Back to the Beach

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So it turns out I remembered one good thing about summer ending: we get our beaches back. And by “we” I mean the dog-loving population of my little town. During the summer (well, technically all year round) dogs are forbidden from setting their little paws on the sand so the beginning of autumn and the absence of life-guards is the sign that our doggies are once again allowed to chase the seagulls and eat indeterminate dead objects buried in the sand. (Joy!) These are a few photos from our last family outing.

The Arrival of Autumn

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Let me just say up front that I do not like winter. At all. And before you all get upset and say how much you like to watch the rain and eat the chestnuts and drink the hot chocolate, well yes, I like those things too, but they could quite easily go into the “autumn” department and then we could skip straight to spring. As I write this I am listening to the south wind howl under the door and watching the clouds race across the sky. This is never good. This is the wind that brings the rain and…

The Creation of a Surfboard

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I shot this series of images for a story in a local magazine (A Concelho Mafra) a month or so ago. How to make a surfboard: The blanks are imported from South Africa (of course!) and machine-cut to the basic size. Above, to the right is the blank before the cut, to the left is after. The board is then sanded and the shape refined. This is followed by the fibreglass and resin. The Fin Control System is cemented in place at precisely the correct angle. And then the board is given a final sanding to ensure a smooth and…

Cabo da Roca

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Cabo da Roca is the western-most point of continental Europe and therefore, this South African feels a little bit at home here. Why? Because its windy, has a lighthouse, a shop selling icecream and wild seas threatening to smash you to bits should you venture too close to the shore… very much like my own southern-most point of Africa, Cape Agulhas. And the connection between these two wild capes runs deeper than than what meets the eye; the name Cape Agulhas means “Cape of Needles” in Portuguese, and was named as such by the first Portuguese navigators to sail past…

One Year Here

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So. I’ve been in Portugal for a year now. So far, so good. I’m not going to lie, it hasn’t been all daisies and ice-cream but the good things have by far outweighed the bad. Have (sortof) learnt to speak Portuguese. The basics, you know: “Do you have fresh ginger/peanut butter?” in the supermarket. (the answer is usually no… but thats another story)  Am not yet able to have a fight with someone in Portuguese, but not for lack of trying (A man accused my dog of pooping on his from yard, total lie! but I had to yell at…