Porto, Portugal

November 08, 2017 by Cameron Yorke

Unfortunately, the last stop in Portugal. A little lonely, but the day spent in Douro was impressive, even if it rained most of the day. Good company, tranquil views and some Port wine helped. Experiencing my first Champions League game (FC Porto vs. Leipzig) was a highlight - the passion from the crowd (the guy next to me jumping out of his seat and yelling out Caralho! every time a player messed up) actually put Old Trafford to shame. Smoking is allowed inside the stadium (and in most nightclubs), so I left Porto with half of my laundry smelling of cigarettes.

A Yelp style review of Lisbon, Portugal

October 25, 2017 by Cameron Yorke

I never thought I'd be someone to have a favourite book or author. However on my last trip throughout Latin America, I stumbled upon The Art of Travel and was soon hooked on the writing of Alain de Botton. A few years on and I now found myself attending his The School of Life Conference here in Lisbon.

Given the subject, I shouldn't have been as amazed as I was by the people I met and the conversations I had with at the time complete strangers. I left the 3 day conference with new ideas, friends and experiences that well and truly inspired me.

For reasons of brevity and otherwise, I'm going to sum this post up with a Yelp-style review of my experience of Lisbon:

Overall I recommend this place to literally everyone who isn't boring. It's a beautiful city with friendly people, fantastic food, great hostels and luckily for me it happened to be hosting a just as impressive gathering of like minded people.

Do: Try the beef rolls at As Bifanas Do Afonso, go out for a Portuguese Feijoada and Fado show, walk around the Alfama district, and talk to the cute girl who caught your eye at the conference.
Don't: Book your flights to leave the day after the conference finished (leaving you with no option but to come back in a few weeks to see more of the city), book a 7 bed dorm the first night of your stay because this is undoubtedly where the terminal snorers sleep, and don't spend an hour on the Tram to Belém Tower, arriving at 5:30PM only to realise that it shuts at 5.

4 stars out of 5.

São Miguel and Madeira, Portugal

October 19, 2017 by Cameron Yorke

Sao MIguel was probably everything I'd hoped the Canary Islands were, and Madeira everything I was glad they hadn't been.

Incredibly lush, alive with rolling green paddocks everywhere you looked, the beauty of the island beats you into submission. The views underwater were just as impressive, as I managed to squeeze in a couple of dives to a WW2 wreck and the reef of Lava Quita, where an Octopus got hold of my hand, which took surprisingly more strength than I expected to pull away from him.

Unfortunately Madeira was a bit of a letdown. More brown than green, and the skies more grey than blue. But we found a rock to sit on, and a cliff edge to make you fairly uncomfortable peering over. The traditional snack Bolo de Caco was also a resounding success for many meals spent with Adam and Paul. We'd for years talked about travelling together with the three of us, and in Madeira we finally made it happen.