BLOG 1:  Cascais (Portugal: first port in a stom)

Well I wasn't feeling the best on my last entry, where was I with it at all? Well I think I was describing the poruguese people, well they are lovely anyway, happy people. How couldn't they be with all the sun they get. As with ireland there can be some parallels drawn between our culture and histories, the Iberians have been embattled from all sides since they settled the region, between, Phonecians, Greeks, Romans, Moors the Spanish and a brief sejourn under a dictorship.

Despite all that they had their time of glory while under Prince henry the Navigator they initiated the age of Discovery. They found the route around the Cape of good Hope which opened up the Spice Islands to them. You can see the influences they found around the world reflected in their architecture, city streets cobbled painstakingly with trattori in flowing patterns. Houses completely faced in beautifully painted tiles. Cascais the marina where we went alongside, is somewhat like dunlaoighre. It's all about sailing and the tourism that brings.

Needless to say we were happy to get there after coming through a force 11 with the smoke rising up off the waves, we hit the first Irish bar and then smoke was coming from the tops of our heads our energy and happiness to have made it there clearly evident, all of us were in flying form and full of vigour. A couple of days of philosophising and postulising over a jar of porter ensued. Befriending all we met we induced people to sit with us and listen to our stories and our music (whether they wanted to or not). A few quotes from Cascais are "I'm trying to keep myself together while trying to lose the run of myself altogether" from John on the 2nd last day. "I'm always on my way to somewhere but only ever get half way there" from Brian on himself and the ladies "Be wary of those who think they have it sorted, they never will" from Donnacha about a strange schitzophrenic Portuguese man called 7 who was either fantastically delusional or a brilliant conman, anyway he got nothing from us. "He's like the dog chasing cars, he'll chase them all day but he'll have no idea what to do with them when he catches them" From Derry on Brian and the ladies. Anyway these are all alusions to the shenanigans that we got up to.  Time to leave Cascais, Johns going to swim away if we don't leave soon.