Portuguese Odyssey

Sanctuary on the dark Cabo Espichel
Sanctuary on the dark Cabo Espichel

The winding mountain path is surrounded by the lush green vegetation of Serra da Arrabida nature park. At dusk we arrive at the terrifying Cabo Espichel. The heavy, wet fog reveals only the outlines of abandoned buildings at the very end of the cape. This is a cultic pilgrimage destination and an origin of legends created over centuries. The human senses register only the dim light of the lighthouse and the psychedelic, piercingly loud fog siren signals. Alone in the expanse of night the scenery easily causes goose bumps.

The land of Alentejo

Windmill in Odeceixe
Windmill in Odeceixe

The road north leads through a small fishing town Vale dos Homens. At the fish market we buy several doradas for dinner. This is a peaceful place, people rarely appear on the streets. We meet an old man sitting on a wooden bench in the shade of acacia lazily reading a newspaper.

One blue-white colored windmill is nowadays a showcase, a pride and a major tourist destination of Odeceixe. Nonetheless, this is yet another sleepy town. Plate with opening hours does not mean anything. There is no one who looks like letting two lost souls in. excluding a few locals on the street talking idly and dispassionately this is a truly static setting.

Algarve

Surfing time
Surfing time

Early in the morning I say goodbye to southern Spain and cross the Portuguese border. My first stop is at the tourist information office. Courteous black girl, probably in the seventh month of pregnancy greets me with Portuguese "Bom dia!" and a smile on her face. I collect detailed information on the Algarve province and inquire about the coastline. Leaving I hear a friendly reminder: "Remember to switch your watch. Entering Portugal you have just earned an extra hour."

Laid-back Andalusia

Sometimes a road turns into the river
Sometimes a road turns into the river

Andalusia is considered the poorest and the least developed part of Spain. Take a look from another point of view. It is by far the most sunny part of Spain and time is running much slower compared to the other parts of Iberian peninsula. Our adventure begins as we drive into the reserve of Cabo de Gata. The landscape is a wild semi-desert with occasional small villages spread around. While approaching the south-eastern tip of Spain we come across a surprise. Due to yesterday's heavy rain the road becomes impassable. A tiny seasonal stream flowing under the road turns into a turbulent river which floods the road.

A loop around Poland

UrzekajÄ?ca magia bieszczadzkich szlaków
Enchanting trails of Bieszczady mountains

First, we pick the most interesting places of Poland and then decide to spend around one month to follow the loop inside our country. We do our best to keep a safe distance of a hundred kilometers from the capital, as in order to stay a bit from the beaten track. In early July Bess, a friend from Minnesota, is coming to Poland. We plan to take a trip together.

Szczecin is our starting point. For several days we travel on bicycle around local forests in the area of the Bay of Szczecin.

In the middle of Spain

Rabbit pate topped with walnuts and garlic butter with shrimp
Rabbit pate topped with walnuts and garlic butter with shrimp

Spain is a voluptuous country. Not only because of the local Iberian cuisine. It is also a lack of haste and a slow pace of life. Its culture and casual people with their easy-going outlook on life which does not have a specific pattern or scheme to follow. Probably the only daily routine is dictated by the sun making people lazy. So called siesta. The consequence is the mañana phenomenon, which is the notorious postponing of one's duties for the following day, which in practice takes weeks, months and in the extreme cases, simply never comes round. Experiencing Span can be tiring, even unbearable for inflexible people. On the other hand, some would find the Spanish culture quite favorable adjusting quickly to its heartbeat. I move straight into the middle of Spain.

Norway on foot

Norwegian lakes are famous for clear water
Norwegian lakes are famous
for clear water

We take a tent, two backpacks, some food and fishing rods. The only necessary things to hole up for a week in Norwegian woods. The plan is to walk from one lake to another. This Scandinavian country is often associated with large amounts of fish, beautiful landscapes, short summer nights, fjords and clean, brisk air. These essential elements of a true trip into the nature sound encouraging. We optimize to see as much as possible while spending as little as possible. In fact, it is to a large extent feasible.

Caucasus, the Europe's freeriding Mecca

Panorama of the Caucasus, view from Elbrus
Panorama of the Caucasus, view from Elbrus

North Caucasus. Elbrus and Cheget are the two mountains, which slopes are covered with hundreds of thousands tones of fresh powder every year. Such snow conditions make it a true paradise for snowboarders. The trip itself to this place takes three and a half days. We take the challenge and get on a train which will take us to Kabardino-Balkaria, a land located in Russia, east of the Black Sea.

The trip begins at the northwest Poland. We take the train from Szczecin to Cracow. This is the first part of the journey. On this stage I don't even try to think about how long will it take for us to arrive at the Caucasus. In fact, the first ten hours is only access to the official takeoff station. Time goes by quickly and we arrive to Cracow in no time. It is a good opportunity to get together with Ewelina, a good friend who lives in the city.

Heading southeast to Ukraine

Lvov Eaglets Cemetery
Lvov Eaglets Cemetery

I collect four of my friends to go to Ukraine. The train goes across Poland. It starts northwest to finish southeast, directly from Szczecin to Przemyśl, which is good as it stops in all our cities on the way. The ten hour journey to the Polish-Ukrainian border passes fairly quickly. All the time we enthusiastically talk about the upcoming trip. None of us has been in Ukraine before, so this trip promises to be interesting.

It seems to be the problem to get from Przemyśl to the Polish-Ukrainian border. I ask the driver how much would that be for a transfer to the border. Fifty, he says. What does the answer actually mean? The confusing moment lasts until we find that we one way we pay only half a złoty per person, which is around fifteen US cents.

Lithuania and Latvia

Cliff on the Niemen River
Cliff on the Niemen River

I visit Eastern Poland quite often with my family. This time my dad thought of visiting his cousin which he haven't seen for about forty years. That's pretty long period of time, isn't it? Mati, a friend of mine, joins us and we set off for the trip to Lithuania. Sometime before I got to know a Latvian girl named Linda through the snowboard.com service. I gives me an idea. A few e-mails later we decide to meet up in Riga. Seems to be an interesting trip. We will visit the frontier areas of Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia. Well, let's move on the road!