Torgit has been sleeping fitfully because "park4night", our app for finding parking spaces, has announced a possible wake-up call. This spot in the forest is also an access road to a military area. I, on the other hand, sleep the sleep of the righteous that night. It is not yet foreseeable that this will change that evening. Thanks to the cold outdoor shower, I am immediately wide awake and decide to get in a little workout.
If I had known that there would be another yoga class, I might have changed my mind. Thanks to Ilona, we get the best yoga lesson of my life. My back finally gets some attention. Afterwards, I think about my former sales manager colleague Dieter. Although he has a bit of a potbelly, he always explicitly praises his yoga classes. Dieter, I have to admit, yoga does seem to be sport. Not only was it fun, but my weeks of shoulder pain were blown away. I'm getting old or wise, I'm going to do one or two yoga exercises tomorrow.
Now Torgit and I wanted to get out of the partial shade of the forest. Because it's still relatively cool here. Yesterday, a cool surf instructor gave us a tip for a bay where we could supposedly stay overnight in the van: Praia das Azenhas do Mar. - On the way, we stop at a small chapel. I immediately make a new friend. A mixture of Doberman, hyena and Pinscher immediately sits in the cab with me. But Torgit shows no mercy. The new addition to the family has to go back on the road. - When we arrive at the sea, we realize that the beach is squeezed between two steep cliffs. - We stop at a small parking lot right on the cliff. From here, we have a wonderful view of the many white houses in Colares. They all have red clay roof tiles. Some of the houses look like eagles perched on the cliff. There are warning signs on our side that the slope could slide down. I wonder what the structural stability of the neighboring houses will be like.
It's 2:30 pm. Time for breakfast. Today we have a baguette with butter, cheese, allioli, guacamole and salad leaves, plus a tomato salad for me. As we look out to sea and watch the waves, something wonderful happens. Do you know moments of magic? - A large school of dolphins passes by, they plow through the waves and you can imagine how they hunt under water. Torgit tries to capture this moment with his iPhone. As is always the case in such moments, magic cannot be captured. - The camera didn't go off. But I'm sure we'll keep it in our hearts.
After a short break, we think about an alternative for the night. We've heard about a place with a wonderful panoramic view. That's where we want to go. Santuário da Peninha is located about five kilometers south-east of Cabo da Roca. It is located in the Sintra Mountains. A long dirt road winds its way up into the Sintra-Cascais Nature Park. There, at an altitude of 448 meters on a rocky outcrop, there is a chapel and some stables. From here, there is a breathtaking view over the coast, the sea and far inland. Above all, you can see some rock formations that look like piles of pebbles that have grown too large. The sunset is spectacular.
Meanwhile, Hector stands peacefully a few meters further down in a clearing in the forest. The last car leaves this spot at sunset. We are completely undisturbed, the clearing seems to belong to us. It soon gets dark. As usual in the forest, really, really dark. This promises to be a quiet night. - But appearances are deceptive:
Just before I'm about to lie down to sleep, I hear footsteps outside. As I go to look, I notice that a man dressed in black is standing a few meters in front of me with a large black dog. The dog doesn't look at all friendly. I address the man with a nice "Hello" and then "Good Evening". - He doesn't react at all, but stops for a moment. I think the right thing to do is to back away slowly. Suddenly the footsteps continue, all-clear. Just as we have fallen asleep, we suddenly hear men's voices in the clearing again. About seven or eight men seem to be gathering near us and discussing loudly. Then the voices move away, all-clear number 2. Half an hour later, those men's voices again. I decide to have a look. It's a group of mountain bikers, all equipped with headlamps, all-clear number 3. Finally, peace seems to have returned. Around half past two, I suddenly hear the sound of an engine and then a car parks in the middle of the clearing. What is someone doing in the middle of the night in a place that is about three kilometers from the nearest road junction? Surely a pair of lovers? - But appearances are deceptive. Suddenly we hear a group of people marching into the square. A friendly greeting and then an indefinable hustle and bustle. In the spotlight, some seemingly pointless, but all the louder for it, games are being played. After a while, the marching group moves away. All that remains is the single car and its crew. - About half an hour later, the same thing happens again. Another troop arrives, plays its lively games and also disappears after half an hour. The whole thing is repeated several times - Walpurgis Night in the fall? - Then the night-time games have changed considerably since my time. - While Torgit sleeps wonderfully thanks to earplugs, I keep watch. What a night...
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