Lisbon, Portugal
The weather already changed quite a bit at the end of September. Normally it’s beautiful longer. This already made me want to leave. After finishing my civil service I planned to travel more South. First stop Portugal, then Morocco. I booked a flight very spontaneously and left for the airport. Because of an accident on the highway, I missed my flight and had to reschedule for the next morning. Luckily I knew a friend in Zurich (who is my lifesaver in such occurrences), who let me crash at her place.
Finally, I made it to Lisbon, Portugal. A very popular city for tourists and digital nomads like me. After a friend recommended me a Co-Living space, I decided to stay there for a week. It was a great time and I was able to work focused on my projects.
Lukas, a Co-Worker I was traveling half a year before in the Canaries with also stayed in Lisbon at this time. So we were hanging out together and went to the beach not far out of the city.
Morocco — boarding declined
I am continuing from Portugal to Morocco. But things took a different turn. We’re at the end of 2021, COVID is still a thing. Vaccines are around now, but still quite some restrictions in place. So it happened that Morocco is a country that needs an antigen test despite a fully vaccinated status. I haven’t checked for that well enough. It happens that I only checked from my original departure destination — Switzerland and not Portugal. There are different rules in place for those two countries. So I was declined to board the plane. Very frustrated and sad I was forced to extend my stay in Portugal. Well, not that bad since the weather was also really nice, but I had other plans.
For my first week in Morocco, I had planned a holiday for a road trip. This holiday I now happening in Lisbon. So I decided to book a couple of days in a hostel. I normally don’t stay in hostels since I can’t work and especially sleep that well (I prefer my own space). But this was a great opportunity now to have a complete vibe change. An amazing time in the hostel with a lot of new friends, experiences and away from work.
Vila Nova de Milfontes, Portugal
After a couple of weeks in Lisbon, it was time to move. I decided to go to the coast, more South. I found a famous hostel which is Co-Working friendly (Selina). Apparently, it’s very recommended in South America, but struggling a bit in Europe. So I was almost the only one working there, else it had the usual hostel vibes. It was fine but not what I was looking for. The location and view are brilliant. The coast is also amazing and will only get better the further South I go. But first a week in the remote fisher village of Vila Nova de Milfontes.
I was taking some surfing classes since that’s one of the few things to do. It’s actually pretty beginner-friendly. I tried surfing once in Bali for a lesson, but that was some time ago. So I started with the beginners as a refresher but was able to join the more advanced with the bigger waves.
At the end of my second lesson. One moment not super focused and tired already I fell and the board hit me on my shoulder. Since I already had a bad accident with my shoulder years ago this was enough to dislocate my shoulder again. In huge pain, I swam back to the beach and was able to put it back by myself very quickly. This wasn’t the first time, so I knew how to move and tried it. But this meant no sports for around a month and no movement for a week with quite some pain.
Burgau, Portugal (Algarve)
I moved all the way to the South Coast of Portugal. The region is called the Algarve. It’s very famous for its steep coast, beaches, and surfing as well. So no wonder it was hard to find a place that didn’t offer surfing classes. But I couldn’t join them. I was searching again for a more social place. Like a hostel with a private room. It was super quiet during the day for work and in the evening I had great company.
We were an amazing group of people. Going out for food or walks to the beach in the evening. We had a great conversation and just a good time.
On one of my days off, there was a special class doing “wakeboarding”. I’ve never done it and wanted to try but remember my arm. It’s been around 10 days since my accident. Still some pain, but it’s going very well. Not the best movement of the arm, but enough of what I needed for wakeboarding. So I wanted to give it a try (don’t tell my mom) and since I can do snowboarding I thought it’s doable. And yes it did. All went fine. I had 2x 5-minute sessions with the tow and was able to surf quite a bit. Turns and water start without problems to the surprise of everyone.
Albufeira, Portugal
My time in Portugal is going to an end. I stopped in some places on the South Coast. Some cute towns are located there. So I found a nice and cheap Airbnb in Albufeira and stayed for 3 nights before crossing the border to Spain. It had an amazing rooftop which I always appreciate a lot. After a lot of socializing, I was really happy to have my piece. I didn’t want to meet anybody and just go out for a walk in town, get some food, or work at the apartment.
Seville, Spain
After a month in Portugal, I took a bus to Sevilla. Another touristy place in the South of Spain. It’s not my first time here and I like the city. So this time I decided to spend my time very central in the old town. I found a very nice and modern studio right in the center.
The first weekend on arrival I toured the city a bit and hung out with other travelers from the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Poland and also with 2 locals. For sure food can’t be left out. I tried a lot of delicious tapas. I enjoyed my time. During the week I fully went back to work in my studio apartment and was just happy overall.
