PreScript: I want to apologize for the evident delays in my posts, which are always at least 1 week behind. I'm trying my best to write about all the different stages in my travel, but either my trip goes faster than my writing, or my resources are very limited, or both... but I'm trying to catch up. What I'm writing now is a small fraction of what I would like to say, but at least is something.Here is a fraction of what I wanted to say 2 weeks ago.
As said in my last post, this was the perfect break after a few fast-paced weeks.
Going by bike for 40 mins to the nearest internet connection center, because it's not only far, but there is also no public transportation to speak of; smelling the aroma left by the farm animals; watching the cornfields between houses; hearing the overwhelming silence and slowing down the time until it's no more. A new and interesting experience for my city-self. Pardilho is definitely a little town; and rural in a small, self-sufficient, scale.
I broke my break a couple of days during the week to visit Aveiro and Coimbra, which are very different from each other but have their own unique character.
Aveiro is a very nice and relaxed city which has all the feeling of summer city, with the beach next to it and all. It's apparently the city with the best quality of life in Portugal, and it shows.
Coimbra is a city defined by its University, which literally takes a major part of the urban area and merges with it in a very natural way. It's almost like the University is the city. I went in the middle of the summer holidays so I'm sure I missed a lot of the life that the academical year brings.
In the weekend we went camping to Torreira, which has a very nice beach, at least for European standards, but with a completely different experience from a Venezuelan beach. People here go just to relax, not in the Caribbean sense of the word, but in a more calm way. It's interesting to see so many people on the beach, and still be very quiet and peaceful. I think the beach is the place where the difference between our cultures is more evident.
Specially memorable was the saturday night when Cristiano and friends came to Torreira to have dinner with Natercia and me. We ate and drink in obscene quantities in a great sea-food restaurant with delicious food and payed a miserable amount of money. After that we went to party to one of the places on the coast and it was perfect. One of those moments when you confirm that is not about the place where you are but about the people you are with.
Anyway, I had a great week staying with Natercia. I want to thank her and her family for everything they did to make me feel at home. Muito obrigado!
