2013. I returned to the city from January till December 2018 to finish my bachelor’s degree and write my thesis about hitchhiking. Especially the second time around, I focused my efforts to do more wholesome activities amid the fraternity noise and anxious binge-drinking students with quarter-life crises. Here are my suggestions for both residents and people on a short visit: Contents1 How to Get Around Maastricht?2 Maastricht in Spring2.1 Photographing the Blossoms2.2 Cycling to Belgium to DrinkContinue reading
Mallorca by Scooter: 9 Days of Freedom from University
During my final year at university, I sometimes had a week-long vacation. Just like normal people, Jonas and I would use that week to fly to a different country and do something cool. From Wednesday the 17th till Thursday the 25th of October 2018, Jonas and I drove a scooter around the Spanish island of Mallorca. These were the most memorable things we saw. How to Rent a Scooter in Mallorca? First things first, how did we travel around Mallorca? We chose not to hitchhike this time to make sure we have plenty of time to see and do things.Continue reading
A Happy Ending – Kitten Rescue in Portugal, Part V
Part V: The Aftermath This story is number 5 in a series of 5. To read it chronologically, start at Part I. Click here to go to Part II, Part III, and Part IV. I promise you this is the last of it. Updates from Porto The next day, Jonas receives updates from Marie via WhatsApp. She sends us pictures and videos of Chorizo, and updates us about its health. The updates are regular and very sweet and loving. We’re waiting at the airport for our flight, and when we arrive in Warsaw, we know Chorizo is at theContinue reading
Tragedy Strikes – Kitten Rescue in Portugal, Part IV
Part IV: Downfall & Death This series of posts is mostly a way for me to process the trauma of going through this tragedy. If you’re expecting happy travel content, this ain’t it. This story is number 4 in a series of 5. To read it chronologically, start at Part I, Part II, or Part III. Here you can find the subsequent stories about rescuing a kitten in Porto, Portugal: Part V. Back to Normal (July 16, Continued) We say goodbye to Jan, who is leaving for Germany or something like that. It’s still morning, and Jonas and I are about to haveContinue reading
Entering the Void – Kitten Rescue in Portugal, Part III
Part III: Rescuing a Kitten This series of posts is mostly a way for me to process the trauma of going through this. If you’re expecting happy travel content, this ain’t it. This story is number 3 in a series of 5. Here you can find Part I and Part II. Here you can find the subsequent stories about rescuing a kitten from the void in Porto, Portugal: Part IV and Part V. Spotting the Culprit (Sunday 15th of July, contd.) We return home from the animal shelter Midas, fully knowing this time that it is our responsibility to save that kitten. AndContinue reading
Midas the Animal Shelter – Kitten Rescue in Portugal, Part II
Part II: A Trip to Midas This series of posts is mostly a way for me to process the trauma of going through this. If you’re expecting happy travel content, this ain’t it. This story is number 2 in a series of 5. You can find Part I here. Here you can find the subsequent stories about rescuing a kitten in Porto, Portugal: Part III, Part IV, and Part V. Are you going to Porto and would you like to do something good on your travels? You can donate money to Midas via Facebook fundings. Sunday 15th of July Too damnContinue reading